So i'm reading this book...

It's called Secondhand Jesus, trading rumors of God for firsthand faith (by Glenn Packiam). I'll post a full synopsis when I'm done but thought I'd start the topic while I'm sitting here in jury duty. The premise is this -- how much of what we say we believe actually comes from what we know of God from Scripture and from our experience of Him in light of Scripture versus what we believe based on what we've been told by someone else. Have we sat in our chairs (or pews) and simply accepted whatever we heard as total truth and molded our lives after that, or do we get messy and dig deep in our personal relationship with God and know Him, really know Him? If we simply take what other people say, we very easily can begin to believe rumors, falsehoods that sound good and get repeated over and over until we accept them as fact, without even realizing that we don't really know what we've been saying. And here's the scary part. Until we have that moment or event that shakes us to our core and causes us to reexamine why we believe what we believe, we don't know what we don't actually know. We just keep moving forward until that moment when everything gets shaken up and we take a closer look, rather, we allow the Light of God to search out our hearts and expose those things we hold on to.

Now, don't misinterpret the aim of this blog. I'm not saying I've been sitting under false or erroneous teaching. What I'm driving at is the challenge for us to not just believe everything a preacher or evangelist or professor or even our best friend has told us about God but to dig deeper, to get our hands dirty, to do the work to know God for ourselves, not just take somebody else's word for Him. It means getting uncomfortable with ourselves and opening ourselves up to examination, allowing God to reach in and change our way of thinking. But, and here's why I feel it's important, I can't be comfortable in my relationship with God any more. For the fire to remain kindled forward momentum must be maintained, and simply sitting passively by and trying to live vicariously through the words and actions of others just doesn't cut it any more.

Know why you believe what you believe -- and because someone told you so doesn't cut it. Question what you hear based on Scripture, not on what you or some talking head thinks. Know God. Really know Him. It takes hard work. It will get messy. But it's so worth it.

(I apologize for any typos. Using the Blackberry to type this.)

Worship, Lying, Gain and Sacrifice

I read a quote this morning I wanted to pass on to you. Ergun Caner, head of the dept. of Theology at Liberty University twittered a rough quote from Tozer: Christians do not tell lies, they go to church and sing them. I’m afraid that’s true more than it’s not. I’d read another statement that said that often Christians worship for what they will get in return more than for what they can give in worship. Living a life of worship is synonymous to living a life that cultivates influence – they require sacrifice. If we sacrifice for the purpose of gain, then where’s the real sacrifice? Sacrifice motivated by gain isn’t truly sacrifice, it’s self-serving. If God never spoke into our lives, if He never sent blessings, wisdom or guidance He’d still be worthy of our sacrificing ourselves on the altar as living sacrifices. Yes, we desire to come into His presence, to experience all that He has to offer us as we lift up praise and worship to Him, but if we aren’t willingly sacrificing ourselves for Him simply because He is worthy, we’re missing the point. We worship, not for what we get, but because of what we give – ourselves, every part of us, fully and completely to the King Who redeemed us. We worship because He is worthy, because of His greatness, because of what He has done, because of Who He is. So, let’s not be liars in church when we sing. Let’s give God every part of us now, simply because He is worthy. Leave getting anything in return up to Him.

When we come to worship, be wholly involved in all that goes on when we come to God. Embrace everything that He is and all that He offers, and don’t just go looking for what you think you need. Don’t just dip in your toe into the ocean of worship, dive in. Become an active participant, not just a spectator. Ask yourself the question: Is my worship self-centered or God-centered? If we worship for us, then God gets nothing out of it. If he gets nothing, what can you expect to get out of it besides a temporary emotional high? If you’re looking for worship that lasts, then give everything to it, hold nothing back, make it all about God. Remove yourself as the focus and train your focus fully on God. We get from God in proportion to what we give in our worship. David Jeremiah puts it this way: we can only “take away the sum equivalent of what we bring.” In other words, only offer up partial worship, expect to only receive partial blessing. We should seek to give it all, every part, to worship in both spirit and truth.

If you’re like me, giving every part can be a struggle. It’s easy to hold on to things in life and not want to let go. But, if we’re going to be able to truly worship in spirit and in truth, we must. We must release every part or be willing to ask God to take control of that area from us. Yes, it can mean pain. But pain is temporary. True worship is eternal. Won’t I feel like I’m not in control? Yes, and that’s what you want. We shouldn’t be in control of anything. God should be in control of everything. The challenge is to live your life so that even the small things fall under God’s control, not yours. Are we up for it?

The Events of a Thursday night, recent and far.

Tonight we did something a little different. Usually in the middle of rehearsal we stop for a short time of devotion/study. Recently, while researching something else, I came across information about the Passion Week, which got me thinking. What was it like for Jesus during His last week prior to His crucifixion? I looked at the triumphant entry into Jerusalem celebrated on Palm Sunday up to the crucifixion, which led us to celebrate the cross during church last Sunday. Then, I focused on Thursday. What got me thinking was that we were having our final Easter rehearsal on the day traditionally viewed as the night of the last supper. Rather than the usual time of teaching, something needed to be different.

After we finished the rehearsal, rather simply teaching, we sat everyone in two rows of chairs, facing each other. Starting with the first person on each row, we symbolically washed each other’s feet, telling them we loved them with the love of the Lord. Now, some people might think this silly or not take it seriously, but the imagery was incredible. Acknowledging our love for each other in Christ, our willingness to serve each other and put each other ahead of ourselves, it drove home in my heart the way Christ did that for us, not only in washing His disciples’ feet, but in the ultimate act of placing others ahead of Himself when He died on the cross. It was a gesture not just of servanthood and humility, but of the sacrifice Christ was about to make for all of us.

When we were done, we took a loaf of bread, and, in following Scripture, broke it, blessed it, and passed it to each other, each person tearing off a piece of the loaf to eat in remembrance of Jesus’ body being broken for us. I wish I could paint you a picture of what that looked like. First, breaking the loaf apart – Jesus’ body was broken for us. Then, the tearing off of pieces – I could see the whips tearing into Jesus’ back and body, shredding the skin, the agony He suffered for us. As people ate the piece of bread they tore off it struck me how Christ’s body was consumed in the payment for my sin. (As we celebrate Easter we must always remember that Resurrection Sunday always follows Crucifixion Day.)

Next in the story Jesus passed the cup, after He blessed it, stating that it was His blood poured out in a new covenant. While we didn’t want to pass one cup around for all to drink out of, we gave everyone a small cup. I held in my hands a bottle of grape juice, red liquid, and as we prayed I couldn’t help but think of the fact that we were about to pour out the juice just as Christ’s blood was poured out for us. It was hard to speak for a moment as that thought overwhelmed me. Then, to see each person pouring out the juice into their cups, realizing that Jesus had poured out His blood for each one of them, it was almost as it I could see His blood being applied to each life.

It was a reminder of how costly our salvation really is. God came to earth and died for us. It isn’t something that we can ever take lightly, but a very serious charge given to us to live up to. And, just as we passed the bread and the juice, so to must we take this incredible gift of grace and share it with all around us. We can’t keep it to ourselves. We must all be lights shining the truth of the hope of the gospel to everyone we meet, sharing with them the love and grace that God has so freely given to us. Amazing what washing feet and passing around bread and juice can show a person.

Carry with you the image of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. Ponder it as you think of the crucifixion. Allow your heart to overflow with rejoicing when realizing that Jesus didn’t stay in the tomb but rose again and is alive today, sitting at God’s right hand, speaking for us. Allow God to reveal more of what He’s done for you to your heart as you live out a life worthy of the sacrifice made to set you free. Then, when we get together on Sunday morning to celebrate, we truly do celebrate the greatness of our God with hearts overflowing in worship and adoration of Him.