Tips and Tricks for Identifying and Casting Out Idols

   Once upon a time there was a girl named Caroline. She had a shelf full of idols in her mind and on her schedule but she had no clue that they were there. She didn't want them but she couldn't get rid of them. You see, she didn't want them so badly that she convinced herself that she was a great Christian and her idols were non-existent. I doing so, she unconsciously placed another idol on her shelf, herself and her reputation. She also built a neat little wall to protect her idols. Obviously, this was her fault but the sad thing is, she didn't even realize she was doing it. Do this sound like you too? 
    I carried on in the manner I described above pretty much from when I was a little bitty elementary schooler (I can't say exactly when but honestly it may of started in like kindergarten!) up to eighth grade. I heard countless lessons on idols over that time and often reevaluated my life, made plans to stop the idol problem and then didn't carry out those plans do to my laziness and the fact that I subconsciously thought I was to good of a Christian to have a idol problem. The very fact that I thought my goodness was preventing the problem should have been a major red flag that something was wrong but because my biggest idol was my own goodness, I turned a blind eye on that flag and all others. Due to my perpetual red flag ignoring problem, I decided to make a little quiz to help make red flags glaring and impossible to miss for myself and others. If you take the quiz below, answer honestly or you're wasting you time. Sometimes honesty is hard when you know the right answer and badly want the right answer to be true for you so I would suggest a prayer beforehand too.

1. What do you spend you most time doing? (work, school, ect)

    When you're doing this activity, you probably day dream a little. What do you day dream about?

(RED FLAG #1! If God is not part of your daydreams and/or they don't glorify Him, you a probably idolizing whatever it is that you're daydreaming about.)


2. Why do you do this activity so much? (If you're think, "what a stupid question, I go to work to make money Dumbo!" or "skipping school is against the law!" Please understand that you need to create more questions out of answers until you're specific. EX: Why do I want money? To care for my family. Why do I want to care for my family? Because I love them. Why do I love them? Because they're my family. And when you reach a clear stopping or circling point, you're done).



(RED FLAG #2: If you end up with anything other than God, you're idolizing something. This may sound ridiculous because even in my example I didn't end up with God but (hypocritical statement coming up although I do strive for and pray about this) we should love others because God made them and loves them, that type of love is much stronger anyway. So yeah, you could be idolizing anything from your family (putting there wellbeing and wants before what you know God wants from you) to the ability to provide for you family to college education.)


3. When you wake up in the morning, what are your first couple of thoughts? (or when you go to sleep)


(RED FLAG #3: I they don't revolve around Jesus, it's time for an idol check! Also, (just I hint from the experienced) if you wake up stressed or worried about something, you could be idolizing yourself and your personal ability to handle things since you're clearly refraining from trusting God. This one is super hard to recognize and get rid of and requires some major prayer and Bible time because the more you know God, the more you trust Him.)


In your free time, what do you gravitate towards and why? 


(RED FLAG #4: If what pulls you is completely apart from God, that's extremely problematic!)


   So there's my little "quiz." Hopefully you'll find it helpful in the identification process. Now, time for the tips and tricks for casting out idols! I'm no expert in this area as I'm not completely rid of idols myself but I figured I can share how I've dealt with them in the past. 
    Daydreams are the best method of recognizing idols for me. My daydreams range from preventing shootings by bringing the shooter to God at the last minute to being kidnapped and successfully fighting my way out with my incredible (and non existent) karate skills or being saved unexpectedly by a dashing warrior poet. Clearly there's a wide range but the just of it all is that in my daydreams I'm a perfect follower of Jesus and a brave young hero who surprises others with my awesomeness. This reveals that I idolize my strength and faithfulness. The problem is that my daydreams exploit these two qualities into something much greater than they actually are. It also shows that the way others see me is really important to me. Although my daydreams about bringing others to Jesus may seem fine, a major component of those dreams is being seen as someone who is clearly connected to God. I shouldn't want to be seen as connected to God, I should want to be connected to God. Lately I've been trying to listen to the Bible and focus on God so that those idolized desires slowly fade.

   And now, dear brothers and sisters one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
                                    Philippians 4:8

   Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.
                                    Ecclesiastes 5:7

   
   I once read something on daydreams where the author said that she often dreamed of her ministry and creating a big mega church and bringing lots of people to God and she didn't think that was wrong because it revolved around God. I disagree. Her dream revolved around her ministry and her being the creator of a huge church and her being the reason for other people's salvation. What we should dream about instead is the day when every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is king. About the day when He returns and conquers all evil for one last final time. We should meditate (focus our thoughts) on bible verses and ponder their meaning. We should recall what God has been teaching us lately. We must take control of our thoughts and make sure that even in our daydreams, God is in the forefront and we are in the background.
   For red flag #2 and #3 the only option I know of is prayer so I'm just going to leave it at that but #4 has some cool options. In my free time I love to read. Like I just made a summer reading list and counted the books on it only to discover there's over 50! (so it will be my reading list for a while!) I also have a slightly strange obsession with animated disney movies. A couple months ago, I started to feel weird about running to these things during times I could be spending with God but I didn't just want to ditch these things that I liked to do so much. Why would God give me a passion for reading if he wanted me to completely ditch books? It was then that I started seeing the connections. When I read/watch movies with God He shows me the connections between what I see in these secular works and Him and I can write about them and learn from them. I'm sure that there are things in you life you love to do that you could turn into Jesus praising experiences too if you pray about them and make the effort! But there are also things that just won't work. In my life that is regularly watching TV. A couple months ago, I watched a lot of TV shows and enjoyed doing so but was also taught what it means to have a "guilty pleasure" because the whole time I watched I felt guilty. Watching shows meant I'd go to bed later and be more tired in my quiet time the next morning. It meant I was often living a lie by taking "TV breaks" while I was supposed to be doing my homework. I meant I was more likely to neglect certain responsibilities and it filled my mind with nonsense instead of God. Others may not have this problem but for me it was clear that TV shows were not good in my life and it was necessary to spend my time in other ways. I no longer watch shows because I recognized that they could have a legitimate hold over me if I let them and that was not godly. If you feel like you are stretching to find ways to focus am activity on God, it may be one you want to end.
   Anyway, hope you learned something from my super long and rambling post that you can and will implement in your life! :)

Senses

   Many people (myself included) have trouble believing in a God they can't see or hear or touch or discover with their five senses. But here's the thing, God has no need or desire to interact much with our physical self, He chooses instead to reveal Himself to our soul. And if we are too stubborn to believe in a God we can't sense physically, then our soul's senses aren't in good working order or, more likely, we've never learned to use them. And if many people have never learned to use their souls senses, why is the world does God reveal Himself in a way where you need a soul to detect Him rather than a physical body? 
   The reason behind God's chosen method of interaction with us makes much more sense when it dawns on us that Jesus isn't saving our physical self, He's saving our soul. Since this is the case, of course our souls are the most important part of us to Him and the part He wants us to use when getting to know Him since it's our souls that will continue to interact with Him through eternity.
p.s. I just had that little thought when I was writing my Digging Deeper post so there it is! :)

God's Girl

   This blog was actually started for a school project although I had previously started another blog called God's Girl. I've decided to start posting on this blog only to make things easier but I thought I'd share the link to my other blog with you if you wanted to read any of my other writing: http://thejoysofagirlwhoslivingforgod.blogspot.com/. 
Warning: there are 2 or 3 repeat posts from my failed attempt at running two blogs about the exact same thing! 

The Power of Love

    Due to my frequent posts about love I'm sure you've picked up on the fact that I've been think a lot about love lately. This is because pretty recently God has been revealing to me the magnitude of His love for me (and you!). I'm constantly being amazed by the strength with which God loves us and the more aware I become of His love for me, the more I desire to love Him back and follow Him in everything I do.
    Earlier this month I was writing Valentines Day cards to soldiers and I put in some lines about God's incredible love for them when I thought popped into my head. Like we saw in last weeks post about books and the war one the week before, love is an extremely powerful force. In fact, (for those of you who didn't read previous posts) I believe that it is the most powerful force because it alone has the power to change the heart and with the power to change a heart comes the power to change the fate of that individual. 
    So, the thought that popped into my head was that love is the most powerful force in existence and will continue to be that through eternity. Because God's love for us is greatest possible love, the most powerful force in existence is directed at us for all of eternity through God! I think this is absolutely incredible and I'm so thankful to God for this realization and the countless others regarding His love! I hope you find that fact as wonderful and intriguing as I did! :)

Biblical Evidence:
   For any of you who are wondering where I'm basing this Biblical I commend you for that! And will now proceed to answer you question.
   The Bible supports the idea that love is the most powerful force by saying the God is all powerful! He is capable of all things (Matthew 19:26). He is Lord and creator and His understanding is unfathomable (Isaiah 40:28). The Bible also says that God is love (1 John 4:8). And that God gives of His spirit to us (1 John 4:14) therefore His love is directed at us. So if love is the force that embodies the all powerful God (God/JC) and He gives us His spirit then the most powerful force in existence is directed at us through all of eternity through God!

Frozen (love and fear)

   I know that y'all are already aware of my love for the Disney movie Frozen but I just wanted to give y'all a cool connection to the Bible to think about. The in my opinion, the thematic summary of the movie would go something like this:
   
 Elsa was extremely fearful that her lack of control over her      powers would cause her to hurt those around her. Because of 
 this she distanced herself from those she loved (aka everyone)  to prevent them from ever being hurt by her. In doing this, 
 she also lived in great fear that she would end up hurting  people despite her distance. During her years alone her 
 immense love continued but her plan left her unable to share 
 it so she had to keep it hidden away inside of her. It wasn't  until she allowed all the love she'd kept inside for years to  overflow  out of her that she learned to control her powers 
 and, therefore, banished fear.

   This directly relates to 1 John 4:17: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out all fear.

   That is the theme of Frozen, really and truly! So even if not every aspect of Frozen is Biblical sound, it's theme most certainly is! Hope y'all find that as cool as I did! :) 

To watch the Love Thaws Scene click here!

Frozen (love-part 2)

  

   I know I did a post on love in Frozen earlier but I thought of a couple more cool examples that I wanted to post! :) Once again, this WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS! So if you have not seen the movie please go watch it and then come back and read this post!!! :)

1) Anna's love for Kristoff:
     Anna's love for Kristoff is shown most in her excitement and  openness towards him. This is especially evident in the new    sleigh scene. She is so excited about every tiny aspect of what  she gives him and makes sure it's perfect and that he'll love  it. She is also completely aware that it's a gift he'll never  be able to repay her for but her only concern is him. This is  like how God cares about every tiny aspect of our lives and  each little aspect is a perfect gift from Him. He knows that we  can never repay Him for anything He gives us but any  hesitations due to that fact are completely overridden by His  astounding love! 

2) Kristoff's and Sven's love:

     Sven loves Kristoff more than anyone else because of the  unique and perfect way Kristoff understands Him. Just as  Kristoff is the only one who understands Sven completely, God is  the only one who will always understand us. No matter what we  say or how we say it, God knows our heart and intentions and  never doubts or misinterprets our meaning. This is a truly  amazing God quality because it is unique to your relationship  with Him and eliminates all misunderstandings. God knows our  hearts (Luke 16:15).

3) The Troll's love for Kristoff:

     As the "Fixer Upper" song makes us well aware of, the Trolls  know all about every bad characteristic Kristoff possesses but  that in no way lessens their love for him! God is the same way  with us. Every bad quality we have is out in the open with God  but His affections for us are just as deep as if we were  perfect. 

Frozen (love-part one)

   I am completely obsessed with the newest Disney movie, Frozen! It is probably my all time favorite! :) If you haven't seen the movie this post will be chock full of major spoilers so please do not continue reading until you have watched it!
   One of Frozen's main themes is love. Remember this scene?

I hope so because it's a really great one but for those of you who don't know, Anna confesses to Olaf that she doesn't even know what love is and Olaf responds with his own definition: Love is putting someone else's needs before yours.
    I believe this definition is spot on and is depicted beautifully in Frozen and well as in the Bible. Below I've complied 3 examples from Frozen with connections to Jesus's love for us!

1) Elsa's love for Anna:
     Many people interpret Elsa shutting Anna out as cruel        because that's the way Anna sees it but in reality, Elsa was not  spitefully shutting her out the exact opposite. Elsa condemned   herself to a life of loneliness and isolation in  order to  protect her sister. Hiding her powers from Anna was the  last  thing she wanted to do (as we see in her conversation with  Grand Pabbie troll) but because of the trolls warning  she  did  it  out of love for Anna. Later, when the pain and sadness was  over,  Anna finally understood the great love her older sister  had for  her because she knew the whole story. This is very  similar to  what Jesus's disciples must have felt like when  Jesus died on  the cross. They had spent the past three years  following this  guy and they knew that He was capable of saving  His own life but  He didn't do it. If I were a friend of Jesus  at that point I  probably would have felt like He      was purposefully abandoning me  without any explanation.  However, once He rose, His great love  for all of  us becomes clear because we, at last, understand the  whole story.
2) Kristoff's love for Anna:
     Olaf's example of love is how "Kristoff brought you back  here to Hans and left you forever." This example of love is so  genuine and true in every aspect. If you really love someone,  you are never going to keep them prisoner in any sense of the  word. Even if letting them go isn't what you view as the  right decision or is painful for you, giving someone freedom is  a necessary part of loving someone. God gives us the freedom to  choose to love Him back and accept his gift in Jesus, or not to.  When we choose to love Him He is overjoyed and delighted but he  is not going to force us to make that decision. And when we  don't, when we choose to push Him away, He agonizes over the  loss of His beloved creation but does not force our path  or decisions. In the end the choice is ours not matter how much  pain and sadness He endures because of it. 
3) Anna's love for Elsa:
     Anna love Elsa enough to give her life for her. Even though  she doesn't feel that Elsa returns that love, she is still  willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for her older sister.    This is very similar to Jesus's sacrifice for us. He gave His  life and pride, He underwent torturous physical pain and  spiritual agony all on our behalf fully aware that we aren't  even capable of loving Him back in the same way. 

Hope you enjoyed the connections! And here's some Biblical love to finish off the post: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

Valentines Day

    Valentines Day and love are always connected to each other but in reality, the superficial of pink hearts and teddy bears that line the shelves of Walmart are nothing in comparison to the love that Jesus has for us. 

     The verse above is John 3:16 and perfectly explains the magnitude of the love that God has for us. He sent His only son, Jesus, into torture so that some meaningless, sinful people on earth could be saved. And even more amazing, Jesus willingly went! True love is selfless and sacrificial and that is the love Jesus gives to us. Romans 5:8 say this, "But God showed His own love for us in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us." Keep His great love and everlasting gift in mind today and for the rest of eternity!