Friday, November 1, 2013
Nurses Who Travel: Stop Number One: St. Louis!
Nurses Who Travel: Stop Number One: St. Louis!: Hello!!!! ...From St. Louis, Missouri! We are sitting in the living room at my aunt and uncle's house having a great visit. We lef...
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Anchored in the Heavenlies
Anchored in the Heavenlies
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil... (Hebrews 6:19).
"Above the high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil!" I love that line from the hymn, "The Solid Rock." As my wife and I were worshiping and praying today, I sang that line several times and sensed the nearness, the presence, the assurance of God.
I was very grateful for that nearness, because, as I write this, there has been more month than money. The royalty check that I was counting on to pay the mortgage was lower than it has ever been and not nearly enough to help us get caught up financially. I have juggled bills and tried to figure out what to do, and I have been tempted to panic. Unfortunately, I am ashamed to say that I have even given in to that temptation at times.
This is not something new for me. Feast or famine seems to be the lot of this self-employed, traveling music minister. Although I must admit, we usually feast, and we never have been truly without food.
Many times, when I am in the midst of a difficult situation, I am reminded of the things I so easily share from the pulpit, "God will give you a peace that transcends your circumstances." Or, "He is faithful and even though the night gets long and dark sometimes, there has never been a night without a dawn."
I believe those things with all my heart, I really do. Still, though, sometimes they seem much easier to say than to live. Then there are mornings like this morning when I sensed so tangibly the presence of my Father God as I sang, "My anchor holds within the veil."
Jesus said "Blessed are you who have not seen and yet believe." Hebrews 11 tells us that, "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen."
The truest demonstration of worship is when we can still trust Him even when things aren't going well. And for those of us involved in the worship ministry of our churches, how we worship when life is topsy-turvy will encourage others in their worship of God.
Do you want to hear how this financial need was met? I will tell you about it sometime. I know that it already has been met in the heavenlies, it will be manifested on earth somehow and, for now, this is all the answer I need.
Lord, I have a tendency to want quick fixes and easy answers. Forgive my lack of trust in You. When the answer is slower to come than I would like, I thank You that I still have the assurance of Your Word, Your Spirit and Your presence. Cause my heart--cause our hearts together--to believe that our citizenship really is in a higher place. Even in the midst of not seeing an easy answer, we still thank You for faith. And we don't mean merely wishful thinking, or using spirituality as an excuse to be lazy when we say the word "faith," but we thank You for the very real awareness of Your Father-heart for us. Great is Your faithfulness! Thank You that our anchor holds, strong and sure, within the veil! Amen!
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil... (Hebrews 6:19).
"Above the high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil!" I love that line from the hymn, "The Solid Rock." As my wife and I were worshiping and praying today, I sang that line several times and sensed the nearness, the presence, the assurance of God.
I was very grateful for that nearness, because, as I write this, there has been more month than money. The royalty check that I was counting on to pay the mortgage was lower than it has ever been and not nearly enough to help us get caught up financially. I have juggled bills and tried to figure out what to do, and I have been tempted to panic. Unfortunately, I am ashamed to say that I have even given in to that temptation at times.
This is not something new for me. Feast or famine seems to be the lot of this self-employed, traveling music minister. Although I must admit, we usually feast, and we never have been truly without food.
Many times, when I am in the midst of a difficult situation, I am reminded of the things I so easily share from the pulpit, "God will give you a peace that transcends your circumstances." Or, "He is faithful and even though the night gets long and dark sometimes, there has never been a night without a dawn."
I believe those things with all my heart, I really do. Still, though, sometimes they seem much easier to say than to live. Then there are mornings like this morning when I sensed so tangibly the presence of my Father God as I sang, "My anchor holds within the veil."
Jesus said "Blessed are you who have not seen and yet believe." Hebrews 11 tells us that, "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen."
The truest demonstration of worship is when we can still trust Him even when things aren't going well. And for those of us involved in the worship ministry of our churches, how we worship when life is topsy-turvy will encourage others in their worship of God.
Do you want to hear how this financial need was met? I will tell you about it sometime. I know that it already has been met in the heavenlies, it will be manifested on earth somehow and, for now, this is all the answer I need.
Lord, I have a tendency to want quick fixes and easy answers. Forgive my lack of trust in You. When the answer is slower to come than I would like, I thank You that I still have the assurance of Your Word, Your Spirit and Your presence. Cause my heart--cause our hearts together--to believe that our citizenship really is in a higher place. Even in the midst of not seeing an easy answer, we still thank You for faith. And we don't mean merely wishful thinking, or using spirituality as an excuse to be lazy when we say the word "faith," but we thank You for the very real awareness of Your Father-heart for us. Great is Your faithfulness! Thank You that our anchor holds, strong and sure, within the veil! Amen!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Worship and Deliverance
On Saturday, May 15, I sat on the front row of our local high school's auditorium and was "proud as a peacock" to watch my precious Josie Mae (age:6) participate in her dance academy's spring recital entitled, "Exodus." It was truly special and beautiful, for a real lack of better words. http://kellychristiedance.com/
Yes, I was surprised to open my worship study to find this next chapter entitled. "Worship and Deliverance: The story of Moses." I feel very inept and almost speechless in trying to eloquently and creatively summarize the magnitude of God's glory in this next chapter. At best, I'll recap the author's main points and attempt at examining just a few of the countless applications.
We'll start with Joseph. After Joseph leads in saving his people from famine, the Hebrew people "grew strong in the land." They had many children and grandchildren. (Exodus 1:7.) 400 years passed and along comes Exodus 1:9: "A new king arose who didn't know Joseph." I'll add, he didn't know Joseph or his God. So intimidated by their power and numbers, he turns the Hebrews into slaves.
Allow me to push fast forward, in full reverence, that is. My guess is that if your reading this, you can tell this story with me. So, Pharaoh's plan A, slavery, didn't diminish the Hebrews, their number's increased. Plan B: kill the newborn boys! These instructions were given to the Egyptian midwives. But these women feared the Lord and lied (which really interest me. Justified lying? Rahab lied. hmmm. well, another time.) "Those Hebrew women are stout! Their babies are born before we even get there!" And the Hebrews multiplied.
Plan C-genocide. Pharaoh decrees that all Hebrew newborn males be thrown into the Nile River. This is unthinkable but it happened. And don't forget, we'll never know how many Hebrew boys did drown. Could you imagine the horror? Well, one boy survived. (I'm forcing myself to stick to this blogs point, but oh my, the Sovereignty of God throughout this, AMAZING!) His Mother water-proofed a basket and he's found by the daughter of Pharaoh, and etc.
Moses grows up, not exactly looking like others in his house, he realizes he's not Egyptian. He murders an Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a fellow Hebrew, flees to the desert, meets Jethro, the Midian priest, works for him, and God blesses Moses with a home, a wife, a family and a calling.
I must fast forward, yet again. God calls Moses through a burning bush. Burning, but not consumed. Moses responds with three words that are pivotal to worship: "Here I am." You see Abram and Jacob had uttered these same words centuries before (Gen: 22:1 & 46:2.) Prophet Samuel and Isaiah would repeat these words centuries later. Why are three words so important? Obedience. Moses wasn't just in attendance, he was there and responded with an obedient heart.
Moses struggled with believing that God could use an ordinary man in an extraordinary way to achieve an impossible task. BTW-Unbelief is a terrible thing. It smothers the fire of vision, kills dreams, and halts the wheels of progress. Unbelief is a tool of Satan.
So Moses, age 80 & Aaron, age 83, stand before a king who truly thinks of himself to be a god. Thus, another worship war began.
We must remember that the Egyptian people were extremely religious. You name it ,and they had a god or goddess for it. Pharaoh was thought to be a manifestation of "Horus", the god of light. Pharaoh was also the central protector of "Maat", the universal ethical principle that stood for justice, order and truth. So by adhering to Pharaoh, the people were aligned with nature and with the god, Maat.
No wonder Pharaoh was so ghastly offended at Aaron's & Moses' demand from the one true God. So God declares war. He sends 10 plagues. I've often marveled at the different things God sent and how and why He chose those plagues. Don't miss this! When God assailed Egypt with the 10 plagues, He was casting the universal order of creation, the god, Maat, into chaos. Just watch:
Plague 1:
Water to blood. The Egyptians worshipped the Nile River and its god, "Napy." For a full week, every drop of water in Egypt was blood. Fish were dead, the river begin to stink, and blood was everywhere.
Pharaoh's response: a hard heart.
Plague 2:
Frogs. I've always thought this was random and yes, horrible, but frogs? God, you should've done roaches!
But God was making a mockery of "Het", the frog-headed goddess of fertility. She couldn't call off the frogs. So frogs were in the bed, in the ovens, etc. (Anyone else picturing Charlton Heston about now?)
Pharaoh's response: ok, you can go...liar. Moses prayed, the frogs die, and Pharaoh goes back on his word.
Plague 3:
Gnats. God instructs Moses to strike the dust and the dust turns to gnats, That's allot of gnats! This was an embarrassment to all who worshipped "Geb", the "god of the earth." The Egyptians gave homage to this god for the fertile soil, yet from this soil came a pestilence the Geb could not stop.
Plague 4:
Insects. Many translations say flies but this word wasn't in the original. Moses only wrote great swarms covered the land. Many scholars believe it could've been "scarabs", which were used to represent the god "Ra." Whichever they were, these insects were a humiliation to both Ra and Khepfi, god of insects.
Plague 5:
Disease in the animals. Remember, Egyptians worshiped their animals. God was scourging "Apis", the bull-deity, and several other gods that bore the head of other farm animals.
Plague 6:
Boils-painful, inflamed pustules all over their bodies. This outbreak flew in the face of both "Imhotep",the god of medicine and healing, and "Thoth" the god from whom physicians received their healing power.
Plague 7:
Hail accompanied by lightning. Killing animals and humans, destroyed homes, farms, trees, etc. And where was "Nut" the sky goddess, all this time? God proved her impotent in the face of His judgement.
Plague 8:
Locusts. If there was anything left after the insects, blood, disease, frogs, hail, it was certainly destroyed by the creatures that covered the land so much so that the ground couldn't be seen. And the god of grain, the god of vegetation, and the goddess of the harvest were silent and powerless.
Plague 9:
Darkness. God confronts "Re", the god of the sun. Ra had associations with creation, fertility, victory in war, and justice so when darkness covered the land for 3 full days, so thick you could feel it, this was an insult to the Egyptian belief system.
Plague 10:
The death of every first born son, even the animals. 4So Moses said, "Thus says the LORD: About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, 5and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 6 There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. 7But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8An all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, 'Get out, you and all the people who follow you.' And after that I will go out." And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
God gives Moses instructions for the Israelites that night & at midnight, with blood over their doors, Israel would worship God together. Though every family would be in their own homes, worshipping privately, all families would be worshipping collectively at the same time.
Wow. Right? Just wow, is all I can say. You know the rest of the story.
All the gods mentioned above aren't around any longer. No one worships them. So what does this story have to teach us about worship?
Psalm 46:10- Be still and know that He is God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
Yes, I was surprised to open my worship study to find this next chapter entitled. "Worship and Deliverance: The story of Moses." I feel very inept and almost speechless in trying to eloquently and creatively summarize the magnitude of God's glory in this next chapter. At best, I'll recap the author's main points and attempt at examining just a few of the countless applications.
We'll start with Joseph. After Joseph leads in saving his people from famine, the Hebrew people "grew strong in the land." They had many children and grandchildren. (Exodus 1:7.) 400 years passed and along comes Exodus 1:9: "A new king arose who didn't know Joseph." I'll add, he didn't know Joseph or his God. So intimidated by their power and numbers, he turns the Hebrews into slaves.
Allow me to push fast forward, in full reverence, that is. My guess is that if your reading this, you can tell this story with me. So, Pharaoh's plan A, slavery, didn't diminish the Hebrews, their number's increased. Plan B: kill the newborn boys! These instructions were given to the Egyptian midwives. But these women feared the Lord and lied (which really interest me. Justified lying? Rahab lied. hmmm. well, another time.) "Those Hebrew women are stout! Their babies are born before we even get there!" And the Hebrews multiplied.
Plan C-genocide. Pharaoh decrees that all Hebrew newborn males be thrown into the Nile River. This is unthinkable but it happened. And don't forget, we'll never know how many Hebrew boys did drown. Could you imagine the horror? Well, one boy survived. (I'm forcing myself to stick to this blogs point, but oh my, the Sovereignty of God throughout this, AMAZING!) His Mother water-proofed a basket and he's found by the daughter of Pharaoh, and etc.
Moses grows up, not exactly looking like others in his house, he realizes he's not Egyptian. He murders an Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a fellow Hebrew, flees to the desert, meets Jethro, the Midian priest, works for him, and God blesses Moses with a home, a wife, a family and a calling.
I must fast forward, yet again. God calls Moses through a burning bush. Burning, but not consumed. Moses responds with three words that are pivotal to worship: "Here I am." You see Abram and Jacob had uttered these same words centuries before (Gen: 22:1 & 46:2.) Prophet Samuel and Isaiah would repeat these words centuries later. Why are three words so important? Obedience. Moses wasn't just in attendance, he was there and responded with an obedient heart.
Moses struggled with believing that God could use an ordinary man in an extraordinary way to achieve an impossible task. BTW-Unbelief is a terrible thing. It smothers the fire of vision, kills dreams, and halts the wheels of progress. Unbelief is a tool of Satan.
So Moses, age 80 & Aaron, age 83, stand before a king who truly thinks of himself to be a god. Thus, another worship war began.
We must remember that the Egyptian people were extremely religious. You name it ,and they had a god or goddess for it. Pharaoh was thought to be a manifestation of "Horus", the god of light. Pharaoh was also the central protector of "Maat", the universal ethical principle that stood for justice, order and truth. So by adhering to Pharaoh, the people were aligned with nature and with the god, Maat.
No wonder Pharaoh was so ghastly offended at Aaron's & Moses' demand from the one true God. So God declares war. He sends 10 plagues. I've often marveled at the different things God sent and how and why He chose those plagues. Don't miss this! When God assailed Egypt with the 10 plagues, He was casting the universal order of creation, the god, Maat, into chaos. Just watch:
Plague 1:
Water to blood. The Egyptians worshipped the Nile River and its god, "Napy." For a full week, every drop of water in Egypt was blood. Fish were dead, the river begin to stink, and blood was everywhere.
Pharaoh's response: a hard heart.
Plague 2:
Frogs. I've always thought this was random and yes, horrible, but frogs? God, you should've done roaches!
But God was making a mockery of "Het", the frog-headed goddess of fertility. She couldn't call off the frogs. So frogs were in the bed, in the ovens, etc. (Anyone else picturing Charlton Heston about now?)
Pharaoh's response: ok, you can go...liar. Moses prayed, the frogs die, and Pharaoh goes back on his word.
Plague 3:
Gnats. God instructs Moses to strike the dust and the dust turns to gnats, That's allot of gnats! This was an embarrassment to all who worshipped "Geb", the "god of the earth." The Egyptians gave homage to this god for the fertile soil, yet from this soil came a pestilence the Geb could not stop.
Plague 4:
Insects. Many translations say flies but this word wasn't in the original. Moses only wrote great swarms covered the land. Many scholars believe it could've been "scarabs", which were used to represent the god "Ra." Whichever they were, these insects were a humiliation to both Ra and Khepfi, god of insects.
Plague 5:
Disease in the animals. Remember, Egyptians worshiped their animals. God was scourging "Apis", the bull-deity, and several other gods that bore the head of other farm animals.
Plague 6:
Boils-painful, inflamed pustules all over their bodies. This outbreak flew in the face of both "Imhotep",the god of medicine and healing, and "Thoth" the god from whom physicians received their healing power.
Plague 7:
Hail accompanied by lightning. Killing animals and humans, destroyed homes, farms, trees, etc. And where was "Nut" the sky goddess, all this time? God proved her impotent in the face of His judgement.
Plague 8:
Locusts. If there was anything left after the insects, blood, disease, frogs, hail, it was certainly destroyed by the creatures that covered the land so much so that the ground couldn't be seen. And the god of grain, the god of vegetation, and the goddess of the harvest were silent and powerless.
Plague 9:
Darkness. God confronts "Re", the god of the sun. Ra had associations with creation, fertility, victory in war, and justice so when darkness covered the land for 3 full days, so thick you could feel it, this was an insult to the Egyptian belief system.
Plague 10:
The death of every first born son, even the animals. 4So Moses said, "Thus says the LORD: About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, 5and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 6 There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. 7But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8An all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, 'Get out, you and all the people who follow you.' And after that I will go out." And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
God gives Moses instructions for the Israelites that night & at midnight, with blood over their doors, Israel would worship God together. Though every family would be in their own homes, worshipping privately, all families would be worshipping collectively at the same time.
Wow. Right? Just wow, is all I can say. You know the rest of the story.
All the gods mentioned above aren't around any longer. No one worships them. So what does this story have to teach us about worship?
- God will fight for His worship. Has God ever attacked and humiliated your gods? ouch. I know, but it must be observed. Anything we love more than Him is a god and Yahweh will not share His glory. Is God at work in your life tearing down any gods? It's painful but necessary.
- God will defend His worshippers. Our enemy, the devil, seeks to destroy our worship. Satan will afflict us and try to rob us of our joy and reason to praise God. But God wants to be our song.
- Moses covered his face at the burning bush. Why? because of an awestruck fear and reverential awe. Are you in awe of who He is? Shouldn't we be?
Psalm 46:10- Be still and know that He is God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
New Clothes for Easter?
Hey everyone! Curious about the subject line? You'll have to read till the bottom to see what I mean! (DON'T SCROLL!)
I just wanted to send out a lil encouragement to you all on taking a step this Easter season in teaching your children the holiday's meaning and message that truly is the core value system of Christianity!
Here's an easy read article from focus on the family and at the bottom you can click on "Next article in this series" and there are several in the Easter line of thought.
http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/holidays/celebrating_the_easter_season.aspx
Another really neat idea is "Resurrection Eggs." Christy & I picked up a dozen at Family Christian Store in Gainesville last night for $13! They're plastic eggs each filled with an object that leads up to the crucifixion of Jesus. http://www.familychristian.com/shop/product.asp?ProdID=119502 We plan on making it like an advent or lent. We'll start tomorrow night and end Easter Sunday AM with the last egg. It also comes with a guide book so you know EGGxactly what to say. (i couldn't resist)
I want to share from experience: at the suggestion of a Focus on the Family article, http://www2.focusonthefamily.com/focusmagazine/spiritualheritage/A000000600.cfm
my family & I started an advent wreath this past Christmas. There's many forms out there, this one we had put in a daily devotion form. I remember being skeptical as I read the article boast, "This will become your family's most cherished Christmas traditions!" Listen, it really did. We began to really, really look forward to it. Every Christmas card we received, we'd place them by our wreath then that night in devotions, we'd pray for that family. (so if you sent us a card, you got prayed for! hehehe.) In fact, we were so skeptical, we didn't go buy THE advent wreath and official advent candles, ours was homemade. BUT, in January, while in a Christian bookstore, we were thrilled to find a beautiful advent wreath on after-Christmas clearance and we pray this will be a memorial every season to our devotion and love for the Savior.
Ok, so, all that to say-we're hoping the Lord blesses these efforts and through this season, may our children glean a deeper understanding of the cross of Jesus. I'd love to hear your feedback and/or input on how you impress your children's hearts!
p.s.-After their baptisms, early Christians wore white robes all through Easter week to indicate their new lives. Those who had already been baptized wore new clothes to symbolize their sharing a new life with Christ.
They may not come from a department store, but Christ clothes us in His righteousness. So, will you have new clothes this Easter?
I just wanted to send out a lil encouragement to you all on taking a step this Easter season in teaching your children the holiday's meaning and message that truly is the core value system of Christianity!
Here's an easy read article from focus on the family and at the bottom you can click on "Next article in this series" and there are several in the Easter line of thought.
http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/holidays/celebrating_the_easter_season.aspx
Another really neat idea is "Resurrection Eggs." Christy & I picked up a dozen at Family Christian Store in Gainesville last night for $13! They're plastic eggs each filled with an object that leads up to the crucifixion of Jesus. http://www.familychristian.com/shop/product.asp?ProdID=119502 We plan on making it like an advent or lent. We'll start tomorrow night and end Easter Sunday AM with the last egg. It also comes with a guide book so you know EGGxactly what to say. (i couldn't resist)
I want to share from experience: at the suggestion of a Focus on the Family article, http://www2.focusonthefamily.com/focusmagazine/spiritualheritage/A000000600.cfm
my family & I started an advent wreath this past Christmas. There's many forms out there, this one we had put in a daily devotion form. I remember being skeptical as I read the article boast, "This will become your family's most cherished Christmas traditions!" Listen, it really did. We began to really, really look forward to it. Every Christmas card we received, we'd place them by our wreath then that night in devotions, we'd pray for that family. (so if you sent us a card, you got prayed for! hehehe.) In fact, we were so skeptical, we didn't go buy THE advent wreath and official advent candles, ours was homemade. BUT, in January, while in a Christian bookstore, we were thrilled to find a beautiful advent wreath on after-Christmas clearance and we pray this will be a memorial every season to our devotion and love for the Savior.
Ok, so, all that to say-we're hoping the Lord blesses these efforts and through this season, may our children glean a deeper understanding of the cross of Jesus. I'd love to hear your feedback and/or input on how you impress your children's hearts!
p.s.-After their baptisms, early Christians wore white robes all through Easter week to indicate their new lives. Those who had already been baptized wore new clothes to symbolize their sharing a new life with Christ.
They may not come from a department store, but Christ clothes us in His righteousness. So, will you have new clothes this Easter?
Friday, March 5, 2010
Worship & Promise
"Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had father Abraham. I am one of them and so are you! So let's just praise the Lord! Right arm, left arm ..."
How many times have I sang this song and by the end your spinning and flailing every limb you've got until you plop down exhausted begging for more! Why? Why did Abraham have many sons including me & you so that we should "just praise the Lord?" I'd like to share that Abraham, who started out as Abram, enjoyed the promise of God through a way of life, worship.
Abram worshipped by obeying
These days, people often equate "worship" with the singing of songs, the raising of hands, the shouting of praises, or some other demonstration of adoration to God. But true worship begins with obedience. Without it, every song is meaningless and ceases to be worship. In fact, if we are not eager to obey what God asks of us, we are not even ready to worship. It is worship's very foundation.
When we look at Abraham, we see a man who was ready to obey, no matter what God told him to do. Leave your country. Yes, God. Sacrifice Your Son. Yes, God. If we are to worship God, we must be ready to obey.
Worship doesn't begin with a perfect vessel
And all God's people said? AMEN! Don't forget that Abraham was a two-time liar. "She's not my wife, she's my sister," twice! (Gen. 12 & 20) He was an adulterer, all to eager to at the mere suggestion, to sleep with a woman who was not his wife. And he was a doubter. He doubted God's loyalty to His promise for a son. In fact, laughed at God. "It's a terrible thing when we imagine that the Almighty needs our help. But we often do." That's what Abram & Sarai did when they plotted their own way to conceive a child. Ishmael was born of Hagar, a slave, and that baby became the father of the Arab nations and today, his descendants live in hostility with their "brothers."
BUT...God still loved Abram and God loves you too. He can make a vessel of honor if we humble ourselves and worship Him. God can take all of our weaknesses and shape us, as pottery, into something beautiful. Look at what He shaped out of Abraham: the nation of Israel? What could He shape out of you?
Worship Involves Routine
Authentic Worship requires a regular worship routine. Abraham built altars. It was his custome, his routine. We need altars too. And while it's true we can worship God anywhere, at any time, God is not impressed when we worship Him only while we're on the go. A set apart time & place for private worship where you sing, pray, praise, read His word, dance, etc. Sound unreachable for you? Does God deserve anything less?
There's More Than One Way to Worship
Abraham worshipped God by Obeying, at altars, and he also worshipped by giving a tithe. (Gen. 14:8-20)
Abraham worshipped through sacrifices, and he worshipped through complete surrender. Can we, like Abraham, meet with God at an altar? Can we give of our substance? Can we surrender our all? Isaac was Abraham's all, and yet he was willing to give him up for the love of God. Certainly we can offer God our lives to His service.
Worship begins in the presence of God
Every time Abraham was faithful to God through Worship, God made His presence knownand reaffirmed His relationship with Abraham by revealing more of Himself. Remember, God is all about relationship. As we worship Him, He will favor us with His presence, and as our relationship with Him grows, He will reveal more and more of who He is.
Worship brings reward
Abraham was blessed for his unceasing worship of the one true God. God promised him a son, a nation, a people, decendants. And He delivered. It will be the same for you. You worship through obedience, routine, tithe and surrender and God will deliver, and you will reap the promise of God.
How many times have I sang this song and by the end your spinning and flailing every limb you've got until you plop down exhausted begging for more! Why? Why did Abraham have many sons including me & you so that we should "just praise the Lord?" I'd like to share that Abraham, who started out as Abram, enjoyed the promise of God through a way of life, worship.
Abram worshipped by obeying
These days, people often equate "worship" with the singing of songs, the raising of hands, the shouting of praises, or some other demonstration of adoration to God. But true worship begins with obedience. Without it, every song is meaningless and ceases to be worship. In fact, if we are not eager to obey what God asks of us, we are not even ready to worship. It is worship's very foundation.
When we look at Abraham, we see a man who was ready to obey, no matter what God told him to do. Leave your country. Yes, God. Sacrifice Your Son. Yes, God. If we are to worship God, we must be ready to obey.
Worship doesn't begin with a perfect vessel
And all God's people said? AMEN! Don't forget that Abraham was a two-time liar. "She's not my wife, she's my sister," twice! (Gen. 12 & 20) He was an adulterer, all to eager to at the mere suggestion, to sleep with a woman who was not his wife. And he was a doubter. He doubted God's loyalty to His promise for a son. In fact, laughed at God. "It's a terrible thing when we imagine that the Almighty needs our help. But we often do." That's what Abram & Sarai did when they plotted their own way to conceive a child. Ishmael was born of Hagar, a slave, and that baby became the father of the Arab nations and today, his descendants live in hostility with their "brothers."
BUT...God still loved Abram and God loves you too. He can make a vessel of honor if we humble ourselves and worship Him. God can take all of our weaknesses and shape us, as pottery, into something beautiful. Look at what He shaped out of Abraham: the nation of Israel? What could He shape out of you?
Worship Involves Routine
Authentic Worship requires a regular worship routine. Abraham built altars. It was his custome, his routine. We need altars too. And while it's true we can worship God anywhere, at any time, God is not impressed when we worship Him only while we're on the go. A set apart time & place for private worship where you sing, pray, praise, read His word, dance, etc. Sound unreachable for you? Does God deserve anything less?
There's More Than One Way to Worship
Abraham worshipped God by Obeying, at altars, and he also worshipped by giving a tithe. (Gen. 14:8-20)
Abraham worshipped through sacrifices, and he worshipped through complete surrender. Can we, like Abraham, meet with God at an altar? Can we give of our substance? Can we surrender our all? Isaac was Abraham's all, and yet he was willing to give him up for the love of God. Certainly we can offer God our lives to His service.
Worship begins in the presence of God
Every time Abraham was faithful to God through Worship, God made His presence knownand reaffirmed His relationship with Abraham by revealing more of Himself. Remember, God is all about relationship. As we worship Him, He will favor us with His presence, and as our relationship with Him grows, He will reveal more and more of who He is.
Worship brings reward
Abraham was blessed for his unceasing worship of the one true God. God promised him a son, a nation, a people, decendants. And He delivered. It will be the same for you. You worship through obedience, routine, tithe and surrender and God will deliver, and you will reap the promise of God.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Worship Wars
Daddy: Why were you created?
Josie Mae (age 6): To glorify God.
This is called Catechism. A year ago I would've heard that word and said cata who? But I've been, and am still in, a learning process on how to pass on a real faith to my children and raise them to have authentic love for Jesus. Catechism isn't just a religious word. It basically means a method of teaching principles through questions and answers. But probably the most popular Catechisms are those of theology. I've heard 2 different speakers that I respect and follow suggest this process for teaching children so a few months ago, off I went into Catechism land. With every question and answer we've worked on, the anticipation in me has grown stronger. I'm anticipating Josie Mae asking or responding with something that will allow me to impress her heart. A week or so ago, I asked, "Why were you created?" To which she replied, "To glorify God." But there was something different this time. I could see the wheels turning and there it came: "Daddy, um, why would God want His own glory?" Inside I thought, "YES!!!!!" At last! Realizing she's waiting on an answer, I begin to stutter. "umm, umm, well, you see, Baby..etc. I knew the answer, but the challenge of packaging it for a 6 year old led me to quickly plead for the Spirit to help me.
I had the privilege of explaining to my daughter that if God didn't exalt Himself above all other things, and if He hadn't created her to bring Him glory, then He wouldn't be loving. For since He IS the creator and the sustainer of His creation, how could the creation glorify anything else? Why would the creation want to glorify anything else? Anything else, other than God, is void of the supernatural power and truth that God is. So if God allowed us to have a worship free for all, He wouldn't have loved us very much, cause He is ultimate satisfaction of our souls.
God knew this. Of course He did. He's God and He's the Creator. Adam & Eve were totally fulfilled until the serpent tempted Eve by stealing her faith and her contentment. Perhaps God was holding out on Eve and she would not die like God said they would-doubt. Satan was helping Eve doubt God for the first time then she began to question His integrity and His motives. Then Satan leads Eve to believe that if she ate this fruit her eyes would be open and she'd be like God-discontentment. Now Eve thinks God is holding out on her.
This war of worship was not the beginning of the battle, no, it was actually the 2nd phase. Worship War #1 was between God and Satan. Satan-the epitome of God's creation. But wickedness was found in his heart (Ezekiel 28) and Satan became jealous of God's eminence in the universe and desired to be high and exalted like God.
hmmm-noticing a pattern here?
So Worship War #1, the beginning of War, was over Satan exalting himself above the glory of God. Worship War #2-Satan vs. Man, Satan plants seeds of doubt and discontentment into Eve and paints God as a manipulating God. Eve fell for Satan's propaganda -and bowed to the idol of "self." The very idol Lucifer exalted above God and had faced the wrath of God for. The Wars continue...
Worship War #3-Cain vs. Abel. Simply put-God discerned Cain's heart and knew that his motive wasn't right in his sacrifice. Cain's motive was self exaltation. Even when offered a second chance, Cain refused. He would've rather nursed his wounds of esteem than be in right standing with God. You know the result. Murder.
Worship War #4, #5, #6, #7, and so on, still rage. The worship battles we face today are most always driven by the same self-interest that was found in Lucifer, Eve & Cain. One way or another, "I wanna do it my way" spirit is the energizer for the worship wars then and now.
An unfathomable 72 million people died in WW II. What an unbelievable cost of one man's self-exaltation. Yet the battle scars from these "worship wars" are truly innumerable. Everything changed after the fall, including man's worship. Where once it was natural and free it was now inhibited because of mankind's altered physical proximity with God.
The first 3 worship wars I've outlined above are heartbreaking but in them we see:
1. Misguided worship begins in the heart. The very first seeds of it sprouted in the heart of Satan. He couldn't bring down the Creator so he goes after the dearest thing to God's heart, His creation. He wants to plant these seeds in your heart too. Most people aren't going to be led into worshipping the devil directly, but countless souls around the world worship him indirectly when the bow to the idol of "self" just like Satan did, by trying to worship "their way." What's worse is when they enforce their way. Like Cain, innocent people are harmed in the cross-fires of worship wars.
But God is a God of 2nd chances. He gave Adam & Eve another son-Seth. They had lost both of their sons. One murdered and the other, the murder in exile. But Seth comes and is the head of the Messianic line. Through him came "the Desire of all Nations (Hag. 2:7)-Jesus Christ. We are to worship Him and Him alone, His way. May it be so. Amen.
Josie Mae (age 6): To glorify God.
This is called Catechism. A year ago I would've heard that word and said cata who? But I've been, and am still in, a learning process on how to pass on a real faith to my children and raise them to have authentic love for Jesus. Catechism isn't just a religious word. It basically means a method of teaching principles through questions and answers. But probably the most popular Catechisms are those of theology. I've heard 2 different speakers that I respect and follow suggest this process for teaching children so a few months ago, off I went into Catechism land. With every question and answer we've worked on, the anticipation in me has grown stronger. I'm anticipating Josie Mae asking or responding with something that will allow me to impress her heart. A week or so ago, I asked, "Why were you created?" To which she replied, "To glorify God." But there was something different this time. I could see the wheels turning and there it came: "Daddy, um, why would God want His own glory?" Inside I thought, "YES!!!!!" At last! Realizing she's waiting on an answer, I begin to stutter. "umm, umm, well, you see, Baby..etc. I knew the answer, but the challenge of packaging it for a 6 year old led me to quickly plead for the Spirit to help me.
I had the privilege of explaining to my daughter that if God didn't exalt Himself above all other things, and if He hadn't created her to bring Him glory, then He wouldn't be loving. For since He IS the creator and the sustainer of His creation, how could the creation glorify anything else? Why would the creation want to glorify anything else? Anything else, other than God, is void of the supernatural power and truth that God is. So if God allowed us to have a worship free for all, He wouldn't have loved us very much, cause He is ultimate satisfaction of our souls.
God knew this. Of course He did. He's God and He's the Creator. Adam & Eve were totally fulfilled until the serpent tempted Eve by stealing her faith and her contentment. Perhaps God was holding out on Eve and she would not die like God said they would-doubt. Satan was helping Eve doubt God for the first time then she began to question His integrity and His motives. Then Satan leads Eve to believe that if she ate this fruit her eyes would be open and she'd be like God-discontentment. Now Eve thinks God is holding out on her.
This war of worship was not the beginning of the battle, no, it was actually the 2nd phase. Worship War #1 was between God and Satan. Satan-the epitome of God's creation. But wickedness was found in his heart (Ezekiel 28) and Satan became jealous of God's eminence in the universe and desired to be high and exalted like God.
hmmm-noticing a pattern here?
So Worship War #1, the beginning of War, was over Satan exalting himself above the glory of God. Worship War #2-Satan vs. Man, Satan plants seeds of doubt and discontentment into Eve and paints God as a manipulating God. Eve fell for Satan's propaganda -and bowed to the idol of "self." The very idol Lucifer exalted above God and had faced the wrath of God for. The Wars continue...
Worship War #3-Cain vs. Abel. Simply put-God discerned Cain's heart and knew that his motive wasn't right in his sacrifice. Cain's motive was self exaltation. Even when offered a second chance, Cain refused. He would've rather nursed his wounds of esteem than be in right standing with God. You know the result. Murder.
Worship War #4, #5, #6, #7, and so on, still rage. The worship battles we face today are most always driven by the same self-interest that was found in Lucifer, Eve & Cain. One way or another, "I wanna do it my way" spirit is the energizer for the worship wars then and now.
An unfathomable 72 million people died in WW II. What an unbelievable cost of one man's self-exaltation. Yet the battle scars from these "worship wars" are truly innumerable. Everything changed after the fall, including man's worship. Where once it was natural and free it was now inhibited because of mankind's altered physical proximity with God.
The first 3 worship wars I've outlined above are heartbreaking but in them we see:
1. Misguided worship begins in the heart. The very first seeds of it sprouted in the heart of Satan. He couldn't bring down the Creator so he goes after the dearest thing to God's heart, His creation. He wants to plant these seeds in your heart too. Most people aren't going to be led into worshipping the devil directly, but countless souls around the world worship him indirectly when the bow to the idol of "self" just like Satan did, by trying to worship "their way." What's worse is when they enforce their way. Like Cain, innocent people are harmed in the cross-fires of worship wars.
But God is a God of 2nd chances. He gave Adam & Eve another son-Seth. They had lost both of their sons. One murdered and the other, the murder in exile. But Seth comes and is the head of the Messianic line. Through him came "the Desire of all Nations (Hag. 2:7)-Jesus Christ. We are to worship Him and Him alone, His way. May it be so. Amen.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
I Come to the Garden...for a few minutes.
Worship Before the Fall
It's been said that "loneliness is the unspoken disease of the soul." But God never intended for us to experience it. He created us to enjoy relationships, because He is the God of relationships. Just think: you don't remember people's wealth or corporate achievements after their dead, you remember how they treated you. We recollect the relationship we've had with them.
Can you imagine the relationship with God before sin? I mean, really. Complete peace with your family. Uninterrupted rest, waking to security in God's love. All day you're guided by His presence and in the evening, you return home to walk with Him just for the relationship's sake. Adam and Eve loved to be with God and God loved to be with them. They were the ONLY creation privileged to worship One in whose image they had been made. Even though the angels worship and the stars were created for it, we, humans, are the only creation made with a desire in us to worship Him.
To top it off, our first parents were given Eden to worship and dwell in. God placed them where He would also dwell, an place of unimaginable beauty and wonder. Precious stones, rivers, bountiful fruit and vegetation, it was as if God was saying, "Adam, Eve, this garden is all about you and Me." With an entire planet at their disposal, all of the world's goings on, it would have been so easy for Adam and Eve to get distracted-so much to see, so much to do, so much to be involved in...sound familiar? But in the peaceful quiet of a pristine garden, they could focus. Undistracted communion with God. They could worship, perfectly.
Principles of Worship
• God is all about relationship. Proof? Creation of man in His image. Only He can satisfy the inner craving that He has put there. When we respond to His call to relationship and worship we fulfill the purpose for which He made us.
• Where we worship matters. Worship cannot take place where noise is abundant and distractions are many. We cannot worship fruitfully where there are countless voices all vying for our attention. We'll miss His voice. We cannot worship perfectly where clock is King. God Himself must be King, and we must spend time with Him, in a place unoccupied by anything that would manipulate our worship, making it manufactured rather than a natural outflow of our love for God. We must find our own "Eden." In other words, we must get alone with God. This is when worship becomes fruitful and we're brought into the very presence of God and our relationship is deepened.
• Worship brings multiplication. We don't know how long God allowed man to live in the garden. But we do know creation multiplied in the garden. And there will be multiplication in our personal Eden as well. Psalm 16:11 says "there is fullness of joy" and as we experience it, we will praise God. God responds to our praise by giving us multiplied joy, over and over as we worship.
God's specific design and purpose for our lives, individually and collectively, is worshipping Him. "If we do not honor this purpose," wrote Tozer, "our lives will degenerate into shallow, selfish, humanistic pursuits." Even though see through a glass darkly (I Cor 13:12), we must pursue to worship God as best we can.
May the clocks, appointments, ipods, TV's, after school activities, and even Christian or church programs become strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.
It's been said that "loneliness is the unspoken disease of the soul." But God never intended for us to experience it. He created us to enjoy relationships, because He is the God of relationships. Just think: you don't remember people's wealth or corporate achievements after their dead, you remember how they treated you. We recollect the relationship we've had with them.
Can you imagine the relationship with God before sin? I mean, really. Complete peace with your family. Uninterrupted rest, waking to security in God's love. All day you're guided by His presence and in the evening, you return home to walk with Him just for the relationship's sake. Adam and Eve loved to be with God and God loved to be with them. They were the ONLY creation privileged to worship One in whose image they had been made. Even though the angels worship and the stars were created for it, we, humans, are the only creation made with a desire in us to worship Him.
To top it off, our first parents were given Eden to worship and dwell in. God placed them where He would also dwell, an place of unimaginable beauty and wonder. Precious stones, rivers, bountiful fruit and vegetation, it was as if God was saying, "Adam, Eve, this garden is all about you and Me." With an entire planet at their disposal, all of the world's goings on, it would have been so easy for Adam and Eve to get distracted-so much to see, so much to do, so much to be involved in...sound familiar? But in the peaceful quiet of a pristine garden, they could focus. Undistracted communion with God. They could worship, perfectly.
Principles of Worship
• God is all about relationship. Proof? Creation of man in His image. Only He can satisfy the inner craving that He has put there. When we respond to His call to relationship and worship we fulfill the purpose for which He made us.
• Where we worship matters. Worship cannot take place where noise is abundant and distractions are many. We cannot worship fruitfully where there are countless voices all vying for our attention. We'll miss His voice. We cannot worship perfectly where clock is King. God Himself must be King, and we must spend time with Him, in a place unoccupied by anything that would manipulate our worship, making it manufactured rather than a natural outflow of our love for God. We must find our own "Eden." In other words, we must get alone with God. This is when worship becomes fruitful and we're brought into the very presence of God and our relationship is deepened.
• Worship brings multiplication. We don't know how long God allowed man to live in the garden. But we do know creation multiplied in the garden. And there will be multiplication in our personal Eden as well. Psalm 16:11 says "there is fullness of joy" and as we experience it, we will praise God. God responds to our praise by giving us multiplied joy, over and over as we worship.
God's specific design and purpose for our lives, individually and collectively, is worshipping Him. "If we do not honor this purpose," wrote Tozer, "our lives will degenerate into shallow, selfish, humanistic pursuits." Even though see through a glass darkly (I Cor 13:12), we must pursue to worship God as best we can.
May the clocks, appointments, ipods, TV's, after school activities, and even Christian or church programs become strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.
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