AWARD shows ... and idols?

What is the purpose behind "AWARD shows"? For the most part, award shows, hit charts, and the like are venues for parading and celebrating sinfulness. They provide public recognition for those who Satan has deceived into misdirecting their God-given talents. A platform of opportunities to magnify God in the eyes of all who watch is rather programmed for self-centered misuse of one's gifts. These worldly programs also set up fleshly idols in the eyes of the viewers, especially the “get ‘em while they’re young” shows, pitting young souls against one another in front of millions of viewers.

            What is the goal of the contestants? Each one of them hopes for the coveted label of idol. That was also the quest of Lucifer. The result for Lucifer was he earned his way to the final decision of "The Judge", to quote another popular TV show, “You’re fired.”

            The use of that word “idol” is very revealing. For thousands of years, idols have been used by Satan to sway the hearts of men away from God and into bondage, thereby keeping them from pursuing their specific role in God’s plan for Creation. The objects humans worship such as idols, graven images, famous or infamous people, charms that are perceived as having some magical power, and so on, are no different from the bait the award shows offer, as mentioned earlier. Rather than being worthy of adoration, however, idols are nothing, “We know that an idol is nothing in the world (1 Corinthians 8:4).”

            You may be thinking or saying to yourself, “Hey guys, hold on a minute. I don’t worship these people. I only watch those shows for entertainment.” Perhaps you are merely interested in the music, but stick with us on this and consider the wisdom in the Scripture, “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools (Ecclesiastes 7:5).” The music of a person seeking the status of “idol” most certainly falls under the classification of “the song of fools”. So, with that in mind, I encourage you to choose the better part and hear the rebuke from a wise man named James, an Apostle and half-brother of Jesus Christ, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4).”

            According to the James 4:4 Scripture, friendship with the world is spiritual adultery, making a person the enemy of God. Another wise man, the Apostle John, wrote, “The whole world lieth in wickedness … keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:19, 21).” John told us that the whole world lies in wickedness, not just some of the world. He specifically mentioned that we are to have nothing to do with idols. Then, yet another wise man, Apostle Paul gave this admonition, “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2).” The good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God, then, is to be found in the renewed mind that is not conformed to this world.

            The combined message from these three wise men can be put into the following summary… Don’t be conformed to this world because the whole world lies in wickedness; But if you are conformed to this world and don’t keep yourself from idols, then you are a friend with the world, an enemy of God, and a spiritual adulterer.

            In light of those stern words, observe the promise God made to those who choose to heed the warnings defined therein. That is, God’s promise is for those who turn away from the ways of the world in order to pursue friendship with Him, to pursue the renewed mind that is not conformed to this world, in 2 Corinthians 6:16-18, “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of The Living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith The Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith The Lord Almighty."

            This is such a wonderful promise of God! He will receive those who come out from among the world and remain separate unto Him, not touching that which is unclean. The Lord Almighty will be their Father and they will be His sons and daughters. So, then what will happen to the idols? The prophet Isaiah told us, in Isaiah 2:17-18, "The LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish (destroy)."

            If you have not invited Jesus Christ into your heart to be your Lord and Savior in your life, stop right where you are and pray this in communication with God, "Father God, in the precious Name of Jesus Christ, the King of kings and The Lord of all lords, I lay my life at Your Feet. I come before You, confessing that I am a sinner, and I ask for You to forgive me of all my sins - those that I know I have committed, as well as those that I am not even aware of.  I ask that You come into my heart and be my Lord. I lay my life, and everything in it, at Your Feet, and ask that You please take me and begin to change me to be like YOU. I ask that You redeem the time that has passed, and allow me the opportunity to become exactly what You have predestined me to be, from before the foundation of the earth. I commit my life to You now, and thank You for receiving me as Your own. In the wonderful Name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, I pray, Amen."  And AMEN!!!

            Every one of the sons and daughters of The Most High God need, and do well to heed the words of wisdom from Apostle Paul's writing in Philippians 4:8-9, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." Selah... Amen (Let it be so as we pray in The Name of Christ Jesus)!

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      Halleluia! We look forward to hearing how we can stand with you in celebrating your wonder-full life with no doubt! God bless you,

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Day 19, Paragraph 19 of Weekday Blog #1

*Starting our morning and day off great with the 10-minute Weekday Blog*

Our first DAILY blog for each Weekday in JUNE!

Thank you for joining us for this
ground-breaking JOURNEY...
through the 1st CHAPTER of Keith's book,
“Keep the FAITH…Keep Your VISION”!

If you will read this book in its entirety, then you will be equipped to begin walking with the confidence and authority that Jesus Christ came and died to provide for us, in order that we may work *with* Him, be *fulfilled* in our work, lead a *successful life*, and...
      

Day NINETEEN,
Paragraph NINETEEN:

    
In the Book of Isaiah, we find a wondrous declaration from the Lord. Concerning His people, He said, "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands." (Isaiah 49:16) Think about that. We are engraved on the palms of the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Question to ponder:

How does it make you feel to know that, as a committed follower of Christ Jesus, you will forever be safe in the hands of our Savior, never to be plucked out of His hands?  _________________________________________

Keith's "Comments from the Author":

"Our Lord’s life, time of ministry, death, burial, and resurrection are so filled with intricacies. It would literally take a lifetime to examine each and realize the depth by which God went to provide a way for us to be joined to Him, and His family, for eternity. Concerning what God is saying in Isaiah 49:16, for the sake of simplicity, though what He has done for us is not ‘simple’ at all, I would like to explain to you the process of becoming a ‘blood brother’, something the early American Indians are known for doing. It involves two men who were not from the same family and bloodline. After a period of time when the two men had developed a faithful friendship, proving that they were genuinely committed to their relationship, like brothers, they would conduct a ceremony to indicate that as the case. The ultimate objective was binding them together as ‘brothers’. Though they were not brothers in the same family, they would become brothers in blood or, as we used to refer to it when we were 8 or 9 years old out in the woods somewhere, ‘blood brothers’. For us kids, this ‘ceremony’ was a relatively quick and painless process of pricking the end of one of our fingers with a pin until there was a blood drop, putting the ends of our fingers together to mix our blood, and letting all of the kids around us know that we are now bud’s forever. For the Indians, the two who were to be bound together would sharpen a knife, hold the blade on the palm of their left hand, and make a deep cut all the way across the palm. After both guys had blood flowing, they locked hands with their wounds touching, and wrapped a piece of cloth, vine, or something else around their hands. They were to keep their hands bonded together for a specific period of time, until the blood, not only, mixed together, but also (theoretically) flowed into each other’s veins. When the two men felt that their hands had been tied together long enough for the transfusion to have taken place, they untied the rope, wrapped their individual wounds, then went off on their way. Why is it they didn’t just ‘prick’ their fingers like we did as kids? Why did they make such a long, deep cut in their hands to do this? The reason was so that, no matter how much time goes by, the scar would remain. That scar was a symbol to anyone who sees it that the man had been bonded by blood to another man who, in many cases, was closer to them than a brother in their own family. Now, going back to our verse in Isaiah 49:16 where God said, ’Therefore, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hand’, much like the scars in the hands of those two men represent the deepest unity that we can experience in our physical body, by the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross, and by our accepting him as our Lord and Savior we have been grafted in to the family of God by blood, and in to the bloodline and lineage of Christ. Therefore, we are grafted into God’s family. Do you remember the Scripture passage where Jesus explains, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me’ (John 14:6)? Jesus was stating the fact that, if we are not in Him and He is not in us, we are not family. You see, just like that age-old process of becoming ‘blood brothers’ left scars confirming the lifelong bond between two men, the crucifixion left scars in the palms of Christ that confirms that His shedding His blood and giving His life provides us entrance into God’s family. Therefore, when we call on Christ Jesus, repent of our sins, and seek Him with all diligence, His blood flows in our veins, and we are grafted into God’s Family through Him. Christ Jesus is ‘The Door’."

"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved."  (John 10:9a)


*We look forward to joining together again tomorrow! Please make sure to invite your friends who are lost, or who just need encouragement, too! God bless and keep you!*

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Take me to the post from yesterday, *DAY 18*.

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Take me to the beginning, *DAY 1* of this Blog.

To Show GOD BIG in a World that Sees Him small… 
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