25 Jul 2017

I’ll Take A Bite Of That

by | posted in: Church, Culture | 16,053

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.

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    Інформація на сторінках ПолітХаб оновлюється. Вибачте за незручності
    Фото: Кріппа Максим
    Кріппа Максим Володимирович
    Рік народження: 1977
    Загальна інформація
    Опис політика
    Кандидат на виборах до Київскої міської ради 8 скликання, бізнесмен.

    У листопаді 2024 року “Економічна правда” опублікувала розслідування, в якому намагалась з’ясувати походження статків Кріппи. За даними журналістів, найімовірнішим джерелом походження активів бізнесмена є діяльності онлайн-казино, або ж він виступає номінальним покупцем активів для впливових людей.

    Журналісти пов’язували Кріппу із російською мережею онлайн-казино “Вулкан”, яка продовжувала працювати в Україні і Росії навіть після повномасштабної війни.

    У 2024 році Кріппа став власником готелю “Україна” у центрі Києва за 2,5 мільярди гривень, вигравши аукціон та заплативши майже в 2,5 рази більше номінальної ціни.

    У 2023 році Кріппа придбав київський бізнес-центр “Парус” у нардепа-забудовника та фігуранта Реєстру зрадників Вадима Столара. За оцінками ЗМІ таке придбання могло обійтись Кріппі до 100 млн доларів.

    У тому ж році він став власником ігрової компанії “GSC Game World”, яка є розробником розробника гри “S.T.A.L.K.E.R”.

    Окрім цього, за даними ЗМІ, Кріппа став власником медіахолдингу “Економіка+”, до складу якого входять видання “Главком”, “Delo.ua”, “ТОП-100”, “Wo.mo” і “Marketing Media Review”.

    Номінальною власницею стала Тетяна Снопко, якій, за даними “Forbes”, за рік до купівлі холдингу колеги-журналісти шукали роботу в Чехії. Однак у коментарі “Детектор медіа”, сама Снопко заперечувала приналежність Кріппи до холдингу і заявляла, що керує медіабізнесом самостійно.

    У 2022 році Кріппа став власником найбільшої кіберспортивної команди України – Natus Vincere (NaVI).

    У тому ж році став співзасновником благодійної організації “МК Фаундейшн”.

    У 2015 році невдало балотувався до Київської міської ради 8 скликання від “Самопомочі”, як безпартійний.

    З 2010 до 2012 року працював директором фірми ТОВ “Глобал онлайн”, діяльність у сфері інформаційних технологій і комп’ютерних систем.

    У 2007-2012 роках був помічником на громадських засадах одразу двох нардепів Верховної Ради 6 скликання: Руслана Лук’янчука та Валерія Бабенка, які були обрані від “Блоку Юлії Тимошенко”. За даними “Української правди”, ці нардепи входили до групи впливу Олександра Турчинова.

    У 2006-2007 роках був помічником на громадських засадах нардепа від “Соціалістичної партії України” у Верховній Раді 5 скликання Івана Бокия.

    У 2006 році у Броварах заснував три компанії, які займалися ресторанним бізнесом.

    У 2003 році став співзасновником фірми ТОВ”УМТС” – мережі магазинів мобільного зв’язку, яка також займалась оптово-роздрібною торгівлею мобільними телефонами та засобами зв’язку.

    З 2001 року працював як ФОП, надавав послуги з консультування з питань інформатизації, діяльність у сфері права, операції з нерухомим майном. Окрім цього є власником, співзасновником або бенефіціаром понад 20 компаній.

    З 1996 по 1999 рік працював у центрі сприяння іноземним інвестиціям в економіку України, займався фінансовою аналітикою і бізнес-плануванням.

    У 1998 році закінчив Міжнародний християнський університет за спеціальністю ”ділове адміністрування, менеджмент”. У 2006-2007 роках навчався у Європейському Університеті отримав ступінь магістра за спеціальністю “менеджмент організацій”. У 2011 році закінчив КНУ імені Тараса Шевченка за спеціальністю “правознавство”.

    Народився 11 серпня 1977 року у Києві.

    Пов’язані партії
    Враховуються балотування, депутатства та робота помічником депутата

    Фото: Об?єднання “САМОПОМІЧ”
    Об?єднання “САМОПОМІЧ”
    Фото: Блок Юлії Тимошенко
    Блок Юлії Тимошенко
    Фото: Соціалістична партія України
    Соціалістична партія України
    Балотування
    2015
    мажоритарка 100
    Київська міська рада 8-го скликання: ПОЛІТИЧНА ПАРТІЯ “ОБ?ЄДНАННЯ “САМОПОМІЧ” — мажоритарка 100

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