“With All Thy Might”

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5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

 7 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.

 9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

 10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:5-10).

What kind of worship does God deserve from us? There are widely varied ideas in our brotherhood today about worship styles. Should we stick with what got us this far? Should we sing from the book or from the screen? Should we continue to allow the preacher to deliver 45 minute sermons or do we expect him to whittle it down to 20 minutes so we can beat the Baptists to Chili’s? Should we add a praise team to “spice up” the singing? Should we clap/shout/raise hands during the songs? Should we kneel when we pray? Should we maintain theatre seating or rearrange the seating so we can see people as we speak and admonish one another in song?

When I read the example of a worship assembly in Israel, I see reverence, humility, submission, emotion and joyful celebration. I hear shouting and praising and praying. And I wonder if we worship God similarly or have we reduced it down to a formula?

By the way, if you read further in Nehemiah 8, you’ll find that their worship was every day during the feast. How many would show up if our elders asked us for 8 straight days of worship assembly?

Then in chapter 9, the people come together fasting in sackcloth with ashes on their heads for the purpose of confessing sins. “Well, you won’t catch me doing any of that! Burlap is itchy!” Everything they did had been commanded by God. And it pleased God that they obeyed Him.

What kind of worship does God deserve from us?

The “man after God’s own heart” had his own ideas about worship. I wonder what would happen if David showed up at our place on Sunday, worshiping as he did in 2 Samuel 6. Someone might ask Officer Steve to escort him out of the building. I’m probably wrong about that.

But four words jump off the page at me as I read about David’s worship—words that convict me to no end about my worship: “WITH ALL HIS MIGHT” (2 Sam. 6:14).

When was the last time I honored God by worshiping with all my might? Have I ever worshiped with all my might? Thinking about this troubles me.  See, I’m just not sure all the fuss about praise teams and seating arrangements is all that important. WHAT ABOUT MY HEART? Is my heart in it?  Am I giving Him my all? Am I worshiping “with all my might”?

God is Holy. And He is gracious and merciful and loving and just. And He sacrificed His unique Son to save me from my own sins.

What kind of worship does He deserve? 

See you Sunday for the weekly assembly. Please bring with you ALL YOUR MIGHT.

“Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” Deuteronomy 6:5 KJV).

When is your time?

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John seemed to emphasize the fact that Jesus was on a pre-set timetable:

  • “My hour has not yet come.” (John 2:4)
  • “His hour had not yet come.” (John 7:30)
  • “His hour had not yet come.” (John 8:20)

Finally, [probably] less than a day before the events in yesterday’s reading, Jesus told his disciples, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). In chapter 13, we read “Jesus knew that the time had come…” (John 13:1) and later (in John 17:1) that “the time has come.”

Jesus grew up knowing what his role was. He spent his ministry fulfilling that role, and when “the time came”, he did what he came to do.

What are you here to do? Do you know?

Just last Saturday was the 13th anniversary of the Columbine massacre. Michael W. Smith and Wes King wrote a song about one of the students murdered during the rampage — Cassie Bernall. The song was titled This Is Your Time. He sang, “This was her time. She embraced the mystery of all she could be.”

In the last verse he’s more direct:

This is your time
This is your dance
Live every moment
Leave nothing to chance
Swim in the sea
Drink of the deep
Embrace the mystery of all you can be

It’s very humbling to realize that God chose you and me to do his work on earth. In a very real sense, if we don’t do it, it won’t get done. True, there are some tasks that someone will notice need to be done, and will do it. But what about that cousin of your co-worker who’s in the hospital and feeling really depressed about the prospect of surgery? If you don’t visit her, who will? What about the off-color conversation in the breakroom? It’s easy enough to “just leave”, but if you don’t speak up, who will? A very wise man once told his younger cousin, “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

I can’t assume my “time has not yet come”. Jesus had the right to do that; I don’t. I must assume my time is now, and do what needs to be done for the Lord while I still have the breath he gave me.

When is it your time? What are you waiting for?

Names of God — Jehovah-Sabaoth

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Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.”
(1 Samuel 17:45 NAS)

LORD of hosts — YHWH-Sabaoth. Easy to get that word mixed up with another common word — Sabbath — but the meaning of Sabaoth doesn’t have anything to do with the day of rest. It’s a transliteration of a Hebrew word, sometimes translated as heavenly hosts or armies.

The words of David, quoted above, explain it pretty well: the “LORD of hosts” is the same as the “God of the armies of Israel”. The name is sometimes translated “LORD Almighty”, and is closely tied to Shiloh and the ark of the covenant:

1David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. 2He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark.
(2 Samuel 6:1-2)

Although David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22, I Samuel 13:14), he made plenty of mistakes and some of his biggest ones had to do with the ark. Still, as often as we fail, and as big as we fail, the LORD of the hosts of heaven, the LORD of the armies of Israel will always fulfill his promises to us. His will be done!

Does God really know EVERYTHING?

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I’ll start with a question. Does God know absolutely everything you are ever going to do? You might say, “He is the almighty God, He knows all things”. Think of this. According to the laws of temporal physics if someone were to know without a doubt something was going to happen, then it must happen, and thus the people doing it lose free will.

By now you’re probably halfway done typing your hate mail. But hear me out. In Jeremiah 7:31 The LORD says, “They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire–something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.” 

Again in Jeremiah 19:5 God says, “They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal–something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.”

In Jeremiah 32:35 God says again, “They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, though I never commanded, nor did it enter my mind, that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.”

Three times God says that it never came into his mind they would do such a horrible thing. Now I am not saying that God cannot tell what Mr. Chuck is going to wear on Sunday. (To quote Paul) “BY NO MEANS”. He can do anything, but that also means that He can choose to not see everything if He wants to. He didn’t want automatons; He wanted creatures He could have a relationship with, not mindless servant drones. So He decided to humble himself and give us free will and not use His power to control our future, and let us control our future. 

Does that sound familiar? Philippians 2:8 “And being found in appearance as a man, he (key phrase) humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!”

Wow! We always think of Him humbling Himself by becoming man to save us, but He also humbled Himself by giving us control over our future. Always remember God loves you and humbled Himself for you. He gave you control of your future, use it to glorify Him with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind, and love one another as yourself.

I know this might have been a little long, but this is the first article I have ever written and I am willing for any advice or comments from readers. 

Many thanks to Patrick Mead at Eastside Church of Christ for inspiring me to write this article.

“I’m the King of the World!”

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You probably know, last Sunday was the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. As legend has it, one Sylvia Caldwell was somewhat apprehensive boarding the ocean liner and asked one of the White Star deck hands if the ship was unsinkable. He replied, “Not even God could sink her.”

Legend also states that the same deckhand expired in the tragedy—so much for famous last words.

James Cameron also saw this as an opportune time to re-release his mega-blockbuster motion picture “Titanic” … this time in 3-D! I hear it did quite well, raking in another gazillion dollars.

One of the more memorable scenes in the movie is when Jack (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) stands at the front of the boat, raises his hands to the sky and declares, “I’m the King of the World!” 

Our world is full of hubris, isn’t it? Hollywood celebrities, politicians, rock stars, radio stars, athletes—many of whom have egos so big you wonder how they get their heads through doorways.

And dare I say it?—preachers who go on national television or preach to local congregations claiming to be so in touch with God that they regularly receive revelations from above. “God told me just this week to build a university bearing my name!” Wow!

I hear stories of preachers who show up in church just minutes before their sermons, led by an entourage of bodyguards.

In our Sunday night sermon this week, Paul is going to remind us, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”

James tells us, “Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.”

Brad Paisley is one country singer who hasn’t let success go to his head. He even wrote a song about being a celebrity. One of the more humorous lyrics says,

Can’t wait to date a supermodel,

Can’t wait to sue my Dad.

Can’t wait to wreck a Ferrari,
On my way to rehab.
‘Cause when you’re a celebrity, it’s adios reality.
You can act just like a fool;
People think you’re cool just ’cause you’re on TV.
I can throw a major fit,
When my latte isn’t just how I like it.
When they say I’ve gone insane,
I’ll blame it on the pain,
And the pressures that go with bein’ a celebrity.

A lot of people in our culture today really do believe that the sun rises and sets on them—that they are the center of their universe.

Sunday morning, we are going to revisit many of the people who have surrounded David in the first 30 years of his life—people who had high opinions of themselves (remember the fool, Nabal?) and even people who were very sure they knew the will of Almighty God … and then it turns out they didn’t.

David isn’t the “man after God’s own heart” because he does everything right. David is “a man after God’s own heart” because of the direction of the life he is living.

David’s life is an example of what it means to live with God at the very center of your existence. 

As Christians, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant (Phil. 2:6-7).

Jesus lived His life in full submission to the Father in Heaven. God was at the center of His existence. Everything revolved around God. And because of this, God the Father exalted Jesus to the highest place, that at the mere mention of His name every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father (Phil. 2:9-11).

Sorry, Leo. 

All hail King Jesus! He is Lord of all!

What do you see when you look?

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“What do you see when you look?” I like to ask babies what they see. I know they cannot answer yet, but I always wonder what they see that I do not. I have a set of rules and filters that tell me what things are, where I am, and how to interpret the world around me. Babies see things for the first time. They learn, well or not, from parents and others what to call this or that, to fear, not fear, uses, touch, do not touch. eyechart

The gospel of John, often called the “Gospel of Belief” — and rightly so — provides intimate pictures of one person at a time encountering Jesus. A man never gifted, or burdened as it may be, with the filters of what this is or who that is sees the world for the first time. That the man never seeing a thing in his life knows what he sees provides us an amazingly taken-for-granted aspect of this miracle. With the eyes of Jesus, the “I once was blind but now I see” fellow sees his way on spiritual roads that others miss. At one point he finds the courage of his newly found sight to invite the enemies of his Master to come on board, “You do not want to become His disciples, too, do you?” (Jn. 9:27 NAS). Then he lectures the learned on learning, on seeing. As Jesus notes later, their blindness of heart stops their souls from being washed in a way that would surpass the washing of mud from the blind man’s eyes. 

What do I see when I look? Do I see the world as my Lord sees the world? A place of wondrous beauty mixed with unspeakable chaos and evil lies before me, Rom. 8:19. Am I able to see the anxious souls awaiting resurrection, and the horrific sight of the walking dead? Do I see the path away from temptation and a path to walk in the light? Do I see the world around me as it exists, yet in a flow and flux of age and destiny, as my Master sees? Do I see my family and friends, my coworkers as souls on the journey to eternity? Do I find the blessing in what appears to be adversity… there’s a tough one. 

We can come more closely to seeing what our Master sees when we look with His eyes, understand with His mind, and react with His heart. 1 Corinthians 2:9-16, Rom. 12:1-2

What do you see when you look? Eph. 1:18

Names of God – Jehovah-Rohi

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1The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:1-3)

Sheep aren’t very intelligent. In fact, I’ve heard that sheep are about the stupidest animals around. Now we could take offense at being compared with stupid animals, but clearly that’s not the point. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, laid down His life for His sheep – us (John 10:14-15).

A sheep may be stupid, but a sheep knows the voice of his master, and will follow only his master’s voice. A sheep sometimes wanders off, thinking he knows his own way, and has to be rescued by his shepherd.

As we begin another Lord’s Day today, let’s be attuned to our Master’s voice, and be ready and willing to follow.

Cabin Fever

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log cabinHave you ever been around people so long that you got sick of them? My mother used to say, “Three days is long enough to visit. Any longer and you get sick of ‘em.”

I think she’s right. One summer when I was a kid, we took a 10-day vacation with another family to the mountains of Ruidoso, NM. We were good friends with this family. And the first few days of hiking and fishing were great! But by the end of the vacation, we were all at each other’s throats. 

We couldn’t agree on activities. We couldn’t agree on what to eat. We couldn’t agree on where to go or which road to take. We were all miserable! At the end, we couldn’t get home fast enough!

Sometimes, we get that way in our churches. We fuss and fight, gossip and quarrel. We can’t agree on where to go or even which road to take. And all too often, we forget why we’re on the journey in the first place. We lose sight of our goal and settle for trying to just keep everybody happy.

Let me remind you of Jesus’ last words:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20).

I wonder sometimes if we have simply forgotten about the call to “make disciples.”

Like the apostles, we, too, are empowered by the authority of the Son of God. We, too, have His words and His Spirit!

So here is a three-point reminder of Jesus’ call to us:

  • Reach out to all peoples, nations and cultures
  • Baptize everyone in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
  • Train the followers, old and new, to obey what He taught

A lot of us pay lip service to His call, but then we get caught up in “churchland” … with all of its muss and fuss. In the end, we find ourselves acting much like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day.

Some have tried to tailor Jesus’ commission into a church mission statement or a personal vision only to be met with obstacles and complaints —

  • “Isn’t the Bible enough, why do we need something else?” (I was hearing this one back in the 1960’s about Jule Miller filmstrips!)
  • “Don’t forget about keeping our folks happy, too!”
  • “Door-knocking just doesn’t work!”
  • “Shouldn’t we just let our lives speak for Jesus?” (The problem is our lives aren’t much different from anybody else’s.)
  • “Do we really want those people in our church?”

Clearly, our defining call must be grounded in Scripture and the will of God with Jesus as our Lord. Yes, we must care for Jesus’ sheep—binding up the hurting and caring for the wounded.

But folks, the influence of Christianity in our culture is shrinking. There is virtually no difference between the morals and lifestyles of those claiming to be Christians and those who are not. Titus 2:14 and 1 Peter 2:9 say we are to be “special” or “peculiar” compared to the rest of the world. Are we?

Have we forgotten why we are on the journey?

Paul writes these words to the new believers in Colossae, “God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end, I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me” (Col. 1:27-29).

Compare Paul’s words with those of Jesus in Matthew 28. They’re really the same words, aren’t they? They are Paul’s personal mission statement—his vision of what he must do to fulfill Jesus’ call in his life.

What about you? What’s your mission? Is it to keep the “change agents” out of the church? Is it to complain about the elders? Is it to bash the preacher or Bible class teacher or gossip about other members?

More than worrying about what your church should be doing, what should you be doing? How are you going to be Jesus to the people inside your sphere of influence?

Please prayerfully take some time to write out your own personal mission statement. Write it down, put it in your wallet or in your purse or on your mirror, and go live it.

Church, we’ve spent enough time under the influence of cabin fever—going nowhere while getting on each other’s nerves. Jesus’ last words are a call to make our lives matter to a world that desperately needs Him.

This Lord’s Day, our eldership will be presenting us with some new challenges as we march faithfully toward being the church God intends for us to be. We can fold our arms and complain. Or we can get down on our knees, say a prayer and then point someone in the direction of Jesus.

Which of these glorifies God?

See you Sunday.

“Full of grace and truth”

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And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

We know that verse. You may even know where in scripture to find it. I hope you do, but in case you don’t, it’s from last Thursday’s reading, John 1. Verse 14.

The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. That’s the part we know and love and quote. The only begotten from the Father. We get that too. (John 3:16, anyone?)

What about the ending of the verse – full of grace and truth. What does that even mean? I’m sure if we thought about it long enough to write down our answer, we’d all probably come up with similar responses. “Grace” means “gift”, “every good & perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17), and Jesus is truth (John 14:6), so it isn’t surprising at all that such a description would apply to Jesus.

I believe that’s a good start, but why exactly did the Holy Spirit inspire the disciple Jesus loved to put that description at exactly this spot in his gospel?

If we read further, I believe we’ll have a better understanding:

16For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17 NASB)

Wow. “His fullness”. The NIV translators used the phrase “the fullness of His grace”. “Grace upon grace” (NASB) and “one blessing after another” (NIV). I get the impression John was trying to make a point. We are indeed saved by the grace of God our Father (Acts 15:11, Ephesians 2:8), which grace he offered in Person.

Moses was the deliverer of the law. Not much grace there, was there? There was a hint of grace here and there in the Prophets, and certainly God’s Word has always been truth, but finally “grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ”.

Hallelujah!

Yes, in fact the truth has set me free! (John 8:32)

Do you feel free – freed from the sin that weighs you down (Hebrews 12:1)? If not, perhaps you don’t truly know the grace upon grace that is offered to all (Titus 2:11).

Names of God – Jehovah-Rapha

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25Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. 26He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.” (Exodus 15:25-26)

God showed plenty of times that He could heal. Jesus – God With Us – also showed Himself to be Jehovah-Rapha, God Who Heals. In fact, as many times as He showed His power over physical sickness, He declared His reason for coming was to effect our spiritual healing (Luke 5:31-32). He healed the physically sick, the lame, and those who were blind, but He showed His power over spiritual sickness and death by offering us spiritual healing, wholeness, and sight.

He is still the Great Physician, even today. Let’s thank Him now for bringing us the life in Him that we so desperately needed.