WORSHIP IS WAR!
The apostle Paul commended the Thessalonian believers for turning from idolatry to the worship of the true and living God. They did this by receiving the message of the Gospel with joy, so that they gladly placed their faith in Christ as Lord and Savior.
We think that we are too modern to struggle with idolatry; that it was a problem of primitive humanity. But idolatry is anyone or anything that we put in the place of God in our lives. As Martin Luther wrote, “Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God, your functional savior.”
Our Creator made us for worship, so we will worship something. When we believe the Gospel, we are set free to worship the true God. However as my son, Jonathan, has recently preached, “Worship is war.” For as Tim Keller writes, true worship involves “pulling our affections off our idols and putting them on God.”
PRAYER: Father, we choose to worship You alone. For You are the only true and living God. Forgive us when we put anything or anyone ahead of You. Show us where any idols remain in our lives, that we may surrender them to You, placing all of our affection on You. In Jesus’ name, amen.