THE NEXT AMERICAN IDOLS

When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”
² So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”

³ All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” Ex. 32:1-4



Finally, he (Moses) turned to Aaron and demanded, “What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?”
²² “Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are. ²³ They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’ ²⁴ So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!”  Ex. 32:21-24

I don't know about you....but I am fascinated with sculptures....it doesn't matter what they are made out of....it's just absolutely amazing to see what the human mind can come up with.   Being a cook, that's the cool thing about being able to take something raw, and make it, fashion it into something that stimulates the human senses to the point of desired enjoyment.   Much like the wood carving pictured above we are all fascinated by something....for some it's food, for other's it's places, for someone else it' picture, for others talent and the list goes on and one...but as a species we look for things to capture our attention or stimulate/motivate us.  Sadly though often what we choose to capture our attention turns us into slaves, and that leads us down a god-awful road.

The people of Israel had been out of Egypt for a little while know....they knew GOD had delivered them.   He had already performed miracles beyond the Red Sea to prove to them His heart was for them.   He had instructed Moses to share with them the 10 Commandments, and not soon after that they broke the first commandment by forsaking God and returning to their IDOL MAKING ways that they learned while in captivity.  I find it interesting that the scripture reads THEY GAVE THEIR GOLD TO AARON and he melted it and fashioned it, only to read later AARON lied saying he through the jewelry in the fire and a calf came out.    I think without digging too deep we learn a lot about ourselves.

Aaron had leadership qualities, which also means he has the ability to too mislead people, and did.   Like Aaron we lead people (if only the ones in our ) and like to believe that the things that we discovered/have admitted to as IDOLS crept up on us, when in reality we fashioned them, if not with our hands with our hearts.   We began drinking from the well of Facebook because I can see who, and how many people like and share my statuses.    We feel inadequate in our relationships so we turn to HER/HIM in cyberspace, until that isn't enough and we feel compelled to act out in other ways.  We can love being at work, more than home because they have tangible measure tools that affirm our worth.   We even will go so far to dress in ways to make ourselves the office/neighborhood IDOL because we want in on the PRAISE action.  

I dare you to back away from this blog post and identify what has begun giving you comfort, or affirming you and if it's not GOD, challenge you to do as HE instructed do away with.....your IDOLS.  LGLP2014

I WONDER......

²⁹ Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
³¹ Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  ESV

²⁹ Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. ³⁰ Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted. ³¹ Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk.  MSG
 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
³⁰ And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Ephesians 4:29-31 NLT

What kid likes to hear their parents argue?  What person likes to be verbally assaulted/abused?  What parent likes to log on the social media stratosphere to read that their kids are saying.................?

Simply put God's word commands us to HONOR OUR FATHER (MOTHER) and truth be told we are all some one's kid....but do we really HONOR our father and mother, let alone our HEAVENLY FATHER? I mean do we.......or do we actually think when this passage of scripture was written it couldn't be applicable to us today, because we have our FREEDOM TO..................

I dare you to filter your FREEDOM with/by the WORD of GOD first before you tweet, pin, post or say.  LGLP2014