We are too civilized and educated to worship idols, aren’t we? We wouldn’t consider wasting our time carving a figure out of wood or stone and bowing down to it. The object would be blind, deaf, and dumb. Totally useless to help us out.

Then again, we may be guilty of something too similar more times than we realize. We carve out a living, put money into savings to fall back on later, purchase fine homes, automobiles, and a variety of toys. If we aren’t careful, we grow to depend on these things and spend the majority of our time striving to maintain the high standard of living we feel we deserve and to which we  have become accustomed. We begin to trust in these things rather than in God.

At some point we must come to realize that we are depending on what our hands have created. We have become the creator and sustainer robbing God of the position only He deserves. He deserves it because He is a Sovereign God. In reality, the only One who can provide for us.We often take for granted the health and abilities He has given us that enable us to get up everyday and work  to earn the money that buys all those other things. We forget that in one instant, our health could be gone. Lying flat on our backs we would be forced to stare upward begging God to provide for us, finally realizing that He was the provider all along.

Idolatry is not just a problem ancient people in far away lands were guilty of committing. If the truth be known, it is a sin we probably have all been guilty of at one point or another. If we ever wonder if a material possession, job, money, or even relationship means more to us than it should, it probably does.

Riches are not a sin but a blessing from God if gained honestly. It is our reliance on them instead of God that becomes a sin. I’ve heard it said before that we should hold loosely to all things on earth so that it won’t hurt so badly when God has to pry our fingers loose. In the end, it is only our trust in Christ that will save us, not any of our possessions. Only things done for Him will last into eternity. God’s word to Habakkuk over 2,500r 2,500
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV


WP-Bible plugin years ago, given during a time when pagan idol worship thrived in all regions of the world, still rings true today.

Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it?…For he who makes it trusts in his own creation;…Can it give guidance?….there is no breath in it.

But the LORD in in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.

Habakkuk 2:18-20Habakkuk 2:18-20
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Idolatry Is Foolish ¹⁸ What is an idol worth? It's merely a false god. Why trust a speechless image made from wood or metal by human hands? ¹⁹ What can you learn from idols covered with silver or gold? They can't even breathe. Pity anyone who says to an idol of wood or stone, “Get up and do something!” ²⁰ Let all the world be silent— the Lord is present in his holy temple.

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Our LORD is alive! Come before Him reverently and wait silently to hear what He has to say. Depend on His goodness totally and exclusively.

I’ve been doing a lot of traveling over the last day and a half, and I brought along some CD’s I haven’t listened to in a while. One was Never Picture Perfect, by Rich Mullins. This is a gem of an album, with songs that deal with praising God in the midst of pain, in the face of persecution and the mockery of the world. It deals with choosing God over all that the world offers (and fails to offer). One song, The Love of God, is a powerful work that highlights a God whose love is challenging to grapple with – bigger than we can understand, more dynamic and true than our own. Another is I Will Sing, an a cappella intro that proclaims our call to stand with those who hurt, with those who suffer. Rich interacts with themes from Isaiah, the Psalms, and the Sermon on the Mount (to name a few sources). This is music with a passion for God’s word and God’s heart.

But one song in particular stood out to me, with our time spent in Habakkuk. That song is Bound To Come Some Trouble. When faced with pain and trouble in this life – the kind that drives us to tears, and drives us to our knees – we are reminded that Christ has been there, too. He has faced pain, rejection, injustice and deprivation. God dwelt among us and experienced life in a sin-broken world.

Take a listen and spend some time thanking God for being present in your life, and in the life of the body at The Mount. Ask yourself, how does the fact that God knows what it is like – that he has been there – give you peace, comfort, or even confidence?

Below, I have provided a link to the lyrics. I am not endorsing the site or any of its advertisements, just using it as a resource to share this song and God’s heart for us. As we draw one day closer to Thanksgiving, thank him for the comfort he offers to those who seek it.

Rich Mullins – Bound To Come Some Trouble lyrics | LyricsMode.com

Lyrics | Rich Mullins lyrics – Bound To Come Some Trouble lyrics

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  I’ll say it again-it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

Matthew 19:24Matthew 19:24
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
24 In fact, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God's kingdom.”

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You’ve probably heard this whole “camel through the eye of a needle thing” before.  And perhaps you’ve dismissed it as something you’ll never have to deal with since you’re not a rich man. Well, what exactly is rich in this context anyway? Is it someone who has a lot of money in their multiple bank accounts? Maybe it is someone with a summer house and a winter house.  Perhaps it is an individual with a country club membership, three or more bays in their garage, a boat, designer clothing, and a “better than anyone else” attitude to compliment their assets? Someone who travels to exotic locations, maybe that’s part of being a rich man or woman.  What exactly is Jesus talking about when He tells His disciples that a camel has a better chance of squeezing through the eye of a tiny needle than a rich man entering God’s Kingdom?

Consider this: What if the definition of a rich person in this context is “anyone who is more preoccupied with using their resources to serve their own desires and pleasures than loving God and their neighbors sacrificially?” Now that definition might just open up a whole new can of worms when it comes to who fits in that category.  Yeah, we’d all need steel-toed boots to keep our toes from being stepped on with that definition!

The amount of wealth it takes to make one rich is immaterial. It is the attitude and heart behind the resources.  That is what Jesus is trying to convey here.  He is saying, “Having a lot of resources is dangerous, because humanity has a tendency to selfishly hoard things for themselves.”

We must be careful to recognize the Source of all we have and not buy into the lie that whatever we possess we attained of our own achievement.  Every single thing we own, every thing tangible and intangible, is on loan to us from God.  We have done nothing, absolutely nothing, independent of Him to acquire it, whatever it is.  There is no such thing as a “self-made man” or a “self-made woman.”  All of us are God-made!!

There is a prevailing ideology that wealth is earned rather than bestowed, and believing that turns our hearts away from the True Benefactor and to ourselves.  Without even realizing it, each of us has the capacity to make little gods of our possessions, and even ourselves, if we fail to worship Almighty God as the creator and giver of all things, and to use whatever He chooses to give us for His glory and not our own. It comes down to a matter of who or what you’re serving.

No one can serve two masters.  For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and money.

Matthew 6:24Matthew 6:24
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Money ²⁴ You cannot be the slave of two masters! You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

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People who possess a modicum of wealth (and that would be everyone reading this today) must be vigilant in honoring God with their possessions.  They must give regularly to the work of God’s Kingdom through tithes and offerings and donations of various sorts and even their personal time.  Doing this acknowledges God as the Source of all, and helps keep us and “our stuff” in its rightful place.  We should treat possessions in such a way that they serve God’s purposes, rather than finding us serving them.

Is it impossible for “wealthy” people such as ourselves to enter God’s Kingdom?  No.  But, it takes wisdom and will-power to keep things in the right perspective, lest we make that ol’ desert dweller start trying to “thread the needle!”

If you listen to the news, you’ll hear a lot of people say a lot of things. And you can’t believe most of it. Politicians often tell us they are going to accomplish something. They usually don’t call it a promise anymore, because they realize that it looks bad when they can’t deliver. Maybe they also realize they usually don’t have the power to guarantee it anyway.

Promises usually come also with some  reference to a source of authority. Jesus even had to criticize people for swearing, making promises about what they would do in the future, in God’s name. So often people are unable to come through with their promises. We can’t see the future. Unforeseen circumstances keep us from doing what we want in our hearts.

God is not like either of these scenarios. He is not afraid to promise – even when it comes to big things. His promises to Abraham, to Isaac and Jacob were huge, and God came through powerfully, faithfully. And since God has no higher authority to base his promises on, he can promise in his own name. When God says he is going to do something, we do well to believe him.

God has promised that if we respond to him, he will forgive us. He has promised the presence of his Holy Spirit, not just close-at-hand, but within. Jesus promised that he would return, declaring that he had authority in heaven and on earth. What other promises can you remember from scripture? Hoe do God’s promises affect the way you respond to him, the way you live daily?

Let’s end today with a promise from the book of Hebrews:

When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that the things on earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will be left.

Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful  and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.

Hebrews 12:26-29Hebrews 12:26-29
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
26 . When God spoke the first time, his voice shook only the earth. This time he has promised to shake the earth once again, and heaven too. ²⁷ The words “once again” mean that these created things will someday be shaken and removed. Then what cannot be shaken will last. ²⁸ We should be grateful that we were given a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And in this kingdom we please God by worshiping him and by showing him great honor and respect. ²⁹ . Our God is like a destructive fire!

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I like to watch Survivor. All the people with inflated egos, wondering if they are next to get sent home, or whether all their clever deceptions and conniving will work out to win them a million bucks. The personal drama combines with physical deprivation to create an entertaining show. And every show you wait for it: the “blindside”, where the unsuspecting and haughty competitor is ousted by his companions, blissfully unaware of what is coming.

Each one thinks they are in control of the game. They imagine their plans working perfectly. They think they have excellent judgment, and that people will understand in the end that it is “just a game”. Sadly, few realize until too late that they aren’t in control. Even those who seem to be in control can find that one misstep, one moment of pleased self-satisfaction can turn the tables, ripping control from their plotting fingers.

Look at the nations and be amazed! Watch and be astounded at what I will do! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. I am raising up the Babylonians (Habakkuk1:5-6)… The Babylonians trampled many nations, and took all the credit for it. They were brutal, overpowering their enemies, ripping apart cities and kingdoms and flinging the inhabitants to the far reaches of their empire. Isaiah was given visions of the coming onslaught, while Jeremiah witnessed the devastation first-hand. Habakkuk, just prior to the rise of Babylon, hears God share his plans – to use Babylon to discipline his wayward people.

Babylon saw their success and imagined that it was their own strength and authority that gave them victory. But in God’s plans their success was temporary, short-lived even. They were tools, not nearly as sovereign and “in control” as they imagined. What Habakkuk learned, what God shared with him as the questions and complaints flowed, was that God is in control.

Life is not simple, nor straight-forward. Life is messy, with bills to pay, obligations to fulfill, and never enough time and energy to get it all done. You can succeed at work, and fail in your relationships at home. You can live an outstanding life on the outside, and be overrun by sin and shame that is eating you up inside. But in all our circumstances, God is in control. We don’t have to fear being overwhelmed. God is there, and he has not for a moment been dethroned. Not now, not ever.

All the powers that oppose Christ and his kingdom, all our circumstances that tempt us to take shortcuts and serve ourselves, will all come to nothing. Those who think they are in control, they will be astounded, with those who supported them. All the false impressions of control will be blown away like chaff – an image of something that lacks worth and lasting value (check out Jeremiah 13:20-26Jeremiah 13:20-26
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
20 Jerusalem, you were so proud of ruling the people of Judah. But where are they now? Look north, and you will see your enemies approaching. ²¹ You once trusted them to help, but now I'll let them rule you. y You once ... rule you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. What do you say about that? You will be in pain like a woman giving birth. ²² Do you know why your clothes were torn off and you were abused? It was because of your terrible sins. ²³ Can you ever change and do what's right? Can people change the color of their skin, or can a leopard remove its spots? If so, then maybe you can change and learn to do right. ²⁴ I will scatter you, just as the desert wind blows husks from grain tossed in the air. ²⁵ I won't change my mind. I, the Lord, have spoken. You rejected me and worshiped false gods. * ²⁶ You were married to me, but you were unfaithful. You even became a prostitute z prostitute: See the note at . by worshiping disgusting gods on hilltops and in fields.

WP-Bible plugin!). God is in control, and we can be comforted that this sovereign is full of love and good will towards us, his people.