How much do we need God?

I haven’t posted in awhile, but I’ve had something to say—I just keep forgetting or neglecting to share it with you. But I finally thought about it and did something about it, and here it is!

I was thinking the other day about how much we need Christ. I was reading in a book that spoke about how the grace needed to save and sustain a sinner (a sinner who is one of the elect of God) is incredibly great. But not only does God do that for one day for one sinner, but for all eternity, every day, all the time, for all the millions that He chose to save.

And then I realized that I needed so much from God. Not only did I need that abundant, huge amount of grace daily, but I also needed Him to put it on me. When I thought of the grace of God as an incredible rainstorm on a parched desert (with me in it), I realized that even though I was parched and thirsty—I, on my own, would never open my mouth to receive God’s grace. Not only do I need Christ to give grace, but I also need him to open my mouth to receive His gift.

I also applied that to the Armor of God. He’s given me the belt of truth, the sword of the Spirit, the helmet of salvation, and all the other parts of the armor, but I need Him to go beyond giving them to me—I don’t know how to equip them. God alone can equip me with my armor. I am a helpless, unprepared soldier without armor until God both gives me the armor and equips it for me.

So pray that God would open your mouth to receive His blessings, His will, and His calling, and that daily He would equip you with all that you need to serve Him well.

Luke

Idolatry Today?

Hey, this is Luke!

On Sunday, my dad talked about Christians and contentment. He spoke about how pride goes hand-in-hand with covetousness, which is also idolatry. Wednesday, Chris spoke about I Samuel 8, and how the nation of Israel demanded a king. They wanted to be like the other nations. They were wrong not only in the desire to be like the surrounding nations, but they also committed the sin of covetousness and idolatry. They wanted to replace God, their true King, with a man-king.

The main thing that comes to mind when I think of idolatry is “bowing before a statue.” As you already know, idolatry can take many forms—any time you put something before God, replacing God, as He should be first in your life, is also idolatry. Idolatry is nearly the same thing as covetousness, also—desiring something other than God, in an inappropriate way (desiring something more than you desire God).

With this definition, I am sure all of us, especially myself, can be found guilty of the sin of idolatry, just like the nation of Israel. We all can find ourselves desiring something more than we desire God.

But God has given us a very simple solution.

Count your blessings.

When you recognize the gifts God has given you, especially His salvation if you are a believer, you will be completely satisfied in Him. By definition, when you are satisfied, you will desire nothing else—God will be first in your life, and you will cease to covet and cease to commit idolatry. So, that’s my challenge to you this week—count your blessings, and have self-control over your sinful, covetous flesh.

In Christ,

Luke Godfrey