By: Erlinda Mejia-Olson
1 JOHN 5:20-21 ~ "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen."
1 JOHN 5:20-21 ~ "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen."
In these passages of Scripture, the Apostle John reminds us to keep ourselves from all forms of idolatry (false idols) from anything and everything that would occupy the place of God in our heart (Exodus 20:3-5). Forego everything unnecessary in our lives—from all kinds of substitutes for God that would take His place in our heart, so we can place God rightfully where He belongs—FIRST PLACE—in our lives. It is imperative that we foil all kinds of substitutes from becoming first place in our lives. Rather, let us fill up our lives with the True, Living God, not a phony substitute.
Friend, we can discern what is imperative to us by simply asking ourselves: who, what, where, and how we spend our time. If we are spending so much time trying to make money that we neglect spending quality time with God, then wealth is more important to us than God. Likewise, if we are always spending time with friends and neglect to have time to spend with God, then our social life is more important to us than God.
Meanwhile, are we so pre-occupied working for God that we never spend time with God? It is easy to justify doing good works for God as a substitute for spending real, intimate, quality, personal time with Him. For instance, a youth pastor may spend many hours planning events for kids—preparing the music, setting up the games, arranging the transportation, and even preparing a brief message. However, none of that is a substitute for spending personal time with God—reading the Bible, meditation on God's Word, praying, seeking God's guidance, worshipping, admiring His beautiful creation, and just sitting in His presence (instead of us always talking-always asking—we are listening to Him), remembering that a conversation is a two-way street.
Unfortunately, majority of people in today’s society are often mired in multi-tasking (held-up with so many activities) that they use them as an excuse for not spending time with God—instead of making a firm decision to put God first in their lives—to be still and listen to God: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" (Psalm 46:10).
Looking at the life of King David, who certainly had many opportunities to fill up his time with other activities, knew that spending time with God is an absolute necessity—a vital need; his words in Psalm 27:4 affirmed that God is the most important Person in his life:
Looking at the life of King David, who certainly had many opportunities to fill up his time with other activities, knew that spending time with God is an absolute necessity—a vital need; his words in Psalm 27:4 affirmed that God is the most important Person in his life:
"One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple."
How we use our time is very important, because we can either invest it or waste it. Definitely, if we waste our time, we will never get it back. Time wasted is time lost. On the other hand, if we invest our time into forming a deep, close, personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ, then we will reap the rewards of such an investment for the rest of eternity.
Certainly, Christ proclaimed that if we seek God first, He will take care of the rest of our needs, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33). Like King David, we need to make God our, "All and All". Be mindful always that spending a deep, close, personal relationship with Him is the very heartbeat of why we do what we do for the furtherance of His kingdom. To bring more glory and honor of the No. 1 Person in our lives—GOD.
""You shall have no other gods before Me. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image—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 nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,"" (Exodus 20:3-5)
