In Chapter 13 (“The God of Me”), the concluding chapter of Gods at War, Pastor Kyle Idleman states that it’s not a coincidence that he’s left the god of me for last. While we’ll confront many of the gods discussed in his book at some point in our lives, we grapple with the god of […]
“There is not one square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine, that belongs to me!’ “-Abraham Kuyper As Pastor Kyle Idleman concludes Chapter 9 of Gods at War, he cites the above quote as a favorite of Charles Colson, who […]
Two days before her death at age 87, worn from her battle with large and small cell lymphoma, my mother Elinor made a conscious decision to have her feeding tube removed. When I arrived at Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital to visit her, Mom’s nurse took me out in the hallway and implored me to ask […]
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”- 2 Corinthians 4:18 One by-product of pursuing the god of achievement is distraction. We may become so distracted that we miss divine moments. God longs to say things to […]
In Chapter 9 (“The God of Achievement”) of Gods at War, Pastor Kyle Idleman states that he is not surprised that personal achievement is a powerful and alluring idol in our culture. He adds that when our lives are all about getting things done, there is little or no room for God. Our approach to […]
In today’s blog, Pastor Kyle Idleman (Gods at War) discusses questions 2-4 of his Idolatry ID. 2. How much anxiety do finances add to your life? The author notes that most of us have financial worries, ranging from unemployment to finding “there’s too much month at the end of the money.” Pastor Idleman asks us […]
“For where you treasure is, there you heart will be also.”- Matthew 6: 21 “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”-Philippians 4: 19 As Pastor Kyle Idleman concludes his discussion of the god of money in Chapter 9 of Gods at War, he states that we find […]
Today’s blog continues Pastor Kyle Idleman’s discussion of the “divine” attributes of money in Chapter 9 of Gods at War, as illustrated in The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12: 13-19). 2. The rich fool looks to money as his source of satisfaction. Pastor Idleman relates a recent discussion he and his wife had […]
In Chapter 9 (“The God of Money”) of Gods at War, Pastor Kyle Idleman notes that of the 38 parables Jesus tells, 16 deal with the subject of money. The author adds that Jesus seems to be clearly stating that God’s main competition for our hearts often is the god of money. The reason why […]
Pastor Kyle Idleman continues his discussion of pleasure in Chapter 7 of Gods at War by observing that the god of entertainment, rather than inspiring our “bored and apathetic” existence, in truth makes us feel more bored and apathetic. In fact, several years ago Neal Postman wrote a book titled Amusing Ourselves to Death, in […]
In Chapter 7 (“The God of Entertainment”) of Gods at War, Pastor Kyle Idleman tells of a mission trip one of his friends made to India. His friend had a picture of what served as the family room in an Indian home. The centerpiece, somewhat like a mantel on a heart in our country, featured […]
Pastor Kyle Idleman continues his discussion of pleasure in Chapter 6 of Gods at War by noting that pleasure has a rather unique trait: “the more intensely you chase it, the less likely you are to catch it.” When we make the pursuit of pleasure our god, we experience anything but pleasure. As the author […]