Idols in everyday life that are in the way of your relationship with the LORD.

 Hi, everyone, and thank you for joining me at 144Judah! Today's blog is all about Idols and how they play a big part in this particular time period. 

But first.... What is an idol? 

By Definition:  An idol can refer to different things depending on the context. It can be an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed. It can also be a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered. In pop music entertainment, an idol refers to an entertainer, generally from their teens to mid-20s, whose image and attractiveness are marketed to maintain a close relationship and financial loyalty with fans.   (Found with Bing)

The Famous Idol- The Golden Calf

From Wikipedia: When Moses went up into Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:12–18), he left the Israelites for forty days and nights. The Israelites feared that he would not return and demanded that Aaron make them "a god to go before them". Aaron gathered up the Israelites' golden earrings and ornaments, constructed a "molten calf" and they declared: "'This is thy god, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (Exodus 32:1–4).

Aaron built an altar before the calf and proclaimed the next day to be a feast to the LORD. So they rose up early the next day and "offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play." (Exodus 32:6) God told Moses what the Israelites were up to back in camp, that they had turned aside quickly out of the way which God commanded them and he was going to destroy them and start a new people from Moses. Moses besought and pleaded that they should be spared and "the LORD repented of the evil which He said He would do unto His people." (Exodus 32:11–14)

Moses went down from the mountain, but upon seeing the calf, he became angry and threw down the two Tablets of Stone, breaking them. Moses burnt the golden calf in a fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on water, and forced the Israelites to drink it. When Moses asked him, Aaron admitted to collecting the gold, and throwing it into the fire, and said it came out as a calf (Exodus 32:21–24).

Habakkuk 2:18"What profiteth the graven image that the maker therof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteh therin, to make dumb idols?"

Did you know that things could be idols? Money? Did you know people could be idols? Jewelry? Makeup? Teams could be idols? 

Your parents, and even you? 

ANYTHING can be an idol if you are putting it in a place HIGHER than YAHWEH!

How do we know if we have idols? Well, some of us even say, "this person or that person is my idol"...  I would go from there. Someone that you look up to or spend more time on learning about than you do Yahweh (God). A lot of people would say, "Why does she keep referring to Jesus as Yeshua or God as Yahweh or Jehovah?" Those same people would know why if they were looking at Yahweh as their "idol" instead of things or man. This conversation is not to make anyone feel bad, or to hate themselves. This conversation is to help you during this very important time! 

Look around and listen. Have you seen the amount of people that go to President Trump's rallies? I love President Trump, but nobody "Trumps" THE MOST HIGH GOD. Do the people that go to the rallies spend as much time in the WORD as they do at political events or worrying about political events?

 

Exodus 20:3-6 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."

What about Taylor Swift? 

Recently, at one of her concerts, the fans actually created an earthquake from stomping. YES, stomping!  There were so many people there just to see her and listen to her music. Now, I like a good tune just as much as everyone else, but the fandom that Taylor Swift has is huge.  

I remember being in school and the teachers asking who our idols were. Many kids would answer "mom or dad" and of course "soldiers, firefighters, and police officers" some would even mention a famous movie star or a sportsman. 

Is this something that we should be teaching our children? 

NO!

You can talk about people that you like, sure, but do you really want your child emulating movie stars? 

Check out this site for a more "in depth" article. The list comes from them! 

Many celebrities are in prison now for murder, corruption, pedophilia, and the list goes on. 

Some of the celebrities mentioned are Suge Knight, C-Murder, Oscar Pistorius, Eric Naposki, Joe Exotic, Ryan Grantham, Michael Jace and Amy Locane.  

What about Religious statues? Yep, those are idols, too. 

Psalm 115:4-8 "Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them."

Galatians 4:8-9 "Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?"

One of the biggest religions on the planet has several idols in their churches... 

And John writes seven letters to the churches. I wonder which churches are considered against God? 

1 John 5:21 "Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen."

Religious Leaders can also become idols...

Joel Olsteen: Televangelist

Money stolen and hidden in walls. 

The Pope: Pope Francis pictured here. 

The word pope derives from Greek πάππας ('páppas'), meaning 'father'.   (Hmm... So, they are to be called father? I don't think so. THERE IS ONLY ONE "FATHER"... )

Really, this is all you need to know: The Catholic institution changed the Sabbath from the seventh day of the week, Saturday, to the first day of the week, Sunday. And keeping the Sabbath Holy is one of the Ten Commandments. 

Televangelist: Kenneth Copeland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LtF34MrsfI

Romans 1:21-23 "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things."

Even you can be.... Wait a minute. 

And in the end, there will be lovers of themselves....

2 Timothy 3:1-7 "1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, let away with divers lusts. 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 

Have you noticed how many people are constantly taking selfies, making duck faces and posing in front of their phones...constantly. 

Isaiah 44:9-20 "They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line: he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? 

Your phones could be idols. 

WE are on our phones all the time. We use it for directions, for a dictionary, for news, for social media, for talking to friends, for watching tv. Phones can do almost everything. Think about how much time you spend on your phone and how much time you spend praying or worshipping God. 

I can almost guarantee the phone is probably your biggest idol. 

If you would like to learn more about God and about repentance, contact me, buy a bible, and pray!

I will be posting this blog all the way until I know longer have internet. 

May God Bless You and Yours Always!