The artisan hunches over a block of wood. He whittles out a grotesque figure about two feet tall. Then he falls down and worships it. We call that an idol, and spell his god with a small "g".

Small gods are easily controlled. On special occasions they can be dressed up and carried about the streets on floats. Their worshipers may burn incense and sing to them. Some gods are quite cruel and demanding at times. But the handy thing about small gods is that they can be carried back into their temples and forgotten for long periods at a time.

But our God Jehovah is great. "Heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain (Him)" (2 Chronicles 6:18). "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain . . . Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand . . . and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales . . . the nations are as a drop of a bucket . . . as the small dust of the balance" (Isaiah 40:22, 12, 15). No one controls Jehovah. It is He that controls. "Our God is in the heavens, He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased" (Psalm 115:3).

What God do you worship? One you can control? Does he stay where you set him? Or is your God big enough to set you straight?

Modern concepts of God make Him more like an idol than the Lord God. If you can worship him on Sunday and live life your own way the rest of the week; if he stays meekly at church while you decide whom to date, what car to drive, how to make a living, what home to own, where to go to school, and how to dress, all by yourself, then you are worshiping a very small god. God will not be whittled down to our size. And only those whom He controls are truly worshiping Him.

A big God is not one to be scared of. Christ invites us to learn of Him, that He is meek and lowly. (Matthew 11:29) Isaiah 40 describes not only the great God but the personal God: "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." (verse 11)

It might seem convenient to have a god we can control while we think we can take care of ourselves. But when it comes time to die, I'm sure we will all want one big enough to see us safely through the valley of the shadow of death to the home He has promised to those that serve Him. To have a big God then, we must serve the Great God now.

A number of years ago, I was studying the seven churches in Revelation, and noticed a phrase I never forgot. The remarkably faithful church at Philadelphia had only “a little strength.”

The believers at Philadelphia had kept Christ’s word and not denied His name—characteristics that you would expect in a strong church. Yet Jesus honors them by speaking of them as the church with a little strength.

I should not have been surprised, because, in the kingdom, weakness wins. The meek, or the humble, inherit the earth. Those with “little strength” triumph.

In the kingdom, heroes of faith are those who “out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (Hebrews 11:34).

In the kingdom, “God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:7).

In the kingdom, “When I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Christians tend to speak of “successful Christians” as “spiritual giants,” or as “great men of faith.” The irony is that if there is such a thing as a “spiritual giant,” he will always be a person who understands his own desperate helplessness, and is grace-made, not self-made.

The longer I live, the more it seems to me that mature Christians (and mature churches) are those who are humble enough to acknowledge their humanity, and to work from a premise of weakness. “Victorious Christians” are simply believers who follow Jesus because they refuse to trust themselves. “Strong churches” are those who realize that, except for their Head, they have no strength at all.

How strong is that brother or sister whose spiritual journey you idealize? He or she has only a little strength. What about the congregation that seems spiritually alive and problem-free? They have only a little strength. How remarkable were the parents who raised their children to live for Jesus? They did so, but only with a little strength.

And you—you would still like to be a strong Christian?

If it’s strength you seek, begin from a premise of weakness. If you pursue victory, begin with a cross.

That is God’s rule in His kingdom, so “that no flesh should glory” before God. And so that “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:29-31).

Or, as Paul learned: “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities [or weakness], that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Are you satisfied with weakness, or a little strength, like Paul was?

If so, your life, and your church, may become a channel of that perfect “power of Christ.” When that happens, weakness wins.

Financial uncertainty has become part of our lives.

In the last few years, regular media fare has expanded to include words like bailouts, government buyouts, stimulus packages and more.

As hard as it is to believe, it's become clear that investments and savings that we thought were secure have not been, as banks collapse and governments run short of funds. And amid all the talks and political initiatives, little changes, and life goes on in denial of fundamental financial issues on almost every level.

Paul wrote about “uncertain riches.”

Jesus spoke of earthly investments as something liable to corruption and theft. He understood the real nature of finance and money in any financial system—it disappears, and it is manipulated by those determined to leverage it to their own financial advantage.

I could berate financial institutions and unethical governments. I opt not to. Instead, I think Jesus suggested one of the finest “protest” actions in response to the expected use and abuse of money: reinvest it—in heaven, that is.

Perhaps you have lived selfishly, seeking gain by selfishly investing in a shoddy system of world finance and monetary reward. The chances are, in today's economy, you will be the loser.

Instead, invest in heaven. It's the only safe place.

Invest in others—in the people and things that matter to God. Share, even if you have little. Invest in Somalian children, or in your neighbor's child. Determine to live an intentional life of financial kindness rather than financial gain. Choose to be driven by spiritual realities rather than material gain. Live as if your life depended on what you gave, and not what you get.

After all, the old Indian proverb states that “What is not given is lost.”

So, following Jesus advice, change from being a loser to a “giver,” someone who invests in eternal things and eternal values by “laying up treasures in heaven.” The returns are out of this world.