"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is to be forever praised. Amen." -Romans 1:25
If it weren't for traditions, I wouldn't have titled this blog "Sweet Sunday" because today's verse isn't so sweet. Being a serving, following Christian isn't always roses and butterflies, it's tough to be a called Christian, I struggle with it every day!! This morning at Aldersgate Church (if you live in Lubbock and don't have a church home, please, try coming with me on Sunday's - it rocks) our pastor gave his sermon on "worshiping". You can listen to it here on Tuesday, it will be posted online.
But, I took lots of notes this morning because I knew a great blog was coming out of this sermon. So, I've summarized for you. Now, before you move on and read this blog, I'll admit, it's deep. Or at least it was for me. Please don't be offended, I'm sharing my personal story if you make it to the end of the blog.
So, our pastor discussed this morning how all-too-often we find ourselves worshiping "outside things" besides the Lord. Now, of course we don't fall down and worship golden calf statues as exampled in Exodus 32. But, the way I see it, anything that takes away from our serving the Lord diligently is to an extent something we "worship" or put value in.
Disclaimer: of course we need to spend time with our family, our work, etc. That's not what I'm talking about, it's the things that cross your mind in the morning when you could be praying, or the "extra" things that take up way too much of your time and stress. You know what I'm talking about.
This blog is intense. How about a cute picture of my pig, Tilly. |
Alright. Now, our pastor shared this acronym for us and I couldn't agree more. It is written by Mark Driscoll, a pastor from Seattle. He believes there are 5 types of IDOLS in this world that can suck our attention away from purity.
I - items. Be it your car, television, the way you look, etc.
D - duties. Climbing the ladder to success, work, achievement.
O - others. The people you surround yourself with: friends, children, co-workers.
L - longings. Your hopes/dreams/wants.
S - sufferings. Sometimes people associate themselves with the sufferings they face in life.
So, since we are all humans, and we all sin, there's a likelihood that one of these IDOLS consumes excess attention in your life. For me, it's an easy pick, my IDOLS would be D - duties.
I am a doer. If you know me, you know I can't sit still, and I always have to be doing something. In every aspect of my life I'm a Type A personality, go-getter, over-achiever, in all the clubs, won't settle for below average, type of person. I'll credit dear ole' Dad for this one, he's far worse than I am.
Pops on his birthday. If you know my Dad, I'm sure this is a shock - no cell phone, no farm equipment, no stresser in sight! Love him to death - he's the hardest working man I know. |
Here's my struggle though: I'm a planner. I mean, I have a calendar with me everywhere I go, I have a schedule, a route, an outfit picked out for every day of the week, email is my best friend and excel spreadsheets keep me sane. I even have planned blogging times! Sooooooo the fact that it is February 9th, and I still have no idea where I am going to grad school, or what I am doing with my life after I graduate, may or may not be eating me alive. (Hint: it is.)
Who has thought this before? "God, I NEED an answer NOW!" I pray and pray and pray every day. When I think he doesn't hear me, I pray again. When I don't have an answer, I pray again. Doesn't he know my personality? Doesn't he know I NEED to know?
The answer is: yes. God knows. He knows it's killing me. He also knows I'm not fully trusting Him, and I need to take a chill pill and just put it in his hands. Can you tell I'm not there yet? Sure, my life would be better if I just gave it up to Him. But what do we do as humans? Fight. Be stubborn. Tell ourselves "if He doesn't tell me where to go to grad school soon, I'll miss the scholarship deadline". You bet. D for Duties. Sometimes my "duties" to be a good student, have a plan, have my life in order, come second. Second to God. Thanks a lot, Lord. I guess He's breaking down my IDOLS for me, one unanswered grad school prayer at a time.
I'm not sure where this fits in, but I love this quote our pastor made this morning:
"Work as if you are worshiping,
do not worship your work."
Step 1: realize you have an IDOLS.
Step 2: give it to God. He knows what to do.
Step 3: post it on your blog for all the world to see.
Step 4: let world know Texas Tech upset Oklahoma State last night in basketball.
And with that, have a blessed week!
Wow, what an amazing post! I found your blog through the Peta post ;) And have been blessed reading through some of the rest of it ~ what a great job you've been doing here and I look forward to reading more...stay encouraged!
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