Making a Fire - Worshipping an Idol

There's a great little verse in Isaiah 44:19

"No one reflects, no one has the perception or insight to say, "I burned half of it in the fire, I also baked bread on its coals, I roasted meat and ate. I will make something detestable with the rest of it, and I will bow down to a block of wood."

The prophet is talking about how someone grows a tree then uses some of it to warm himself and some of it to make an idol to worship. Now, you might think, what has that to do with us today? I don't know of anyone who makes wooden idols to worship - that's just silly!

Well ... an idol is anything that stands between you and God. You might not think you worship an idol but if you were to honestly rank the things in your life, what would come first? Money, position, physical prowess, relationships, physical pleasure?

And that's what I like about this verse. The truth is we don't have the cognition to realize that we worship something God gave us, instead of worshiping the One who created it in the first place.

The great news is that when we realize this, God promises "I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud." If we put God in first place, all the other things fall in line, including our awareness!

Pastor Tom