Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 2,753
“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.” (Colossians 2:1-5 ESV)
Other gods
One of the holidays that Americans celebrate around this time of the year is Christmas. Christmas is typically regarded by Christians as the celebration of Christ’s birth, but it is a mixture of paganism and Christianity, which I believe is purposeful, and is a design of Satan, not of God.
For, who, in reality, gets top billing on Christmas Day in America, even among Christians? Santa Claus, hands down! And, if not Santa, then commercialism, greed, materialism, presents, partying, games, fun, entertainment, and self-pleasure, self-indulgence, and self-gratification.
For, the food, the games, the tree, the decorations, the partying, etc. have nothing to do with celebrating Jesus Christ, and they are not for Jesus. In fact, the only thing he asks us to do specifically in remembrance of him is to take communion, in a worthy manner, where we remember his body and his blood which were given for us that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness (Luke 22:18-20; 1 Co 11:23-25; 1 Peter 2:24).
And Santa (alias Satan) is a false god who is given the attributes of Almighty God by Satan. And, who wanted to be God? Satan. And, who steals the hearts of boys and girls throughout the world on Christmas Day? A helpless baby lying in a manger? Or an all-powerful Santa Claus who flies through the air and who brings gifts to all the children of the world in a single night? I think the answer to that question is quite obvious.
See: Pagan Revelry Pagan Revelry
Is God pleased?
So, is God pleased by these kinds of celebrations? No, he isn’t! So, what does he want in the way of our thanksgiving and praise? He wants top billing! That’s what He wants! He wants the day and every day to be about Him, to honor him, though not just with our lips, but with our lives, by how we live our lives, for him and his righteousness and not for the flesh.
He wants us to choose to cling (adhere, cleave) to Him and to his ways, which are godly ways, and for us not to cling to “other gods” (idols) of this world. And so this morning he is having me take a look at some of these “other gods” that Americans, including American Christians, cling to, often to the exclusion of God, or in usurping God by replacing him in his rightful position as Lord of our lives with other “lords” we follow, instead.
The Church
The church can be another idol, but not so much the true church, but the institutional market-driven church which is a business of human-making, and which is about building earthly kingdoms of men more than or in place of being about building God’s eternal kingdom. For, they often follow business models and marketing schemes for how to “build” “the church,” rather than following the teachings of the Scriptures on how to build up the body of Christ until we all reach maturity in Christ.
Most of these institutional churches, at least here in America, are state churches, in reality, for they have willfully partnered with the government in an unholy union, which God forbids, which then puts the government as head of this church, which is not the true church, because the body of Christ is not an institution of men or a business or a corporation under any government. But his body has largely joined with these state churches.
And many of these institutional churches, which do have the true church as part of them, are following man-made religion, a diluted gospel, marketing schemes of men, and humanistic philosophy instead of God Almighty, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God. And God also forbids turning his house into a marketplace, for it is to be a house of prayer, and that house is us, his true church, his body.
The Government
Government worship has been foundational in evangelical Christianity in America all of my life. From early on in my life I was taught, not just in public school, but in the church gatherings, to pledge (vow) allegiance (fidelity) to the American flag (republic, government) with hand over heart, signifying that my heart and my loyalty and devotion were given to the government of the USA. But only God should get that kind of allegiance, devotion, loyalty and fidelity from me, a follower of Christ.
Also, in the gatherings of the church we periodically sang patriotic songs giving worship, glory, and honor to our government, and we honored and praised our military as our “saviors” who were the ones keeping us safe from harm. They were to be considered our heroes, and we were to look to them as the ones who were insuring our safety. But, God/Christ is our only Savior, and he is the one who protects us, and he is the one who keeps us safe and who provides for our needs. And he gives us the freedoms that we have.
So, we are not to give such worship to the government, which is not godly, and which, if truth be told, is anything but godly. Our government is not to be an idol to us, and our presidents and leaders are not our saviors, either, who are going to improve our life situations. In fact, if truth be told, they are not working for us, but against us. Take a look at Agenda 21, for example.
Our True Worship
So, how can we give God our true worship, praise, and thanks today and every day? We can do so first of all by choosing to cling to his way of holiness and righteousness and by refusing to cling to the idols of this world and the idols of our flesh. We need to forsake all other gods/idols, i.e. anything to which we give our worship, praise, and devotion in place of or over God, or in combination with our worship of God.
And we need to walk in the fear of the Lord in giving God (Jesus Christ) our wholehearted devotion and obedience. He needs to get top billing in our lives, and our lives are to be about Him, not about pleasing ourselves and feeding our own flesh. We are to be for his glory and praise.
And, then we need to not only be living for him, every day, and making him truly Lord of our lives, thus considering him in all that we do, and doing what he desires of us, and what will truly give him honor and praise, but we are to be sharing him with others, especially with other believers in Jesus. Our conversations need to be about him, not mostly about the things of this world and about our own pleasures and pastimes. We are to make him known, and make his will and purposes known, not make ourselves known.
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7 ESV)
Walking in The Light
An Original Work / November 16, 2011
Based off 1 John 1-2
When I lift up my voice, and
Sing praise unto God,
I will fellowship with my
Lord and Savior, King.
In Him there is no darkness.
He is in the light of truth.
If we walk in His light,
From sin He purifies.
If we repent of our sins,
He’ll forgive us now,
When we humble ourselves, and
Before Jesus bow.
The man who says, “I know Him,”
But does not obey His truth,
There is no truth in him.
In darkness still he’s found.
Do not love the world of sin,
For it is hell bound.
If you follow the world, you’ll
Not in Christ be found.
The world and its desires
Will not last; they’ll expire.
The one who does God’s will,
Receives eternal life.
See that what you have heard from
Christ remains in you.
Then, you’ll remain in Christ, and
In His Father, too.
This is what He promised us –
His eternal life with God.
So, continue in Him, and
You’ll receive a crown.
Other gods
One of the holidays that Americans celebrate around this time of the year is Christmas. Christmas is typically regarded by Christians as the celebration of Christ’s birth, but it is a mixture of paganism and Christianity, which I believe is purposeful, and is a design of Satan, not of God.
For, who, in reality, gets top billing on Christmas Day in America, even among Christians? Santa Claus, hands down! And, if not Santa, then commercialism, greed, materialism, presents, partying, games, fun, entertainment, and self-pleasure, self-indulgence, and self-gratification.
For, the food, the games, the tree, the decorations, the partying, etc. have nothing to do with celebrating Jesus Christ, and they are not for Jesus. In fact, the only thing he asks us to do specifically in remembrance of him is to take communion, in a worthy manner, where we remember his body and his blood which were given for us that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness (Luke 22:18-20; 1 Co 11:23-25; 1 Peter 2:24).
And Santa (alias Satan) is a false god who is given the attributes of Almighty God by Satan. And, who wanted to be God? Satan. And, who steals the hearts of boys and girls throughout the world on Christmas Day? A helpless baby lying in a manger? Or an all-powerful Santa Claus who flies through the air and who brings gifts to all the children of the world in a single night? I think the answer to that question is quite obvious.
See: Pagan Revelry Pagan Revelry
Is God pleased?
So, is God pleased by these kinds of celebrations? No, he isn’t! So, what does he want in the way of our thanksgiving and praise? He wants top billing! That’s what He wants! He wants the day and every day to be about Him, to honor him, though not just with our lips, but with our lives, by how we live our lives, for him and his righteousness and not for the flesh.
He wants us to choose to cling (adhere, cleave) to Him and to his ways, which are godly ways, and for us not to cling to “other gods” (idols) of this world. And so this morning he is having me take a look at some of these “other gods” that Americans, including American Christians, cling to, often to the exclusion of God, or in usurping God by replacing him in his rightful position as Lord of our lives with other “lords” we follow, instead.
The Church
The church can be another idol, but not so much the true church, but the institutional market-driven church which is a business of human-making, and which is about building earthly kingdoms of men more than or in place of being about building God’s eternal kingdom. For, they often follow business models and marketing schemes for how to “build” “the church,” rather than following the teachings of the Scriptures on how to build up the body of Christ until we all reach maturity in Christ.
Most of these institutional churches, at least here in America, are state churches, in reality, for they have willfully partnered with the government in an unholy union, which God forbids, which then puts the government as head of this church, which is not the true church, because the body of Christ is not an institution of men or a business or a corporation under any government. But his body has largely joined with these state churches.
And many of these institutional churches, which do have the true church as part of them, are following man-made religion, a diluted gospel, marketing schemes of men, and humanistic philosophy instead of God Almighty, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God. And God also forbids turning his house into a marketplace, for it is to be a house of prayer, and that house is us, his true church, his body.
The Government
Government worship has been foundational in evangelical Christianity in America all of my life. From early on in my life I was taught, not just in public school, but in the church gatherings, to pledge (vow) allegiance (fidelity) to the American flag (republic, government) with hand over heart, signifying that my heart and my loyalty and devotion were given to the government of the USA. But only God should get that kind of allegiance, devotion, loyalty and fidelity from me, a follower of Christ.
Also, in the gatherings of the church we periodically sang patriotic songs giving worship, glory, and honor to our government, and we honored and praised our military as our “saviors” who were the ones keeping us safe from harm. They were to be considered our heroes, and we were to look to them as the ones who were insuring our safety. But, God/Christ is our only Savior, and he is the one who protects us, and he is the one who keeps us safe and who provides for our needs. And he gives us the freedoms that we have.
So, we are not to give such worship to the government, which is not godly, and which, if truth be told, is anything but godly. Our government is not to be an idol to us, and our presidents and leaders are not our saviors, either, who are going to improve our life situations. In fact, if truth be told, they are not working for us, but against us. Take a look at Agenda 21, for example.
Our True Worship
So, how can we give God our true worship, praise, and thanks today and every day? We can do so first of all by choosing to cling to his way of holiness and righteousness and by refusing to cling to the idols of this world and the idols of our flesh. We need to forsake all other gods/idols, i.e. anything to which we give our worship, praise, and devotion in place of or over God, or in combination with our worship of God.
And we need to walk in the fear of the Lord in giving God (Jesus Christ) our wholehearted devotion and obedience. He needs to get top billing in our lives, and our lives are to be about Him, not about pleasing ourselves and feeding our own flesh. We are to be for his glory and praise.
And, then we need to not only be living for him, every day, and making him truly Lord of our lives, thus considering him in all that we do, and doing what he desires of us, and what will truly give him honor and praise, but we are to be sharing him with others, especially with other believers in Jesus. Our conversations need to be about him, not mostly about the things of this world and about our own pleasures and pastimes. We are to make him known, and make his will and purposes known, not make ourselves known.
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7 ESV)
Walking in The Light
An Original Work / November 16, 2011
Based off 1 John 1-2
When I lift up my voice, and
Sing praise unto God,
I will fellowship with my
Lord and Savior, King.
In Him there is no darkness.
He is in the light of truth.
If we walk in His light,
From sin He purifies.
If we repent of our sins,
He’ll forgive us now,
When we humble ourselves, and
Before Jesus bow.
The man who says, “I know Him,”
But does not obey His truth,
There is no truth in him.
In darkness still he’s found.
Do not love the world of sin,
For it is hell bound.
If you follow the world, you’ll
Not in Christ be found.
The world and its desires
Will not last; they’ll expire.
The one who does God’s will,
Receives eternal life.
See that what you have heard from
Christ remains in you.
Then, you’ll remain in Christ, and
In His Father, too.
This is what He promised us –
His eternal life with God.
So, continue in Him, and
You’ll receive a crown.
