counterfeit gods

I finally finished reading Counterfeit gods, and I just want to jot down some excerpts that I want to remember from the book. *spoiler alert*

Identifying Idols
Idolatry is what is fundamentally wrong with the human heart
^{Romans 1:21,25, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever."}
There is something you feel you must have to be happy, something that is more more important to your heart than God himself

1) Look at your imagination
- The true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention
What do you habitually think about to get joy and comfort in the privacy of your heart?

2) Look at how you spend your money
- Your money flows most effortlessly toward your heart's greatest love

3) Look at how you respond to unanswered prayer and frustrated hopes
- When you pray and work for something and you don't get it and you respond with explosive anger or deep despair, then you may have found your real god

4) Look at your uncontrollable emotions
- Look for your idols at the bottom of your most painful emotions, especially those that never seem to lift and that drive you to do things you know are wrong

"The most basic question which God poses to each human heart:
Has something or someone besides Jesus the Christ taken title to your heart's functional trust, preoccupation, loyalty, service, fear and delight? To who or what do you look for life-sustaining stability, security and acceptance? What do you really want and expect out of life? What would make you happy? What would make you an acceptable person?"
- David Powilson


Replacing Idols
^{Colossians 3:1-5, "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry."}
Idolatry is no just a failure to obey God, it is a setting of the whole heart on something besides God.

"Setting your mind and heart on the things above" means appreciation, rejoicing, and resting in what Jesus has done for you.
Jesus must become more beautiful to your imagination, more attractive to your heart than your idol.
That is what will replace your counterfeit gods.

It is when we rejoice over Jesus' sacrificial love for us most fully that, paradoxically, we are most truly convicted of our sin.
Rejoicing in Christ is crucial because idols are almost always good things.
We want to love Christ so much more that we are not enslaved by our attachments.
To rejoice is to treasure a thing, to assess its value to you, to reflect on its beauty and importance until your heart rests in it and tastes the sweetness of it.
Rejoicing is a way of praising God until the heart is sweetened and rested, and until it relaxes its grip on anything else it thinks that it needs.