Idolatry Vs. Faith

SAT., APR. 20, 1985, 6:44 AM
HOLIDAY INN, ATLANTA

Idolatry is, technically, the worship of idols, but you know that I shall speak of it as putting any power or thing equal to or above Me. And the “Me” is the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And I who speak to you this day am that Holy Spirit. As you suspect I have a fundamental message which does conflict with the message of many fundamentalist Christians. This is an interesting conflict, and one you should understand in a fuller way.

It is easy to think of idols as great stone statues or calves of gold. This makes it easy to affirm that you would never be an idolater, for the worship of such a form seems silly. It is harder when you think of your family or your job as an idol. After Peter’s death (in earth terms) you considered the passing on of each family member, and now you hold them more lightly, but in as much or more love. This is good anti-idolatry behavior.

You have tried to do this with your job, and you have had some success. You do enjoy your profession, and you are buoyed by My affirmation that you truly should be doing this… yes, this is the position in which I can use you most effectively. Still, you should be willing to give it up and not feel that your identity is bound to this professor role. When you are in Me and have acknowledged Me in you there is no limiting your functioning. You can be a professor, but you must not be limited to this.

Your Farm is a blessing I have bestowed upon you, but it, too, must not be held in idol form. You worry, sometimes, about the loss if it. Just know that as long as I want you to have it, you shall have it. If you should lose it then you must know that I have no more need of it in your life. Love it and work it and keep it, but do not idolize it.

To be caught in idolatry is to hold any person, thing, or force equal to or above My active Presence. The idol is something more concrete and more directly perceivable than I. It takes faith to seek and receive My counsel for this modern world. This experience may not be like that of others. So there must be something rock-like as the basis for this Christian religion.

That, of course, is the Holy Bible, My Scriptures… the story of My most relevant encounter with humans. A complement to this is a form of worship and a style of church government. This gives stability and identity to any congregation of people. But they can become today’s golden calf. I shall now talk plainly about the Scriptures.

This Book, or collection of books, is fundamental to the faith that is My Body, broken for you. It is essential to Christianity. It should be the heart of any church or congregation. But it must not be an idol. The Scriptures reveal Me, but they can never limit Me. The Scriptures are “solid”, but they also are living… and open for new interpretation eternally. I do not want the world to be like it was in Biblical times. The development of societies into their present forms has not been against My Will, too puny to prevent what I did not want.