Zechariah 10:2
The idols speak deceit, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd.
Glorious, Ever-living, Creator,
You are highly exalted! No other gods can give us greater gifts. The gifts You give cost more than we could ever pay. You are able to do just as You please. You give us puffy clouds and warm sunshine; pouring rain and howling winds; blue skies and majestic mountains; rolling seas and roaring thunder; fruitful plains and dry deserts; fragrant flowers and gentle breezes.
Instead of graciously accepting these pricey gifts, we foolishly toss them aside without unwrapping them, like spoiled, unappreciative children. Instead of longing for more of You, we wish for store-bought baubles made of silver and gold. Rather than seeking Your perfectly wise counsel, we seek the fabricated advice of fortune-tellers who offer us false dreams and little consolation. We are wandering like lost sheep without a shepherd, vulnerable to deadly attacks.
Forgive us, O Lord, for senselessly trading Your eternal treasures for temporary trash. God of Angels, step in and take care of Your flock! Remove the idols that we've allowed to clutter the temple of our hearts. Replace the barefaced lies with Absolute Truth. It's time for a good housecleaning. Purify our hearts, sanctify our souls, and breathe new life into us.
Open our eyes to see and appreciate the exquisite beauty of creation. Open our ears to accurately hear the reality of Your rich promises. Open our hearts to always believe You. Focused on You, we'll be a firm foundation for Your beautiful church by worshipping You above all the deceptive and unpredictable pleasures this world has to offer.
You are worthy O Lord to receive glory and honor and power, because You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being. Amen.
What have you exalted above the Creator in your life? Are you willing to give it up for Him? The consequences of clinging to your idols are severe. I encourage you to read Romans 1:18-32, and take time to do an internal housecleaning.
Romans 1:18-32 - 18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
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