Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136:26These last few days, all I can think about, it seems, is about God on His throne, heavenly places, God's glory, and the Lamb who was slain.. for us. Our ESV reading plan has us in Revelation, so no surprise there. 
But we are also reading a lot in Isaiah, and the over-riding theme has been God asking Israel to forsake idols or the works of man's hands and instead worship Him and trust in Him and love Him.
In my personal opinion, at Christmas, we are more in danger of choosing pleasure, treasures, and idols, over God and the Lord Jesus, than at any other time of year. If ever the love of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, or the cares of this world could 'hide God', then Christmas time is the most likely time of all, ironically.
Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
All of them are put to shame and confounded;
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
you shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity. Isaiah 45:15-17
Even though at Christmas time, most of us are more likely to think about Jesus and the great gift of His life, Emmanuel being God with us, the glorious Good News and tidings of great joy, than any other time of year except maybe at Easter, we are also most in danger of getting allured by the world too.
God came down to earth and dwelt in flesh.. among us. That is what the Baby Jesus is all about.
It's the best gift of all.. and the most amazing good news the world could ever ask for. Yet somehow this good news gets 'buried' and hidden, as men get distracted by the world's idols--things we love that are made with our own hands.
[They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God. 2 Timothy 3:4 amp
As much as I see the significance of giving gifts at Christmas and have been delighted this year with the joy of giving more than ever in my whole life, I am more aware than ever, of the danger we Christians are most in--of giving too much precedence to things.. and pleasure.. than to worship.
How could we let our worship of our Heavenly Father, and our Gracious Redeemer get drowned out by things made by our own hands? It happens all too easily. It has happened to me many times in the past.
Tim and I were reading this passage from the ESV reading plan on the way to church yesterday morning. It is the strangest and most sarcastic account of the heart of an 'idol' that I have ever heard of. It shows the absurdity of trusting in anything we can make ourselves. It was so funny and fully of irony that we both laughed out loud over it.
He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it (the tree) he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it (the tree) I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
So do we worship idols in modern America? Maybe... in fact.. yes--we do. We worship our own ideas, plans, efforts, creations, work, our wages, our abilities, and our pleasure and entertainment.
Anything that we value, love, lean on or trust in, or turn to for comfort and happiness,
over God, has become an idol to us.
How the Lord convicted me of idol worship at the beginning of this year! I had no idea it had happened. And how grateful I am that he showed me what was in my heart.
It changed everything for me and peace that passes understanding was the very tangible result. I am hardly ever stressed, not even now in the middle of the Christmas bustle. It's all God's doing. I have every reason to be stressed--my list is just as long as everyone else's and I have had just as many interruptions too. But I don't try to fix it myself. Instead, I just strive to be diligent and faithful and trust that in God's hands, all will be well in the end.
When you find yourself relying on your own self and your abilities to provide for you, so much so that you can't take time to worship, it's time to take stock and perhaps change something.
If you find yourself praising anything more than you praise God, it's time to do a bit of soul searching.
If you have time to work hard... that 'work ethic' we all value so highly, and you have time to relax in front of the computer or TV, but can't find time to worship God, it may be time to do reconsider your priorities or state of your heart and cry out to God.
This weekend, the theme of my meditations.. has been "Worship God!" You cannot read Revelation or Isaiah and not hear God's voice loudly, yet lovingly, insisting that we give Him the honor and glory due His name. I have experienced some of the sweetest times of worship this month ever, as I began to focus on the Lord in heaven... and to look forward to the day when I will see God face to face.
Truly, this world is not our home. We will be worshiping and praising God for most of eternity. But we can start right now! O come let us adore Him!
At the bookstore last night, Hubby and I had 30 minutes to wait before a church event, and I came across Jonathon Edwards' collected sermons. I opened the book up and the chapter was all about 'worship the Lamb of God' and what it is we will do in Heaven when we get there.
We are created to worship.
The question is will we worship God?
or the works of our hands?
The biggest reason, especially at Christmas, that we do not worship God, yet find and indeed make time for other things, is the ever present and sometimes ominous 'LIST".
How do we keep a proper relationship and balance between WORK and WORSHIP? We simply obey God's word.
Don't worry, but pray.
Seek Him first. It's a matter of priorities.
Have faith that everything will indeed 'work out for good' to those who are called according to His purposes.
Do everything as unto Him and for His glory.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear? For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.
But seek ([e]aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness ([f]His way of doing and being right), and then all these things [g]taken together will be given you besides. So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble. Matt. 6:24-25
In the same way that the Lord asks us for a tithe of our money, He asks for our time... both on Sundays (His day) and every morning. In the same way that we must have faith that He will provide for us financially if we obey him by tithing and giving, we must also have faith that if we give him HIS time first, then He will give us the time and energy to do everything that needs to be done. If we truly believe God is sovereign, and we are diligent, then everything that really needs to be done will get done.
The reason we get our eyes off of Jesus, is the 'waves' around us look to daunting and we sometimes feel we must tackle those waves ourselves. Worship keeps our eyes in the right place and the result is peace.
Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:5-7
One of the best decisions this type A, get it done, master-planner, stressed out mom ever learned, was to quit trying to force my days to turn out the way I planned. To leave room for God is to find real rest in the midst of difficult or stressful circumstances.
There is always enough time--just like there is always enough money for God's will. So this Christmas, I'm giving our Heavenly Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the worship they deserve.
If we all do this, then with lightened hearts, and minds put at rest by real FAITH that God is in control and that perfect is not needed in our day, we can celebrate Christmas by giving the Lord first place in our hearts and lives.
The most beautiful thing happens when we worship God. Our duties become delightful and our obligations become opportunities to do 'good to all men'. You will be so surprised as you find your burdens lifted and heart made lighter by looking at that list through the lens of God's love imparted by Him to you.
Dear Lord, help us to seek you first, so our love for you and faith in you will grow, even in the midst of distractions. May we never let anything become an idol to us. Keep us safe from the 'love of the world', even as we are surrounded by that world and it's treasures and burdens. Amen
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