luigi Posted May 25, 2023 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 59 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 1,798 Content Per Day: 1.03 Reputation: 323 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/28/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted May 25, 2023 As God is love (1 John 4:8 & 16), and we are to love God with our whole being, and our neighbor as ourselves; would our love for inanimate objects be the other gods/loves we place before God and our neighbor? Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Who me Posted May 25, 2023 Group: Royal Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 17 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 3,300 Content Per Day: 1.71 Reputation: 1,686 Days Won: 0 Joined: 01/27/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted May 25, 2023 9 hours ago, luigi said: As God is love (1 John 4:8 & 16), and we are to love God with our whole being, and our neighbor as ourselves; would our love for inanimate objects be the other gods/loves we place before God and our neighbor? Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. God is not one dimensional, he has many characteristics Holiness being one important one. If something is more important than the worship of God, what ever keeps one from regularly attending church or prevents one from serving God. That is idolatry. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neighbor Posted May 26, 2023 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 18 Topic Count: 961 Topics Per Day: 0.35 Content Count: 13,693 Content Per Day: 5.04 Reputation: 9,098 Days Won: 6 Joined: 12/04/2016 Status: Offline Birthday: 03/03/1885 Share Posted May 26, 2023 On 5/25/2023 at 6:26 AM, luigi said: As God is love (1 John 4:8 & 16), and we are to love God with our whole being, and our neighbor as ourselves; would our love for inanimate objects be the other gods/loves we place before God and our neighbor? Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Hi, Here is my own take on it: Many commentaries on that short passage will share one common understanding, that is the phrase "in my face". No one is to place another God before me- in my face; that is a literal command. God states He is a jealous God. He is jealous for strict attention to Him, him first and him only. Considering the context and the situation at hand at the time, it would have been a direct warning command, a prohibition of worship by the Jews being addressed, against worship of any of the Egyptian gods worshiped within the land they had just left. By extension, logic, it certainly would include the making of any idol representing any god. Does it pertain today? Yes! Plus it is more strict! For my Lord and savior Jesus, Yeshua, made it clear that the thought, within any of us, is as much sin as is the deed, in all matters. So should I think of other gods, even as casual lucky charms, I am in sin against God. That principle pertains to all the commands of God. If I think it, I am guilty of it. If I think it, I am guilty of it. That leaves me in serious trouble with God! For is there a sin I have not, or do not, think in my mind though civil prohibition prevents me turning it to actual action? Probably not. Therefore, I am guilty of sin against God. I am in need of reconciliation, less I be destroyed by God in His wrath against me personally. Therein comes the love by God that overwhelms even His just wrath; He sent His son, my Lord and my savior Jesus, Yeshua, to wipe out my penalty, death. Yeshua gained victory over death at the cross at Calvary, for me, me personally. As well as for all that heed the call by the Holy Spirit to turn about from sin against God and see Jesus as Lord and savior, enabling God the Father to see me, and thee, as pure, washed white as snow, fully acceptable to Him. God's mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. Praise God His mercy sent to me personally in His son Yeshua. and made known to me personally by the Holy Spirits awakening me by removing the "veil" before my mind's eye so that my heart may feel the absolute security that is in the faith of Jesus, acted out in his earthly ministry so that many may be saved. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi Posted May 26, 2023 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 59 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 1,798 Content Per Day: 1.03 Reputation: 323 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/28/2019 Status: Offline Author Share Posted May 26, 2023 Good morning "Who me", and also "Neighbor". You are correct "Who me" about the idolatry. According to the Word we are to keep ourselves away from idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14), as idolatry is covetousness (Colossians 3:5). And as what one covets are material things; materialism is idolatry. As such, idolatry/materialism represent the other gods/loves that people have before the Lord God. In Isaiah 2:8 and Revelation 9:20 we see people not repenting of the love they have for the things their hands make, which the Lord informs us are demons, and the results of which are carnal, murders, fornications, sorceries/technologies, and stealing (Revelation 9:21). Additionally, all this love for sorceries/technologies materialism is destroying the planet. Take for one example plastics. In addition to plastic waste being everywhere, including the oceans where it is killing marine live at a progressive rate; everyone today is also consuming the equivalent of a credit card quantity of plastic every week, https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/31/us/microplastic-credit-card-per-week/index.html. What damage this will have on humans is still being studied. But we still all love our plastic Tupperware god, and will not repent. The one difference between me and others, however, is that while I am in the same boat as everyone else who have numerous material gods/loves; I at least acknowledge this truth, and the truth will therefore make me free from this love of things. Individuals on the other hand who do not acknowledge this truth on what other gods represent, are they who love the world and its things, and are therefore not going to be free from these false gods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJK Posted May 26, 2023 Group: Royal Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 43 Topics Per Day: 0.10 Content Count: 3,349 Content Per Day: 7.65 Reputation: 1,305 Days Won: 1 Joined: 03/01/2023 Status: Offline Share Posted May 26, 2023 IMO and FWIW: Anything that is in first place in your life, that you allow to direct the course of your life and your thoughts above other things, is the god you are worshiping, the god you are following. What is your life oriented around? That is the god you follow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi Posted July 16, 2023 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 59 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 1,798 Content Per Day: 1.03 Reputation: 323 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/28/2019 Status: Offline Author Share Posted July 16, 2023 On 5/26/2023 at 10:05 AM, FJK said: IMO and FWIW: Anything that is in first place in your life, that you allow to direct the course of your life and your thoughts above other things, is the god you are worshiping, the god you are following. What is your life oriented around? That is the god you follow. We are all guilty of having other gods (the love for things of this world) before God. Is it then any wonder why no one today is able to do the miracles that Jesus did, which He said would accompany believers in Him;-- when we all appear to be double minded, serving both Mammon and God? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Judson Posted July 16, 2023 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 2 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 145 Content Per Day: 0.47 Reputation: 38 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/10/2023 Status: Offline Share Posted July 16, 2023 Quote Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. This simply means don't have anything more important in your life that the Lord. I've seen some do this with their spouse. They end up serving their spouse before the Lord where their spouse is more important that the Lord in their lives. Those doing this have put their spouse before the Lord making them guilty of idolatry Exodus 20:3 does not means there were some other god in existent before God existed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi Posted July 16, 2023 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 59 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 1,798 Content Per Day: 1.03 Reputation: 323 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/28/2019 Status: Offline Author Share Posted July 16, 2023 7 minutes ago, B Judson said: This simply means don't have anything more important in your life that the Lord. I've seen some do this with their spouse. They end up serving their spouse before the Lord where their spouse is more important that the Lord in their lives. Those doing this have put their spouse before the Lord making them guilty of idolatry Exodus 20:3 does not means there were some other god in existent before God existed. Revelation 9:20 shows that mankind will not repent from the love he has for the things his hands produce, which things are classified as devils. However, I also believe that so long as we love God and our neighbor above all other things, we will eventually not be among the majority of mankind whose refusal to repent from their love of materialism, cause all the plagues in Revelation 8 & 9. Revelation 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Judson Posted July 16, 2023 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 2 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 145 Content Per Day: 0.47 Reputation: 38 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/10/2023 Status: Offline Share Posted July 16, 2023 Quote so long as we love God and our neighbor above all other things Therein lies the problem for many people... they end up loving people more than the Lord making them guilty of the sin of idolatry. This will cause many who think they are right with the Lord... to not be. Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi Posted July 16, 2023 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 59 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 1,798 Content Per Day: 1.03 Reputation: 323 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/28/2019 Status: Offline Author Share Posted July 16, 2023 17 minutes ago, B Judson said: Therein lies the problem for many people... they end up loving people more than the Lord making them guilty of the sin of idolatry. This will cause many who think they are right with the Lord... to not be. Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Your perspective B Judson, contradicts the Word, Who states that loving our neighbor as ourselves is like loving God with all we have. Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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