Does God Care Whether We Eat Organic Food or Not?

This is an increasingly popular issue. No matter what side of the issue you are on, this video is well worth your time to watch. Let's make sure we are thinking Biblically and not just assuming the stance of the culture around us.

Battling Idolatry Through Prayer

The prayer I plan to pray with my family before we open gifts tonight:

"God, You are the giver of all good gifts. From Your hand come all good things. So, we pause to thank You for Your kindness to us today. And we recognize that the best gifts cannot be wrapped and put under a tree. The best gifts You have given are Your promises purchased by Christ. You have promised to give us eternal life if we trust Christ. You have promised to never leave or forsake us. You have promised to forgive our sins. Help us to value Your promises more than any of these physical presents. So, Father, keep us from idolatry now. Help us not love the gifts more than the Giver. But help us to enjoy these gifts as an expression of our joy in You. And, Father, help us also not be discouraged if we don't get everything we want. We know that we already have everything we need in Christ. In Jesus Name, Amen."

Music: Gift or God?

Here is a great article by Bob Kauflin about how a gift from God (like music) can become an idol.

Only Jesus is Worthy of Worship

God says to His people, "I will lay waste all your idols" (Micah 1:7). I guess that even means those idols that make a living hitting or throwing a ball.
Don't worship people who play sports (or any other human). None are righteous; no not one (Rom. 3).
But, Jesus is worthy of worship. Jesus is 10,000 times more great than the things and people we admire most. Jesus is the greatest treasure of all.

The errand boy of our desires

"In our idolatry we make gifts out to be supreme gods, and make the Giver into the errand boy of our desires."

-Powlison, Seeing with New Eyes, p. 135.

What is your heart set upon?

"...if riches increase, set not your heart on them." -Psalm 62:10

10 Reasons We Need to be Reminded of the Gospel Everyday (about the gospel)

The gospel message itself contains the most powerful reasons why we need to constantly remind ourselves of it.

1. The gospel reveals the Glory of God.
2. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
3. The gospel protects us from Satan.
4. The gospel sanctifies us.
5. The gospel enables us to obey God rightly.
6. The gospel enables us to love others.
7. The gospel cultivates humility.
8. The gospel frees me from condemnation.
9. The gospel liberates me from legalism.
10. The gospel smashes our idols.

10 Reasons We Need to be Reminded of the Gospel Everyday (about ourselves)

The gospel is the good news that Christ died for our sins and rose victoriously from the grave. Our sins have separated us from God and God has drawn us to Himself through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We need to remind ourselves of this message everyday. Here are 10 reasons about ourselves that make constantly reminding ourselves of the gospel a necessity.

1. We quickly forget the gospel.
2. We doubt the power of the gospel to transform us.
3. We think of ourselves more highly than we ought.
4. We are easily distracted.
5. We need the gospel just as much today as we did yesterday.
6. We hope in the wrong things.
7. We are hard-hearted and stiff-necked.
8. We are suspicious of God's intentions.
9. We are stingy.
10. We are full of idols.

Counterfeit Gods Only Make Empty Promises

Tim Keller's newest book is a winner. Counterfeit Gods is a helpful book that addresses an issue most helpful to our sanctification. This book is a great introduction to the subject of idolatry and a helpful resource for identifying the idols of our hearts.

The best aspect of this book is Keller's relentless focus on Christ as our only hope. This is a gospel-saturated book. And, Keller expounds the Scripture in order to expose our idols. Each chapter is a reflection on God's Word that ultimately leads to revealing the glory of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The only critique I have of the book is that many of the examples and illustrations will quickly become dated and less useful over time. Keller deals with the recent financial crisis and political scene quite a bit. My fear is that in a few years, these examples will not have the same impact. My personal preference would have been to have illustrations that would be just as relevant 100 years from now (in any culture) as they are to our current culture.

Here are a few random quotes to give you a flavor of what you will find in this book:

"Counterfeit gods always disappoint."

"What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living."

"Idols capture our imagination, and we can locate them by looking at our daydreams."

"We never imagine that getting our heart's deepest desires might be the worst thing that can ever happen to us."

"Idolatry is not only one sin among many, but what is fundamentally wrong with the human heart."

"Jesus must become more beautiful to your imagination, more attractive to your heart, than your idol."

Counterfeit Gods is set to come out on October 20 (you can read sample pages online now).

At WTS books, you can already preorder a pack of 5 copies at 45% off.

Watch What You Wish For

"We never imagine that getting our heart's deepest desires might be the worst thing that can ever happen to us."

-Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods, p. 1.

Ministry Idolatry

Driscoll's second message at the Advance '09 conference a few weeks ago was the best message on idolatry I've ever heard. I would highly encourage you to listen to the audio or watch the video from that message. It is time for the church to begin identifying and repenting of the good things we've used to replace God. Here are the 11 types of idolatry Driscoll ended the message with, along with a penetrating question to help us identify these subtle idolatries (keep in mind he is talking to church leaders):

1. Attendance idolatry: Does your joy change when attendance at church goes up or down?
2. Gift idolatry: Do you feel as if God needs you because you are so skilled?
3. Truth idolatry: Do you consider yourself more godly than more simple Christians?
4. Fruit idolatry: Do you point to your success as proof that God loves you?
5. Tradition idolatry: What traditions are you upholding that thwart the forward progress of the Gospel?
6. Method idolatry: Do you worship your method as your mediator?
7. Office/Title idolatry: Are you motivated primarily by God’s glory or your title?
8. Success idolatry: Is winning (however you define that) what motivates you at the deepest level?
9. Ministry idolatry: Do you use the pressure of ministry to walk with God instead of love for Him?
10. Innovative idolatry: Do you have to be considered “unique”?
11. Leader idolatry: Who, other than Christ, are you seeking to be like?

Advance 09: Day 2

Another jam-packed day at the Advance conference. All the messages have been excellent. However, Driscoll's second message was the best sermon on idolatry I've ever heard. I highly recommend that you listen to it. It is also the only message I've ever heard by Driscoll in which he didn't yell.

Check the Desiring God blog for links to the audio messages.

Seeing and Rejecting our Functional Saviors

Jesus Christ is the only and all-sufficient Savior. However, sometimes (most of the time?) we look to other things to satisfy and fulfill us.

Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington help us identify our functional saviors with these questions (The Bookends of the Christian Life, p. 73):

-I am preoccupied with __________.
-If only _________, then I would be happy.
-I get my sense of significance from ____________.
-I would protect and preserve __________ at any cost.
-I fear losing _________.
-The thing that gives me the greatest pleasure is _________.
-When I lose ______ I get angry, resentful, frusturated, anxious, or depressed.
-For me, life depends on ____________.
-The thing I value more than anything in the world is _________.
-When I daydream, my mind goes to ___________.
-The best thing I can think of is __________.
-The thing that makes me want to get out of bed in the morning is ________.

You would be wise to spend some time filling in the blanks and repenting of these idols and false saviors.

Identifying Idols

Here is one question to help you identify idols in your heart today:

Fill in the blank: "If only _________, then I would be happy, fulfilled, and secure."

The Peacemaker, page 115.

We Become What We Worship

Here is a new book by G.K. Beale: We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry.
The title is challenging enough!