Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. NIV
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. NKJV
Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. NLT
Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles. The Message
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November 29, 2006 at 9:39 pm
I like the way the NLT put the verse. An idol is anything that comes between you and God. That could be money (you need to tithe! Hee), relationships, sports, or even religion. Religion you say? Yes, The pharisees became so consumed with how well they followed God’s commands that they forgot to have a relationship with God. They were prideful about how well they obeyed the law. Examin yourself regularly to see if there is anything you wouldn’t be willing to give up if God asked you to. If it is more important to you than God than it is an idol in your life. It may not be wrong in itself. It’s wrong because it’s taken priority above God.
November 29, 2006 at 10:11 pm
I agree with Merry. I like the way the NLT translates the verse. When I first became a Christian it seemed like there were a lot of things that I thought were important to me that kept me from serving God with my whole heart. I always knew God was real put I was not prepared to give my heart completely to Him. I put my freinds, work, my party lifestyle, and my personal wish list above God. From the outside I was sitting on top of the world. On the inside I was dead, empty, uncomplete. When the party was over, when the music faded, and my friends went home….who was I? And who really cared or even knew the real me? The blinding truth had been before me the whole time…but I was not ready to see it because my heart was still holding back! Now I still am wrong and each day I have to really look at my motivation, but I know who holds my future and He has been there all along. He is the only one who could have saved me, who could make me complete. If you want to read a funny and serious story about some of the things I dealt with email me at amy@cofy.info …. I’ll send it to you!
November 29, 2006 at 11:20 pm
I specifically like the NLT here, where it says “…keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” We can let anything become an idol when it takes the place in our hearts that should belong to God. Anything that we place of higher importance than our relationship with God should be evaluated. I am not talking about the amount of time we spend doing things, because school and work can eat up great portions of our time. If you are spending enough time with God to really feel that you are growing and maturing in your relationship with God, then you are on the right track.
November 29, 2006 at 11:56 pm
I like how John ends it with lil children…How many kids do you know that do not like to share, thats my toy, im telling, i want that…get the picture…we are God’s children, just have to be careful not to be bratty and spoiled like them…we cant pursue our selfish desires…we have to pursue God…We need remain as lil children, we just have to evaluate our motivations, intentions and such…I forgot to ask the leaders what scriptures they are interested in doing next…Whitie, any suggestions
November 29, 2006 at 11:56 pm
John shows a great example to Christian leaders here. He knows the weakness of the church (idols) and he comes right out and addresses it. His advice to the flock is to be on guard (aware) and to keep themselves away from the idols. HE was telling them to remove themselves from temptation and to not even be around the things they were weal against.
November 30, 2006 at 12:58 pm
ok well its pretty much saying dont get like caught up with anything tht can take the place of god in ur heart, mind,soul, and LIFE
like boyfriend, girlfriend relationships !
peace out gurlskoutz!♥
December 1, 2006 at 12:58 pm
Keep urselves away form the things of the world,because they will controll you and you will put them before God♥