DailyTheocentrism: Idolatry is doing what we are supposed to be doing- only doing it the wrong way
September 19, 2010 | 
Author 
We are made to worship.
We are made to be dependent upon something or Someone greater than us. When we “worship” in any way, we are doing what we were made to do, only when we pervert it so as to place our gaze on ANYTHING other than God, we turn what is natural and right to unnatural sin.
Everything has it’s place.
Only God is to be worshipped.
Only God can bear the weight if glory.
So, who are you looking at?
Posted in DailyTheocentrisms | 
Tags: Christian Hedonism, Delight, Idolatry, Religious Affections, Sin, Worship
Fallen man in his natural state, in the flesh and apart from God, lives life striving and trying to understand the “why” of life. Why do I live? “Why” me? Why now? But in their quest to answer the true “why” of their lives, they get caught up in the “how” of life. For example, the education system produces millions of souls that know all the intricacies of the human body and its environment, down to the minutest details with laser-like precision. They have plenty of information to answer “how” things work, but they stumble when it comes to “why”. They gain and gain knowledge (the “how”), but fall short when it comes to understanding (the “why”). (NT) Even in churches today, we memorize verses, we know what they say, but are clueless to what they really mean (Stansbury). There is head knowledge with a rebellious and uncommitted heart; and we get “puffed-up” knowing the verses and become filled with spiritual pride, but have no idea how to get the verses out of our heads and into our hearts and out into our lives. Then, and only then, is love for God appropriated and used to “build-up”. First, the Bible answers the “how” (Gen. 1:1-Gen. 2:3). It’s a very simple statement. God created everything and that’s it. If He wanted to give us all the details of how He did, He would have. He simply wants us to trust that He did it. The rest of the Book tells us “why”. We tend to spend most of our lives studying “how” God did everything versus “why” or His purpose or His plan for creation. In Rob’s blog above we see “how” humanity is worshiping and the perversion of worship. We worship and serve and glorify and honor and devote and commit ourselves to everything except the One thing (=the Person of Jesus Christ) we are supposed to be, and that is HIM. The following will hopefully open our eyes to “why” all the distorted and perverted and confused worship is rampant. (Anna just got up. To be cont…)
continued from above:
In Isaiah 14:24-27 “The LORD of hosts has sworn saying, ‘Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand’… This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the Hand that is stretched out against all the nations. FOR THE LORD OF HOSTS HAS PLANNED, AND WHO CAN FRUSTRATE IT? And as for His stretched-out Hand, WHO CAN TURN IT BACK?” Well, what is God’s plan? In Isaiah 17:7-8 it says “In that day man WILL have regard for his Maker, and his eyes WILL look to the Holy One of Israel. And he will NOT have regard for the altars, the work of his hands, NOR will he look to that which his fingers have made.” You see, when man “forgets the God of salvation” (Is. 17:10), they start getting ‘creative'(perverted) and begin worshiping gods of their own imaginations and gods made by the “arm of the flesh”. (OT) Where does this perversion, this distortion of true worship come from? Where does it originate? This is where the sheep and goats are separated. It is GOD who ordained the perversion! They forgot Him, so “the LORD has mixed within her a spirit of distortion.” (Is, 19:14) In Romans 1:23-28, mankind “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image…therefore GOD GAVE THEM OVER in the lusts of their hearts to impurity. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and WORSHIPED and served the creature rather than the Creator…for this reason GOD GAVE THEM OVER to degrading passions. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO A DEPRAVED MIND, TO DO THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT PROPER.”In Genesis 11:9, did not God “confuse the language of the whole earth”? Why is God doing this? Why is He ‘allowing’ this type of false worship? Why has He determined man for this? Well, again He has a perfect plan, and also, “WHO RESISTS HIS WILL?” (Rom. 9:19) In Isaiah 19:22 it says, “The LORD will strike Egypt, STRIKING BUT HEALING, so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and will heal them.” Because of their and our stubborn and wandering hearts, “understand what the LORD of hosts has purposed”. (Is. 19:12b) He will send oppression and distortion and signs and wonders, “so that they will cry to the LORD, and He will send them a Savior, and a Champion, and He will deliver them. Thus the LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day. (Watch what happens now…) THEY WILL EVEN WORSHIP AND SACRIFICE AND OFFERING, AND WILL MAKE A VOW TO THE LORD AND PERFORM IT.” (Is. 19:20-21) “In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria…and the Egyptians will WORSHIP with the Assyrians…in that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria…blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My Hands, and Israel My inheritance.” (Is. 19:25) What a Master Plan! What Power to weave through fallen history and depraved humanity (the “how”) to fulfill His plan for man to worship Him and Him alone (the “why”). He is bringing both Jews and Gentiles unto true worship of the true God. For the time being it may look bad; it may be upside down and confused and perverted, but “we KNOW that GOD CAUSES ALL THINGS TO WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD…ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.” Thank God for “healing the bruise He has inflicted”. (Is. 30:26b) Thank God for using His perfect means (the “how”) by His infinite wisdom to get man to “regard Him, to look upon Him” (Is. 17:7) and to “come and WORSHIP (the “why”) the LORD.” (Is. 29:13b)