Turning to God from idols

I’ve spent some time recently in 1 Thessalonians and been reminded of the way in which the Thessalonians turned away from their idols to serve the true and living God. It’s been helpful to reflect on how this is similar to my experience.

I grew up in a Christian family and have always known about Jesus and his death and resurrection. However during my teenage years I spent most of my waking hours (+ countless dreams!) pursuing the idol of soccer. It wasn’t until I started to come to Central Coast Evangelical Church in mid-1998 that I “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1Thess 1:9-10 NIV) What impressed me about CCEC was the clarity of Bible teaching week after week and the clear explanation of how the death and resurrection of Jesus ought to impact on all areas of life. Praise be to God!

———
Guessing competition… a warm fuzzy for each correct answer – 4 warm fuzzies can be redeemed as a coffee:

1) How old was I when the above photo was taken?
2) In which Western NSW regional town was the championship played?
3) What position did I play?
4) What year was this photo taken?

16 Responses to “Turning to God from idols”

  1. Ben April 4, 2007 at 7:51 am #

    1) 23 years old

    2) Punchbowl

    3) Mid 80s Dag

    4) Whatever year it was, it was a sad year for sensible fashion advocates everywhere. And don’t play the goalie card – there’s just no excuse for that kind of thing.

  2. Ellen B. April 4, 2007 at 8:47 am #

    1. 16
    2. San Jose
    3. Goalie
    4. 1996

    I had to click to your testimony cuz I love watching Soccer! Praise God He gave you a bigger goal!

  3. David April 4, 2007 at 10:00 am #

    ben is a funny kid!

    1) incorrect
    2) incorrect
    3) incorrect
    4) incorrect

  4. David April 4, 2007 at 10:05 am #

    g’day ellen thanks for stopping by…

    1) incorrect
    2) incorrect
    3) correct
    4) incorrect

    (even though san jose is in the wrong country – you were a lot closer with 1, 2 & 4 than ben!)

    for your correct answer – you are the recipient of a warm fuzzie!

  5. Nixter April 4, 2007 at 1:26 pm #

    cool post.

    We have been doing Thessalonians in bible study – great book.

    I like soccer ;) Nice hair do by the way.

  6. David April 4, 2007 at 5:10 pm #

    1 thess is gold. i’ve spent most of today in it…

    nice hair do?? crazy hair do!!

  7. The Audio Brothers April 5, 2007 at 12:21 am #

    1.15
    2.Dubbo
    3.Goalie
    4.1995

  8. David April 5, 2007 at 12:35 am #

    1.15 – incorrect – but close
    2.Dubbo – CORRECT – 1 warm fuzzie
    3.Goalie – CORRECT – already claimed… but i will give you a bonus warm fuzzie!
    4.1995 – incorrect – close but no cigar

    hey good to hear from you danny.

    how are you?

  9. Guthers April 5, 2007 at 9:10 am #

    how about….

    1. 14
    2. Dubbo
    3. Goalie
    4. 1994 (geez, you’re old!)

    No help from anyone preceding me of course!

  10. David April 5, 2007 at 9:49 am #

    2. Dubbo – CORRECT (but already claimed)
    3. Goalie – CORRECT (but already claimed)
    4. 1994 (geez, you’re old!) – CORRECT – 1 WARM FUZZIE!!!

    1. 14 – oh so close…

  11. Matt & Kate April 5, 2007 at 11:29 am #

    1) 13

    Thanks for the encouragement Dave

  12. David April 5, 2007 at 11:33 am #

    1) 13 years – CORRECT – final warm fuzzie!!!

    hey guthers – i was about 2 weeks from being 14… so you were very close!

    great competition hommes et femmes

    peaceout

  13. Nick April 5, 2007 at 8:14 pm #

    I was going to say Orange….

    But obviously that was wrong

Trackbacks/Pingbacks:

  1. dave miers dot com » Soccer isn’t life, but… - April 27, 2008

    [...] the same tagline at the end of each editorial: Soccer is life, the rest is just details. I used to believe that, but now I believe that Jesus is life and the rest is just [...]

  2. Jesus is Nambawan! | dave miers dot com - December 13, 2009

    [...] like soccer. I love Jesus. It used to be the other way around. While in Vanuatu, it was fun to combine soccer (football) and Jesus. The Nivans are football [...]

  3. Praying for the World (Cup) #Praying4WorldCup | dave miers dot com - June 12, 2010

    [...] used to worship soccer. That’s dumb. Worshiping soccer is as foolish as worshiping a scarecrow in a cucumber [...]

Leave a Reply:

Gravatar Image