Are you all in for God? Proverbs 2 provides a window of understanding for one reason why you have periods of spiritual apathy. If you ever have a question about why God seems distant at times, here is an explanation. Solomon says to find the knowledge of God, you must be passionately committed to your search, you must be all in. Suppose I told you that you could find millions of dollars in your back yard, all you have to do is go find it. Would your response be passive? Would you start your search after you have had a nap or watched your favorite TV program? Would you put your search off until a more convenient time? Would you […]
Worship
159 posts
I grew up in Miami, the land of palm trees. On the Saturday before Palm Sunday we went out to the back yard and collected as many palm fronds as we could carry and took them to church. On Sunday, when we arrived at church, the center aisle and the side aisles of the sanctuary were lined with palm fronds. As a child it was thrilling to think that Jesus also rode on green palm fronds as he entered Jerusalem to shouts of the crowds singing Hosanna. It was not until years later that I considered the stark contrast between the celebration of Palm Sunday and the blasphemy of Good Friday. As a child, I never thought much about the […]
The Bible is the story of the gospel. The Lord made the first promise of the gospel to Eve. Abraham’s faith, not his performance, is the model for our faith And like us, he looked forward to the reality of the city whose builder was God. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Psalm 130 anticipates the heart of the gospel message: Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you. Like the Psalmist, when you and I come to fully realize that not one of our sins can condemn us, the power of the gospel is unleashed so that we may view […]
Five simple words that should dominate your life. People can disappoint and be hurtful. Your God keeps his word. You feel alone and are tempted to think no one understands. Your God keeps his word. You know you need courage to the wife or husband God wants you to be. Your God keeps his word. You need strength to be consistent as a parent. Your God keeps his word. You are treated unfairly at work and no one notices. Your God keeps his word. You are discouraged about the political campaign. Your God keeps his word. You battling sickness or injury. Your God keeps his word. You desire to be more like Christ. Your God keeps his word! Psalm 146 […]
God’s message to the nations in Psalm 33 is a simple one: all of the earth is to fear the Lord. He is to be honored and revered because he spoke the world into existence. There was nothing and then there was the universe! That is awesome power! So, as the psalmist looks at the activities and plans of men and nations, he knows that they are subject to God’s plan and purpose. No nation can deter the plan of God. No leader can succeed against the purpose of God. As this election season enters it final phase, this is the one reality that must not be missed. God’s plans will go forward as he has purposed and man’s plans […]
Worship is not for spectators. Worship is for combatants. Christian combat is not like the combat of the world; our weapons are spiritual. Apathy in worship leads to destruction. The fiery darts of the evil one are always aimed and ready to fire. Being in corporate worship in no way lessens the danger. There are no pacifists in worship, only winners and losers. Are you a spectator or a combatant? You must be skilled at wisely and lovingly using the sword of the Spirit in the battles of worship. You must depend wholly on the power of Christ. Human sarcasm, manipulation, anger, hurt feelings, apathy and pride have no place in Christian worship. Do these things at your own spiritual […]
All that is good, noble, and excellent in life stems from the glory and goodness of God, not from any other source. If Jesus reigns, the only fitting response is one of joy. This flies in the face of conventional religion and wisdom, in which various circumstances determine our sense of well-being. This is the theme of the second verse of Joy to the World: Joy to the World, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy… God has done marvelous things. It is true that there is much darkness and sadness in our world, but because of the Lordship of Christ, we have hope. Things are not as […]
Christmas marks the beginning of the end. The end of: War, Greed, Selfishness, Bigotry, Racism, Oppression, Immorality, Secularism, Corrupt leaders, Abuse, Addiction, Anger, Despair, Hatred, Sadness, Suffering, Heartbreak. Someone is saying, “Wait a minute! Haven’t you seen the news. Haven’t you seen the suffering of people all around you?” Yes, I have. But there is news that is better than what is on the cable, network or internet or what my I eyes have seen. It was announced in the heavens 2,000 years ago. The items on this list have been defeated by Jesus Christ. They will all come to an end. The good news is that Christ has come! He makes certain the promise that one day there will […]
It is easy to worship like we live. We become used to hiding from others what we are truly like. We smile with our lips but scorn with our hearts. We praise with our words, but doubt with our thoughts. We offer good will to all but harbor injustice in our spirit. Because we interact with flawed, imperfect humans we actually believe our charades are believable. But interacting with God is a totally different picture. God is completely perfect with no flaws. What works with people doesn’t work with God. Here is the clear reality that David embraced when he considered the person of God. Listen to David’s thoughts: I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light […]
Suppose your mouth automatically repeated everything that you thought? Imagine your deepest thoughts on display for everyone to hear and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Not a pleasing idea, is it? Embarrassment. Shame. Guilt. The truth is that all of your thoughts are on display, not to other people, but to the Lord of the Universe. Even knowing that God knew all of his thoughts, David rejoiced in this reality. Why, because he had experienced the lovingkindness of his God. When you go to worship, rid yourself of the pretext that you have any value apart from the mercy of God. Your God knows your thoughts, all of them! But instead of burning wrath pouring out […]