You Can Be Your Own Idol.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

1Co 10:14  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 

Flee from idolatry.

ANYTHING in our lives that takes precedence to GOD is a form of idolatry.

God needs to be first.  Why? Because God created us and knows us, and loves us so much more than we could ever imagine and with Him first in our lives only then is it possible for His salvation to be full in us. For Christ to be able to live in us, God must be first in our lives. God the Father was first in Christ's life- Christ deferred to God in EVERYTHING and Christ is our example.

A song that is currently a bit popular on a Christian music station has these lyrics-

'It's Your breath in our lungs…'

This is truth! God breathed life into Adam- a lifeless husk made of dust and that same breath of life has been given to us from God. The very ability to breathe, the very beats of our hearts, all of it comes from God.

When we flee from idolatry and seek to place God first in our lives we are choosing to seek the escape made for us to defeat temptation from drawing us into sin. We are to FLEE from putting anything before God. FLEE - runaway from very quickly. You can run away from something but not necessarily very quickly at top notch speed. We are told to run away QUICK AS WE CAN from setting up any idols in our lives. You can be your own idol too, so we need to watch out for that tricky trap.

1Co 10:15  I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 

1Co 10:17  For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. 

1Co 10:18  Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 

1Co 10:19  What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 

1Co 10:20  But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 

When we belong to our Lord Jesus Christ and we follow the example He personally gave to us by taking a bit of bread that represents Jesus' life in this example, and taking a bit of wine which represents the life blood He gave so we may live in forgiveness, the penalty paid for our sins, we are partaking in the Lord's example as having Him, the One in common.

We are NOT to partake in any example of such a communion with any other at all whatsoever. If someone offers you the chance to partake in a ritual example they follow for any other person, place or thing, we must decline. We are to be examples of Christ ourselves, not learning from the examples of those who outrightly choose to worship any other.

1Co 10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. 

How many people try desperately to do just what it says we cannot do in the verse above? How man choose to drink from the Lord's cup- following the Lord's example and also choose to drink from the cup of devils? How many people has Satan tricked into believing there is harmlessness in choosing to believe in all worship so long as it keeps the peace and harmony and makes everybody happy? I can choose to love an atheist, muslim, buddist, etc as a human being given a chance to know God and His Son Jesus Christ, I can even lay down my life so they may live, but never at the expense of following their false beliefs. Christ NEVER promoted hatred of other people, never. But Christ did promote hatred of sin committed by people. He could despise the sin ruled lives of people while praying that they could have their eyes opened, their hearts restored, their understanding enlightened. He is our example in all things! We must choose Christ over all, God must be first in our lives and NO OTHER in anything.

1Co 10:22  Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? 

We should never intentionally provoke the Lord to jealousy- to tempt the Lord God in any way. We are NOT above Him in any way. We do NOT know what is best for ourselves, He knows!

1Co 10:23  All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. 

Even if God allows for so much in our lives  (lawful things) as we seek our path through Him- it doesn't mean we should partake in things that are acceptable if they are not edifying us towards the knowledge and growing in Him and His love. We must put God first. By His grace! God first. This is something so incredibly alien to our way of life. God first. God before my desires. God before my wants. God before my self-glorifying. Just because we exist does not mean we exist for our own pleasure. We exist for God's pleasure. We've done so much to put ourselves first that we can scarcely recognize that we aren't first. Self has become so glorified apart from God that when we are blessed by God and offered a reconciliation with Him we continuously attempt to put ourselves before Him. We are so blind to truth. God HELP US.