Overcoming Idols

Overcoming Idols

When we think back to the Old Testament, the clearest picture of an idol is the golden calf, molded and worshiped by the people of Israel. The interesting point in this story is that God had just led them away from Egypt (where they had witnessed the water of Red Sea being divided for their passage). So, how does a whole civilization simply turn from God in order to worship a golden calf, especially when their hope in the Lord should have been steadfast?

It is easy for the modern reader to look back and criticize the people of Israel for their actions. After all, it was a golden calf that they had constructed that they decided to put their faith in. It seems very elementary. But idols can take many forms. If an idol is something that we seek to find our joy and identity in (when we “worship the created rather than the Creator”-Romans), then idols in our lives could include anything from money, reputation, fame, relationships, jobs, sports, or even the latest entertainment system. When we translate idolatry into our modern lives, we can begin to understand that this was the same battle that was fought by the Israelites so long ago.

So, how do we overcome these idols? First, we must realize that we will be tempted daily. Just as Satan tempted Jesus (who was perfect) when He was living on the earth, he will tempt us also. Satan will attack our identity first. Are you really a Christian? Are you really forgiven? Does Christ really love you? Does Christ really satisfy your every need? These are the basic ideas that we will have bombarded day in and day out. But think back to Jesus’ defense against Satan’s tests. Every response was solidly grounded in the promises of God (Jesus fortified his answers with scripture). When Jesus defended his beliefs with the Word of God, Satan realized he no longer had power over Him and was forced to flee.

When we are attacked each day with idols, we have a few choices. We can surrender to chasing whole-heartedly after worldly things that do not satisfy eternally, or we can replace them with the One who created it all. God calls us to himself because He cares for us. We are created to praise and worship Him, and despite our sinful attempts to latch onto other idols, our joy will ultimately be satisfied when we are running toward Him. Take a moment today to identify your idols (what may be drawing you away from whole-hearted worship of Christ), accept your identity in Christ through grace, and fortify yourself against the coming attacks from Satan by praying and studying through some scripture on your own. We are incapable of fighting this battle successfully by ourselves, but, in Christ, the battle was (and will be) won.

Fight FROM victory.

Pathology Performance

 

Tyler Vaughn

Owner, Pathology Apparel

CSCS, SPT

Son of the King

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The Timing of God- His Worth/Our Unworthiness

The Timing of God

Some Sermon Notes and Thoughts

(From the People of Mars Hill Church- Mobile, AL)

Romans 5:1-11

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” –Romans 5:6

From the previous chapters in Romans, Paul wrote of whom and what we were before Christ, so that he could set the stage for true depth of the love and work of what Christ accomplished on the cross. It is not what we did, that we may boast, but what was done for us… at the right time. In the midst of our ungodliness, while we were helpless enemies of God, he sent His son to save us from the power of sin.

Romans viewed self-sacrifice as an honorable action. They believed that sacrificing oneself in battle would improve a warrior’s position before the gods in the afterlife. However, this idea was often still built upon selfishness for a soldier or citizen to build their stock in death. But in these verses, Paul is highlighting the fact that Christ was willing both to die and to endure the horror of death in life to save the life of his enemies.

This would be the equivalent not of being willing to be tortured to protect the secrets and lives of your friends, but to be tortured to death in order to save the life of the very person fighting against you.

“The more the gift costs the giver, and the less the recipient deserves it, the greater the love is seen to be.”

-John Stott

As John Stott highlights, this is how we can see the depth of the love that God has for us. When looking upon Christ’s death and resurrection in light of all of Romans leading up to these verses, we can see not only the cost of this gift, but the state of our helplessness and our unworthiness to receive it.

From a God that is not constrained within the boundaries of time, who can immediately dwell in past, present, and future, we were saved, are saved, and are continuing to be saved due to this sacrifice.

Christ’s sacrifice achieved/achieves the following:

Saved us from the penalty of sin- justification

Saves us from the practice of sin- sanctification

Will Save us from the presence of sin- glorification

Just like God’s presence, the sacrifice of Christ spans eternity and is not held captive by the constraints of time.

Moving forward, we can clearly see that God’s timing is perfect. We can trust that he will not abandon his work of salvation in our lives, and we can boast in Christ through our obedience to follow along the path he has laid out before us.

This gift is not confined to only the do-gooders; in fact, if you try to wait until you can wash yourself clean, you will never stand before the Lord. Paul highlighted all through Romans that all are sinful and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).

The truth is that we are all poor and helpless souls, telling others where they can go to freely dine at the table of the King.

**I am not a pastor, nor do I have the official qualifications and seminary training to be considered one; these thoughts are simply a summary and some thoughts from what I have been learning from those with the training to share God’s word more accurately. If you’d like to hear the whole message, it is available at www.pomh.org.

 

Written By: Tyler Vaughn

Owner, Pathology Apparel

Choose Your Path

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The Inevitable Pathology

Life is not always easy. We don’t ask for problems to come our way, but they come. We sometimes try to plan and prevent problems from occurring, but it is inevitable; we will always experience hardships in this life. We are then faced with the challenge of how to deal with these problems. We may choose to neglect the problem and let it subconsciously build. We may address the issue fearful or overwhelmed, or we may try and address the issue with a game plan.

In physical therapy school, we have been taught a framework to breakdown problems into their component parts. This framework is called the ICF (International Classification of Functioning) model. Breaking down a problem/condition into its component parts allows a better opportunity for the root of the overarching problem to be exposed. The ICF framework is shown below.

 Screen Shot 2016-08-21 at 10.44.55 PM

The ICF model starts with a health condition (disorder/disease/pathology) and shows how it affects a person from the smallest to the largest level. It connects the problem at the body structure/function level (problems with muscular strength, muscular endurance, balance, etc) to the activity level (difficulties with standing, walking, running) to the participation level (unable to perform work duties, leisure activities, and other activities of daily living). It also includes personal factors (such as age, marital status,

motivation level, etc) and environmental factors (support systems, barriers to recovery, etc). Although it is not a perfect template by any means, it does provide a framework to expose the root of the problem and provides a direction for treatment.

This framework isn’t only applicable for injuries/health conditions seen by physical therapists, but I think it is applicable for other people to assess their own issues. It may help to break down problems into their component parts where then the underlying issues can be addressed. However, I do believe there is one overarching condition that leads to all other conditions. This condition can be addressed but it can’t be totally eliminated in this life. This condition is sin.

Screen Shot 2016-08-21 at 10.45.06 PM

The effects of sin have us in a state of depravity. Our whole being is affected by sin. With our whole being affected by sin, how can we do anything considered to be pure and good? The answer is we can’t. The New Living Translation of Isaiah 64:6 reads,

“We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sin sweeps us away like the wind.”

Even when we think we are doing “good,” our motives are impure. You may deny it, but take a second to examine yourself. We are selfish, prideful, corrupt human beings.

The problem with not being able to do “good” is that God requires us to be good. God doesn’t just require us to be good, but he requires perfection. With our whole being affected by sin we cannot do anything good enough to earn his favor. This is problematic. Sin separates us from our creator, but thank God that he is gracious! He has provided us with a way to himself.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4-5

God sent his son Jesus to pay for our sin. He didn’t just clear our record, but he also gave us his sinless, perfect record in exchange. Through Jesus’s perfect record, we can now have a relationship with the Father. Praise the Lord!

Although we will still continue to experience the effects of sin in this life, praise the Lord for sending his son to pay for our sin. For those who have trusted in Jesus, there is unlimited access to the creator!

References
1. Jette AM. (2006). Toward a Common Language for Function, Disability, and Health. Physical Therapy, 86(5), 726-734.
2. The Bible (New Living Translation and English Standard Version)

-Kyle Thibodeaux

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Vigilant Against Temptation (Nehemiah)

Being Vigilant to Stand Against Temptation

I have often wondered, and hopefully many of you have too,

“How is it that I can know that this battle against evil has already been won, my sins paid, death defeated, and Satan powerless, yet I still struggle to remain pure in different aspects of life?”

 Let’s take this question in some different parts, as God has been opening my eyes to a number of things lately.

1) Since the fall of Adam, human kind has been pretty consistent with the success of its decision-making skills. The bottom line is that if we are offered a chance to screw things up, we do every time (Mark 7:21-23). This is not because God’s not capable of saving us from these decisions (in fact, all good things are Christ in us), but it’s because part of the world remains in us.

2) We are not intended to live on this Earth. The bible often talks about setting your mind on Heavenly things (Colossians 3:2), and that is because all of creation groans as it eagerly awaits the redemption of our bodies through our adoption as sons (Romans 8:22-23).

3) We do not take the necessary steps to fortify our walls against the evil that awaits us. If you look back at the story of Nehemiah, in the time when he was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, there are some huge takeaways. First, Nehemiah recognized the threat of evil as a priority. He knew that surrounding nations were actively plotting against them. Second, he knew WHEN evil was likely to occur- at night. He made sure to only keep the gates open during the day when there was the buzz of necessary activity. Third, he also put an extra watch out- both at the gates and outside peoples’ homes. It was an extra layer of defense to ensure the protection of not only the border, but the people within as well. These steps can be directly applied to our spiritual lives. Nehemiah was wise in his approach against sin, and due to his fortifications, he and his people were successful in their goals of rebuilding the walls.

So, with all this being said, what’s the application moving forward? How do we guard against our worldly behaviors, live in a world where we don’t belong, and most of all fortify our defenses against evil? The answer is that it will look different for everyone. Our fortifications start with faith and a solid understanding of the state of our hearts and the work of Christ on the cross. Just like Nehemiah, we must understand the city and it’s surroundings, as well as the evil that lays in wait. After that, we must sit down either by ourselves or with an accountability partner and establish the areas where we continue to struggle. In this way, we can determine when our wall needs to be closed off, where we need to add an extra watchman, and how we can incorporate those close to us to help us on the journey. Lastly-and I am guilty of this often- we must go before God earnestly seeking to receive his grace to overcome failures and be strengthened against future temptations. Don’t ever underestimate the power of prayer!

When you feel broken or defeated and are trying to carry on the fight, remember that you are not fighting for victory because God sent Christ so that you can fight FROM VICTORY (Trip Lee).

Keep up the fight!

Scripture:

Mark 7:21-23

Romans 8:22-23

Nehemiah 7

-Tyler Vaughn

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