And the rest of the human race, those who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands in order that they might not worship demons or idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood. Such idols are not able to see, hear, or walk. And the rest of the human race did not repent of their murders, their magic arts, their acts of fornication, or their thefts. Rev. 9:20, 21.
We set up images to honor people we admire or to extol causes we would gladly sacrifice time, effort, and money to uphold. As human beings we honor and celebrate what we admire. A friend's brother has spent much of his life openly proclaiming his admiration for drag racers and the magnificent machines that they create. When he was growing up, Tom filled the bedroom he and his brother shared with pictures of dragsters. The photographs honored the likes of the "Melrose Missile," "Jungle Jim Lieberman," and "One-hand Willie Borsch." The photos depicted the famous racers trailing clouds of smoke as they blazed down the quarter-mile strip.
When he grew up, Tom turned out to be an excellent mechanic and earned the means to erect a memorial to his favorite sport in Rapid City, South Dakota. Today Tom's shop consists of a large metal building that houses a number of tools and memorabilia that he has collected over the years. Almost every square inch on the walls is decked out with pictures, models, or some item from the sport of drag racing.
The centerpiece of the shop is Tom's own 850-horsepower Chevy Vega that does the quarter mile in the nine-second range. Fire up the beast, and you will hear thunder that shakes the entire building. Friends have even nicknamed Tom's garage "The Shrine," not an inappropriate title given his obvious devotion to the sport.
The images we erect are often literal: monuments, plaques, named cornerstones, and "shrines" such as Tom's fascinating celebration of American drag racing. But for more often these images remain hidden from view, buried deep in our hearts and minds. While many of these shrines, like Tom's, are interesting but harmless, we can erect other ones in our hearts to either great good or great evil. The German nation idolized Adolf Hitler to its own destruction. Youth often idolize celebrities who teach them self-defeating values. On the other hand, "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory" (2 Cor. 3:18). Idols not only reveal our innermost thoughts, but also help determine who we become.
Lord, I don't want to be like those in the sixth trumpet who refuse to give up their destructive idols. I choose to center my life's focus on Jesus today.
We set up images to honor people we admire or to extol causes we would gladly sacrifice time, effort, and money to uphold. As human beings we honor and celebrate what we admire. A friend's brother has spent much of his life openly proclaiming his admiration for drag racers and the magnificent machines that they create. When he was growing up, Tom filled the bedroom he and his brother shared with pictures of dragsters. The photographs honored the likes of the "Melrose Missile," "Jungle Jim Lieberman," and "One-hand Willie Borsch." The photos depicted the famous racers trailing clouds of smoke as they blazed down the quarter-mile strip.
When he grew up, Tom turned out to be an excellent mechanic and earned the means to erect a memorial to his favorite sport in Rapid City, South Dakota. Today Tom's shop consists of a large metal building that houses a number of tools and memorabilia that he has collected over the years. Almost every square inch on the walls is decked out with pictures, models, or some item from the sport of drag racing.
The centerpiece of the shop is Tom's own 850-horsepower Chevy Vega that does the quarter mile in the nine-second range. Fire up the beast, and you will hear thunder that shakes the entire building. Friends have even nicknamed Tom's garage "The Shrine," not an inappropriate title given his obvious devotion to the sport.
The images we erect are often literal: monuments, plaques, named cornerstones, and "shrines" such as Tom's fascinating celebration of American drag racing. But for more often these images remain hidden from view, buried deep in our hearts and minds. While many of these shrines, like Tom's, are interesting but harmless, we can erect other ones in our hearts to either great good or great evil. The German nation idolized Adolf Hitler to its own destruction. Youth often idolize celebrities who teach them self-defeating values. On the other hand, "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory" (2 Cor. 3:18). Idols not only reveal our innermost thoughts, but also help determine who we become.
Lord, I don't want to be like those in the sixth trumpet who refuse to give up their destructive idols. I choose to center my life's focus on Jesus today.
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