In Exodus 32:1-6, we learn about how the Israelites decided to design and worship a golden calf.

Why did they do this? Because, they didn’t think Moses was coming back.

Did they really care that much about Moses? No. They just wanted to know that the presence of God was with them. When Moses was around, they knew God was there. They could have more confidence that they would get fed and find water in the desert. They could trust that they would overcome enemy forces. However, because Moses was gone, they lost their comfort in the presence of God.

So, what did they do? They did exactly what the teachings of their society taught them to do: they built an image of an animal so they could be confident that the presence of God was with them.

What’s the problem? This is idolatry. Mixing the false teachings of society with the true teachings of God produces something God wants nothing to do with.

In this week’s episode of “Cooking with Ken”, we see an example of what happens when you mix two things that are totally incompatible:

This is what our lives look like when we mix idolatry with the teachings of Jesus.

Everything we do, think, and feel is worship. We are worshiping all day long. The questions is, who are we worshiping… or what are we worshiping?

All of us commit idolatry, every single day of our lives. Whenever we sin, there is some form of idol that is luring. Idols lead us to do/think/feel things we shouldn’t do/think/feel. Idols lead us to not do/think/feel things that we should do/think/feel.

Here’s a list of some of today’s most popular idols among Jesus-followers (in no particular order):

1. Our Own Personal Ego’s (Self)
2. People-Pleasing (Parents, Friends, Culture)
3. Fear
4. Success
5. Work
6. Religion
7. Family (Husband, Wife, Kids)
8. TV/Computer/Cell
9. Stuff
10. Politics

What are your thoughts on this subject, in light of the situations we find ourselves in today’s society?

For about 6 years of my life, I was a guy who believed in Jesus, but I didn’t really enjoy life as a Christian. It was good, but it wasn’t as fun as some of the other things I liked to do. I used to think it was more fulfilling to mix some of the ways of the world with the ways of Jesus. Many times I believed life without Jesus was more exciting than life with Jesus. The reason I felt like this was because I hadn’t surrendered everything to God. The truth was, I couldn’t know the life God had for me until I gave Him everything I had.

Here’s an example of two “Christian” guys who’ve got a long way to go:

These are two guys who act like their lives without Christ were more exciting than their new lives with Christ.

In Exodus 15:22-27 and Exodus 16:1-36, we learn that the Jewish people were half-way following God, but they weren’t happy about their current lifestyles. In fact, they even reminisced about how “good” things were back in Egypt. They were so displeased with their new lives, that they gave up on God completely. However, God didn’t give up on them.

God’s strategy was to assign them a few simple tasks, and then teach them how to follow His instructions. If they would learn to follow Him with a few things, then they could learn to follow Him with everything. Then, and only then, would they learn that life with God is not only the best life, but it is the only life.

I know people today who believe in Jesus, but they aren’t happy. The truth is, they haven’t fully surrendered to the teachings of the Bible, God’s Words.

Here’s what this would look like, if we were “cooking with Ken.”

How ridiculous is this guy… blaming Duncan Hines for making a crappy cake!?!? More importantly… how ridiculous are we, when we wonder why we’re not happy, when we wonder why we’re not experiencing God… but we aren’t following God’s instructions? We’re still holding onto our old ways of thinking, our old ways of living…

So what’s holding us back? Are we still consumed with buying stuff… bigger houses, never-ending remodeling? Are we finished with gossip… or do we still enjoy it a little here, a little there? Are we ready to leave lying behind us… or do we still think there are times when it is necessary? Do we justify going to the casino… calling it “entertainment”? Have we given up the cigarettes… or do we feel like we’re changing too many things, and we gotta have at least one bad habit to hold onto? Are we sick of judging others… or does it make us feel good to act like we’re better than “them”?

What’s standing in our way?

We will know what God has for us when we give him everything we have.

What is grace?

Grace is “the power to live out God’s plan.” Without grace, we are dead. Without grace, we have no power. Without grace, we are unable to live the life we were created to live. We obviously don’t deserve it, and we certainly can’t earn it by our own efforts.

Unfortunately, when we think of grace, we usually limit it to what happened in the past, on the cross, 2000 years ago. We think of it only as a PAST event. However, the cross is the means by which God has made grace available. We believe in what God did in the past, but do we believe in what God wants to do with us in the future?

We need grace every single day of our lives. We are nothing without God’s power… God’s grace.

God has a plan for us… a radical plan… a plan for us to be intimate with Him… a plan for us to influence the world to follow Him (AKA “Be disciples. Make disciples.”) God’s plan is that we would become even more intimate with Him today than we were yesterday. His plan is that we would make more disciples tomorrow than we did today.

However, we will NOT experience God’s plan for our lives without faith… faith in future grace. It’s not enough to have faith in what happened in the past. We must have faith in what God wants to do next.

In Exodus 14 we read about the miracle of God parting the Red Sea, delivering the Jewish people from the Egyptians. In Exodus 15, the people sing a new song about this event. The first 2/3rds of this song focus on what God just did, “in the past.” However, it’s the final 1/3rd of the song that is the most powerful. I invite you to read Exodus 15:13-18 and notice how many times the people use the word, “will.”

Their focus has shifted, from past grace to future grace. It’s their experience with past grace (the Red Sea), that gives them faith in future grace (that God will do even greater things to accomplish His plan in their lives).

Probably all of us have had dramatic experiences in the past where we knew, “Wow, that was God!” Unfortunately, when we don’t experience those things, we start to lose our faith… However, when our faith decreases, so does God’s power in our lives.

Let us remember our past encounters with grace (our Red Sea victories), and may our experiences with past grace give us greater faith in future grace… increased faith that God has even greater things in store for us!