Carry well

I was reading in Ephesians this morning and several verses caused me some reflection:

"So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do... They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God... due to the hardening of their hearts... they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

You, however, did not come to know Christ that way... You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." --Ephesians 4:17 - 24

The verse is actually pretty straightforward, but it reminded me of a sermon on the Ten Commandments, given by Pastor Curtis from newHope. Now, we're all familiar with many of the Commandments, "Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery..." but the one Curtis really lingered on was Exodus 20:7

"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

He expanded on the translation from ancient Hebrew and explained how this was more than "Not saying G** D***." When the Israelites were chosen by God to be His people, they carried His presence with them and He dwelt in the tabernacle they built. His essence was with them, or in other words, His name was upon them.

A finer study of Ex 20:7 reveals a more direct translation to be "Carry well the name of the Lord." Our lives, our actions, our very existence is intended to honor Him, and living in a way that glorifies Him is included in some of the earliest of recorded history.

And this ties in to Ephesians 4. We are told not to live like the Gentiles or hethans, who have given themselves over to impurity and idolatry, but to live in the new-self one becomes by having faith in Jesus. Changing actions and habits in an effort to grow in holiness and righteousness, seeking to become ever more like Him.

Frog Soup

Frogs are interesting creatures. I heard once that if you drop a frog into a pan of hot water, it will react quick enough to jump out without even getting scalded. That said, if you drop a frog in a pan of cold water, but heat it up slowly, the frog won't react. It will calmly sit in the pan of water until it is cooked to death.

I was reading Galatians this morning and I realized that we are very similar.

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." -- Galatians 5:19 - 23

I read the list of acts of the sinful nature and I realize just how pervasive this nature is. Sexual immorality is rampant, let alone impurity (which is considerably more than "anything but sex"). Idols are rampant -- whether it is our work, our high-tech gadgets, our favorite college basketball team -- and who hasn't experienced some form of dissension, faction, or discord when working with other people? Fits of rage... well, just take a drive down I-40 on Friday afternoon and you'll see plenty. Selfish ambition? Drunkenness? I feel we've all witnessed enough of those that I don't have to discuss in detail.

What scares me is that we see this in people who call themselves Christians. I know I had succumbed to most of the above before God reclaimed my life (so please don't feel as though I am judging, merely praising God for His grace and mercy in my life). We're failing and we don't even know it. We have become desensitized to sin, and like the frog in pot of hot water, we are too unaware to respond appropriately and jump out before we become frog soup.

Confessions of a Worship Leader

I'm going through a bit of a difficult season right now. I've been helping to lead worship as a vocalist for a little better than one year, and its taken me to a strange place.

When I was younger in Christ, musical worship was something I really looked forward to. It was refreshing and desperately needed. In hindsight, part of this was because the place where I would find God was at church -- I didn't make time to seek Him on my own, and I certainly wasn't listening for Him or looking for Him to move in my life. He was a very clean and boxed God, and our interactions were limited largely to Sunday mornings.

I remember taking the membership class at my current church. The pastor asked that each of us would volunteer somewhere. While I remember volunteering with the parking detail, I also remember a more unusual experience. I volunteered for WAM -- the Worship Arts Ministry.

In hindsight, this was a strange thing to do. I sang very little in high school and not at all in college... but I always wanted someone to ask me to sing with the worship team. Somehow, I knew I was to volunteer for this, despite being highly self-conscious and uncertain about my abilities. Now, newHope is a pretty large church by my standards -- somewhere around 750 people attended at that time (and we're in the vicinity of 2000 now!), but it just so happened the WAM team was short on tenors, and I could - apparently - harmonize.

My first several rehearsals and attempts to help lead worship were pretty rough. I was terrified. But following some encouragement from friends, Pastor Curtis (the worship arts pastor), and a month of reflection and rest, I returned to the stage with a heart open and ready to lead others before the throne in worship. But over time, the season of my life began to change.

I started seeking God more actively outside of church. I started making time just for Him, time to pray, time to study, time to listen and be quiet. And now, my heart feels different. It isn't that I no longer want to do corporate worship, simply that the emotion and passion that once was there has shifted to other forms of glorifying Him. Coming to worship corporately, and then really pressing in, I realize is a choice.

As newHope grows, we are encouraged to "engage" the crowd and really try to draw them in. To have high energy, and really exaggerate anything we do on stage. Despite everyone's profession, it feels like a performance or a show, rather than worship.

Add to that the effect of the season of my life, where worship in a corporate sense is an active choice. I choose to worship and offer up songs of praise, despite not feeling as though anything is happening, and being encouraged to "engage."

Its incredibly unsettling. Choosing to believe that my worship is pleasing to God when I feel very little? Moreover, trying to lead people into His presence, when I have to choose to believe I'm there myself? And worse, trying to justify the level of performance going on, when all I want is to hear the still small voice that seems ever more elusive when I'm surrounded in a crowd.

But really, it doesn't matter. Its just a season; it will change again. Moreover, worship is not about us anyway. So I will continue to worship with all that I am, and I choose to believe it honors God and that the sincere desire of my heart will be evident, allowing others to draw closer to Him.

And after all, the two best times to worship are when you feel like it, and when you don't.

Choices

The choices we make determine what kind of life we live. Granted, a lot can influence those choices (our past, our passions, our finances, etc.), but in the end, we still make a choice.

While we often make decisions based on ignorance or apathy, other times we know exactly what we are supposed to choose. The trick there, is whether we choose well or not. Though I could probably write for a while on this, I'm not particularly interested in talking about morality today.

What is jumping out to me is that so often we have the opportunity to make decisions, but we are completely unaware. For example, love. We choose to love. We don't necessarily feel love for someone, but we are told to walk in love.

What about forgiveness? We are told to forgive, and as such, we will be forgiven. Forgiving someone, like loving them, is a conscious action rather than a feeling. The feelings follow the decision.

Love and forgiveness are things I've heard taught regularly at church. Scripturally it is pretty clear, and I believe many people are accepting in these choices. Its never bad to forgive someone (though difficult) and people only look favorably upon people who love others.

What about peace? What about freedom? What about truth and life? These are also things that we read about in scripture, but somehow it seems people miss that, or don't feel similarly. Why do we sit around waiting to "feel at peace," "feel freed from our past," "feel alive..." Why don't we choose these things? Why don't we choose to be at peace, trusting that God will deliver us and provide for us, just like He said He would? Do we really believe a God that created the universe isn't able to provide for us in the middle of a failing economy? (He's bigger than the economy.)

Why don't we choose to be free, and walk in freedom? God says that through His son Jesus, we have obtained completion and righteousness in Him. He has separated us from our sins, as far as the east is from the west. Why do we wait to "feel free" before we really start walking without the guilt and shame of who we were?

Why don't we choose life? We wait and seek and pray about where we are... why don't we listen to the passions of our heart? Why don't we pursue the things that really make us come alive? Why do we drown ourselves in duty and obligation, rather than chasing after what we desperately long for? Why don't we choose to really live, and what would happen if we did?

The simple point I try to make is this: in the end, everything about who we are, what we believe, and how we live is determined by the choices we make. When scripture says we have been given something, we have to choose to believe it, and once we make that choice, we have to choose to apply it in our life.

"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live." (Deut 30:19)

Choose well.

Signs & Wonders

Miracles are a tricky thing. The problem is that, in order for something to really be a miracle, the circumstances must get so desperate and impossible that divine intervention is the only explanation for how catastrophe was averted.

For example, think about Gideon and his army. They start out outnumbered by 3:1, but this is too many. When victorious, the Israelites would have believed they delivered themselves out of the control of the Midianites. So God leans his army down to the point where they're at a 10:1 disadvantage. Still too many. It ends up with Gideon and 300 soliders facing tens of thousands of enemy warriors. Odds are pretty poor at this point, but God takes it one step further. They get torches and clay pots as weapons. The kicker is that they win -- decisively.

So, this is all well and good. We see that the Lord fights on behalf of His people, and Gideon and all of the Israelites are delivered from their enemies. But here's the catch: what do you think was going through the mind of Gideon as his army dwindled from over 10,000 down to 300? When they were told not to take their weapons? When, despite all common sense, they still went to fight?

What is it like to not simply WITNESS a miracle, but to LIVE a miracle. How much fear and stress do you think these 300 were feeling? How much faith must that have taken to trust in God and march against their enemy? Do we have as much faith?

So here's a challenge that was given to me, almost 1 month ago, and I now pass on to you as well: Let God use you in a miracle. When the circumstances get difficult, rather than blaming God or folding under pressure and running away, take a stand and believe. Have the faith to endure the pressure of the impossible, that God might manifest His glory.

Welcome back.

Its been a while, hasn't it...

I think I'm going to take this blog in a slightly different direction. In hindsight, I usually get numerous little thoughts, and an occasional "big one." While I had been trying -- striving, even -- to post the big ones, they were too infrequent and usually, I'm a bit too busy to really post them all anyway. So, a new direction: post the little thoughts. Here goes...

I was reading in the book of John tonight and I came across this passage. Jesus is speaking. John 17:13 - "And now I am coming to You; I say these things while I am still in the world, so that My joy may be made full and complete and perfect in them." (Emphasis added)

The Amplified Bible expands on this: "...My joy may be made full and complete and perfect in them [that they may experience My delight fulfilled in them, that My enjoyment may be perfected in their own souls, that they may have My gladness within them, filling their hearts]."

Before we start running with this, we need to understand that by "them" Jesus means His disciples, and everyone else who comes to follow Jesus because of them (verse 20, "Neither for these alone do I pray, but also for all those who will ever come to believe in Me..."). So, now re-read verse 17. Jesus: "My joy may be made full and complete and perfect in them [all those who will ever come to believe in Me]."

Woah. His joy is made full and complete and perfect IN US!!! You and Me. Think on that for a second. We complete God's joy. He delights in you. He is extremely proud of you, and without you, God's joy would be incomplete.

So, without any sarcasm or cynicism intended: God delights in you, and that makes you extremely special.

Now live that way.