Word for you, today.

‘…KEEP AWAY FROM ANYTHING THAT MIGHT TAKE GOD’S PLACE…’

1 JOHN 5:21 NLT

There are some pretty extreme stories in the Old Testament that leave us scratching our head and thinking, ‘What..?’ Like when the Israelites started putting down the food God miraculously provided. ‘Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died’ (Numbers 21:6 NIV). Heavy scenes! Not surprisingly, the people repented and begged God to remove the snakes. Then something weirder happened - God told Moses to make a bronze snake sculpture, and said whoever looked at it would be healed - and they were. It was a bizarre sequence of events. But there’s more… For centuries the people preserved, protected and polished this bronze snake, dragging it with them everywhere, until they ended up worshipping it. Something that had once been an answer to prayer became an idol. The Bible describes how eventually a King called Hezekiah ‘…broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for…the Israelites had been burning incense to it…’ (2 Kings 18:4 NIV).
Think it can’t happen? John says, ‘…keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.’ Anything or anybody can become an idol; your football team, your favorite band, your fashionable wardrobe, your fancy new mobile… Don’t get the wrong idea; there’s nothing wrong with enjoying all this stuff. It’s only when wrong stuff begins to take God’s place!
Jesus said, ‘Your heart will always be where your treasure is’ (Luke 12:34 CEV). Jesus deserves ‘…first place in everything’ (Colossians 1:18 NAS) – without exception. When He’s truly at the centre of your life everything else is just icing on the cake.

1 Cor 15- 16, Matt 1:1-17, Ps 103:13- 22, Pr 10: 14