The Good Thing About a Cold. . .

For the past several days, I have been sloped over a steam inhaler and swallowing large quantities of Vitamin C.  What I thought was allergies in my son and I turned out to be a cold, hopefully our last of the season.  But if anything good can come from being in bed when you’d rather not be, and left with daytime television (which is horrible for the most part), is that if you are a lover of books, as I am, you have some free time to read.  I got through much of an excellent book that I’d like to recommend here.

Idols of the Heart:  Learning to Long for God Alone by Elyse Fitzpatrick

I was in the bookstore about a month ago and I sincerely asked the Lord to direct me to a book that He knew I needed.  I was feeling unsettled about some things and this book was the one He led me to.  This book is excellent at pointing out where we’ve turned our natural, human desires into idols.  Many people dismiss idolatry as only something people in biblical days did when they bowed down to a golden calf.  “Idols aren’t just stone statues,” Fitzpatrick says, “idols are the thoughts, desires, longings, and expectations that we worship in the place of the true God.  Idols cause us to ignore the true God in search of what we think we need” (pg 23).

“We create images out of our thoughts of our highest good or happiness.  And whether we’re aware of it or not, those images are the driving forces in our lives.  They direct our worship, either toward or away from God.  They tell us what we should cherish more than Him” (pg. 87).

Idols of the Heart walks you through identifying your idols and helps you to recover the Lord Jesus as first in your life, thoughts, and desires.  It is an excellent read and I highly recommend it for anyone’s Christian growth.