Worship Like Life Depends On It

A reporter interviewed two pastors, asking some pretty pointed questions.  One of the questions was this: “What will you do if you get to the end of your life and realize Christianity is a lie?”  One pastor answered by saying, “Even if my faith is a lie, I will have lived a good and moral life.”  The other pastor said, “I will have lived the life of an utter fool.”

I think the second pastor better understood the terms of Christian worship.  Worshiping Jesus is an all-in proposition that is much bigger than doing good things in this world.  Worshiping Jesus devotes all of who we are to the affairs of a coming king and kingdom.  If that coming kingdom is a lie, our lives are a lie.

At the end of his letter to the church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul describes this mentality well.  Paul writes, “And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”  Christians should be pitied if their faith and worship is a lie.  We should be pitied because we are devoting our lives to things that will never happen.

As you go through the coming week, worship with complete devotion.  Pray, study, sing, serve, and share in a way that is completely dependent on Jesus’ coming kingdom.  Live in a way that says, “If Jesus doesn’t show up, this isn’t going to work.”  As you do, you will experience the joys of a life devoted to a Lord who is far from a lie.   You will find the riches of life worshiping in the truth.

Gratitude and Second Place

The U.S. is known for winning a lot of medals at the Olympic Games.  Often, American athletes win more medals than any other country in the world.  You would think that is a great source of pride and satisfaction for American athletes.  But, for many, it is not.

USA Today cites a survey reporting the dissatisfaction of many American medal winners.  While gold medalists reported high degrees of gratitude for their medal, silver medalists reported far lesser satisfaction and appreciation.  In fact, silver medalists were less appreciative of their medal than those who had won the bronze.  It seems that getting close to the highest achievement creates more dissatisfaction than less.

That is a great illustration of a common human experience.  We are blessed with incredible opportunities, steward them well, and accomplish great things.  Instead of appreciating it and enjoying it with gratitude, we focus on what we don’t have and what we haven’t done.  Our desire for more leaves us ungrateful for the incredible things we have.

The Apostle Paul encourages Christians to avoid this temptation.  In Ephesians, Paul writes, “Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Christian worship undermines dissatisfaction by emphasizing and appreciating all that God has provided.

As you go through the coming week, praise God for all God has given.  Write down three blessings that you are thankful for.  Then, thank the Lord for those three things each day in prayer.  Read passages of scripture praising God for all He has provided.  As you do, you will start to recognize the many things God has graced you with.  You will also realize that, because of Jesus’ work on the cross, you are indeed a gold medalist in the Lord!

Honoring the Honorable

Last week, a driver hit and killed a UCLA football player in a car accident.  UCLA’s football coach, Jim Mora, held a press conference, discussing the matter on behalf of the team and university.  Mora remembered the student athlete glowingly and shared his sympathies with the family.

During the press conference, a media member decided to make a phone call.  Coach Mora tried to share details about the death while the media member talked.  But, the phone conversation got so loud it interrupted Mora’s thoughts and condolences. 

The lack of respect surprised the coach.  He thought the life that had been tragically lost should be honored.  He reprimanded the person for the lack of respect and ended the press conference.

Honor and respect can be a rare thing in our day and age.  We are taught to be suspicious of anyone in authority and any special recognition.  The only people we are taught to respect are those who give us a paycheck.  Honoring a person because of their authority or special circumstance is odd.

This lack of honor gets dangerous when it influences the Christian faith.  It is dangerous because Jesus instructs His people to honor Him as God.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “…all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.”  Christians honor and respect and revere Jesus like His Father because of His authoritative position.  Jesus deserves our respect.  He is worth our reverence.  Jesus should be honored.

As you go through the coming week, worship Jesus as a way of honoring our Lord.  Memorize a Psalm that praises God.  Start each day with a prayer, describing how great Jesus is.  Tell a friend or a family member about how great Jesus is.  As you do, you will find the riches of a life lived for a God worth honoring.

All Things New

Driving to church on Tuesday morning, I could feel the excitement of the new school year in the air.  I passed Reedville Elementary School and saw teachers and administrators busily preparing for their first classes.  Children, outsized by their new backpacks, made their way down the sidewalks, laughing and talking.  New things were in the air.

God celebrates new seasons like this.  In the book of Isaiah, God tells the prophet, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  God insists that His people notice the new things He is doing and enjoy their goodness.

God is doing new and wonderful things at Faith Center - Aloha this Fall.  There are new lessons and activities in the children’s ministry.  There is a new Youth Pastor with a new vision for the youth ministry.  There are new Growth Groups, encouraging new people to go deeper in their walk with the Lord.  There is a new Sunday school class on worship starting in a few weeks.  New things are in the air.

As we approach this season, let the new things God is doing be the foundation of all things.  Worship with your church family.  Participate in Growth Groups.  Teach your children to participate in the ministries of the church.  As you do, you will be blessed by the new things of God.  According to Isaiah, you will find “a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  Praise the Lord!

A Lifestyle of Worship

We have all probably heard people promote “a lifestyle of worship” from time to time.  It is important to know what they are talking about when they say that. So, I thought I would write some brief thoughts about the phrase in order to avoid any confusion.

One pastor describes worship as “acknowledging the worth of something or someone.”  I think most Christians would agree that Christian worship is the acknowledgment of the ultimate worth of God in and through Jesus Christ. God is of ultimate, highest, undivided value.

When we gather in weekend worship services as a church, we sing songs to express the end-all-be-all value of God. The scriptures that we read and recite point to the end-all-be-all value of God. The words that are preached proclaim the end-all-be-all value of God. The Christian community gives its highest honor to God through various activities of worship.

With that said, how do we make that a lifestyle when we are only in the church building a few hours a week? Should we sing a song of praise at the DMV? Should recite scripture while we mow the lawn? Maybe. The DMV offices that I have been in could certainly use it! But these are only a couple of options.

When we recognize God’s worth above all else, God’s worth can be found in many forms of our daily lives. You might call this “derivative worth.” We can worship God by delighting in, and caring for, creation. When we do so, we recognize where Creation’s worth comes from. Creation is not of ultimate worth, but creation has value because it reflects the end-all-be-all value of its marvelous Creator.

We can also worship God by caring for the downtrodden. As Christians, we recognize that all peoples have worth regardless of what society makes of them. They are created in the image of God, right? So, we worship Christ when we care for the downtrodden because we serve the image of God in them (read Matthew 25).

As you go through the coming week, worship like you have never worshiped before. Proclaim the worth of Christ and His character in everything you do. It is my prayer that the people in your life today (insurance agents, grocery baggers, mechanics, et cetera) will take notice and join in. Glory to God in the highest!

Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done

This week, I read a sobering statistic about Christianity’s influence on the political views of American evangelicals. Only 12% of evangelicals (congregations like Faith Center) said their faith is the most important influence on their opinions about a specific political policy.  That means 88% of evangelicals like us are more influenced by personal experiences, the radio, television, and schooling than by Christianity.  The Bible, the Holy Spirit, and the Christian Church have little-to-no influence on political opinions.

Now, I understand the importance of avoiding political pageantry and punditry in the Christian pulpit.  Americans have a long history of abusing the authority of the church in order to accomplish certain legislative ends that have little to do with the gospel.  But, that doesn’t mean that we throw the baby out with the bathwater.  Christians should consult the Holy Spirit in prayer and the words of the scriptures over and above the voices of America’s culture wars.

           

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches His people how to pray.  This is the example Jesus gives: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  Jesus tells His disciples to invite God’s reign and God’s agenda to define all the things of this world.  There is no fudging on God’s will because it is politically expedient.  Christians are encouraged to submit every opinion to God’s will in prayer.

           

As you go through the coming week, let me encourage you to assess the foundations of your opinions.  Are your opinions rooted in your faith and relationship with Christ?  Or, are they rooted in the viewpoints of television, talk radio, and the internet? As you take stock, filter each view through the words of Jesus’ prayer: “Your kingdom come.  Your will be done.” 

Slow, Steady, Scripture

An old shepherd was tending his flock and noticed a tiny stream of water trickling down the side of a hill. He followed the stream to a ledge where the water dripped onto a big stone. Though the rock was barely wet, the center was nearly hallowed out. The steady drip of water, year after year, had carved a hole in the center of the rock.

The shepherd realized that the rock was changed by the small, steady exposure to water. If the same amount of water had washed over the rock all at once, the boulder would have remained unchanged. The steady drip of water over a long period of time is what brought change.

I wonder if our study of the Bible works in a similar way. We are changed by a constant, steady exposure to the scriptures over a long period of time. We are washed in the Bible in worship services. We are flooded with the scriptures at the holidays. But, we are transformed when God’s word is a steady, consistent part of our everyday lives.

In Psalm 119, the Psalm writer says, “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” The Psalmist lives a lifestyle of meditating and considering and delighting in God’s word. The scriptures are a steady, daily drip of life saving and life changing water.

As you go through the coming week, let the waters of Christian scripture become a steady part of your life. Let the Lord transform you from the inside out, through the scriptures.  Years down the road, we will look back at the effects of its living water and see miracles.