24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!His discipline and guidance has brought me through and will continue to. I turn into a new chapter of my life and continue in the process of Sanctification. Death has lost its power. I know that I will endure many more trials and struggle but am better equipped to face them & when they do, the Lord has taught me to cling to Him and His Salvation!!!!!!!!!
It all comes down to one thing: DO WE LOVE GOD & JESUS CHRIST MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE?? ...... the battle of the idols of the heart---seeking other things to feel the desperate void that I have for my selfish happiness and seeking love and satisfaction in an idol or stronghold of this world due to my own insecurities. As Beth Moore states it is UNBELIEF that ultimately feeds this cycle--- unbelief that God truly, truly loves me and believing that His love is ALL that I need and that He alone will satisfy. My idolatrous heart seeks out whatever it can to feel this "unmet" love or need which is rooted deep in my heart by pride & selfishness and a desire to be happy.
It is a vicious and blinding cycle that has kept me double-bound in guilt, desire for love & selfishness.
The idols that have kept me "captive":
IDOL #1
Love and affection from others-- a desire for approval and acceptance
-- ultimately my disbelief that God's love is enough has lead me to seek love and approval from others including men, parents, roommates, friends, etc.
- when my "needs" of love and approval remained unmet or empty, I was left feeling alone or unworthy of love.-- undeserving. Thus causing me to dwell in self-pity and leaving me paralyzed in my ability to LOVE OTHERS as myself and fully in the way that the Lord commands.
GOD'S ANSWER:
He does love me. He loves me soooo so so much. (and you) and that is enough. that's it. all there is to it. problem solved by Christ's death on the Cross & His AMAZING GRACE.
IDOL #2
Food and comfort. turning to food, comfort (even a nap) or alcohol to satisfy the emptiness inside. But the feeling fades and often leads to feelings of guilt-- I have failed to retrain once again.
ANSWER:
turning to the Living water to fulfill my soul. He fills me up. All that I need. my comfort, my fortress, my strength.
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
Isaiah 55:1 "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
John 7
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[c] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
IDOL #3
Appearance-- if I can put a front then I have together. vanity.
ANSWER:
the more flawed I am- the more He is glorified. His power rests best in my weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Proverbs 31:
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Praise GOD. Oh how He loves us.
~*~*~**~*~*~**~*~**~*~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~**~*~*~
Isaiah 61
The Year of the LORD’s Favor
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
the problem of the “co-dependent,” -from:by David Powlison
Idols of the Heart
and “Vanity Fair”
It is obvious that if idolatry is
then repentant faith in Christ is the solution. This stands
in marked contrast to the solutions proffered in the co-dependency
literature, whether secular or glossed with Christian
phrases. That literature often perceptively describes the patterns
of dysfunctional idols—addictions and dependencies—
which curse and enslave people. The idols which enslave the
rescuer or the compulsive drinker do not work very well for
them.
The literature may even use “idolatry” as a metaphor,
without meaning “idolatry against God, therefore repentance.”
The solution, without exception, is to offer different and
presumably more workable idols, rather than repentance unto
the Bible’s Christ! Secularistic therapies teach people
eufunctional idols, idols which do “work” for people and
“bless” them with temporarily happy lives (Psalm 73).
So, for example, self-esteem is nurtured as the replacement
for trying to please unpleasable others, rather than esteem for
the Lamb who was slain for me, a sinner. Acceptance and love
from new significant others, starting with the therapist, create
successful versions of the fear of man and trust in man rather
than teaching essential trust in God. Self-trust and self-confidence
are boosted as I am taught to set expectations for myself
to which I can attain. The fruit looks good but is fundamentally
counterfeit. Believers in false gospels are sometimes allowed
to flourish temporarily.
Therapy systems without repentance at their core leave the
idol system intact. They simply rehabilitate and rebuild fundamental
godlessness to function more successfully.
The Bible’s idolatry motif diagnoses the ultimately selfdestructive
basis on which happy, healthy, and confident
people build their lives (eufunctional idols), just as perceptively
as it diagnoses unhappy people, who are more obviously
and immediately self-destructive (dysfunctional idols).
No comments:
Post a Comment