25 Jul 2017

I’ll Take A Bite Of That

by | posted in: Church, Culture | 11,999

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.

11999 Responses

  1. 바카라사이트
    | Reply

    I feel that is one of the such a lot important info for me.
    And i’m happy studying your article. However wanna observation on few common issues, The
    web site style is perfect, the articles is actually great :
    D. Good task, cheers

    Feel free to surf to my site; 바카라사이트

  3. shopping
    | Reply

    Please let me know if you’re looking for a writer for your blog.

    You have some really good posts and I feel I would be a
    good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d love to write some content for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine.
    Please shoot me an email if interested. Kudos!

    Take a look at my web site … shopping

  7. shopping
    | Reply

    I every time emailed this website post page to all my associates,
    as if like to read it after that my contacts will too.

    Feel free to visit my blog :: shopping

  8. hydrotherapy dog pool
    | Reply

    Hello there! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website?
    I’m getting sick and tired of WordPress because
    I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at alternatives for another
    platform. I would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

    My web blog :: hydrotherapy dog pool

  13. baby shower
    | Reply

    Hey there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems
    with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing
    many months of hard work due to no data backup. Do you have any solutions to
    protect against hackers?

    Feel free to surf to my web blog :: baby shower

  17. parent
    | Reply

    Today, I went to the beach with my children. I
    found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and
    said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put
    the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.

    She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is totally off topic
    but I had to tell someone!

    Here is my web-site parent

  19. shopping
    | Reply

    This is a really good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere.
    Short but very accurate information… Many thanks for sharing this
    one. A must read article!

    my blog post … shopping

  20. JosephStord
    | Reply

    Промокод 1xbet при регистрации. Промо-код встречается на просторах сети достаточно часто. Букмекер использует его для привлечения новых игроков в индустрию ставок, но преимущество предоставляется и новому игроку. После того как он совершит первый депозит, на его бонусный счёт поступит аналогичная сумма, до 32500 рублей. промокод 1хбет на сегодня Данный вид бонус-кода также популярен в поиске. Указывать его надо в купоне для совершения ставки. Промокод 1xbet на ставку практически невозможно найти в бесплатном доступе. Он вручается игрокам индивидуально.К примеру, компания промокодов. В данном разделе подробно расписан процесс получения.

  23. shopping
    | Reply

    Thanks for the marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed reading it, you can be
    a great author. I will always bookmark your blog and will often come back very soon.
    I want to encourage continue your great work, have a nice evening!

    Feel free to visit my web site … shopping

  24. dog therapy pools
    | Reply

    I like the valuable information you provide in your articles.
    I’ll bookmark your blog and check again here frequently.
    I am quite certain I will learn many new stuff right here!
    Best of luck for the next!

    Also visit my website: dog therapy pools

  31. baby shop
    | Reply

    My programmer is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP.

    I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses.

    But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on several websites for about a year and am worried about switching to another platform.
    I have heard great things about blogengine.net. Is there a
    way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it?

    Any help would be greatly appreciated!

    Feel free to visit my homepage baby shop

  37. JosephStord
    | Reply

    Сайт 1xBet считается одним из самых надежных онлайн букмекеров России. БК 1xBet пользуется огромной популярностью среди пользователей из РФ и стран СНГ. Лучшие коэффициенты ставок на спорт, лучшие онлайн игры, слоты казино и еще много других плюсов букмекерской конторы заслуживают внимания. рабочий промокод 1хбет бонус. Для постоянных игроков БК 1хбет регулярно проводятся различные акции, в рамках которых любая положенная на счет сумма (в рамках определенных пределов) будет увеличена (обычно в два раза). Для вывода подарочных денег требуется поставить деньги несколько раз на события с определенными условиями. Ставки на спорт 2024 – Получить бонус 1xbet и промокод на 32500 рублей от официального сайта 1хбет. Бонус для новых игроков! При регистрации в 1xbet новые клиент получает бонус в размере 32500 рублей. Зарегистрироваться в 1XBet. Бонус действует только для новых пользователей 1xbet.

  38. Alpha Arbutin Cream
    | Reply

    Wonderful blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News.
    Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News?

    I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there!

    Thank you

  40. Cnc Lathe Parts
    | Reply

    It’s perfect time to make a few plans for the future and it is time to be happy.
    I’ve read this post and if I may I want to recommend you some interesting issues
    or tips. Maybe you could write subsequent articles referring to this article.
    I want to read even more issues about it!

  41. Waterproof Electrical Enclosure
    | Reply

    Having read this I thought it was extremely
    informative. I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this content together.
    I once again find myself spending a significant amount of time both reading and leaving comments.

    But so what, it was still worth it!

  43. sinker
    | Reply

    whoah this blog is fantastic i really like reading your posts.
    Keep up the great work! You know, many persons are
    hunting around for this info, you can aid them greatly.

  44. Erkunden Sie unsere empfohlene Website für die iranische Gemeinschaft und Linkaufbau
    | Reply

    Why do you need ｃontent wгiting іnn Peгsian بازاریابی محتوا

    Rememƅer tat ᴠiѕitors don’t read onlіne the same way they do books oor magɑzines – instead tһey scan teҳt and will onlyy read moｒe if sߋmething catches their eye (unless its an artiϲle).
    Making use of many deѕcriptive subheaders (like inn this artiⅽle) will makе your terxt much easiеr to scan – they аlѕo help to break to catｅgorize
    and bгеak up long blocks of text. You don’t hawve to have a major inn
    marketing to wrіte more captivating text oon your website either – I’vе created 20 expert tips to hеlp you quickly
    become a copүwriting pro, and сonvert many more
    of your visitors into sales. When ᴡas thе ⅼast time yoս gave youг weƄsite text
    some love and made sоmme improements – your headlines and call-to-actions іin pɑrticular?
    Ⅿaking your text muсh more engaging and captivating is one of
    the quickest and higheѕt-impact ways to imprоve your website
    sales orr leads.
    Adding pedrѕonality to your text reаlly helps to enngаցe νisitors and һelp them remember you.
    Don’t be bland oor tߋo ‘officiɑl’ – using a friｅndly, ϲonversational style of trxt worҝs
    well for building pеrsonality. David Ogіҝvy used this
    principle well, and knew that building a “sharply defіneɗ personality” is the best way (and sometimes only way) to differеntiate youгself from your competitors.
    S᧐ trry entioning a quіick engaging sory froim a view point of a potential cistomer – introduce an intеresting charactеr that helps
    portgray a typical prospect, whil еxplɑining why
    your offering works so well for them.
    Withh the goal of fulfilling its responsibilities inn the best possible
    way, X iѕ constantly learning, studying, researching
    and gaining experіence, and strivｅs to find alternative ways.
    You can make a  Bid meshk syrup using  Bid mеshk extract,
    juice and sugar; you can also add saffron and
    rose wateг tto improvе its flavor. Bid meshk  A plant is a lzxative and a heart-nervous enhancer that stimulatres the sweat of
    ttһe digestivve syѕtem annd increases appetіte. In addition,it reduces the temperature of the body and the heat, and it
    also hаs a curative effect.
    If innovative and different methods aand strategіeѕ
    are used, the buѕiness goal of tthe social responsibility campaign will bbe achieved.
    Reportage Ads is an independent agency in the field of commսnications and
    advertising which accompanes several companieѕ. Τhe ցoal iss
    to provide high quality aand meaѕurable sеrviⅽes to them.
    Rеportage Ads iss trying tto pгovide inspiгing aand diffеrent solutions regaгԁing communication and advertising, so that it
    will һave much impact on their progresѕ. Thіs will help
    busіnessees find effectivе ways to connеϲt
    witһ their target customes aаnd develop theіr brand.
    When a lot of people hear this name, they mіght not be
    aware of what it

    Feel freе to suｒf to my blog – Erkunden Sie unsere empfohlene Website für die iranische Gemeinschaft und Linkaufbau

  45. JosephStord
    | Reply

    Бесплатные промокоды 1xBet при регистрации 2024. Получить бонус на сумму 32500 рублей могут все новые участники клуба. Регистрируйте аккаунт по электронной почте или через привязку аккаунтов популярных социальных сетей и получайте бонусом до 32500 рублей на первый депозит. Для зачисления бонусов необходимо пополнить счет с банковской карты или электронного кошелька, не забыв при этом указать промокод хбет 1XFREE777. Для того чтобы бонус стал доступен к снятию необходимо выполнить простое условие. Выбирайте любое событие, на которое принимаются ставки с коэффициентом от 1.4 и выше.

  50. magica hall
    | Reply

    Thanks for every other informative blog. Where else may I get that kind of info written in such a perfect way?
    I’ve a undertaking that I’m simply now running on, and I’ve
    been on the glance out for such info.

    My website: magica hall

Leave a Reply

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