This study has already grabbed my attention...look at who you serve. " They feared the LORD and served their own gods... 2 Kings 17:33 NAS . What picture forms in your mind when you read this verse of scripture? I think of the church pews filled with parishioners that leave God in the church and serve their own gods once they leave the parking lot. If the distance from the alter to the door was a measuring tool, a tool that measured how close to God you are or how close to the world you are, where would you be? Where would you place your service to the one true God? Would you be closer to the door or the alter?Ask yourself:
* What do I have my heart set on?
* What motivates me?
* Who or what masters or rules me?
* Where do I place my trust?
* Who do I fear or serve?
* Where do I spend the majority of my time? (Where is my priority?)
Exodus 20: 1-3...God gives Moses the Ten Commandments:
1Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3"You shall have no other gods before Me
Wow, why haven't I noticed this before...the first commandment is telling us we are to have no other gods before Him. It seems to me that is must be first because it's important. If we place God as first and only, the rest should simply fall into place.
At this point, I think it would be a great idea to write a letter to God in the front of you study book. Be honest with yourself and God; tell Him what you desire out of this study.
As you begin to grow closer to God through the next eight weeks, it is my earnest prayer that you hear His voice and heed His instructions. Trust Him to walk you through one day at a time. The journey is worth it!
If you were to title what God has laid on your heart today, what would your title say?
1 comment:
I recently read that the fear of God is like the fear of a large powerful storm. John Piper, in his book "the Pleasures of God, invites us to imagine exploring a glacier in Greenland. As you arrive at the top of a steep cliff with an incredible view, a terrifying storm suddenly descends on you. when gusts threaten to blow you off the cliff, you fear for your life. But as you look for cover, you discover a cleft in the ice with just enough room for you. Here you wait out the storm, secure yet still trembling from the awesome force that surrounds you. Piper compares this experience to how we are to view the mightiness of the Lord: In other words, God's greatness is greater than the universe of stars, and his power is behind the unendurable cold of arctic storms. Yet he cups his hand around us and says, "Take refuge in my love and let the terrors of my power become the awesome fireworks of your happy night sky.
Now, I don't write so eloquently, I did take most of that from the book, Sronger, by Jim Daly.
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