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WINNING WITH THE WORD “Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that will help you to be a winner in life by applying God’s principles for living the abundant life as found in the Bible, God’s manual for life. An invitation for you: To subscribe to this blog, click here.  To subscribe to this podcast, click here. If this blog and podcast have blessed you, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe as well. Thank you! Be sure to check out our Featured Book of the Week at the end of this post. ______________________________________   Do you prefer listening instead of reading? Then click below to listen to today’s blog post on podcast. https://media.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/content.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/What_Is_Your_Idol_.mp3 ___________________________________________________________________________ Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, novelist and life coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Monday, February 21, 2022, and this is Episode #8 of Series 2022. This episode is titled "What Is Your Idol?" In the Book of Acts, chapter 22, we learn that the Apostle Paul was im Jerusalem and about to be arrested when he asked the commander of the guard to allow him to defend himself before the people.  The crowd grew very quiet and listened as Paul began to give his testimony about how Jesus had saved him on the road to Damascus. All was going well, and the crowd was listening attentively until Paul told the people that, because the Jews had refused and rejected the Messiah, the Messiah was now sending Paul to preach to the Gentiles.  At the mention of the word "Gentiles," the crowd flew into a rage.  Why? Because Paul had struck a nerve. The nerve of their idol. What was their idol? Self-righteousness. You see, the Jews believed that they were saved simply by the fact that they were Jews. Moreover, they believed that salvation was only for the Jews and for no one else. When Paul challenged this belief--this idol of theirs--the Jews could not handle it. This is what idols do. They make us angry when they are detected and exposed. Idols in our hearts will stand in the way of our seeing the truth. Idols in our hearts will blind us to what God has for us. idols in our hearts will keeping us from fulfilling God's plan for our lives. Today, here in the West, we tend to think of idols as statues that only people in third-world countries worship. Yet, there are idols of the heart that are just as destructive. What is the idol in your heart? Is it money? Your career? Sex? Pornography? Drugs? Smoking? Food? Your car? Your spouse? Your children? Your health?  While some of these things are good--like loving your spouse and your children and taking care of your health--they can be carried to the extreme of putting them above God. When this happens, the idol becomes sinful. Each of us must continually guard against idols in our hearts. Satan builds them secretly, subtly, surreptitiously. But once built, they strangle us in their tenacious grip and become what the Bible calls a stronghold.  If you have an idol in your heart--or more than one--repent now and renounce it in the name of Jesus. If you don't know whether or not you have idols in your heart, ask the Holy Spirit to show you. He will. Most of all, read the Bible. The Bible is like a mirror. When we look into it, we see ourselves reflected in its light. In other words, reading the Bible shows us those areas of our lives where we don't measure up to God's standard. It shows us those things in our lives that are idols. The Bible sets the standard of conduct for our life. It is our responsibility to adhere to that standard.  But we cannot adhere to God's standard of conduct in our own strength. No, we need a Savior to adhere to it for us. The good news is that we already have such a Savior. His Name is Jesus Christ.