February 14, 2011

Read Daniel 3:1-3, Exodus 20:1-6

Before we begin to look at the passage for today, see if you can find, or think of, a structure within your area that is about 27 meters high and 3 meters wide. When you find that structure, stand before it and imagine the awe and splendour of the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar built.

King Nebuchadnezzar sought to pay tribute to himself by building a magnificent statue and ordering everyone to bow down to his image.  But God commands us to have no graven images and NOT to bow down to them. We are forbidden to bow down and pay homage to any statue or image. We are called to worship the Lord God Almighty exclusively. He is a jealous God and will not tolerate rivals in our lives and in our hearts.  Israel worshipped false gods time and time again. She was exiled from the Promised Land as punishment for her idolatry.  1 Cor 10:6 assures us that this history is for our benefit.

Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.

In today’s world, you and I will rarely be called to bow down to false gods and idolatrous statues. However, we can still be tempted to have idols in our hearts and to deny our great God and Saviour. Let me share with you several examples that happen regularly.

Þ Believers in many countries are persecuted for their faith and when arrested, they are called to deny Christ or face severe consequences.

Þ Believers in Western countries are tempted to sacrifice their love for Christ on the altar of greed, denying Christ for the sake of gain.

Þ Several believers are asked to deny Christ each Lord’s day as their bosses pressure them or threaten them into missing their church gathering for the sake of financial gain.

Þ Several Christian business men and women have been asked to deny their Christian principles for the sake of company profits.

Þ Some Christians are tempted to renege on their pledged giving to the Lord to gain a more comfortable lifestyle.

While we are not bowing down to a physical idol in these cases we are being tempted to deny Christ for the sake of something or someone else. We are committing idolatry in our heart. Pray that you will stand firm for Jesus and trust him in any and every situation.

Prayer:

þ Pray that Christians in India and Burma would stand strong in Christ as they face opposition for their faith. Pray that they would shine the light of Jesus so powerfully that many come to Him for salvation.

þ Pray that everyone in your church would put Jesus at the top of their priority list, above comfort, money, housing, cars, non Christian friends etc.