25 Jul 2017

I’ll Take A Bite Of That

by | posted in: Church, Culture | 12,802

There is a reason we follow recipes, to make something that is good and palatable, and also mostly because certain ingredients do not mix. One may change the type of cheese, or use almond milk instead of cow milk in a recipe. Because some ingredients may be different, they do not ruin the final product. It just gives it a different flavor. However, you may not replace the flower in pancakes with baking soda, because you would not end up with pancakes.

In the same way we must ensure we do not mix in outside worship of idols with the true worship of God. “Well”, one might add, “I only worship God”. Yes, by everything you understand you would believe that, but here lies my point. The worship of idols can sneak into the worship of God without it being obvious to us. Idols don’t always look like little brass statues that you can place on the mantle, though some of them might stick on the car window.

An idol that stands out is easily defeated, but one that slowly works its way in becomes natural and part of a culture. The mixing of idol worship and the worship of God may not seem distasteful to us, but is grossly unpalatable to God. This is where we come to the story of Balaam and Balak. In the book of numbers we find Balak, who was king over Moab, in fear of the Jews. He sends after Balaam knowing that “he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed”(Numbers 22:6). However, God warns Balaam to only speak what he is told. This does not go over well with Balak since Balaam ends up blessing Israel three times. Chapter 24 ends with Balaam telling what was to happen in the days to come and then vs. 25 of chapter 24 says “Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went his way”.

The next chapter begins with the Israelites playing the harlot with the daughters of Moab, feasting on food sacrificed to idols and bowing to them as well. So the question is what happened? Here was a mighty nation moving along and following God’s plan and all of sudden they are joined to Baal of Peor. We find the rest of the story of Balak and Balaam in Revelation 2:12-17.

Balaam could not curse the people; however at some point he taught Balak how to trip them up. The verse says to place a “stumbling block” in front of them. Balak placed food sacrificed to idols in front of them to eat and enticed them to commit acts of immorality. This false worship and immorality led to Numbers chapter 25 in which the Lord became angry with Israel.

So why did Israel not reject the food and worship of Baal? Simply put, the food looked good and the women were pretty. “And if all I have to do is bow, then I get hot food and hot ladies… I mean this is their culture and I want to be seen as relevant, besides I still observe the Sabbath”. These things don’t seem so wrong, at least after the 3rd and 4th time. The word for “stumbling block” could also mean “snare”. Those that hunt and fish know you don’t catch prey if the bait doesn’t look enticing and the snare or stumbling block is visible. One trips over the “block” because their eyes are focused somewhere else; they don’t see it for what it is.

So what does this mean for us? We are smart people and we have access to more information than a bunch of folks running around in the desert. But knowledge is not as valuable as wisdom. Knowledge knows what it is we do, and where we go, and where we spend our time and money. Wisdom tells us why we do it. Godly wisdom is the key in understanding which items in our lives are idols and which are true worship and which ones need to be prayed about further.

So now we come to the Church in America, which is more accurately the American Church. So what is it, you might ask, that I am getting at? That the idols have crept into the church, which means there are those of us that worship things other than or along with God. The problem is the idols are different for each of us. (James 1:14) We can worship our sexuality, our “cause” be it pro or anti this and that, or even our politics. A person running for office often becomes our savior if we are not careful. “He/she will fix everything, if we can just get them elected.” We can even begin to praise our government, singing its praises in a worship service. We sacrifice our Saturdays to give honor to our favorite sports teams, and spend our weekday nights at ball parks in service to sports.

Now is it wrong to be pro or anti this and that? Is it wrong to want good leaders? Is it wrong to watch sports and let your kids play them? Depends on what you are searching for. You see the problem is not with the meat. All things are made clean and we know that there are no other gods. However, our desire to have those “meats” drives us to compromise and worship the idols that are associated with them. There is nothing wrong with a child playing baseball; it is when the game becomes the desire of our heart, or when we praise our nation as though it is our savior. It is when we miss where the meat comes from that we are led astray. We believe that the idol provides the meat we desire, whether it be peace, justice, happiness, or protection. These things are to be sought from God. Dead idols can do nothing for us.

This brings us back to us, the church. When we are enticed by the things of the world, we must be careful that they do not become the object of our affection. Because when they do, we will mix them in our true worship. The idols will compete with our worship of God and if not thrown down we will bow our knee to them and give Sunday lip service to the one true God.

12802 Responses

  2. Seguro auto 0km
    | Reply

    Seguro full para vehiculos Aseguradora online Cotizacion on line de seguros automotor Seguros para motos precios Contratar seguro coche por meses Seguro de coche barato por meses Corredor de seguros Telefono de la caja seguros automotor Seguradora de veiculos https://segurodecocheenusa.store/newport-or/ Seguro contra terceros Seguros a terceros baratos Hacer seguro de coche online Mejor precio seguro coche

  6. Seguro de automovil
    | Reply

    Contratar seguro de coche por internet Seguro coche barato jovenes Seguro de automovel Superintendencia de seguros automotor Mejor comparador seguros coche Cuanto cuesta seguro auto Seguro tercero completo que cubre https://segurodeautoenusa.space/sunny-isles-beach-fl/ Seguros para motos precios Calcula tu seguro de coche Agencia aseguradora Comparativa seguro coche todo riesgo Responsabilidad civil automotor para imprimir

  7. pro nerve 6 reviews and complaints
    | Reply

    I believe what you published was actually very
    reasonable. However, what about this? suppose you were
    to write a killer post title? I am not suggesting
    your information is not solid., but what if you added a title that makes people desire more?
    I mean I’ll Take A Bite Of That – The Hus Report
    is kinda boring. You might glance at Yahoo’s front
    page and see how they create post titles to grab viewers to click.

    You might add a related video or a pic or two to get readers excited about what you’ve got to say.

    Just my opinion, it might bring your blog a little bit more interesting.

    my web site: pro nerve 6 reviews and complaints

  11. Agencia aseguradora
    | Reply

    Seguro coche Quiero cotizar mi auto Seguros autos Asegurar mi coche Donde puedo comprar carros de aseguradora Cuanto cuesta seguro coche Como funciona un seguro de auto Calcular precio de seguro de coche Como conseguir un seguro de coche barato https://seguroautomotrizenusa.space/rochester-mn/ Tabla de seguros de autos Cuanto cuesta seguro auto Cuanto cuesta un seguro vehicular contra todo riesgo Precios de seguros para autos Autos economicos de aseguradora

  12. Buscar seguro coche barato
    | Reply

    Seguro vehiculo barato Seguros mensuales para coches Comparador de seguros para autos Comparador de seguros de automovil Cotizacion poliza todo riesgo vehiculo Calcula tu seguro de coche Cotizar poliza todo riesgo Comparador seguros vehiculos Como funcionan los seguros para autos Mi auto seguro https://segurodeautoenusa.space/mundy-mi/ Que cubre un seguro de auto Venta de seguros para autos

  21. Comparador seguros
    | Reply

    Comparativa coberturas seguros coche Valor seguro auto Compara seguro automotriz Simulador de seguro de vehiculo Cotizar seguro auto online Buscador de seguros de coche online Contratar seguro de coche Seguro de coche mensual Seguros de autos baratos https://segurodeautoenusa.space/vancouver-wa/ Nombres de seguros de coche Calcular el precio de mi coche Seguros y reaseguros Responsabilidad civil seguro automotor

  22. Seguros economicos
    | Reply

    Calcular seguro auto Lista de seguros Cual es el mejor seguro para autos Cuanto cuesta un seguro de coche a terceros Empresas de seguros Entidades aseguradoras concepto Buscar seguros baratos Seguro tercero completo que cubre https://segurodecarroenusa.store/lemoore-ca/ Aseguradoras seguros Auto seguro Precio de seguro vehicular todo riesgo Seguros de coche economicos Costo de poliza de seguro para vehiculos

  24. Danos a terceros seguro coche
    | Reply

    Valor seguro vehiculo Cotizacion de seguros automotrices Cuanto pago de seguro automotor Como funciona el seguro de automovil Seguro todo riesgo Aseguradora plan seguro Mi auto seguro Seguros de furgonetas online Seguros coche online mas barato Comprar seguro de carro https://seguroautomotrizenusa.space/laguna-beach-ca/ Como funciona el seguro del auto Seguros america Buscador de seguros de coche Aseguradoras para carros Autos de seguros baratos

  33. pornografi indo
    | Reply

    Aw, this was a very good post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to generate a very good article… but what can I
    say… I procrastinate a lot and don’t manage to get anything done.

  34. pornografi indo
    | Reply

    Hi just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a
    few of the pictures aren’t loading properly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
    I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same outcome.

  44. ثبت نام در مای مدیو
    | Reply

    When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added”
    checkbox and now each time a comment is added I
    get four e-mails with the same comment. Is there any
    way you can remove people from that service? Cheers!

  46. porno
    | Reply

    Hello! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok.
    I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward
    to new updates.

Leave a Reply to Cotizacion online seguro automotor Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *