The places we worship …

“Majesty and honor march before him, Strength and gladness walk beside him. O people of all nations of the earth, Ascribe great strength and glory to his name! Yes, ascribe to the Lord, The glory due his name! Bring an offering and come before him; Worship the Lord when clothed with holiness!” (1 Chronicles 16:27-29, LB)

  I have stood in majestic cathedrals with stained glass filtering the light with brilliant colors somehow dancing across the pews.  I have wondered how the arches and beams could hold up such massive expanses.  In these places my prayerful worship floated on the words spoken with feelings of the wonder and awe of God.

      I have sat in humble prairie churches constructed with a sense of purpose yet filled with honest hardworking folks gathered to simply give honor to the God that saved them.  In these places my worship reflections were centered on the common thread of the amazing grace we have in Christ.

      I have participated in joyful exuberant Spirit led services in many settings such as homes, basements and old storefronts.  The surroundings were not even conducive to worship but the praise and nourishment in these places left me longing and thirsting for more of God.

      I have been held speechless on mountain tops, pristine forests and even blooming deserts as I pondered the beauty of Christ’s creative hand and steadfast love.  In these places my humble prayer has been of thankfulness.

     I have walked in dark and desperate places with people, both physically and spiritually, where sin and evil lurk to discredit, maim and destroy.  In these places my faith is staggered at bit and yet I cling to the Rock, trusting in the promises of the Word as I worship Jesus Christ our Lord who will never abandon any of us.

     Believers have worshiped in countless places with varying aspects of surroundings, contexts and meanings in their travels and experiences. Others have worshiped in basically the same place for their entire life.  In all of these places … each and every believer have been moved, touched and bought to a deeper sense of their faith as they worshiped their Savior and sought His presence.

     Our daily living elicits worship if we have a relationship with Jesus Christ and yet something happens when we come together as believer’s joining in praise, Word and worship.  The body of Christ meets together around the world in countless types of buildings and structures.  The body of Christ meets in awful places, wicked places and outdoor places and it meets in fancy places, common places and dedicated places.

    In all of these places; articles, decorations and elements are chosen along with faith as expressions to enhance the worship gathering.  These enhancements whether simple or elaborate, add to the worship experience of God. It is all given to the One who created the earth with a fullness of beauty, color and magnificence in purpose and design.  The  beauty in creation was a gift of God to us. As we delight in that gift, we bring Him honor and glory.  We should come with a humble, joyful and thankful heart wherever we worship but we should never be afraid to bring beauty, color, elements and art to our worship of Him as well.  Our God brings beauty, color, music, and fullness to our lives and thus it is not about where we worship but who we worship. When we sense and see God around us and in our lives, we are daunted by the majesty and love of God.  Worship is the declaration of that adoration and appreciation from the deepest part of our hearts in countless ways and  places as it mixes with a myriad of colors, decorations and art. Worship is not where, what or how ...  It is simply our expression of praise to our God.  Let us worship Him.

Suggested Reading … 1 Chronicles 16

Rules or life to us?

“I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” 

(Deuteronomy 5:6, NIV).

  Is the LORD truly our God?  Do we follow Him as such?  How do we see His commandments to us? How do we as people in general, see the “Ten Commandments?”  Do we see them as life to us or do we see them as stifling rules, to hinder the way we want to life our life? Why do we make it confusing?  Where do we get the idea that rules somehow drain us of life?  It seems we formulate the idea almost innately in our adolescent years.  It is definitely the accepted idea in those years but shouldn’t we leave it behind as we stumble and grow beyond our juvenile mentally? We all struggle with the idea of boundaries giving us life, yet all around us, rules and boundaries protect us and give us life. 

     If we take a few minutes and process the “Commandments” as life giving, they make much more sense.  If we have “No other gods” before us, we have the Lord God, the Creator of all things loving us.  We will have the steadfast love of Heavenly Father with us always and He will never leave or forsakes us.  Does that not give us life?  If do not worship idols fashioned by someone’s ideas or from our own inadequate understanding, how are we hindered?   Instead of following and worshiping something false and ending up with nothing … we are following and worshiping the Living God who gives life and abundance. How is that not life giving?  If we do not misuse the name of our God, we will hold up our God as God and He will be the One we love with all of our heart and soul.

     Is not rest as requested in keeping the “Sabbath,” life giving and sustaining? Do we not need rest every single day to even breathe?  Why would we not need a day each week to give life to our soul?  Without honor, it is hard to have a relationship with anyone much less our parents, who gave us so much throughout our lives.  No adultery means we will have nourishment and blessing in the relationship we have with the dearest person in our lives.  No lying means we will gain and have trust in our interactions and connections with those around us.  If we do not covet, we will be content with what we have and satisfied in the knowledge that security is not found in things acquired.  Is that not life giving? If we do not steal and those around us do not steal means we will living in safety.   Finally, there can be no argument in rule of no murdering which by its very meaning, gives life. In short, all of God’s words to us are full of life as they give us life, including “The Ten Commandments.”

     The final words of Moses after living out all of his days as a prophet, leader and the faithful shepherd of the nation of Israel; remind us that God through His words will give us life. Moses concludes his thoughts by declaring that that God’s words are life to us.  “Take to heart all of the words, I have solemnly declared to you this day … They are not just idle words to you –they are your life …” (Deuteronomy 32:46-47, NIV).   Realize and cherish the words of God, as life ... and they will be life to you ... all the days of your life.

Suggested "Words of Life" to read for today ... Deuteronomy 5

The fire that burns us from within …

“If you are angry, don’t sin by nursing your grudge. Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry—get over it quickly; for when you are angry, you give a mighty foothold to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27, LB).

  It can start from the smallest of things such as simple word, an awkward glance, a slight motion of the eyes, and even from a long distant remembrance of critical remark. It can come from large incidents such as a string of explicit sentences in a castigating rebuke, a demeaning glare meant to dismiss us or our inherent value as a person, a full force movement or some event around us and even from the recollection of a past memory of bitter hurt and trauma. Anger can be triggered in the minutest of moments from slight ill treatment and regard or it can come from the something we read or see.  Anger can also come as a bolt of high powered voltage in response to any interaction, situation or event.

    Anger as an emotion is innate in all of us, as surely as we can be happy. Sometimes anger is positive, for example when anger at injustice; managed and directed leads us to action. Yet anger in each of us: unmanaged, not dealt with, uncontrolled, undirected and not understood, can burn, hurt and endanger us in numerous ways in our business, professional, interpersonal, personal and familial relationships. Anger denied, uncontrolled or unmanaged can stagger, consume and devastate us in the psychological, social, physical and spiritual realms of our functioning and living.

    Our unique personalities and our individual physiologies make some people more susceptible to anger and enable others to release most feeling of anger. Our responses to anger are compounded in each of us by our emotions and physical energies on any given day. The input of each day can trigger flare ups or negate the impulses in each of us to move from the feelings of anger to allowing it to escalate into damage in us or towards others. 

    Anger as an emotion is never denied in the Scriptures but the sin of letting the fire of anger engulf us, entangle us and consume us and the actions coming out of anger are readily condemned. Any intent and any action that would hurt or maim another person is sin.  Any anger left to fester, grow, intensify and rage out of control will burn us from within. We need to understand anger as a fire. Anger like a fire can start from the smallest of sparks. Anger like a fire can burn us from within and if given attention as oxygenated fuel can become a engulfing blaze damaging us and those around us.  The truth is simple; anger comes to all of us, but we should never allow  our anger lead us in the direction of sin.

“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:19-20, NIV).

Who is with us, is more important than who is coming against us!

“Fear not, for they that are with us are more than they that are with them” (2 Kings 6:16, KJ21). 

  Elisha stood as prophet of God, called out to be a witness of the Living God in a place of countess minor and major other gods. He was called as a prophet and empowered by the Spirit of God. He was given the message of hope and truth from the God of Abraham, Jacob and Moses. Elisha was placed in a nation uninterested, un-attentive and even hostile to his words or his warnings, yet Elisha was faithful, bold and authoritative as God’s messenger.  As one reads of his deeds and senses the assuredness of his faith; there are powerful lessons for all generations about the relationship all followers of God have with an All-Powerful, All-Knowing and Ever-Present Living God.  If we follow our Lord and seek His plans and purposes relying on His Spirit, there is nothing to fear as we will have the truth to see things as they truly are with our Savior by our side. 

    Elisha was not concerned or apprehensive with who or what was coming against him or the nation of Israel.  Whatever things or people that would come against him, Elisha’s faith was not deterred as his authoritative prophetic or purposeful message boldly proclaimed time and time again, the action and provision of the Mighty God who was with him.  His strength was in the Living God and nothing that would come against him was of any consequence. Whether it was ridicule, danger, threats, hardships, famine or even the mightiest armies of the time, Elisha’s focus was always on the God that was with him and never on who or what was coming against him. Time and time again, Elisha believed in the Lord’s provision and stood strong in the face of whatever or whoever came against him. Whatever came against Elisha; including all hardships, problems and even the mighty armies were thwarted and defeated by the infinitely more powerful mighty God who was with Elisha. Elisha was part of many miracles but none of these miracles came about from his power but only through the power of the One, who Elisha had faith in and who was with always with him.

    We worship and live in relationship with the same Living God through Jesus Christ Our Lord and have within us, the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us and empower us.   The Holy Spirit is imparted and is indwelling with us as a seal of our relationship with the Living God (Ephesians 1:14). The Living God in us can do more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20), we just have to trust Him.  We severely limit our faith and severely limit the power of God, when we focus on who or what is coming against us; instead of Who is with us.  All around Elisha, people saw the hardships, difficulties, dangers and armies but Elisha saw only the Mighty God who was with him and the mighty things He would do.  We can do no better than to follow the example of Elisha’s faith in all the days we live out our lives.  For the Living God,  Who with us is more powerful that anything that would come against us.

 “And Elisha prayed and said, ‘Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.’ And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” 

(2 Kings 6:17, KJ21).

Suggested Reading … 2 Kings 6 & 7

The answer to every need …

“Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me: For I am poor and needy” (Psalm 86:1, NKJV).

  In every situation of need; there is a struggle in the need.  The struggle begins in the need and continues as the need escalates in intensity. As the intensity grows, we look first and foremost for help in the reserves of our mental capacities, emotional strength and in the character of our willful determination and continuing perseverance. Sometimes the need is simply beyond our capacities. If we continue to falter in the need, exhausting our reserves, we may resort to appealing to someone else for direction, encouragement and support.  In our appeals for help with our need as we look to another, we must be certain of our relationship and certain of the capacities of the other in being of able to help us with our need.

     Our families can help us in our need. Our friends can come to our rescue and even strangers can surprise us in their responses to any given situation of need.  Just as easily, our friends and family can fail in our hour of greatest need.  They can be unavailable, disinterested and even inadequate to provide for the assistance that we need in the moment or in our season of need.  Even in the security of the relationships closest to us, we can find great inadequacies and insufficiencies.  We may even scare away the very help we need because of the intensity of our need. 

      There is one source of help for any and every need that stand apart from all others. Our God stands alone as He is always attentive, readily available, full of compassion and understanding, beyond sufficient to answer and to provide strength, comfort and victory in every situation of need.  He alone brings help for every situation of need. He is the Faithful One who hears and the Mighty One who responds with abundant and purposed love answering all of our needs.

      In our need, we come as David, the Psalmist, came to the God, who was his Lord.  We cry as David cried.  We call out to our Lord, as David called out to his Lord. We pray as David prayed and we can be assured of our being heard as David was heard by our God.  We can be comforted as David was comforted. We can be secure as David was secure in both the sufficiency of God’s provision and salvation.  We may live in time far removed from the time of David but our God is the same God, and our Lord is the same Lord.  “For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God” (Psalm 86:10, NKJV).

A prayer adapted from Psalm 86

I seek You and look only to You;  Most Holy and Mighty God. Come close to me and listen to my cries for help. I am in need of You, just now. You alone can do all things and provide for all things.  I am poor and needy but I am yours alone and You are my Precious and Generous Heavenly Father. I trust in You alone for all my needs. Come, O Lord, come again to me in my need. Your forgiveness covers all my sin when I call upon you and Your provision and salvation is wonderful and beyond compare. Comfort me, O Lord, as You answer me through Your Spirit, for great is your mercy, grace and love towards me, through Jesus Christ my Savior and Redeemer. Amen.

Suggested Reading … Psalm 86