Monday: Potatoes and Tree Stumps

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything ...

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is Monday and the day we pray for our leaders, for all those who have power over us, also for our military, our state and local law enforcement folks, and all others who work for our health and safety. It is a really big group of people.

Potatoes and Tree Stumps:
Exodus 20: 6 - You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (NIV)

Once again on the news we see that people have claimed to be able to see The Virgin Mary in something. This time a tree stump. We have had people claim to see The Virgin Mary, Mother Theresa and even Jesus in many forms. I think it was a donut that sort of looked like Mother Theresa, and a potato and I think it was a sweet potato that was in the form of Mary, the mother of Jesus. On the news today people were gathering at a tree that was cut down. To me it looked like it was saw cut in the grain of the wood, but people claim they could see the mother of our Lord Jesus in that old tree stump. Ok, I confess, I have laid on my back in the yard and watched the clouds go past and would watch for shapes of things, and yes I have seen the face of Jesus as I know the face from pictures. But let me say at that point I stop. The news this morning showed people lining up to 'kiss the stump" and folks that is exactly what they were kissing, a big old tree stump.

Exodus 20: starting with verse 4 is very clear about idols, which include things where we think we can see the face of Jesus or others. We should bow down to no idols, which in my mind includes but is not limited to potatoes and tree stumps, and could include money, cars, trucks, and yes, even buses. We must be real careful not to worship "stuff". While most of us like "stuff" of some kind we just do not want it to get in the way of our worship or our living for our Lord Jesus.

Now while some might think that the best way of being sure we are not going to worship stuff is to get rid of the stuff, I do not always agree with that. I feel the very best way to not worship stuff and let it become an idol is to get Jesus locked into your heart, into your soul and into your mind and live for Him.

Please folks, let me just be a few days early this week on Salvation. Maybe I want to take a lesson from the racing people. You know, if Chevrolet wins the big races on the weekend, on Monday the Chevrolets sell a little better. If Toyota has a good weekend race, then on Monday the Toyota gets some extra customers. So I pray that a lot of "fence sitters" got to church yesterday and today I can follow up with a tad of Salvation on Monday. Are you ready to get away from the idols and get to Jesus? Plug Jesus into your life and the life of your family. MEN ... stand up and lead your family, get them into Jesus, not some potato or tree stump, or Chevrolet, Ford, or any other car. Put Jesus first in your life. Lock hands and hearts with Him. Put Him ahead of all you have including your family and friends.

Will you take time to pray for the removal of sins today, to pray to start fresh on this very first day of the rest of your life? Will you start it with Jesus and not a potato or a tree stump? If you already have fallen in love with Jesus, then how about renewing that love this morning? Will you do that today, not for me, but for your very own self? Then you can pray for the other things on our list ...

Dear Father in Heaven, I just want to lead others today to be cleaned or re-cleaned today. I can't pray for the others to be cleaned, only that you might encourage them to come to You. So Lord, I want to do this for myself. First, Lord, I want You to know that I love You, not some potato or tree stump. Well, Lord, I do like a baked potato or some mashed potatoes, but I am not going to bow down and kiss them or any other idol, be they real or a hunk of iron, or even gold. Lord, I want Jesus in my heart today and everyday, so I am asking for You to forgive my sins, and wash me clean today ... set me free, anew ... and Lord, help me walk with You, come into my heart and live, dear Jesus. And I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

Now go forth sharing your blessings, and talking to others about Jesus ... love ya, dan.