A Christian’s response to the Tiger Woods story, as blogged by C.J. Mahaney:

As expected, the allegations of adultery involving a public figure are attracting a media pile-on. This is a big story with a big audience and it’s a story that will not disappear soon. Tiger Woods is being hunted by the media.

But let us make sure we do not join the hunt. A Christian’s response to this story should be distinctly different. We should not be entertained by the news. We should not have a morbid interest in all the details. We should be saddened and sobered. We should pray for this man and even more for his wife.

Idolatry is a topic that has been discussed before on this blog, but it one of those perennial topics that you must always revisit. It’s the motherload. So here is a brief refresher/primer into what the Bible means when it refers to idolatry as a means of understanding sin.

Idolatry is a tendency of all humans to take things and put them in the place of God – idolatry was not simply a cultural sin of the Israelites thousands of years ago. We may not be carving things out of stone anymore or saying to a pile of wood “you are my god,” but if we think that those passages about idolatry have nothing to say to us because of that we are missing a whole lot. In our culture and our time the root of idolatry (fallen humanity) grows up into a different kind of tree that bears different kind of fruit, so when looking for our idols we must look for different things. If we stop the search at carved stone gods and, finding none, think that we are in the clear, we are in danger. We have to realize that their chief sin was not that they carved things, but that they exchanged the Glory of the Living God for something worthless. They worshipped something other than Him in their hearts.

We were made to live with everything in its right place; with the creator in the place of the creator and the creations in the place of the creations. Idolatry is switching of the two; putting the creations in God’s place and asking of them things that only are truly to be found in God, bowing down to things other than God and giving them the rule in our lives that is God’s alone.

This opens idolatry up; instead of searching for golden calves and altars we are searching for something much more difficult to spot, the places our hearts are subtly or sometimes blatantly cheating on God. The things in our lives which are our day to day masters; which have powerful say in our lives. The things we look to to save us from the worries and pains and stresses of our days.

It is not so much a question of the things in themselves being evil; it is what our sinful hearts ask of them and do with them that causes destruction.

It is hard to get such an accurate perception of ourselves that we can make a good diagnosis of our own idols, so we must come, as it were, to those answers through the backdoor. We are too close to our own idols, but they reveal themselves despite us. These questions might help in locating them. It boils down to finding out what you are asking the idols:

Can you give me security?

…make me feel beautiful?

…make me feel loved?

…accept me?

…assure me I am worthy?

…guarantee my future?

…help me control and be the sovereign of my life?

So we must ask:

What am I most afraid of?

What do I long for most passionately

What is my hell? Heaven?

Where do you run for comfort? Anger? Food? Other person?

What do you complain about most?

What angers you most?

What makes you happiest?

What do you worry about?

How do you explain yourself to others? Articulate who you are?

What causes you do be angry with God? Disappointed? Frustrated?

(I am angry at the real god because he didn’t serve my false God)

What do you brag about?

What do you want more than anything else?

What, if you had it, could you be happy even though God did not exist?

What do you sacrifice for?

If you could change one thing in your life what would it be?

Whose approval are you seeking? Whose approval matters most? Whose doesn’t matter?

What do you want to control? What do you keep trying to bring under your dominion as a little sovereign?

What comfort do you treasure the most? What do you run to to get yourself centered?

Essentially, we take the good things and ask them to give us what only God can give us, and what he cannot give us truly apart from himself. We take the things God created and turn to them instead of the Creator.

Like God said of the Israelites, “My people have exchanged their Glory for something worthless.” The process of redemption works this backwards. It takes a whole life long, but God is gracious, and sends us help. He woos us back to him. He lets us feel the pain our idols cause so we can come to him for balm.

The Word:

Deuteronomy 11:18-21
18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.

Dueteronomy 32:44-47
44 Moses came with Joshua [h] son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Proverbs 3:1,2
1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
2 for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you prosperity.

Nehemiah 8:8
1 All the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel….3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law…8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.

James 1:22-25
22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

2 Timothy 3:15,16
4But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

1 Peter 2:2,3
2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Hebrews 4:12
12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Psalm 19: 7-9
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

1 Timothy 4:12, 13
12Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.

Matthew 4:4
4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Prayer

Psalm 88:1, 2, 13
1O LORD, the God who saves me,
day and night I cry out before you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
13 But I cry to you for help, O LORD;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Philippians 1:18,19
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
1 Thessalonians 5:16,18
16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Matthew 14:22,23
22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.
John 16:23,24
23In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Fellowship/ Community of believers
Hebrews 10:24,25
24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Acts 2:42-47
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Psalm 133
1 How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
Romans 12:9-13
9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Colossians 3:16
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

What comes to mind when you think of the terms repentance and confession? They seem like something we really focus on at the beginning of our walk with the Lord: We confess we are sinners, and we repent of our sins. But does it stop there? Should we move on and never come back to the very foundation of recognition for our need for the work of Christ in our lives? For me, they are two things that I don’t do often enough.

When we think of how to grow in our faith, we tend to think of what we can do practically to grow.  Bible reading, prayer, going to church, etc. come quickly to mind.  These things are absolutely indispensable to our growth and yet Psalm 119 points out a surprising way to grow that we often forget.

Christian Audio has John Piper’s book, Desiring God, for free the month of November. Click HERE to download it. I highly recommend it.

Over the last couple weeks I have been working on my art project for Veritas worship on November 8. Eventually the project will be complete and others will get to see it (and hopefully be provoked to think about it). Little time is spent by viewers thinking about the process that goes in to an artwork but for artists the process is of most importance.