by Lucy | Sep 15, 2016 | biblical counseling, thoughts
Idolatry is making a god of something or someone who is NOT the God. All of us are tempted to cozy up to idols. Guest writer Ellen Castillo, one of the counselors in Heart2Heart Counselor Directory, reveals her go-to idol and how she–and you–can learn to say “no” and flee. Her article appeared first here on her website and is used with permission.
What do you run to? What should you run from?
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 1 Corinthians 10:15
It’s humbling to admit this. For many years my go-to idol has been. . .food. Sin is always humbling, isn’t it? And it can be embarrassing and even humiliating, except that the Gospel takes care of that kind of self-focus and self-condemnation.
I’ll take the humbling, because that is what keeps me from turning back to idolatry. I’ll keep purposing to reject the embarrassment and humiliation, because I know that my sins are forgiven. To try to pretend that I am not the worst of sinners is just silly because it’s written all over me. And you.
Let’s remember this: we have a Savior.
Idolatry Everywhere!
Idolatry today comes wrapped in a lot of different packages. Food, alcohol, drugs, prescription meds, sex, materialism, shopping, anger, status, playing the victim, seeking aproval and attention, relationships, celebrities, pride of all kinds, and so many more.
There is no end, really, to what we allow to become idols in our hearts. Whatever we put before God, wherever our treasure is, whatever we worship, those are our idols.
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There is a reason these idols are called “false gods.” They are counterfeits. They ultimately fail us. We actually “become like them” and that is, to put it bluntly, disgusting.
Disgusting Idols
The psalmist wrote:
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them! Psalm 135:15-18
This disgust gripped me a few months ago when I got a serious medical diagnosis that is worsened by my idolatry. I realized I had “eyes, but did not see, ears, but did not hear, and there was no breath in my mouth.”
I won’t say my idol is entirely gone now, but I am seeing consistent victories along the way. Praise God, it is His work in me, not my own. I am too weak apart from His strength. I have a long ways to go, but I am daily choosing to go toward Christ rather than my toward my false god.
Where are you going?
The Gospel Ensures Victory
One of the beautiful things about Jesus’s Gospel is that we do not need to strive for victory.
Yes, there is a part we must engage by obedience, but when (not if) we fail at times, we can praise God because He does not see what we see. Even if my hand gets caught in the cookie jar, I am forgiven.
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That does not excuse my behavior nor does it give me the green light to worship my idols. It does offer me grace to get back up again and press on in obedience because of the indwelling Spirit in me. I need to know that God’s love for me does not change (nor does my eternal security) when I fail at times, and I do fail. But by God’s grace you and I can experience more victories and fewer setbacks as long as we are not relying on our own strength.
How does God deal with our idolatry? How are we to be rid of it? We see in Scripture that His dealings with His people were consistent and blatant. We see the same kind of dealings with our current culture (just view the news or your Facebook feed and you will see it.)
The Word Reveals Our Need
The commands are clear: we are to have no other gods before Him. God is a jealous God.
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:3-6
In our personal lives, if you have a personal relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus, God deals with us and our sin of idolatry very individually and specifically. For example, my conviction came as a result of that scary medical diagnosis that requires a change of habits if I want to be healthy and live to know my grandkids, Lord willing.
We fashion our idols and enjoy them for awhile, until God reveals to us the thoughts, beliefs, and desires that lie at the core of our hearts. Those are the things that mold and transform in to our idols.
Heart Matters
Out of that core of our hearts flow the things we worship, and we must remember that those things are not going to satisfy ultimately because:
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9
God’s Word is clear. When God reveals our idols to us, we are then responsible to flee them.
Ephesians 4 instructs us to put off the old man, and put on the new. Through the conviction, empowering, and enabling of the Holy Spirit, we can do this. We can say no.
Titus 2:12 reminds us that grace actually teaches us to say no.
Grace. The Gospel. Spirit indwelling. SAY NO. Flee!
Sharing Hope with Your Heart,
by Lucy | Jul 14, 2016 | biblical counseling, identity in Christ
“Getting Up After a Fall” appeared first here on Biblical Counsel Coalition, which promotes the biblical counseling movement and builds relationships.
Remember the outdoor water game Slip ‘n Slide? To slide as fast as possible, you could place the thin, yellow plastic slide on a gentle hill. Then you run, jump on the slide, pick up speed, reach the end, and tumble into muddy grass. Then you ran back and did it again—and again.
Sinful choices can become a slippery slope too.
One sinful choice may slide into another, reminiscent of Psalm 1:1. Then the Christian may face a problem she helped create: a marital separation, an addiction, a lost job, anxiety, depression, bitterness. Her problem might cause enough angst to bring her to your counseling office, looking for relief.
But relief isn’t the real answer is it? Relief is among the world’s counterfeits for mankind’s greatest and truest need—the gospel.
In this short article, you’ll learn how to. . .
- give hope after a fall
- give help to get up and walk again.
Your counselee’s sin problem is an opportunity for you to give guidance for her Christian walk (Eph. 4:1-2, ESV).
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Everyone Falls
No one is immune to the self-deception of thinking he or she can sidestep the slippery slope of sin. James writes,
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers (1:14-16, ESV).
I’m reminded of a time many years ago when I caught my young son with holiday treats in his fists and smeared on his shirt.
“Did you have permission to eat candy?” I asked.
“I didn’t eat any chocolate,” he blurted.
“What’s that on your shirt and in your hand?”
His forehead wrinkled. “Well, I didn’t mean to eat them!”
Giving Hope after a Fall
Your counselees need not remain in a muddy puddle of poor choices. Knowing one’s identity in Christ is powerful and hopeful. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians can remember who they are in Christ, as described in Ephesians:
As you help your counselees remember who they are in Christ, you’ll give them hope to live out who they already are: God’s children. They also need the reminder that they are no longer identified by what they did and who they were–slaves to sin (Rom. 6:6-7).
In Christ they have been restored.
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, your where justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:11, NIV).
Remind your counselees of who they are in Christ and of what Christ did for them, and they will have hope after a fall.
Here is a suggested assignment to help counselees understand the blessings associated with being “in Christ”: Give your counselee the assignment of reading Ephesians 1 and listing, verse by verse, the words describing her new identity in Christ.
Giving Encouragement to Walk
To get up and walk in the ways of Christ, encourage your counselees with a masterful passage tucked in Titus:
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:11-13).
Paul wrote the epistle to Titus, encouraging him on several counts, including the truth that we are saved for good works (not by good works). Remind your counselees that they can get up and walk in God’s strength because the same gospel that saved them also sanctifies them. As Titus 2:12 underlines, grace trains them:
- To renounce ungodliness and worldly passions
- To live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives
Trained by grace, your counselees can say “No” to sin and live a godly life, for in his kindness and mercy, Jesus cleansed them by his blood and gave them new life so that they might display good works.
Consider these verses from Titus:
“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works” (2:7a).
“A people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (2:14).
“Ready for every good work” (3:1).
“Careful to devote themselves to good works” (3:8).
Just as your counselees fall down the slippery slope of sin, they can make better choices by God’s grace. To do this, help them remember who they are in Christ and encourage them. . .
(1) to renounce ungodliness through confession and repentance;
(2) to live a godly life marked by good works.
They do not need to wonder if this is possible, because “Jesus Christ … gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:13-14).
Join the Conversation
How have you sought to teach counselees the critical doctrine of their identity in Christ?
Sharing Hope with Your Heart,
by Lucy | Jan 12, 2010 | biblical counseling
Is ordering a mocha from Starbucks a sin?
You could have sent the $5 overseas to feed starving children. Right?
Or. . .
is spending money on mocha just fine with God? Perhaps, even. . .godly?
These sorts of questions pepper an eyebrow-raising book titled Pure Pleasure: Why Do Christians Feel So Bad About Feeling Good? (Zondervan, Nov. 2009)
Simple pleasures like homemade chocolate cake, a round of golf, the perfect cup of coffee, your morning run – or your afternoon nap — are created by God for us to enjoy – not feel guilty about.
So says bestselling author Gary Thomas. In Pure Pleasure, Thomas urges Christians to embrace pleasure and carve out time to enjoy life because pleasure is a gift from God that points us back to him. According to Thomas, “God isn’t just our Redeemer. He is our Creator. He made us, and he made this world. So when we participate in this world as he made it, we celebrate him every bit as much as we honor him when we do things that reflect his redeeming work.”
Thomas offers an impassioned biblical defense of pleasure and explains how God delights in, and shares, the pleasure we experience when we encounter his world with thanksgiving. Everyone finds pleasure in unique ways, and whether readers delight in high thread count sheets, gourmet cooking, the scent of freshly cut flowers or finishing a crossword puzzle, Thomas says incorporating guilt-free pleasure into our lives rejuvenates and refreshes individuals and provides a stronger platform for a lifestyle of worship.
He confronts the contentious issue of the cost of pleasure and how we can balance our need for restorative pleasure with our call to be faithful stewards of God’s resources. He helps readers come to grips with the true costs of that daily latte or expensive vacation – not necessarily that those things are sinful, but how they affect one’s spiritual life.
“I’m asking you – no, pleading with you – to embrace pleasure with sophistication. Pleasure is a gift from God. It is good. He designed us to receive pleasure in many ways and is, in fact, preparing us for an eternity of pleasure. We must also realize, however, that there is a hierarchy of pleasure – with God at the top – that orders all of our other pleasures. If the hierarchy gets broken or becomes skewed, then lesser pleasures will begin to war against the primary one, which is delight in Christ.”
A provocative read that just may make you feel better about your simple pleasure.
RECOMMENDED
About the Author:
Gary Thomas enjoys spending time with his family, is an avid runner and has completed seven marathons including the Boston Marathon. He is a writer and adjunct faculty member at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of several books including Sacred Marriage, Holy Available, Sacred Pathways, Sacred Parenting and the Gold Medallion Award-winning Authentic Faith.
Pure Pleasure
Release: November 2009
Soft cover, 272 pp., $14.99
ISBN: 0310290803
