Happy Birthday To Me!

Forty One.  Not a milestone year, to be sure.  Yet I find that with every passing year there are so many things to be thankful for, so many things to celebrate with each and every birthday.

For me, every birthday marks:

1.  Another year of enjoying this amazing world that God created for us, a world that despite its brokenness and corruption is a place of inexpressible wonder and beauty.  I went on a hike yesterday morning and watched the leaves float down to the trail before me (on the first day of Fall) as the morning sunlight pierced through the trees; I held a tiny toad the size of my thumbnail in my palm.  The day before I was hugged by a two year old little girl who buried her little head in my neck with such sincere abandon...  I am constantly in awe of His creation.
2. Another year of enjoying the relationships God has allowed me to be a part of, not the least of which are:
1. My incredible wife, Emily.  My world has been better for knowing her for 28 years, 19 of those as her husband.  God uses Emily to both show me His love and teach me how to love better.  She makes me a better man, and every day it is my honor and privilege to try to love her as Christ loved the Church, to try and cherish her and encourage her, and give myself up for her.  I fall short every day, but she loves me anyway.  Emily ministers to me and shows me God like no other person in my life.
2. My beautiful daughter, Myah.  What a trip parenthood is!  Simultaneously the biggest challenge and one of the biggest blessings of my life!  Each day my role as a father teaches me a new dimension of God's character as our Heavenly Father.  Getting to be used by God to help grow this young lady into a woman after His own heart -- to be tasked with pouring God's Word and Truth into her and pointing her to Him -- is a privilege and responsibility that is at once both overwhelming and invigorating.  She hungers for knowledge, and some of the best moments of any day for me are those teachable moments when I can share some new piece of knowledge with her.  She makes me laugh every day with her quick wit, and my jaw drops every day at her intellect, fierce independence, and sometimes her sheer audacity!  She's a hoot, and if I survive 18 years of Myah, I know I'll look back and count them as the 18 best years of my life.
3. Another year to learn to love God better:
1. to tell others of His great mercy and love for them, of how the Father sent His son on a rescue mission behind enemy lines to bring us home
2. to experience and share the abundant life He came to give us all
3. to experience His provision, His sufficiency, even when the world seems to only take away.  Let's face it, as upbeat as this post is, life doesn't feel good all the time.  We're not always healthy.  Everyone doesn't always get along every day.  Work is not always a success.  There are months when we don't know how the bills are going to get paid.  People we love are in pain or are taken from us.  But God has taught me that these circumstances that we tend to call "trials" and "challenges" are really opportunities.  Opportunities to place our trust fully in the God who loves us and promised to provide for us, to comfort us, to give us a peace that defies understanding.  Opportunities to see Him step up to the plate and keep His Word in spades.
4. Another year to get to lead others into the Throne room of God in corporate worship; to have the undeserved honor to help the very Bride of Christ respond to all He is, all He has done, and all He is doing.  I get to be used by the Holy Spirit to teach Christ Followers what it is to worship God, even while I myself continue to learn how to Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth every day.
5. Another year closer to going home to be with God for Eternity.  Part of me longs for that day to come soon, while another part of me hopes it is delayed so that more people would have still more chances to open the door of their hearts to One who gently knocks.  And yet another part of me is content to tarry here and experience all God has for me -- for all of us --  in this life, this mere blink in the span of Eternity on this little spinning speck of a planet in the vastness of creation.

So Happy Birthday to me!  I look forward to another year of unwrapping all the gifts that God pours into my life.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow... 

My Goodness, My Guinness!

As I write this I am raising a pint glass of my favorite beer in a toast to the folks at Guinness & Co. for their recent tasteful and touching ad, "The Empty Chair," and for their applaudible (is that a word?) decision to include an instrumental version of Anthony Stowalter's classic hymn, "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms," as the background track.  I do this as both a Christian and Guinness drinker. :)

The conservative Christian action group, One Million Moms (www.onemillionmoms.com), recently condemned Guinness for using the hymn in their ad, and called upon its members and supporters to petition Guinness to stop using the tune.  I sincerely hope their efforts fail. :)

Say what you will about One Million Moms (And believe me, I could say A LOT, but I'm choosing to restrain myself.), as a Christian and a parent I can at least agree that popular secular media is overflowing with unwholesome,  immoral, offensive content, and our culture's efforts to eroticize our children, undermine traditional family (and personal) values, demonize faith, and bombard us all with graphic imagery at every turn disgusts and distresses me.  I'm not saying that I agree with One Million Moms' tactics, or even that I believe their methods are ultimately all that effective.  A cursory perusal of the "Current Issues" section of their website revealed a few things that I would think any responsible parent concerned about his or her family's well-being would want to address, at least in the context of said family, if not the full blown take-down campaigns that OMM typically advocates.  But I also saw many, many "issues" that made me think, "Really?  You're in a tizzy over that??  With all the disgusting filth in the media today, you are seriously upset about that?"

The Guinness ad spot, "The Empty Chair," absolutely falls into the latter category.  In fact, not only do I think this ad is not remotely worth getting upset about, I think it should be applauded.  It's a great ad.  Watch it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx0MRawkrj4

This ad is about friendship and loyalty.  It's about honoring those who cannot be with us.  It's about hoping that those we love that are in harm's way will one day return to us safely.  It's about honoring the service of our men and women in uniform.  It's about friends who gather regularly for fellowship and miss their absent comrade.

And yes, it's about beer.  I get that.  I'm a sales person, and I understand how advertising works.  The ad is designed to create an emotional response and to cause viewers to connect those emotions and all of the positive themes I mention above with Guinness as a brand in the hopes that we'll buy Guinness as a result.  I get that.  And I say, "so what?"  We all know it's an advertisement, so it's manipulative nature is to be inferred and assumed.  The psychology of advertising doesn't make the ad any less positive or uplifting or touching. 

The use of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" as the background music is completely appropriate.  Read these lyrics, if you please:

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms;

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,

Leaning on the everlasting arms;

O how bright the path grows from day to day,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,

Leaning on the everlasting arms;

I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

When someone we love is not only away from us but in harm's way, what sentiment, what song, could possibly be more appropriate than this?  When we seek to overcome our fear and dread, when we hope for security and safety for those we love, and we long for the joy of their return to our fellowship, what could be more appropriate than offering up a prayer that our loved one would be safely wrapped in the everlasting arms of a loving God?  We, too, can lean upon those arms for comfort until our loved one is returned safely.  Sometimes we need to lean on them for comfort when we learn that they will not ever be returned to us.

One Million Moms attempts to base their disapproval of this ad on the idea that alcohol and a Christian hymn are somehow incompatible.  Ludicrous.  While Scripture certainly condemns drunkenness and the sinful and destructive behaviors that often accompany it, there is nothing in Scripture or Christian canon that condemns alcohol outright.  Quite the contrary.  The Last Supper would have been a very different party were it not for alcohol.  The Last Supper was many things on many levels, but one of them was certainly a group of close friends gathering on a special occasion for fellowship and to share -- among other things -- some wine.  Christ's first miracle actually has Him creating an alcoholic beverage (Why?  Because His friends had run out of it at a party, and His mom asked Him to help out!), so we can assume He was not opposed to the stuff.  In fact the sharing of wine with His friends was such a meaningful event for Jesus that He promised not to drink wine again until he could do so with them in His Father's Kingdom (Matt 26:29).  Did you catch that, One Million Moms?  There will be social consumption of alcohol in God's Kingdom.  I hope you're not too offended by it. 

(Honestly, I think if Jesus decides to switch it up in His Father's Kingdom and have a beer instead of wine from time to time, he'd probably pick Guinness. Just sayin'.)

Ironically, One Million Moms is a part of the American Family Association, which was founded by Donald Wildmon, a United Methodist Pastor.  The United Methodist Church does not condemn the moderate, responsible consumption of alcohol.  In fact the denomination does not prohibit the use of fermented wine during communion, and consequently some UMC churches do still use it.

I believe that there is a also a good chance that Anthony Stowalter, the hymn's author, would not have objected to the use of his song in such a way.  Stowalter was a Presbyterian.  Here's a statement from the Presbyterian Church on the topic of alcohol:

"The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) does not advocate the prohibition of alcohol... Responsible and non-problematic uses of alcohol have been part of human experience and the Judeo-Christian heritage since the beginning of recorded history." (http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/101/alcohol/)

If Stowalter were like most songwriters, he'd probably just be amazed and thankful that his hymn was still known and popular a century after his death.  (Here's my favorite recent rendition for your enjoyment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCp05y7OoeM)

Of course I understand that the Guinness commercial is not depicting a religious ritual.  My point is that basing any condemnation of this uplifting and positive advertisement on an apparent incompatibility of Christianity with alcohol makes absolutely no sense.

It's things like this that continue to give conservative Christianity a bad rap in secular circles, adding credence to the idea that Christians are repressed prudes that would rather waste their energy getting upset about things that don't really matter instead of affecting real change by taking the love and hope of Christ to a hurting world.  One Million Moms has actually accomplished some good things.  They are raising awareness of the increasingly immoral and offensive content that is being piped into our homes by the media, and they are helping families make informed decisions about their media consumption.  They have made many media sponsors more aware of the content of the programs they support with their advertising funds.  But all of these positive things get overshadowed by ridiculous and unfounded witch hunts like their campaign against this Guinness ad.  It damages the organization's credibility and consequently makes them less effective as fewer people take them seriously.  One Million Moms should have instead chosen to applaud Guinness' choice of a Christian hymn for its ad music, and given them well deserved credit for going against the norm for beer commercials and making a wholesome, positive ad.

Guinness could have produced an ad filled with scantily clad models engaging in debauchery with a provocative background track from the likes of Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Rhianna, Robin Thicke, or any number of other artists.  If they had, most of us would have simply chalked it up as another typical beer ad.  But instead they opted to create an ad about love, hope, honor , and loyalty and back it up with a hymn about trusting God in our times of need.  To which I say "sláinte!"

Where We Came From

I've come to believe that the secret to extending grace is remembering where you came from.  This is true for me personally, professionally, and spiritually.

As a parent, it can sometimes be a challenge extending grace to your kids when you are confronted with behavior that is completely unacceptable or inappropriate, especially when you know your child knows better and is perfectly capable of behaving appropriately.  My daughter is a good girl, smart with a empathetic heart and a great head on her shoulders.  But she is also often too smart for her own good, and she is fiercely independent.  You can imagine the behavioral cocktail this can produce from time to time, especially when combined with variables like hunger or tiredness. :)  There are times when it is all I can do to control my anger and frustration.  And to be honest there are times when I fail to control those things and I have to go to both God and my daughter for forgiveness.

What helps me maintain control and keep perspective during these situations is to consciously recognize that my daughter is a chip off the 'ole block.  She behaves exactly as I did at her age!  And not just the negative stuff.  We share so many of the same interests and passions.  Our senses of humor are very similar.  She experiences things intellectually and emotionally in much the same ways that I do.  The things that drive me to distraction are the same things that drove my own parents bonkers when I was 9-ish.  I have to remember where I came from.  I have to remind myself my daughter is, after all, just a 9 year old little girl, and that I was just like my daughter in so many ways.  And ultimately she is the miraculous little person that she is because of me, positive and negative.  50%, anyway.  My wife gets half the credit/blame.  ;)

The point is when I remember where I came from, I can remember that I am no different from my daughter, if three decades removed.  This does wonders when it comes to extending her grace for just being who she is.

Professionally, my job is basically enabling and equipping other companies' sales people to sell my company's solutions.  I've been doing this sales thing for about 17 years now, and I've learned A LOT over the years.  I work primarily with entry-level sales people in their first sales position.  Most work for an organization that does not provide any real, practical sales training.  It's a sink or swim sort of environment for them.  On paper my job is to train them on the nuances of selling my employer's particular suite of solutions, and assist with their customer demos, etc.  But I find more often than not I'm teaching them the basics of how to sell.  We're talking "Sales 101" type stuff.  I want them to swim, not sink, sometimes because I want to help them succeed, but mostly because I get paid when they succeed, and I want to get paid.

Not a day goes by that I don't get frustrated with a sales person's complete lack of sales acumen.  Things that to me are basic blocking and tackling (those of you who know me are currently amazed that I used a sports metaphor) are completely alien concepts to them.  Their ability to sell is what ultimately puts food on MY family's table, so it can be infuriating.  Head-against-a-wall type of infuriating.  I'd be lying if I said there were not days I wanted to yell and scream at people (some of whom have MBAs, mind you), "Are you !@#$%&* kidding me?!!  This is basic sales, how can you not get this stuff?!  How do you still have a job?!"

But I don't yell.  Mostly I don't pitch a fit because I have to maintain a professional working relationship with these folks, and while I may be a lot of things, I don't think "jerk" is one of them.  Not anymore, at least. (That's a completely different post.)  But secondly I restrain myself because I remember when I was in their shoes.  I was once a new sales person with no one to teach me the basics, learning the ropes through trial and error.  I was cocky, arrogant.  I saw sales as a contest of wills with my prospect.  I thought I could belittle or embarrass people into buying from me (that doesn't work well, by the way).  I had no clue.  Thank God I had several excellent sales managers who saw some raw potential in me and took me under their wing.  I learned from them that good selling is just listening to your customer with a sincere desire to help them overcome their challenges.  It's helping -- serving -- people and organizations, combined with mastering the skill of identifying those people and organizations that your particular "widget" can help.  Add to that some stints with large corporations that had the budget to put me through some of the world's best sales training programs, and the bottom line is I had a lot of help.  Now I want to give that help to others.

Every day I have to remember where I came from so I can assist the folks I work with in their quest to leave that same place.  This helps me extend grace.  It helps me respond with empathy instead of frustration.

Spiritually I think it is no different for a Christ Follower when it comes to how we engage a fallen world.  We're face to face with rampant sin every day, be it from individuals or just the culture at large.  It's easy to adopt a holier-than-thou attitude.  I believe that if we are to interact with people in anything approaching the way Christ Himself did, it is vital that we remember where we came from.  We have to have a theologically accurate understanding of our own depravity so that we can grasp the magnitude of the grace extended to us by the Father through the sacrifice of His Son.  

Some Believers were saved out of truly horrible circumstances.  They were quite literally rescued from the brink by Christ from addictions, depression, and dark despair.  They committed acts that even the most godless human being would condemn as unconscionable.  Such individuals may find it easier to extend grace to others who find themselves trapped in similar cycles.  But for many of us, we look back on our lives before Christ, and while we completely acknowledge our sinful nature and need for a Savior, we can sometimes view our past through a very human, horizontal lens and say, "I wasn't really THAT bad.  I mean sure, I did such-and-such, but it's not like I did this-and-that."  Such thinking is completely out of line with Spiritual reality.  It is vital that we understand the truth of Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God."  God is Holy.  Purely Holy.  The most inconsequential sin by human reckoning separates us as completely from God's holiness as does the most heinous crime imaginable.

In order to be able to extend grace to a sinful world, believers have to remember where they came from.  We have to remember that prior to being covered by the redeeming blood of Christ, our sins, regardless of how we may have rationalized them as "minor," kept us just as apart from God as anyone else's.  We are no better.  The only way we can even begin to think of ourselves as "better" is when we use a human scale.  We compare ourselves to some other person we think is "worse than us," and use that comparison to help us feel less guilty about the sin we continue to enjoy and to help us feel more "righteous."  But if we use God as the standard -- and He IS the only real standard -- then this entire strategy falls apart.  We experience what David Crowder calls a "beautiful collision," when the knowledge of our depravity collides with God's divinity and we finally realize our desperate need for a Savior.

We -- I -- must remember that the only difference between me and any other sinful person for whom I may be harboring comdemnation in my heart and mind is that reasons I do not fully understand, the Holy Spirit allowed me to respond to His conviction, allowed me to see and accept the Truth of the Gospel when it was presented to me.  I was given the opportunity to repent of my sin and commit my life to Christ. There is no other difference between me and the worst possible person you can conceive of right now in your mind.

When we understand this about ourselves -- when we remember where we came from -- then and only then can we interact with a fallen and hurting world the way Christ did, with compassion and grace, followed by an unflinching acknowledgment of sin for what it is, and a call to repentance.  He delivered all of this in gentleness and love:

"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.  But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.  At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”-- John 8:3-12

Lent & Liturgy: Ritual as Response

Lent & Liturgy: Ritual as Response

What is Lent??

Lent begins with  Ash Wednesday, which occured this year (2013) on February 13th.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of a season in the Church Calendar, or “Liturgical” Calendar, called "Lent."

The word "Lent" derives from Germanic and Saxon root words meaning "a lengthening of days," or "springtime."  Lent is roughly 40 days (40 days of temptation) or six weeks, stretching from Ash Wednesday through Maundy Thursday (trad.) or Easter Eve (Modern).

The word “Liturgy” comes from the Greek word, “leitourgia,” which is most often translated in English as “service.”  This would make the phrase “liturgical service” somewhat redundant.  In ancient Greece, the leitourgia pertained to acts of civic or public service, which became in Christian tradition “public services” or formal public worship events such as Catholic Mass or other worship services, feasts, and observances.

The outlines and formats for worship services of many denominations are called “liturgy.”  Denominations that still maintain true liturgical services include Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal/Anglican, Methodist and others.  But some evangelical and emerging churches are rediscovering liturgy as a valid component of worship.  Organizations like Bifrost Arts and others are devoted to reviving liturgy and sacred hymns in the modern church.

So the liturgical calendar is simply a roadmap for worship services throughout the church year that follows the life and ministry of Jesus (and in Catholicism incorporates the various feast days of the saints), beginning with Advent (before Christmas) and ending with Pentecost, which happens 50 days after Easter, usually some time in early May.

During Lent, Sundays are feast days when one can partake of whatever has been “given up” for the season.  Lent is typified by solemnity, mourning, and penance, which stands in stark contrast to Advent, which is a season of expectancy and hope. 

The Sadness of Lent culminates in the celebration of Easter.

 Before the joy of Easter, we have the events of Holy Week:

1.     Maundy Thursday.  This is a remembrance of Christ's washing of the disciple's feet, and the Lord's Supper and surrounding events.  It's also called the Feast of the Lord's Supper or the Feast of Holy Communion.  The word "Maundy" come from the latin "mandatum," which is where we get the word "mandate."  This is because the early Catholic church believed that in the act of washing His disciples' feet, Christ issued one of his direct mandates (or specific commands) in John 13:14: "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet."  Today "The Maundy" has come to refer to "the washing of feet" as a ritual of the church.

2.     Good Friday -- the Crucifixion.

3.     Easter Eve -- a sabbath day.

During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxuries as a form of penitence. The Stations of the Cross, a devotional commemoration of Christ's carrying the Cross and of his execution, are often observed. Many Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches devoid their altars of flowers, while crucifixes, religious statues, and other elaborate religious paraphernalia are often veiled in violet fabrics in solemn observance of this event.  In certain pious Catholic countries, the consumption of meat is traditionally halted during lent. 

The Seven Churches Visitation. 

There is a Lenten tradition of visiting seven Christian sites, churches, or parishes.  Originally done on Maundy Thursday, but in modern culture throughout Holy Week.  There are many associations with the number 7 that are said to be the origins of this tradition, but the most common are the seven events of Christ's capture, and the seven statements of Christ on the cross.

Events of Christ's Capture:

            1. Jesus taken to High Priest Annas — John 18:12-23;

            2. From Annas to High Priest Caiphas — Mark 14:53-63

            3. From Caiphas to the Sanhedrin — Mattew 26:56-67

            4. From the Sanhedrin to Pilate — Luke 23:1-5

            5. From Pilate to Herod — Luke 23:6-12

            6. From Herod to Pilate — Luke 23:13-25

            7. From Pilate to Calvary — John 19:1-6

Seven Statements from the Cross:

            1. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).

            2. Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).

            3. Woman, behold your son: behold your mother (John 19:26-27).

            4. My God, My God, why have you forsaken me, (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34).

            5. I thirst (John 19:28).

            6. It is finished (John 19:30).

            7. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23:46).

So now we have a little bit of definition and history of Lent.

Now I want to speak a little about the role of liturgy -- and really of ritual and religion in general -- as part of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and our lives of faith and following. 

The Reformation

The modern Protestant Church, and especially the Evangelical denominations, has been running away from all things ritualistic for generations, beginning almost 500 years ago with the Reformation.  On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a German Augustinian Monk, nailed his 95 Thesis to the doors of a church in Wittenberg, and thereby sparked a movement away from the ritualism and ecclesiastical culture of the Roman Catholic Church that would continue over half a millennium later.

Luther took issue with the Church's selling of indulgences (granting absolution from sin in exchange for money), stating that only God could absolve anyone of sin, and only by His Grace through Jesus Christ.  The Pope and the priesthood did not have this power to grant forgiveness, according to Luther.  He also spoke out against the very idea of the priesthood, stating that all baptized Christians were part of a royal priesthood, as stated in 1 Peter 2:9 and Rev 5:10.  And He proclaimed the Bible as the only doctrinal authority, not the Church or the Pope, or the priesthood.  Luther believed that it was not physical penance that overcame sin, but rather a changing of the heart.  He was excommunicated for his refusal to take back his statements, and he was declared an outlaw by the Roman Emperor, Charles V.

But what began in Wittenberg grew rapidly, spread throughout Europe and all of Christendom and became the impetus of a reformation that would see the founding of just about every Protestant denomination today, including Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, etc.

The reformation planted the idea of Scripture as the only true authority when it came to doctrine.  And so over the centuries more and more of the religious trappings that were not found in Scripture but rather were invented or instituted by the church were questioned and very often discarded as unnecessary or even detrimental.  The Evangelical movement would take this even further than the previous Protestant denominations, doing away with formal liturgies, traditional imagery and icons, and discarding much of the rigid formality of more traditional church services. 

The Modern Church

Non-denominational evangelical churches would take it even further, doing away with hymnals, traditional church instruments (organ), vestments for clergy, altars, and very idea of "Sunday best" in an effort to create a comfortable, informal environment that was inviting and not intimidating. 

There are many variations within the Evangelical denominations and churches, but they all share some common traits.

Evangelicalism de-emphasizes ritual and emphasizes the piety of the individual, believing that God works certain changes in the individual, including:

1.     Personal conversion, or being "born again" based on passages in The Gospel of John chapter 3 and 1:12-13

2.     Creating a high regard for Biblical authority and an identification with the Biblical story

3.     Drawing particular attention to teachings that proclaim the saving death and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ as forgiveness of sins and new life

4.     Motivating towards the active expression and sharing of the gospel

Now the Evangelical movement has given rise to the emerging church movement (of which the "house church" phenomenon is considered part) that ultimately says "we don't have to do church the way it's always been done, or how our parents did it."  There are emerging churches that are extremely fundamental and conservative and some that are very liberal and progressive, but they all share this idea that church can and should be what we need it to be, and not what tradition tells us it should be.

Our services here in this church are a far cry from a Roman Catholic High Mass, with little formal structure and certainly no liturgy.  In some ways we are the ultimate result, that furthest reaching ripple, that was begun when Luther hammered his Theses to the doors at Wittenberg.

But as different as my weekly worship looks from a High Mass, I can't help but think it bears a strong resemblance to the gathering in the upper room on Maundy Thursday.  An informal gathering of brothers and sisters who shared a faith, loved each other, and who hung on every word their Lord had to say.

The Baby Out With Bath Water?

We've gained much.  But I also wonder if we have not lost much.

The Evangelical movement away from ritual is completely understandable.  Rituals can and very often do overshadow or even supplant relationship.  Luther saw this.  Luther saw the Catholic priests manipulating the rituals of confession and penance to exert power and control over their flocks, taking away a personal relationship with God through Christ and turning it into a relationship with the church.

I believe the greatest danger of ritual and religion is that when used in the absence of a personal saving relationship with God through Christ and an indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they can give a false sense of security.

Jesus knew this.  This is why He said in Matthew 7:21:

 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

Think back to the selling of indulgences.  How many poor souls believed it when their priest told them that by paying money they could avoid condemnation for sins and be saved from hell (and/or purgatory) all because of a false ritual?

And how many church-goers over the centuries -- and this very day right here in North Texas -- have thought that by attending a service, giving money, saying and/or singing some words, partaking in a sacrament (communion, baptism, etc), etc. etc., that they had done what needed to be done, what God required -- or at least what they themselves required to make themselves feel better -- and that salvation, a ticket to heaven, was secured?  How many will close eyes and raise hands this Sunday in order to fit in or appear pious rather than out of reverence and worship for the God they are singing about and with Whom they have a personal relationship?

So we've tried to strip all of this away to avoid any confusion.  It's relationship with God through Jesus that matters, not ritual.

But in the process I believe we have lost a sense of reverence.  We have lost some respect.  It has become more and more difficult to approach the throne of Grace with a sense of awe because nothing about our modern services of worship are designed to inspire awe.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  Many newer non-denominational churches are designed to be familiar and comfortable, even mundane, looking more like a trendy coffee shop than a holy sanctuary for the gathering of a people come to humbly worship and commune with the God of the universe.

We scoff at the expense and extravagance -- the waste -- of the great cathedrals.  But who among us when we enter into one does not catch his breath and look up?  This was the purpose of the designers, architects, and artists: to point to God.  To inspire a sense of awe appropriate for the God whom the people were coming to meet and encounter.

The Catholic church taxing the people to build a great basilica bears striking resemblance to God's words to Moses in Exodus, as he gave instructions on the building of the Tabernacle:

"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution. 3 This is the contribution which you are to raise from them: gold, silver and bronze, 4 blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, 5 rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood, 6 oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 7 onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece. 8 Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them."  Exodus 25:1-8

Of course today we are the Tabernacle, the dwelling place of the Spirit of the Most High God.  We are the Church.  We are the Temple.  God no longer requires a physical building made of the purest most valuable things this world has to offer in which to dwell, because His Spirit now dwells inside bodies that He made in His very own image, bodies that are washed by the blood of His Son.  All of the world's pure gold and silk and gems couldn't come close. 

The Fear of the Lord is The Beginning of Wisdom (Prov 9:10)

So we don't need to build cathedrals.  But I submit to you that we need to bring reverence, respect, and awe back to our services of worship, and to our relationship with God in general.  We have become too flippant and familiar, I think.  From the pulpit we're told that praying is easy.  "God just wants you to talk to him as you would anyone else."  And yet Jesus says, "When you pray, pray like this: Our Father, who are in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name..."  We know God as "friend," "comforter," "healer"...  Our "Abba" Father.  Our "Daddy."  But we rarely are reminded that He is Lord, King, Master.  He is Almighty.  And He is a God of Wrath, of such unfathomable holiness that were it not for the intercession of Christ, we could not come near Him without being consumed, utterly destroyed.  We have lost a "fear" of God, a respect born from an understanding of how far above us He is in every way, and that apart from Christ we have no right to approach Him.

Rituals and traditions can help us regain some of this.  Simple things, like:

•         Dressing a little nicer for worship.  Like a spouse dressing up for a date.  We are the "Bride of Christ," after all.

•         our posture. 

•         Bowing our heads,

•         Clasping hands

•         Removing hats

•         Kneeling before God.

•         Reciting the Lord's Prayer, not by rote, but in a contemplative way, considering what it means to pray in the manner our Savior instructed us.

•         Standing for the reading of the Gospel

•         Responsive readings of Scripture

•         Fasting

Even liturgical observances, like Lent, can be very powerful and effective ways of helping us focus our attention on God.  They can help us meditate on Christ, His life, ministry, sacrifice, and victory.  Giving something up for lent because it's traditional or helps you feel less guilty is a waste of time.  But giving some favorite thing up as a heartfelt way to show God that you love Him more than the things of this world  -- much like tithes and offerings -- is a beautiful act of worship.  And every time you crave that thing you are abstaining from, your thoughts will be drawn to Him and your love for Him.  And we can think about how trivial our sacrifice is in light of what Christ sacrificed for us during His final days and moments before His resurrection.

Lent is a time to solemnly contemplate the terrible price paid to restore us to God.  This type of contemplation is vital if we are to the ever know "the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death..."  Phil 3:10.

We spoke a little about Advent over Christmas time, and traditions like the lighting of the Advent Wreath Candles and having Advent devotionals.  These can have the same impact.  They focus our thoughts and prayers on the gravity and majesty of just what God did for us when He sent His Son to earth to be born as a babe in a manger.  And all of sudden Christmas, with all of its wonder, joy and expectancy, lasts for a month and not just a few days blurred with presents, food, and retail commerce.

So in closing, let me say this: ritual, tradition, and religion are not evil things.  But in the absence of or as substitutes for a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they are a waste of time and of no value to God whatsoever.  They have been destructive over the centuries by giving a false hope of salvation to millions.  But ritual, tradition, and religion can be beautiful and effective tools to use in our worship of God.  They can help us focus, and they can restore the reverence and awe that God so deserves.  Bottom line is this: rituals are to be a response, an outpouring of our love for and worship of God.  They are a means, not the end.  They help us focus on our Lord, but they are not to be the focus in and of themselves.

And they are not necessary for all Christ Followers.  The absence or presence of rituals and traditions in your personal faith life is no indicator of the depth of that faith, or whether or not you are rightly relating to God.  We have freedom in Christ, and we should feel free to exercise that freedom to observe the rituals and traditions we want to as we worship.

As for me, I am overwhelmed every day by all the many and varied ways God loves me and cares for me.  When I worship Him, I want to do so in as wide a variety of ways as possible.  And in a world that is so often typified by disrespect -- not just for God, but for everything -- and apathy, and in our work-a-day lives that can often seem filled to the brim with the mundane, I long for moments of awe, and reverence.  I long to be in the presence of the Divine and know that He is God and I am not.  And over the past 1600 years, the Church has instituted many beautiful rituals and traditions to help me do this.

Let us pray...

Lee Mayhew

Worship Pastor, Ekklesia House, Dallas

February 17th, 2013

The Meaning of Christmas: Misled by the Bible?

It is December 23rd -- "Christmas Eve Eve," as my daughter likes to call it -- and I find myself pondering the meaning of Christmas.  Frankly I think many of us have been misled.  There are many commonly held misconceptions when it comes to the traditional Christmas story, and we have popular cultural representations to blame for most of these.  Some examples:

1. Mary rode a donkey to Bethlehem, right?  Maybe.  The Bible, however, says nothing about a Donkey or any other conveyance.  Most scholars believe that since beasts of burden would have been luxury items for the families of Nazareth, it was likely that Mary walked.  But we all have the image of her on a donkey.  
2. How many Wise Men were there?  Three?  Maybe.  We are told that there were three gifts, but the Bible makes no mention of the number of wise men.  We just assume it was a one:one gift:Magi ratio.  
3. And speaking of Wise Men, they showed up at the stable shortly after the shepherds, right?  Nope.  A careful reading of Scripture shows that they visited the infant Jesus at a house, some time after his birth.  Perhaps even several months or a couple of years afterward, which is why Herod ordered the killing of all male children under the age of two, once he learned from the Magi exactly when the Star had first appeared.  

We see these images over and over until we assume they are true elements of the Christmas Story, but they simply are not.  Harmless misconceptions, to be sure, but misconceptions nonetheless.

However, some of our misconceptions are less than harmless.  One misconception in particular has caused thousands if not millions of people around the world, generation after generation, to completely miss the true meaning of Christmas, the life and death meaning of Christmas.  There are two major camps when it comes to answering the question, "What is the meaning of Christmas?": (1) Christians, and (2) non-Christians who celebrate Christmas.  For my purposes today I'm going to ignore those who like to point out things like pagan origins and symbolism, because those folks are only interested in undermining Christmas rather than celebrating it.  

The Meaning of Christmas For Christians

For Christians, Christmas is the celebration and commemoration of the birth of the infant Jesus, the Christ Child, who would one day die to save us from our sins.  Emmanuel: "God with us."  God, the Father, sending His only Son down to us, the King of Kings being born in the humblest of circumstances so that one day through Him, man's relationship with God can be restored and we can live with God eternally as He intended from the dawn of creation.  It's a love story of God embarking upon a rescue mission in disguise, behind enemy lines, in the dark of night all to rescue His wayward Bride.  Christmas is Hope.  Hope for an eternal future with God.  Hope for salvation from the sinful nature that separates us from The Father.  

The Meaning of Christmas For non-Christians who still celebrate Christmas 

For non-Christians who still celebrate Christmas some of these same elements still embody the meaning of Christmas, but in a much more vague and illusive form.  Christmas is still hope, although hope for what exactly is not clear.  Christmas is love, and family, and friends.  God's gift to us in His Son echoes even in the secular celebration, as Christmas is the season of giving, both to those in need and to family and loved ones.  Christmas also means Peace.  Peace and goodwill to all men.

It is in this last supposed meaning of Christmas that we have been misled: "peace and goodwill to all men."  Where does this come from?  Most of us know -- if not from our own Bible reading, then from Linus' words to Charlie Brown -- that it's what the angels said to the shepherds in the fields the night of Christ's birth.  We've come to accept these words as the "true meaning of Christmas."  Peace and goodwill for everyone.  But we've been misled.  We've been misled by, of all things, the Bible itself.  Specifically the King James translation of the Bible.

Luke 2:14 in the King James reads "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"  For hundreds of years this was the only English translation of the Bible, and consequently it became the very core of the Christmas message for generation after generation of Christian and non-Christian alike.  Unfortunately the scholars employed by King James to translate the Bible from Latin to English missed some subtle but vitally important meaning in the angels' words to the shepherds.

The word that the King James version translates as "goodwill" is an ancient Greek word, "eudokia."  This word does indeed imply goodwill; however, its root words also convey a very particular type of goodwill intended for those who possess a good reputation with the one bestowing the good will; those whom the giver holds in good favor or esteem.  This is why virtually every Bible translation undertaken since the King James version has translated Luke 2:14 as "...on earth peace, goodwill among men with whom He is pleased, or alternatively "...goodwill to men upon whom His favor rests."  Unfortunately these translations are not well known outside of the Church, and even then only to those Believers and congregations that use translations other than the King James.  Consequently many miss an important element of the true meaning of Christmas.

The goodwill of God that we celebrate at Christmas time is not a generic blanket of goodwill available for everyone without qualification.  God loves the entire world, to be sure (John 3:16).  God the Father desires that everyone would benefit from the gift of His Son (2 Peter 3:9); however, in order to receive the benefits of the greatest of all gifts, one must be desiring and seeking to return to God and His favor.  Those not desiring to restore their relationship with a Holy God cannot benefit from the gift of God's Son, given by the Father for the very purpose of restoring that relationship.

The meaning of Christmas is twofold.  It is not simply God's expression of His desire to bestow peace and goodwill to all of us, but it is also the very means and instructions as to how we can enter in to that Divine peace and goodwill.  As Christ Himself told his disciples 33 years later, He is not only the Truth and the Life.  He is the Way! (John 14:6).

One of my favorite shows as a kid was the Greatest American Hero.  Many of you over the age of 35 will remember this show.  It's the story of Ralph Hinkley, a high-school teacher who is given a "super suit" by benevolent aliens from outer space who want to help save us earthlings from ourselves.  The suit grants Hinkley super-human powers, but unfortunately the aliens are scared off by government agents before they can instruct Hinkley on how to use the suit, and he loses the instruction manual.  Ralph's efforts to fight evil while learning how the suit works "on the job" are pure TV sci-fi/comedy gold.  At least they were to me when I was eight.

What's my point?  Too many of us are like Ralph Hinkley.  We're aware that God has given us a Gift in His Son, Jesus Christ, and that this gift is somehow connected with hope, peace, and goodwill from God, Himself.  But the instructions have been lost.  Luke 2:14, when properly translated and understood, serves as the preface of God's instructions.  In that verse and those preceding, the angels tell us two things.  First we hear that God has given a gift to ALL men, namely His Son, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.  Then we learn that in this gift are the keys to God's goodwill, a goodwill He longs for us to enjoy once again.  The key is that we are to be men and women upon whom God's favor rests, with whom He is pleased.  But through poor translation we've lost the second part.  We've lost the key.

How do we become such men and women?  How do we find God's favor?  How do we please Him?  That, my brothers and sisters, is where the rest of the instruction manual comes in to play.  In Jeremiah 29:13 God tells us through His prophet that "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  Later in Hebrews 11:6 we learn that God "...rewards those who earnestly seek him."  Seek God in His Word, the Bible, and seek Him in earnest prayer.  Cry out to God, and He promises to hear and come running.  Psalm 34:17 and 145:19 both assure us that when we choose to acknowledge God and our position in relation to Him (called "fearing" the Lord, or respecting Him), and when we cry out to Him, He hears, He responds, and He restores.  God longs to save those who cry out to Him.  These are the men and women "upon whom His favor rests."

I think if we are honest with ourselves, we know we need the promises of Christmas in our lives.  Life can seem hopeless, without meaning.  We live in a world that often seems to have little goodwill for anyone.  As people, we rarely have goodwill for one another.  This was never God's ultimate plan for us.  God longs to restore your hope.  He wants to BE your hope.  He wants to give you peace, a peace between you and Himself, but also the peace that comes from knowing that there is a God who is good, and who loves you, and who is in control.  He longs to draw us into His goodwill that you might receive the gift of His Son.  He longs to fill you so full of His love for you, that you cannot help but overflow with love for others and recognize the love others have for you.  He longs to give you a joy that is impervious to your circumstances because it is based on something that never changes: God's love for you.

My prayer for us all this Christmas season is that we would rediscover God's instruction manual, wherein lies the true meaning of Christmas.  I pray we would come to understand the meaning in the words the angels brought to the shepherds two thousand years ago: Earnestly seek God -- cry out to Him -- that you might regain His favor and goodwill.  Then the promise of the Christ Child can be your own: the hope of salvation and an end of enmity between God and Man.  The restoration of a Bride to her Groom, of children to their Father.  

If it's been a while since you talked to God, I would encourage you to lift a prayer to Him this Christmas.  Approach Him with honesty and share with him what's on your heart.  1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."  Then spend some time quietly in His presence.  He will respond.

If it's been a while since you read God's Word, the Bible -- or perhaps you never have -- then maybe this Christmas holiday would be a good time to do that, either alone with God as you have some quiet time, or with your family as you gather together.  The Gospel of John or the Book of Romans are great places to start, as well as the Christmas story in Luke 2 and Matthew 1.  Of course I recommend that you choose a translation other than the King James. ;)  Then find a Christian friend or family member you trust to help guide you further on your journey.  If you can't think of anyone who fits the bill, drop me a line at lee.mayhew@yahoo.com.  I'd be happy to pray with you and for you, answer any questions you may have, and help you any way that I can.

May God bless you and yours this Christmas and always!

He Alone Is Worthy

Apparently my blog posts are turning out to be a semi-annual event. :)  Oh, well...life is busy, what can I say?  Here's the second (and likely last) post for 2013:

I was pretty upset at church this past Sunday.  Let's face it, for most Christ-followers, it's pretty easy to find something at church to get upset about.  Our churches are institutions run by imperfect people, so they will inevitably be rife with imperfections themselves.  If I'm going to attend church and have it be a positive experience, then I have to intentionally make it about God, and not me or other people.  God never changes, and I am able to -- and should -- worship Him anywhere.  With that perspective, going to church is not only easier, but far more enjoyable and fulfilling.  But I digress...

I was upset this Sunday.  As we took our seats (3rd row from the front, just off center, in a sanctuary designed to seat about 500) about 10 minutes before the service was set to start, the folks sitting right behind us were chatting away enthusiastically.  In fact the entire sanctuary was full of the gentle murmur of friendly conversation, sprinkled with a laugh or a squealing child here and there.  Of course this all died down and then went completely silent as the worship leader greeted everyone and then invited the congregation to join him in an opening prayer.  At least it would have been completely silent, if only the folks behind us had stopped their conversation, but they didn't.  They kept chatting away as everyone around them bowed their heads and closed their eyes in prayer.

The prayer finished, and the first worship song began.  It was a powerful, Spirit-filled time of praising our God.  At least I assume it was for others that were not trying to tune out the conversation that was STILL going on behind them!  There wasn't even an attempt to whisper, and it was extremely distracting and aggravating.  I came very close to turning around and asking them in a less-than-Christ-like manner to please take their conversation out to the foyer.  In hindsight I realize that this would have only helped a little, since the doors between the sanctuary and the foyer were still wide open, and the noise of the milling crowd could be clearly heard over both the worship music and the chatting group behind me.  *Sigh*

Some of you by now are thinking, "Lee, you really need to calm down/lighten up.  Was it that big of a deal?  You shouldn't be so critical of your brothers and sisters."  Or something like that.  Certainly I did need to calm down, and the Holy Spirit was there to help with that.  As I prepared to turn around, the Holy Spirit reminded me of John 4:24: "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  Instead of turning around and potentially losing my cool with the folks behind me, I instead offered up a quick prayer to the Holy Spirit, asking that He would help me worship the Father through Him, and not in my own flesh.  I asked that He would help me tune out all distractions and focus exclusively on my God, and the lifting of His name.  My prayer was answered!  I was able to refocus and enter in to a blessed time of communion through song.  My ire melted away.

Alas, that ire and frustration returned not long after the service was over and I reflected on the overall experience.  You see I don't think I was overreacting.  On the surface, someone chatting away in church may seem like a small deal, but I believe it is indicative of something much more serious -- a BIG DEAL --  that needs to be addressed.  I continue to be saddened by the loss of reverence in the modern, Western Church.  Many of you have read my previous blog posts, discussing the complete and intentional absence of liturgy and ritual as a contributing factor, but I do not believe this to be the only factor.  I think another reason we are losing our reverence in worship is because many of us are no longer going to Church for God.  Rather we are going to church for people, both ourselves and others.  I have to believe that if we really thought we were going to church for God, we'd be more respectful.  I would like to think that if we were there for the Creator of the Universe, the King of Kings who gave His only Son to die so that we might once again have a relationship with Him, then we would take care not to chat away through prayers and times of worship.

I know there are many, many Believers that DO go to Chruch for God, to meet Him, encounter Him, respond to Him, and learn more of Him.  Unfortunately there are many, I believe, that do not.  They go for friends, family, and (dare I say it?) "community."  They go to church to socialize.  That was certainly the priority for the folks behind me, and for the folks out in the foyer who opted to be late for worship so they could chat more.  But at least the people in the foyer were considerate enough to remain there and not bring the chat into the sanctuary to disrupt other worshipers.  The very term "sanctuary" has less and less meaning in many modern churches, as that space is not treated as the sacred, holy refuge that the term implies.

It's not just church-goers who are to blame for all of this.  The Church herself is contributing to the problem.  We speak ad nauseam about "community" and "relationships," exhorting members to join "lifegroups" more than we exhort them to be in prayer and God's Word.  The call to action is to "get plugged in."  Serve.  Join a small group.  Build relationships with other people, and maybe God will rub off.

Community is great.  Godly fellowship is vital, and Biblically commanded (Hebrews 10:24-25). We are to sharpen one another, as Proverbs 27:17 tells us.  But the One we really need to be communing with is God, Himself.  It's great to foster healthy relationships with other Christians, but it's our relationship with God that should be paramount.  Our other relationships and communities should be means to that end.  If they are not pointing us to God and drawing us closer to him, then it's a waste of time.  We might as well skip church and join the Elks Lodge.

We've removed altars and prayer rails and put in coffee shops and bookstores.  We want people to come and hang out and socialize.  I've been to multiple churches that have indoor play structures like the ones you see in McDonalds.  This fits because many families shop for churches with the same criteria they use when shopping for a fast food restaurant: "Will my kids be safe, happy, and distracted enough for me to get this necessary activity (eating) out of the way with minimal whining?"  We want those well-to-do young families to come to our church, because after all if they don't, they might not go to church at all.  Or worse, they might go to the other church down the street.

Okay, sorry, I'm getting a little snarky, I realize. :)  Can you tell I'm frustrated?  Please know that my frustration is that of someone who has recently had a truth revealed that he knows should have been obvious all along.  I feel contrite about my blindness, and I want to help others see what I've been shown.  Namely this: our God is Holy, and higher than anything else.  He deserves all of our praise, honor, glory.  He deserves our very LIVES.  At the very least he deserves not to have times and places that were previously devoted to Him taken away and misappropriated for our own edification.  We are the Church, and the Church is all about Him.  The Church exists for Him.  The Church belongs TO Him.

I long for church leaders that will call their congregations back to lives of true worship; back to reverence.  We need to be taught more of the Holiness and shear unapproachability of God, were it not for the blood of His Son.  Would we approach our times of corporate worship so casually -- almost flippantly -- if we truly understood that we only have these opportunities to approach the Throne of Grace in safety because of Christ's death and resurrection?  We don't grasp our position with respect to the Father, through Christ.  Our services of worship should be times to respond to our God and King and all He is and all He does in our lives.  Our gatherings in the sanctuary need to become sacred once again.  Instead we leave the doors to the sanctuary wide open after the service starts and indulge any and all who want to wander in late, because heaven forbid anything be done to interfere with someone's comfort.

I don't think it would take much to begin injecting a little extra respect and reverence into our worship services, while simultaneously calling our congregations to accountability in this area:

1. Close the sanctuary doors when service is about to begin.  
2. Bring back ushers to man those doors and politely explain to those arriving late that the service has begun, and in an effort to not disrupt the prayer and worship, they'll be led to a seat just as soon as the prayer/song wraps up.
3. When starting the service, whether with prayer or with song, politely ask the congregation for their attention.  And then wait silently until you have it.  It won't take long for the chatter to die down when all other sound stops.  
4. If coming in late and/or talking during prayers or worship songs continues to be a disruption in your services, have a worship pastor or even lead pastor politely address it with the congregation.  It's a great teaching opportunity, a chance to preach about how God is deserving of our very best, all of our attention and respect.  Come to think of it, our fellow church-goers are worthy of our respect as well.

I think we'd be surprised at how many people will understand and respect -- even appreciate -- these efforts.  And for those that don't, well, I'm reminded of the old adage: "Those who matter won't mind, and those who mind don't matter."  Of course I don't mean to imply that anyone attending our churches does not matter.  Everyone matters.  I merely suggest that someone who gets upset or chooses to leave a church over something as minor as being asked to wait a minute or two before entering the service so as not to disturb others was probably not all that invested in the church in the first place.

We need to be less concerned about attracting the un-churched to our churches and more concerned about honoring God in them, and providing opportunity for those that love, follow, and revere God to gather together in sacred response to Him.  I am not for a moment suggesting we neglect evangelism or outreach, only that we don't misappropriate services of worship for these purposes.

My prayer for all of us is that going forward, whenever we gather for worship, that we'd do so anticipating a sacred time of responding to a Holy God.  I pray we'd respect Him and our fellow worshipers by showing up early and giving all of our attention and affection to Him, for He alone is worthy.

The Clarity of Praise

I find that in the midst of praise, there is clarity and perspective.  When the world has me stressed out, or I am anxious about things unseen, I need only to worship, to praise my God, and I experience the stress and anxiety melt away.  This does not mean that the act of praising God causes Him to resolve your stressful situations, answer our questions, or reveal the future, though He certainly could if He chose.  Rather, I experience the clarity and perspective needed to understand that these uncertainties simply do not matter or carry any weight or power when compared to the certainties of God's sovereignty and His love. How can I allow any worry to take control when I know that God is God (Isaiah 45:22), He is good (Psalm 119:68),  and He loves me (John 4:19)?

I believe that praise helps us gain this clarity and perspective so quickly because God Himself dwells in our praises in a very real and completely mysterious way.  Psalm 22:3 tells us that God is "...enthroned upon the praises of His people." The King James states that God "inhabits"our praises.  When we praise, we enter in to God's dwelling place.

It is in the midst of unhindered praise that we are the most intimate with the Savior we know and long to know more.  The Apostle Paul understood that compared to knowing Christ, all else pales:

Philippians 3:8

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.

Followers of Jesus Christ are indwelt by the very Spirit of God, and I believe that when we praise God, we provide an outlet for the Spirit, shifting our focus away from ourselves (for once) and on to God and His presence, to the exclusion of all worldly distractions.  The realities of God's sovereignty and love are so poignant and tangible in those moments that they outshine and overpower the fears of the flesh.

The words of the old hymn resonate with truth:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of earth shall grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace.