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Tullian Tchividjian
Pastor & Author
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About the Author

William Graham Tullian Tchividjian (pronounced cha-vi-jin) is a Florida native and the pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, a visiting professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, and a grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham. A graduate of Columbia International University (philosophy) and Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Tullian is the author of The Kingdom of God: A Primer on the Christian Life (Banner of Truth), Do I Know God? Finding Certainty in Life's Most Important Relationship (Multnomah) and Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different (Multnomah, 2009). The author of numerous articles, Tullian is a contributing editor to Leadership Journal, and speaks at conferences throughout the U.S. His sermons are broadcast daily on the radio program Godward Living.

Thursday, October 8, 2009 | 09:43 AM

Counterfeit Gods

In his book Counterfeit God's , Tim Keller writes:

What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it without a second thought. It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical acclaim, or saving "face" and social standing. It can be a romantic relationship, peer approval, competence and skill, secure and comfortable circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great political or social cause, your morality and virtue, or even success in the Christian ministry. When your meaning in life is to fix someone else's life, we may call it "codependency" but it is really idolatry. An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, "If I have that, then I'll feel my life has meaning, then I'll know I have value, then I'll feel significant and secure."

What are those things, or who are those people, that you depend on more than Jesus to provide the meaning and purpose and security and significance you long for? In other words, what are your idols? Experiencing God's deep rescue begins with identifying what idols you worship.

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