Speaking of idols, Psalm 115:8 says, “Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.” We become like the person or thing we worship. The reason this is true is that when our hearts admire someone, we imitate them. Some have said that imitation is the highest form of flattery. Consider a young boy who watches and models his dad’s actions. Why does he do this? Because he admires his dad. When we worship something (admire it, think of it often, etc.), we become like the person or thing we worship.
I’ve seen this in my own life. There are specific baseball coaches I admire. I have found myself acting like them, using the exact baseball verbiage that they use, and quoting them. I just wish when I grow up, I could be like Bruce Bochy😉…(if you know, you know).
This was a significant theme for Sunday’s sermon from Ezra 3:1-7. God’s people were transformed to worship the Living God, and this text showed their unity, obedience, and generosity. They became like their God. Ephesians 5 challenges us to be imitators of God, as beloved children of God. Ezra 3 shows this happening in His people.
What does your reaction to hard things say about who or what you worship? When you’re hit with an unexpected bill, how do you react, and what does this say about your worship? When you’re hit with a health crisis, what does your reaction say about your worship?
When Jesus is our King and worshipping and glorifying Him is our priority, we will become like Him. That’s the goal of the Christian life.
Random things I thought about this past week:
I’ve been taking notes on my weeks leading up to Sundays to add different thoughts to my musings. Here are a few from this past week:
- There is a growing danger in Christendom today to have zeal without knowledge (Romans 10:2). I would paraphrase this by saying zeal without wisdom. With the recent cultural events, I fear that Christians are all about “just doing something,” rather than considering the wisdom of what they’re doing. For instance, I know several young men who now aspire to become great debaters and confront the wickedness they see around them. I applaud their zeal and am grateful for their desire to speak the truth. But I question the wisdom of their methods or tactics. Furthermore, I see them lacking self-control or the maturity necessary to navigate the complexities of such challenging times. During these uncertain times, our online presence, our public actions and voices, must have the air of Christ (gentle, respectful, kind, loving, direct, and firm), be well-thought-out with biblical wisdom and clarity. That takes time and is not a reactionary approach.
- Romans 8:28 is one of my favorite verses. However, I was recently reminded that God promises to work all things, whether good or bad, for our good. This doesn’t mean that God would give us all things. This is a big difference. Sometimes, God working bad things out for my good, is not what I would like. I’d rather have all things.
- I was struck this past week by Jesus’ fulfillment of the feasts and sacrifices. Read these verses slowly (especially in light of Ezra 3:1-7): Hebrews 7:27, “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.” Hebrews 9:25-26, “Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
- We live in a ‘hustle’ culture, and we brag about our ‘busy-ness.’ Now, possibly more than ever, Christians need to reveal the rest the Lord gives us. A few ways to do this: 1) Take a regular day off, turn off your work stuff, and relax. Giving God our time is a sign that we acknowledge He is in control of all things; 2) Fight the temptation to be hurried. Being busy is one thing, but being rushed and hurried is the real enemy. You can’t pray in a hurry, read your Bible in a hurry, or love people in a hurry. 3) Slow your personal time with the Lord down. Too often, we have a ‘plan’ to read the Bible in a year or rush through our chapters. I’ve found that this has created a sense of hurriedness in my soul. Slow your roll and meditate on God’s word more. Pray more slowly and deliberately. This is one way we can represent Christ in our world. Be at rest in the midst of a hustle culture.
This week and looking ahead:
This week, we will examine Ezra 3:8-13 and discuss laying a foundation. That’s what the people did in Ezra’s day.
Don’t forget, if you call CLF your home church, please be at church on October 5th. We are making a major announcement about the future of our church.
Cheap Seats (most people’s favorite section):
- In honor of Clayton Kershaw, here’s a great book about him. This is the link for the Audible book: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Last-of-His-Kind-Audiobook/B0CJD98DFJ?source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=library_overflow
- I’m a Texas A&M fan. I found this article about A&M’s culture really good: https://andscape.com/features/a-resurgent-texas-am-makes-unity-seem-possible/
- A baseball card of Shoeless Joe Jackson…this is amazing: https://www.mlb.com/news/shoeless-joe-jackson-topps-baseball-card?partnerID=mlbapp-iOS_article-share
- I have no idea how he caught this: https://www.mlb.com/video/jake-irvin-in-play-out-s-to-brett-baty-r5mahp?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share
Have a great week!
Christ is King!
In Christ,
Dave York
P.S. While I sometimes agree and disagree with Tucker Carlson, I found his comments at Charlie Kirk’s memorial remarkable. This is worth 5 minutes of your time: https://x.com/realcandaceo/status/1969896674962145662?s=12&t=ANRRmEDhNWbghelISD7Rvw
