One Celebrity

"Where is the one whose power was displayed when Moses lifted up his hand—the one who divided the sea before them, making himself famous forever?"  Isaiah 63:12

Have you noticed how the cultural celebrity status of our day is gradually seeping into God's own Church?

It is the very temptation the devil used on Jesus in the wilderness.  Matthew 4:8-11 gives us the account:

"Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 'I will give it all to you,' he said, 'if you will kneel down and worship me.'"

"Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. 'For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’  Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus."

I wonder.

How many of us, in our own desire for celebrity, have acted like the devil and our heart has sought the applause of men?  It is no better than wanting others to bow down to us rather than our God?  We want the limelight, yet it cannot be shared.  If our heart is right, we will humbly and constantly point everyone to the one true celebrity--Jesus Christ alone--and we will celebrate Him wherever we see Him at work, leaving jealousy and selfish ambition far behind us.

We do not have the market cornered on truth or insight.  God alone has that.

I think sometimes once we have swallowed the devil's hook and are being drug through the water to his boat, rather than submitting to God and asking Him to remove the hook, we try to justify ourselves.  We say, "But, I am proclaiming the name of Christ!  I am telling others of Him!"  

I am so very guilty of this.  May God forgive me.  I/We must remember that it is our heart that Jesus is looking at.  It is our motive that He sees, and He alone will have the final say on Judgment Day as to whether our motive was pure and right.

Praise the Lord our God, the Famous One forever!

Goodnight, Runners.