Heart Problem 心里的偶像

[Dexu Xia]

The Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!  Ezekiel 14:6

 “Do you see it, brother Tim?” My friend, a Ghanaian pastor, flashed his torchlight on a carved object leaning against a mud hut. Quietly he said, “That is the village idol.” Each Tuesday evening, Pastor Sam traveled into the bush to share the Bible in this remote village.

In the book of Ezekiel, we see how idolatry plagued the people of Judah. When Jerusalem’s leaders came to see the prophet Ezekiel, God told him, “These men have set up idols in their hearts” (14:3). God wasn’t merely warning them against idols carved of wood and stone. He was showing them that idolatry is a problem of the heart. We all struggle with it.

Bible teacher Alistair Begg describes an idol as “anything other than God that we regard as essential to our peace, our self-image, our contentment, or our acceptability.” Even things that have the appearance of being noble can become idols to us. When we seek comfort or self-worth from anything other than the living God, we commit idolatry.

“Repent!” God said. “Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!” (v. 6). Israel proved incapable of doing this. Thankfully, God had the solution. Looking forward to the coming of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, He promised, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (36:26). We can’t do this alone.

By:  Tim Gustafson

When stress hits you, where do you turn for comfort? What might you need to turn away from today?  

Father, show me the idols in my heart. Then help me destroy them and live in Your love.

主耶和华如此说：回头吧！离开你们的偶像，转脸莫从你们一切可憎的事。—以西结书14章6节

 “庭墨弟兄，你看到了吗？”我的朋友山姆牧师用手电筒照亮一个靠在泥屋旁的雕像，轻声对我说：“这就是村子里的偶像。”山姆是加納的牧师，每个周二晚上，他都会进到丛林里，在这个偏远的村落与人分享圣经真理。

在以西结书，我们看到犹太人总是摆脱不了拜偶像的罪。当耶路撒冷的领袖来见先知以西结时，上帝告诉以西结：“这些人已将他们的假神接到心里”（14章3节）。上帝不仅是警告他们，不可敬拜这些木头和石头雕刻的偶像，也向他们表明，敬拜偶像其实是内心出了问题。我们都会有心中的偶像。

圣经教师阿利斯泰尔 · 贝格（Alistair Begg）认为：“除了上帝之外，任何我们认为对我们的平安、自我形象、满足感或被人接纳至关重要的事物，都是偶像。”哪怕是看起来甚为高尚的事物，也可能会成为我们的偶像。当我们从永生上帝以外的任何事物，寻求安慰或自我价值时，就是在敬拜偶像。

上帝说：“回头吧！离开你们的偶像，转脸莫从你们一切可憎的事”（6节）。以色列百姓证明了凭自己根本做不到，幸好上帝有解决的办法。上帝已为他们预备基督的到来和圣灵的恩赐，祂应许：“我也要赐给你们一个新心，将新灵放在你们里面”（36章26节）。这是你我凭自己无法做到的。

作者：  葛庭墨

当你面对压力时，你会如何寻求安慰？今天你需要回转、远离哪些事？

天父，求祢让我看见自己心里的偶像，帮助我摧毁它们，并活在祢的爱里。