Please answer the following 5 questions. Be honest with yourself (don’t try to justify your answers: simply answer Yes or No).

Please keep in mind the following verse: Romans 3:23 “we ALL have sinned and FALL SHORT of the glory of God.”

1. Do you care about your image?
2. Is it hard for you to talk about Jesus (to a stranger)?
3. Do you read your Bible?  If yes, do you read the Bible longer than 15 minutes/day?
4. Is there anything in your life that God doesn’t want in your life? (gossip, pills, smoking)
5. In a normal week, how many minutes/hours do you entertain w/ television, i-pod...?

Please note: I am not your judge! God is!

We all fall short, and it’s not hard to see that we ‘miss the mark’. Thank you God for your forgiveness and the sacrifice of Jesus (paying dearly for that forgiveness)!

So what is an idol?

Do you bow down to anything? No?

Do you bow down to God?

Do you spend time with God, or are you too busy?

Let’s look at God’s Word to see what an idol is.

Deuteronomy 9:7 “Remember this and never forget how you provoked the Lord your God to anger in the desert. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 13:3-4 “…the Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.”

Deuteronomy 4:25 “…if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land…”

2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

Isaiah 44:8-9 “Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one. All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame.”

If you think that your job is not an idol, please read Isaiah 44:10-20.

Folks, as American’s, we live in a corrupt Country indeed. I think about Babylon – God’s desire to separate the wicked from the non-wicked. In America, the wicked and the Christians are so inner twined that the wicked are corrupting the Christians, and the ‘Christian’ are wicked…

In writing this inspiration, I thought about the POPULAR television show ‘American Idol’. The name alone has me worried.

The winner of 'American Idol' is the person that has the most popular IMAGE. Image to us Americans seems to be ‘everything’, even amongst us Christians. We care so much about our image that we are too embarrassed to tell others about Jesus. We care so much about our image that we’re not servants. Folks, if you want to be a ‘CHRISTIAN’, then by definition, we should strive to be like Christ, right?

The following is just a quick comparison of (2) Simons that I have read about.

Simon Cowell (known best as a judge on American Idol for his ‘criticism’), pays more than £21.7m per year in income tax, suggesting that his taxable income is over £54.25m per year (with income tax at the time approximately 40%). Simon drives a Bugatti Veyron (valued at $1 Million). In 2006, British newspaper ‘News of the World’ reported that he had cheated on Seymour with model and socialite Jasmine Lennard (which only Simon knows the TRUTH). He admits to using Botox. He is the godfather of pop singer Sinitta’s adopted children. This information found at the following website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Cowell#Personal_life

Simon (in the Bible). Acts 8:9-13 “Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all of the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave their attention and exclaimed, “this man is the divine power known as the Great Power. They followed him because he had amazed them for a long period of time with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.”

Folks, please take the time to read more about the Simon in the Bible. Spend more time in the Bible than you do watching television and watching ‘American Idol’.

Simon in the Bible didn’t have much money as he followed Jesus. He didn’t need to use Botox to gain a better ‘image’. I’m certain he didn’t drive a million dollar car, and stay busy with all of his ‘successful’ businesses.

From reading the short article about Simon Cowell, it does say that he is a ‘godfather’, so I do hope in my heart that he is a follower of Jesus.

Folks, we are living in ‘scary’ times, as I was discussing this week with Connie Sue (my new friend at the nursing home). She was explaining to me that the staff members (each night) come into her room and talk about their sexual affairs. Connie had some other issues surrounding the ethics of the staff and ‘neighbors’. I reassured Connie that, yes, we are in terrible times, but that God is in control, and as a Christian, this darkness helps my candle burn even brighter.

I then demonstrated God’s powers to Connie with God’s Word, I told Connie that I would read the first verse that I open the Bible to, and that God would comfort us, that the Bible is ALIVE. When I opened the Bible, the first verses were Isaiah 44:8-9 (bolded above). 
 

God is real, and He does have powers beyond our human comprehension. If you just take the time to worship Him, listen to Him, believe in Him (and ALL His powers), then you will see many miracles! Evil is on the rise, and so is the Holy Spirit. God took a ‘dead-beat’ Christian like me (that ‘worshipped’ many idols and not so much God - for decades) and set me ON FIRE for HIM!!! I am only able to boast about my weaknesses and God’s powers; however, since I started boasting about God, my life has changed so much!!!

I’m afraid many people probably chose not to open this inspiration, because they know in their hearts that they put ‘idols’ before God, and they don’t want to be reminded again and again. I imagine most folks stop reading when they get to the Scripture. But for those that did take the time and effort to read this inspiration, may God bless you and inspire you to put Him first.

I will say this over and over again, when we take the time to Thank God, Worship God, Listen to God, Spend time with God (as a friend), then GOD WILL BLESS US AND INSPIRE US (again, I know because I am living proof).  

Don’t forget the (2) videos below.

God Bless!

In His Powerful Hands,

Thank you Jesus!

Love, Glen

Colossians 3:1-10 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in Glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of the Creator.”