Exodus 20:2-4
(Use the link below to read the verses.)
22 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Acts 17:22-23 NASB
Talk about hedging your bets. Just in case they didn’t have all the bases covered, the men of Athens had a place to worship the Unknown God. No doubt, that made them feel safer; more secure. And feeling secure is a big deal.
In America, normally you don’t find an idol or an object of worship set up in the house. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have them; they’re just more subtle.
The best way to self-evaluate is to take a look at your time, talent and treasure. Then ask yourself, how do you use them? Look at your calendar or checkbook or online banking account. How are you spending your time and your money? How do you use your talents?
John D. Rockefeller, was at one point the world’s richest man and first ever American billionaire. Considering he was a billionaire in the early 1900’s he is still considered as the richest person in modern history. When a reporter asked him, “How much money is enough?” He responded, “Just a little bit more.”
The Promised Land
Whether it’s about money or something else, don’t we all feel that way at one time or another? But we are created for something more; something better; something bigger. Here is what Paul wrote to follow up his words about the Unknown God.
This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. 24 “He is the God who made the world and everything in it... 27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. Acts 17:23-27 NLT
What is it that you want “just a little bit more” of? God wants the best there is for you. Should you settle for less?
(Here's another thought on the same passage.)
The Promised Land
Exodus 20:2-4
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of slavery. NASB
The
land of Egypt was not only a house of slavery! It was a den of darkness; of
depression; of desperation. It was a land of hopelessness and powerlessness. It
was a land of futility without a future, where it was a struggle to see God at
work.
You
may have experienced a time in your own life when you felt like you were in the
“land of Egypt”. I know I have. In
college, my girlfriend unceremoniously dumped me for another guy. As a young
married, our first born was still born. And later in life, as a middle aged
man, I struggled with the depression.
God
brought me through each of these times through the support and faith of people
who became significant in my life. They were people who believed in me; saw
something more going on than the circumstances around me; encouraged me to look
to God, to His word, to His love and to His presence in my life.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You
shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above
or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. NASB
God
spoke these words to the nation of Israel after delivering them from the “house of slavery” of Egypt. He spoke
these words as He prepared to take them from slavery into the Promised Land.
And what are the first words out of His mouth? “You shall have no other gods before Me” or “make an idol”. And what is the first thing Israel does? They make
the golden calf.
Think
about that for a second. The Lord had already miraculously delivered them from
Egypt. He was promising to take them to a “land of milk and honey”. Yet Israel
turns to other gods. Are we any different? I think not.
The
Lord spoke the words above to Israel, but also to us. Therefore, it is critical
for us to
be vigilant; to be alert; to ask ourselves the tough questions. Are
we slipping? Are we looking to other people, things or ourselves to find the
Promised Land?
Listen
closely for the answers; change what needs changing; and find the Lord your
God.
(If
God has spoken to you through this blog, please feel free to share the link
with others.)
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