Idolatry-the blind sin

I was reading my bible in Ephesians earlier and I came across this verse.
"For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an
 idolater—has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians 5:5

At first I didn't think anything of it, I've read Ephesians chapter 5 a million times, but for
some reason today it was different...
the Lord kept bringing up Idolatry, so I asked what is it Lord? What do you want me to get
out of this? I found out that He wanted to teach me to be careful, to show other's how to
be careful and show them how to be wise.
"Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise" Ephesians 5:15
He lead my eyes to re-read,
 "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person
such a man is an idolater—has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."

I began to break down the verse
Notice how the beginning starts off with for of this you can.be.sure. Meaning,
There is no grey area in this or room to say, "this is how I
interrpret it", because it is crystal clear.
I looked up the definition of Idolatry... And this is what it means

Idolatry--Blind or excessive devotion to something!!
When I learned the 10 commandments as a
 little girl I always thought when it said "have no other gods before me" it was referring to
worshipping budda for example. But clearly it has a much bigger significance and I feel it's
 urgent to get this message across because people can blinded to the things they worship
the "gods" they have in their lives. example: money, fame, music, earthly materials etc.

Listen--The things people worship don't have to be mounted somewhere, be a statue etc
but the very things we blindly and excessively devote our hearts to are causing people
to miss out on heaven! Maybe you're not blind, maybe you're fully aware of the things
you put above the Lord, but my eyes have never been as opened as they were during
my devotional this morning---Funny enough that's exactly what Satan wants: to
keep us blind, deaf & mute.
I choose to speak this truth, because my vision has been corrected to see.

The things we place first our life,  the things that are far more important than God,
the things we're addicted to, it's those things that can be our idols. It's those things
that are keeping people outside of heaven's gates. Today, I examined myself, as
I do daily... but it was much more in depth.
I thought of my entire day, from the time I wake until the time I my head hits the pillow
how much of my day is really consumed of the Lord? How much of my day do I use
to witness for the kingdom? How much time do I spend reading scripture vs. my hobbies?
What conversations am I engaged in? What thoughts consume my mind?
To piggy back on all this I thought this verse was appropriate.
Matthew 6:21 says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"

So, I want you to think about something...
Where are your treasures? your idols
...so does God have all your heart?


In Him,
Est

I Give Myself Away

Listen to this song, completely.
The words pierce my heart.
The words reach the very core of my being and shake me.

There are so many selfish things we desire, but ulimately it is my sole purpose
to live for the Lord & Him alone. There are so many things I've heard
people say they live for. Ranging from money, jobs, parties,
to fulfilling their dreams.
And though I'll admit that I live for my family as well I know the bible says, this world
and everything in it will one day pass/fade away but HE will always remain.
I'd much rather live for something real
and never ending, then live for something temporary.


This song truly blessed my husband and I this morning.
We walked hand in hand towards the alter during worship, and as the worship
team sang this song, we stretched our hands towards
heaven and promised yet again, to live for Him... always.
Our life is not our own, it is borrowed for a time being and soley purposed to be
lived for one person alone.
Jesus Christ.
There is someone reading this today and there are things in your life that
you don't want to let go of,
maybe you're scared so you hang on to it, Or maybe, just maybe you're ok with
only giving a little bit of yourself away...just not entirely.
I pray God speaks to you today and you whole heartedly give yourself away to the
ONLY person that will never hurt or fail you.
Your heart,
your life,
your future,
is safe with Him so..
Today, I ask
Will you give yourself away?
Not just some of you, but all of you...



Love you,
Est

The measure of a woman by:Thersea Bluhm

This is a blog one of my friends posted about 3 weeks back, that I thought I'd post
because one day I want to print out my blog and keep her words close to my heart.
Her words about me seriously brought me to tears and is the biggest compliment
I've ever recieved. What makes such an impact is that she is MY role model.
And to have your role model say this about you, man there are no words.
Her heart beats for God and I could only imagine what it would be like to be
Theresa Bluhm, she is just too beautiful inside & out.
To God be the Glory. Well here it is, sorry T, I copied and pasted haha.
The measure of a Woman by Thersea Bluhm.

"Tonight I was a little disheartened after looking through some pictures of a friend's
old high school classmate on Facebook. She has told me about her before, told me
what she does for a living, and I was literally in shock at how she puts her body on
display for the world to see. It made me sad to think of what she might be missing
in her life to make her feel like she needed to do these things and take these pictures
in order to feel beautiful.


In a society like ours, sometimes I think it can be very difficult to gain God's perspective
 on Beauty. Here are some of the characteristics that, in my opinion, make a woman
beautiful from the inside out.


She reflects God's character.

She is a peacemaker.

She communicates Godliness.

She loves her husband and children.

She is wise and sensible.

She is modest.

She helps others.

We live in a culture that is obsessed with the external. The world tells you one thing
about beauty, but God's word reveals that beauty is much deeper.

Here are 5 of the most beautiful women I know .....

Esther.

This lady right here has a passion for
 God like most people can only
dream of. She is constantly trying
 to seek and save the lost. She devotes
 so much of her time to encouraging
 others and being someone to listen
 to their heartaches and pains. I don't
 know how many times I have been
 having a hard day and she will text me
 and let me know that she had the urge
 to pray for me at that moment. She
loves her husband and her daughter
so much. She has a heart for others
 and is truly a beautiful soul.
I feel honored to know her."


All the above is written by Thersea Bluhm. (except the intro)
See T, I gave you the credit : )
LOVE YOU T!

 
 

Where will you take Jesus?

..."And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20

Amazing right? Take a moment to really think about this verse. What does it really mean to you?...
It must have been a few weeks back that the Lord made this verse real to me.
I shared with my husband on our bed late one night about how I felt the Lord always
around me. He's not just a thought of a super power out there, He's not just someone I can
call on in time of need, or thank for all the good, He's not just someone I worship on Sunday's
and Wednesday's then casually read about. He's not just the only God I know exists out there in
the sky somwhere, BUT what he is, is REAL and always with me.
There are scriptures I read sometimes and think wow, that's a good word, or man thank you
God for being so caring and showing me how great you are. I 100% believe what I'm reading;
however, it's not exactly real at that moment.

Matthew 28:20 has become real to me, in that I don't just read this verse and advise others
 "Hey, don't feel lonely God's word says He's always with you." It's so
much more than that because He really is. Think about a person's day.
They wake up shower, go potty, feed the kiddos, maybe watch the news or whatever
 it is they do. Next they get dressed for the day, make some breakfast etc etc, all while
 not even realizing Jesus, is standing in their very presence. When you get in your car to
drive somewhere, He's with you, when you walk the dog, He's with you. When you are
at dinner, He's with you. Call me crazy, but I seriously can not go anywhere without thinking
Jesus is with me. So when
you think of what you do daily, places you go, think about this-- if you could see Jesus and
 if you had to take Him around with you everywhere, where would you take him?
I wonder if people really grasped this concept would they feel as comfortable partying,
going into a strip bar, night club? Most likely not.
The truth is, we can't see Him, but
He is in fact as real as ever. People probably think i'm nuts on the road because from
the outside looking in, it seems as though I'm talking to myself, but really I know that
Jesus is in my passenger side listening ;-) At night, I invite Jesus to sit or lay whichever
is more comfortable for Him :) on my bed and watch over us as we sleep. No, I'm
not crazy, I'm just aware of how real my God is and how real this verse is.  I hope
it becomes more real to you that He is in fact with you always, not everyother day,
not twice a week, but always 24/7 constantly following your every step.
The TV shows you watch He sees, the music you listen to He's listening to.
but lastly.. I just wonder where will you take Jesus today?

With prayer,
Est