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11/25/14 Thankful For A Living God

As I'm reading through the Old Testament, it's kinda funny how much trust some of these people put into their idols.  Like let's talk about the golden calf for a second.  The people were waiting on Moses to come down from getting the 10 Commandments, and they literally watched as their gold jewelry was melted down and formed into the shape of the cow.  They didn't just think the cow was a nice decoration, but they viewed this thing they had just created as an IDOL.

So they knew they were watching this thing being created, but then all of a sudden tried to worship it?  I don't get it. But then again, don't we all do that?

We watch our phone crack after we drop it, then we go out and buy a new one.

We watch that guy/girl walk away after a bad breakup, then we decide to put our full trust and self-worth in someone new.

We watch as we draw back from our friends and family because we are so stressed about school, but we allow our view of ourselves to be based on that last test grade.

As ridiculous as worshipping a statue of a cow seems, I guess it's pretty ridiculous what I find my self-worth in at times.  We tend to watch things hurt us over and over, but we still give these things all we have without leaving room for showing who Christ is.

If you really have a thing for decorative statues of farm life, I'm sure that's fine.  Just like being in a relationship or owning a cell phone is fine; it's not what you have, it's where your heart lies.  When we put all of our trust and hope into earthly things, it can only let us down.  Our test grade won't guarantee a spot in heaven, and a new job won't fix all of our problems.

With Thanksgiving in a couple days, I want to share how thankful I am that we serve an active, LIVING God!  Even though I slip up and begin to rely on earthly things, I am thankful to know that these things don't define who I am or even my purpose in life.  My living Creator says that I am loved, and that's all I need to know.

"I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; For He is the LIVING God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be forever". Daniel 6:26

For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the LIVING God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. 1 Timothy 4:10

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the LIFE; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies". John 11:25

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