taking out the trash

hello, sweet dears. :)

happy sunday to you all! i am at home hanging with my family today. it's nice. i love it. i'm so thankful for it.

but i've also really been loving spending time with my friends. i love laughing and joking and playing with them. i haven't been able to do that for a while with friends; but now God has joined together some pretty cool people to be my friends. And I'm so thankful for them.



Right now I'm focusing on removing idols in my life. And I'm meditating on this verse:

"Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones,
even though they are not gods at all?
Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God
 for worthless idols! "
Jeremiah 2:11

Have you ever thought about why people of false religions (like Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Atheist) don't usually change religions?? Why Atheists don't usually end up becoming Islamic??

A friend of mine and I were talking about this, and she suggested that it was because they are already deceived by Satan. Satan has already gotten them and put them in the false security of a false religion. He's pretty much finished his job with them, so why change between multiple false religions, as long as he's not a Christian, right??

But Christians, on the other hand, haven't been gotten by Satan. We are who he focuses on.We are who he sets out to destroy, using anything and any tool he can. He tempts us with idols and things that take our attention off of God.

So how do we combat that?? With the armor of God:

-Belt of Truth (knowing our God is the THE God)
-Breast-plate of Righteousness (striving to live like Jesus)
-Shoes of the Gospel of Peace (striving to live in peace as much as it depends on us)
-Shield of Faith (knowing even though you can't see it)
-Sword of the Spirit, that is the Word of God (take His Word everywhere! Throw it in Satan's face!)
-Helmet of Salvation (remember that YOU have been bought and paid for, then set free to live in Love)

My favorite is the helmet of salvation. I always put that one on last. I finish by proclaiming and confessing before God, myself, and all of the spiritual realm that I am not floating along in this world with no goal, no purpose, and no soul.

I am God's. Jesus is mine. Heaven awaits me.

And whenever I start to let something take over God, I'll just hold whatever it is up in comparison with THE glorious God Himself. And I know, even before I do that, nothing will ever hold up. Nothing can stand proud in his presence. Nothing can beat him.

If I let my idols win out, it's because I've let myself be beaten by Satan. Same for you.
Let's take out the trash with this one, shall we?? Our idol trashy-ness. :)



I love you all, and hope you have a nice, laughter-filled, relaxing sabbath.
:)