I found these quotes on my Pastors blog this morning. It is ironic, last night during Bible study I was referencing this book as we were studying through Romans 6 and we got to talking about the topic of Idolatry.
“What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything that 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 hardly feel worth living. An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it without a second thought. It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical acclaim, or saving ‘face’ and social standing. It can be a romantic relationship, peer approval, competence and skill, secure and comfortable circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great political or social cause, your morality and virtue, or even success in the Christian ministry. When your meaning in life is to fix someone else’s life, we may call it ‘co-dependency’ but it is really idolatry.
“An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, ‘If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.’ There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship.”
-- Tim Keller, “Counterfeit Gods” (Dutton) p.xviii
Showing posts with label Romans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romans. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who do rejoice and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15
Have you ever thought about which one of these you do better?
Do you find it easier to rejoice with people when things have gone well with them?
OR
Do you find it easier to weep with those who are hurting?
Maybe you have never even thought about it. I have pondered this verse several times with my life in view of it. I have to say that for me I do both but not consistently. That is that I find myself weeping with those who are hurting but not always. Then there are the times that I can rejoice with someone and again I find that I am not consistent. I was evaluating my life to see if there was a common factor between the two responses and I believe there is. I have found that if I have not been in the Word and have my mind focused on Christ and seeing the world through His lenses then I tend to not be able to empathy or celebration. I see that both of these then can be rooted in Pride. Yes that word and topic yet once again appears on my blog because it is so foundationally opposed to the way of Jesus.
I want to praise God for the work that He has been doing in my life. One of the areas that I was struggling in last year was in the area of jealousy. Specifically in regards to relationships. It can be hard to be around people all the time when they are the ones who are married or getting married or in a relationship headed towards marriage. I have realized that the times that I would be focused on that and allowing it to consume me were the very times that I was not focusing on Jesus and the work that He was trying to bring about in my life. I honestly can say that I can today rejoice with Brian and Emma as I heard the great news of their engagement. Praise God for His work in their lives and the picture of redemption that is displayed in marriage.
On the flip side, weeping with those who weep. I have found that in the past I would be more prone to being what some would call heartless. Granted I believe that the context must be a guide and truly only God and myself know what my heart was thinking. But I find the same to be true about showing empathy towards someone. Even when I can not relate personally to the trial or pain; if I am living life see people the way Jesus sees them then I will be able to honestly comfort and care for them this includes weeping and hurting with them. I believe that this is the heart of God.
Father fill my heart with compassion for the lost and hurting, transform my mind by your word to understand the reality of this life, and give me eyes to see people the way you see them. May your love flow from my heart and my actions. May my words be edifying and uplifting and drenched in the gospel truths. For it is only in through and by Jesus that I am alive.
A humble slave to righteousness
Have you ever thought about which one of these you do better?
Do you find it easier to rejoice with people when things have gone well with them?
OR
Do you find it easier to weep with those who are hurting?
Maybe you have never even thought about it. I have pondered this verse several times with my life in view of it. I have to say that for me I do both but not consistently. That is that I find myself weeping with those who are hurting but not always. Then there are the times that I can rejoice with someone and again I find that I am not consistent. I was evaluating my life to see if there was a common factor between the two responses and I believe there is. I have found that if I have not been in the Word and have my mind focused on Christ and seeing the world through His lenses then I tend to not be able to empathy or celebration. I see that both of these then can be rooted in Pride. Yes that word and topic yet once again appears on my blog because it is so foundationally opposed to the way of Jesus.
I want to praise God for the work that He has been doing in my life. One of the areas that I was struggling in last year was in the area of jealousy. Specifically in regards to relationships. It can be hard to be around people all the time when they are the ones who are married or getting married or in a relationship headed towards marriage. I have realized that the times that I would be focused on that and allowing it to consume me were the very times that I was not focusing on Jesus and the work that He was trying to bring about in my life. I honestly can say that I can today rejoice with Brian and Emma as I heard the great news of their engagement. Praise God for His work in their lives and the picture of redemption that is displayed in marriage.
On the flip side, weeping with those who weep. I have found that in the past I would be more prone to being what some would call heartless. Granted I believe that the context must be a guide and truly only God and myself know what my heart was thinking. But I find the same to be true about showing empathy towards someone. Even when I can not relate personally to the trial or pain; if I am living life see people the way Jesus sees them then I will be able to honestly comfort and care for them this includes weeping and hurting with them. I believe that this is the heart of God.
Father fill my heart with compassion for the lost and hurting, transform my mind by your word to understand the reality of this life, and give me eyes to see people the way you see them. May your love flow from my heart and my actions. May my words be edifying and uplifting and drenched in the gospel truths. For it is only in through and by Jesus that I am alive.
A humble slave to righteousness
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