“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” Psalm 73:25

More on the idol in my trophy case. Here’s a clue: it showed up on February 3 when the Patriots football team, after a perfect season, lost their final game, the Super Bowl.

I was amazed at how it affected me: I had trouble sleeping that night and every time I thought about it, which was often, sadness came over me.

So what was my idol? It was not being a Patriots fan. Nor was it following the football outcomes.

No, my mistake was hanging my happiness on the my team having a perfect record.

The reality is they had a great season even though they lost the Championship

.

It is normal to be a little sad when your team loses. It is not normal to be so down that you have to go through the grief cycle,

to be almost depressed about an event that in the grand sum of history has zero importance.

Another factor in this idol is that I like to be linked to a winner, as the Patriots were this season.

It gives a sense of significance, of excitement, of glamour.

In the end, though, no human being or institution is always a winner; there will always be losses and let downs.

In contrast, as true followers of Christ, we are tied to the Winner, Jesus, who has defeated death and the devil.

He is triumphing each day in helping His children to reject temptation, to live godly lives and in bringing many new believers into His Kingdom.

And in the end, He will complete his triumph over all evil. Plus, He is inviting us to join Him in His great victories and to share in His glory.

“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4).

And “all kinds of trials…have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith…

may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Pet. 1:6,7).

God is moving history to a conclusion and taking us with Him!

Are we following or are we camping out in idol land?

I praise God I was disappointed on February 3rd, for He had far greater things for me (and many others) than a perfect season for my team!

This loss took my eyes off the temporal and got them back on the eternal.

Prayer: “Lord, help me to set my heart on things above, to live in the stability of your character, the certainty of your victory, the security of your power.

Help me to be quickly aware of idols in my life and confess and abandon them immediately. May you be glorified in this. Amen.”

Picture: Jesus has conquered death and will come again in triumph, the ultimate Winner

Here’s an ad I plan to put in a local newspaper. Tell me what you think.

Was Charlie Kirk’s death a tragedy?

Yes, but also a blessing, for God has used his premature death to make his influence 10,000 times greater. Before he died, he had 1.3 million followers on Instagram, but one week after his death he had 10 million! People paid attention!

More importantly, his death has led to a new level of introspection worldwide, causing people to ask, “What am I living for right now?”

Former Navy SEAL, Jack Carr said Kirk’s murder “…caused a re-examination for us as a family,” which led them to go to church and re-evaluate their lives in light of the possibility of dying at a young age.

One church in Michigan said a number of young adults who were raised in the church but left for years showed back up as a result of Charlie’s martydom.

An Uber driver commented, “Man, that thing that happened to Charlie, it woke me up. I’m getting baptized this Sunday.”

Another observer said, “People are coming hungry, wanting to connect with God. There’s no playing games anymore. It feels like we’re in a real moment, an awakening.”

What about you? Any spiritual movement in your life? Try going to a good Bible teaching church and learn about the meaning of life, the Love of Christ and how to have eternal life.

Picture: Come, it’s time to go.

Looking back over my 79 years, there is one discipline that stands out as the most important one in my life.

“I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.”  Psalm 119:32

Praise be to you, my Lord and my God,

for you have set my heart free,

free from the rule of Satan,

free from the power of self,

free from the chains of sin—

As your child I can actually make choices now

because you have brought me

out of the kingdom of darkness

into the Kingdom of Light.

It is true that, “The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble” (Pro. 4:19).

I have been there and done my  share of stumbling.

But now You have set me free from a life of fumbling in the dark, bringing me out into a life of light.

And You, Lord Jesus, are the light of life and have caused the light of salvation to shine deeply into my heart.

You have invited me to walk on the path of the righteous,

illuminated by your Word,

bringing me ever more into the full light of your day.

Now in your grace I can choose the shining way of Truth revealed by your Word and your Spirit.

Help me today to consistently walk in the light, doing what I know to be right,  that I may honor you.

Picture following the Lord’s path in the light

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Psalm 46:10,11

I turn my eyes to you and praise you, Lord God: for you are

my Triune,

Eternal,

Personal and Holy God—

utterly other,

entirely independent,

sincerely sinless

and incomprehensibly complex.

You created me,

chose me,

cleansed me,

claimed me as your child, commissioned me to special service,

and I stand before you,

dearly loved,

delighted in,

deeply cared for,

doted on,

and positively dependent on you.

What a wonder! Especially in the light of what I actually deserve as a sinner,

condemnation,

punishment,

eternal separation,

failure,

suffering,

hopelessness,

despair,

death and hell.

But your great and marvelous gracepours continually into our lives,

bringing undeserved forgiveness, gracious cleansing,

ongoing transformation,

needed strengthening,

clear guidance,

great goodness,

positive power

and wide wisdom.

We are saved by grace, sealed by grace, sanctified by grace, strengthened by grace,

and in you, Lord Jesus, we are safe, for you are the Most High, you are the Almighty,

you are the undefeated and undefeatable One. In you we can rest. Glory be to your Name!

Picture: trapped in our sin, Jesus opened a way out