Stop Robbing Yourself

Judges 6: 25 - 27 25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.

So God challenges Gideon to take a step of faith and destroy the idols in his hometown.  Gideon knows what this means, and he knows how much trouble he is going to get into for it.  But the battle must be won!  Remember that the problem isn't the Midianites, the problem is Israel's idolatry.  Defeat the idol, and you will defeat your enemy. 

What is an idol?  It is anything that takes our extreme admiration, love, and reverence away from God.  If anything or anyone is more important than God - it's an idol.  

"But Pastor, I love my spouse and kids.  How can I love God more?"  Good question!  First of all, the more you love God, the greater your love will be for your marriage and family.  Secondly, your heart is bigger than you give it credit for.  You don't have to take away from one to give to the other.  There is plenty of room for both.  

If you do honor something more than God - you're only stealing from yourself.  I've seen people worship their "feelings" their career, their "family time," their hobby, their need to make money - the list is really, really long.  What did they get for it?  Little to nothing.  Even after all of that they got fired, divorced, worked themselves to near death and wasted much of their life.

It's time to destroy the idols.  Tomorrow - how do you do it?

PRAY:  Dear Jesus, if there is anything in my life that is an idol, show me.  AMEN