Written by Mark Driskill:
Friday February 4, 2011
Read Acts 7:1-55
This is a long and tragic story. Stephen recounts from Abraham all the way through Israel’s journey with God. He shows how their journey had been one of the rebellion of unbelief. Verse 39 sums it up pretty well.
“But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us.’ “
What happens when God’s people turn away from Him? We see here one of many sad events in which Gods people turned back to their bondage and rejected God’s purpose for them. God was calling his people to begin a journey of faith but in their hearts they went back to their slavery. I find it interesting that in this dark moment of turning from God the first thing they did was ask Aaron to make them a god to lead them back to Egypt. Isn’t that what we all like to do? When we don’t want to go where God is calling us we want to manufacture a god who will take us where we want to go. When God tells us we must honor marriage we create a god who is a little more hip to the times who will let us live with a partner instead. When the God of the universe calls us to love our enemy we create a god who understands the need for revenge and lets us hand out our own brand of justice. When God tells us to worship him alone we create a universal consciousness who says there are many paths to heaven. Just be kind to animals and recycle. (Nothing against those activities but many have turned them into a religion).
Over and over in Israel’s history we see that whenever God’s people seek to manufacture their own god they find themselves in dark spiritual bondage which eventually leads to self destruction. We live in dangerous times because we have a culture that seeks to re-create God into a one size fits all genie-guru who really doesn’t require much beyond a low carb diet. The god of our culture is so easy and convenient he or she (whichever you prefer) can help you achieve your own personal goals, find romance, lose weight and still feel spiritual about whatever you do in life. “it’s all good” as they say.
Dear friends, a day is coming when God will once again reveal himself through his son. When Christ returns every eye will see him and we will all stand before his throne. Our flimsy cultural gods and goddesses will vanish and we will be judged by what we did with Jesus. Did we trust and obey him or did we try to give him a makeover? Which are you doing today? Are you following Jesus or trying to give him a makeover?
Mark Driskill and his wife Mary are homeschooling community ministers in Breathitt County Kentucky. They have four children. They co pastor Emmanuel fellowship Church, serve as Camp Pastors at Bethel Mennonite Camp, and Mark Teaches at Oakdale Christian Academy.
Mark is web minister for Begotten by theWord , a ministry of Helping Hands Christian Resources.
Once a month he preaches on the local radio station through the “Lion of Judah” program. Mark also preaches in youth rallies and revivals upon request at no charge. Their vision is to see true spiritual awakening come to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and to the nation.
Contact information:
Email: driskill@hilbillymail.com
Facebook: Mark Driskill
Address: PO Box 1159 Jackson KY.
