PROMISES WITHOUT POWER!
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good. Do people make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!” (Jeremiah 16:20)
When we hear the word “idolatry” we have a tendency to think of primitive people in remote areas of the jungle bowing down to sacred cows, stone carvings, special bushes, the sun, moon, and the stars. We pity the poor uneducated heathen who worships a god of stone, while we who are sophisticated and seemingly superior, bow down in worship to a god of gold. We have become experts of making gods out of everything.
In the 1830’s Alexis de Tocqueville made this observation regarding the state of America, “There is a strange melancholy that haunts the inhabitants . . . in the midst of their abundance.” We live in a cultural context that believes “more” is the key that unlocks the door to happiness and contentment. More prosperity. More power. More possessions. More pleasure. The list is endless. To be sure, our contemporary culture has its own “totem poles” and “spiritual shrines.” Yet, none of this will ever satisfy us or meet us in our deepest place of need. All they can and every will be able to deliver is a POWERLESS PROMISE!
Here is the simple way of looking at our idols. There is nothing wrong or idolatrous with prosperity, power, possessions, or pleasure. Only when we take these good gifts that God gives to us and turn them into ultimate gifts, do they become bad gifts. What we need to keep in view is this: what rules the heart ultimately shapes the life. So, if we are counting on anything smaller than Jesus to find meaning, purpose, significance, contentment, or anything else that matters to us in life, we are counting on a POWERLESS PROMISE! The truth of today’s verse comes shining through – THEY ARE NOT GODS!!!
So, let me ask you, is there anything in your life right now that is more important to you than Jesus? Here is another way to put it: is there anything in your life right now, that, if you lost it, your life as you know it would be ruined? Remember, we are often blindsided by the good gifts God gives to us like family and friends when we turn them into ultimate gifts. They simply cannot bear the weight of our expectations and in the end, all comes to ruin. But there is one thing that can and His name is Jesus.
Every promise Jesus has made He will keep. Only Jesus has promised and can make good on His promise of meeting you in your deepest place of need, regardless of what that need is. Keeping Jesus on the throne of your life will keep you in a perpetual place of promised blessing, whether in seasons of plenty or seasons of want.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 