Category: Worship

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Only Through Jesus

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36

All things are through Him. This truth encompasses so many aspects of life that it would be impossible to address them sufficiently in this format. For our purpose here, though, this would seem to mean that worship would also only be possible as enabled through God. This may seem odd to us, since many of us have always viewed worship as something we offer to God – it is from us to God. We give our praises and offerings to the Lord. We do this in response to Who God is and what God has done for us. Scripture commands us to worship God. Therefore, as a follower of Christ, worship is to be a part of our obedience and our relationship with God.

So, how is it that our worship is through God? As I have discussed in previous posts, anything we have or give to God already belongs to God. Our very lives are created and sustained by the power of His Word and through His love and care. There is nothing that we are and there is nothing we possess that is not from God. It all belongs to Him. He can give it or take it away at any time. In this sense, everything exists and is only possible through Him. That would include our worship.

How often have we heard or used phrases like the following? “We really entered into God’s presence today.” “That song really brought me into God’s presence.” “The Spirit was really present this morning.” “I did not sense the presence of the Lord today.” “We invite the Spirit (or Christ) to join us today.”

I understand, for the most part, the meaning behind these statements. Yet, if you look at these statements, and others like them, you will notice a common theme – us. All of them flow from a foundation that there is something that we do, something that someone else does, an event, the atmosphere, a performance, or some other activity which brings us into the presence of God or brings God into our midst.

The teaching of the Word is essential. Music and singing are wonderful. Prayers are meaningful. Testimonies reveal the work of God in our lives. Communion is a great time of reflection and remembrance. I could go on, listing many other things we do in worship, but none of these things bring us into the presence of God. There is only one thing, or I should say, one person, who brings us into God’s presence.

The Holy of Holies, or Most Holy Place, was the place in the Temple which was only entered once a year and then, only by the high priest in Israel. When he entered, he came with blood for the purpose of atonement for his sin and the sin of the nation. The Holy of Holies was the place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. It was the place of the special manifestation of God’s presence in Israel. No one was to come into this place except the high priest. The penalty for violation was death. The Old Testament is full of God’s commands regarding this aspect of Israel’s worship. Anything I could provide here in explanation would be an oversimplification. Needless to say, entrance into God’s presence was rare and restricted. God is holy. We are not. The unholy cannot appear before the holy God.

In the book of Hebrews, God’s unbelievable gift to us is detailed by what was accomplished through the work of Christ. Chapters 9 and 10 describe the work of Christ in paying the penalty for our sin and what resulted from His actions. Reading this should blow our minds, if we truly understand the gravity of what was done on our behalf. When Jesus died, it says he entered the holy places. Not in the earthly temple, which is only a copy, but in the heavenly temple. He came with blood, but not the blood of animals. He came with His own blood. He did not come to continue the old covenant, but to fulfill it and become the mediator of a new covenant. He entered the heavenly temple, in the presence of God Himself, to appear on our behalf. He presented the sacrifice of Himself, once and for all, never to be repeated, to put away sin, forever. (Hebrews 9:11-28)

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:19-23

Jesus, alone, brings us into the presence of God. No other human being, place, performance, or event brings us into the presence of God. Only Jesus brings us there, through His own blood, sacrificed for our sin. If we have received Christ, we have direct access to the throne room, the heavenly temple. We don’t invite God into our presence. How can the God Who is present everywhere be invited anywhere? We have been granted access to God through Christ, alone.

In reality, this takes the pressure off of us. Cleansed by the blood of Christ, we are clothed in His righteousness. In worship, we just need to draw near to God. And we can do so with confidence and assurance because we are not paving the way with our righteousness or performance. The debt is paid and the way has been paved through Christ. So, the singing was bad this week – draw near! I did not like the sermon – draw near! The sound system is feeding back, again – draw near! I don’t like this song – draw near! I yelled at my wife or kids before the service – draw near! I am so fearful in my current circumstances – draw near! I am struggling to believe God – draw near! I fell into sin, again – draw near! Draw near!

God is inviting us to draw near and He says we can do this with confidence. Coming into the presence of God has nothing to do with our righteousness, our performance, our surroundings, or our circumstance. It has everything to do with Jesus Christ, our great High Priest. As believers, we are in God’s presence, seated in heavenly places, through the work of Christ (Ephesians 2:4-7). The next time you pray, come to a worship service, or just live your everyday life, just remember that you don’t have to invite, obtain, or find the presence of God. If you are a follower of Christ, you are in His presence. Jesus has provided our access into the very throne room of God. The Father is calling. Let us draw near and worship Him.

Together for His glory…

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It Begins and Ends with Him

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?’ For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” Romans 11:33-36

When our kids were young, we would occasionally help them buy Christmas gifts for each other. We would also help them buy gifts for my wife and me. Other years, there were a lot of homemade gifts. The kids did not work and so they, of course, did not have money of their own to buy gifts or the materials to make gifts. My wife would go with them to buy gifts for me and each other. I would take them to buy gifts for her. The kids enjoyed this, I think. They were able to pick out something special for each other or for us, even though they really had no resources of their own to do so.

Throughout many of the upcoming blog entries, I will be discussing several principles which I feel are essential to worship that is biblical. These ideas do not originate with me. For one, I would hope that principles for biblical worship would be, well, biblical – grounded in Scripture. That would seem to make sense. In addition, I have had the privilege of listening to and reading the works of godly people through the years. As they search the Scriptures and seek God’s wisdom, these wise individuals have helped me grow in my understanding of worship. Or, as the case may be, grow in my understanding of how much I don’t really know. Either way, I don’t claim that these will be my original concepts or ideas on worship. I just hope to faithfully share what God has taught me.

One of the foundational principles for biblical worship is that it is to be God-centered. This may seem obvious. In theory, yes, this may be true. However, I think if we evaluated our lives of worship, we would often find that it is more self-centered than God-centered. If we consider all of the attention and money focused on preferences related to styles of worship, worship marketing, and catering worship services to appeal to certain demographics or target audiences, it would seem that God and the gospel can get lost in there somewhere. I am not saying that styles or target audiences are unimportant issues, but they are not foundational. They come further down the line in importance and should flow from a solid foundation of worship built on biblical principles.

In the story I shared at the beginning, I provided an analogy of a God-centered approach. My children were given the opportunity to buy a Christmas gift for me. However, they were using my money to buy me a gift. They received from me in order to give back to me. It was through the resources I had provided for them that they were able to offer something back to me. So, in the end, they were giving something to me that was already mine. It had never really been theirs in the first place. Yet, in the process, they were able to experience the joy of sharing and giving because of the resources I had provided to them.

Romans 11:36 is a great snapshot of this God-centered worship. From Him: He is our great provider. He is the creator of all things. All power and wisdom come from Him. All that we have belongs to God. He gives to us according to our needs. Through Him: He is the sovereign God. He is our refuge and sustainer. Christ is author and finisher of our faith. He is our mediator before the Father. He enables us to serve and worship Him. For Him: He alone is deserving of glory and praise. He is the recipient our praise and we reflect His glory back to Him through our worship.

In other words, our life of worship begins with God, is enabled by God, and is for God. He provides all that we need in order to know and worship Him. He makes our worship possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As believers, we come into His presence clothed in the righteousness of Christ. He quenches our spiritual hunger and thirst. He enables us to find in Him the greatest joy available in the universe – knowing Christ. In the succeeding blog entries, I will expand on these to try and help us get a better picture of what this means in our lives and worship. For now, let us remember that if our focus in worship is on what we can produce, that is all we will get. If our focus is on God and what He offers to us, we will receive from Him a greater and lasting joy.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” 1 Peter 1:8

Together for His glory…

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Do I Love You More Than Before?

I do not love my wife the same as I did when we were married. We have both changed over the years. Our relationship has changed. Our roles have adjusted and shifted during our years together. We are several years older. It is just not the same as it used to be.

My wife and I met when we were in middle school. I was interested in her from the first time I saw her, but we attended different school districts, so I did not see her that often. In high school, she started attending our church. We knew each other only on a surface level until later in high school, which is when we started dating. Our relationship was very serious from the beginning. Within a few months time, we had already discussed marriage. By the end of high school, we had started discussing timelines. My father, seeing where this was all going, said he wanted us to wait to get married until we had finished two years of college, which we agree to do. We set the wedding date for the weekend following finals of our sophomore year!

Our dating and engaged years had been filled with time spent together, going on dates, spending time with family, church and youth group events, and many phone conversations. The first two years of college were spent in different parts of the state, so there had been many letters, cards, and phone calls (and phone bills). This was before cell phones and email.  About every four or five weeks, I would make the drive across the state. We would spend every second possible with each other. As the wedding drew near, I started coming back every other week. I could not stay away. Then, we were married, and things began to change.

Life happened. Our first son was born. I graduated college. I attended seminary. Our second son was born. I worked in ministry. I left seminary. Our third son was born. We returned home to St. Louis. We lived with parents. I worked various jobs. We moved out on our own. Then, we lived with parents again. We moved out again. After nine moves in thirteen years, we finally lived in the same home for over fifteen years. I worked the same job for 30 years, while also working in ministry part-time. Cheryl homeschooled our children. Two of our sons went to college, graduated, got jobs. Our first grandson was born. Our oldest sons were married. And so life continued.

As I said, things in our relationship were changing during these years. You may think I mean that they changed for the worse, but that is not the case. Oh, we had, and have, periods of struggle and distance in our life and relationship together. However, as the years have passed, our relationship has grown deeper – richer. There are times of backtracking, but we have eventually been guided and worked through those things and move forward. So, today, I can honestly say that I do not love my wife the same as I did when we were married. I love her far more.

We have weathered trials, uncertainty, failings, and sorrows together. We have celebrated victories, joys, and many special moments together. I have seen her giftedness, compassion, and giving spirit displayed on a level that I could only hope to duplicate. She has endured with me when I am at my best and when I am at my worst. She knows me better than any other human being on this planet, and she loves me anyway. I can be a royal pain to live with. I have a personality that can be annoying and flat out depressing. I have a tone (so I have been told) that can come across as very critical, especially with those I am the most comfortable with. Cheryl sees more of this than anyone. Yet, she still loves me and puts up with me.

Our love for each other is great, but it is limited and imperfect. There is a love far greater – a perfect love that surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:14-19).  In Philippians 3:1-11, the apostle Paul speaks of the exceeding greatness of knowing Christ and that there is nothing else in life that can even compare with it. Jesus Christ bore the punishment and shame that belonged to us. He took upon Himself the judgment of the Father for my sin and your sin – the sin of every human being that has lived, is living, and will ever live. He also bore the pain of our sorrows and suffering – every evil that is the result of sin (Isaiah 53:4-6). The weight of it all was placed on Him on the cross. Just the sorrow and weight of anticipation of the cross was almost enough to kill Jesus (Matthew 26:36). Any sin we have sinned and any pain or sorrow we have suffered – Christ bore them all. He endured it all for the glory of the Father and to provide our redemption. He died to save us and set us free.

So, the question I ask myself is how well do I know Jesus today? Do I love Him more than when I first started on my journey with Him? Have I taken advantage of the time I have been given to grow in knowledge of Who He is and what He has done in my life? Can I say, with the apostle Paul, that I consider everything else a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ? That is pretty tough stuff. That is a pretty high standard and regardless of how I answer this question right now, it also provides motivation for me to continue the journey. Because what Paul is saying is that I will find no greater joy and satisfaction in life than through knowing and following Christ. It is to my advantage, as a follower of Christ, to pursue Him. And the more I know of Christ, the more I will love Him and want to become more like Him. Christ, working and dwelling in me, will transform me.

I love my wife more now because of the journey we have traveled together and because she knows me even better than at the start, and yet still loves me. That makes her more precious to me. Jesus Christ knows everything about me and, in love, drew me to Himself so that I would reach out my hand to Him. He saved me and is renewing me daily into His image. He never grows in knowledge of me. He knew me completely before I was born, and loved me still. I, however, can grow in knowledge of Him through His Word and His work in my life. And as I grow in knowledge of God’s glory and holiness, I better understand how far from that I am. I become more aware of how amazing and unbelievable the love of Christ is. I understand more clearly how hopeless I would be without Him. I am grateful for His mercy to me, a sinner. I know that I have so much more to learn, but I want to know Him better because as each page of discovery opens before my eyes, it is better than the one before. If we open our eyes, God will never cease to amaze us – every day and for all eternity.

Do I love Him more than I once did? I would like to think so. Only God really knows. I long to know and love Him more because I know that is where true joy and satisfaction is found. Let us spur one another on to a greater knowledge and love of our great Savior.

Together for His glory…

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What Do I Treasure?

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!  No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”  Matthew 6:19-24 (ESV)

Our youngest son, Caleb, was born with Down Syndrome. His birth changed the course of our lives, literally. As parents, we have learned many things through the lives of all of our sons.  We love each of them deeply and we do not love one more than any of the others. However, there is uniqueness to Caleb’s life that God has often used to demonstrate certain truths to me.

I have often wondered what life would be like in this world if everyone was as satisfied with life as Caleb. We do not have a fancy house. He does not have a large room. We don’t travel or go out to eat a lot. Yet, the majority of his life, you would think Caleb is the richest man in the world. This is not to say that he never wants something that he doesn’t have, isn’t ever disagreeable, doesn’t get upset when his schedule gets changed, or is sometimes as stubborn as a mule! These things do happen. However, most of the time, he is more satisfied with less than any person I have ever known.

Most of us would not consider grocery days a big deal. Years ago, when we had just one car, I would pick up the groceries on my way home. As I was bringing groceries into the kitchen, he would help unpack them and put them away. “Cereal!” “Cookies!” “Broccoli!” “Milk!” You would have thought it was Christmas morning from his response to every item pulled from the bags – simple enjoyment in simple things.

Caleb has his TV and ESPN. He loves to watch his sports and his favorite athletes. He will frequently listen to music, while drumming the air with sticks or playing my old guitar, while also watching sports, muted on his TV. However, he is also content to sit and draw or paint or copy the lyrics to worship songs he loves. He has endless copies of lyrics and original designs of our “dream house” and his “man-room.”

He and my wife used to clean church buildings together, where he would vacuum for several hours. He never seemed bored and looked forward to it as one of his days of the week. He delights in his birthday. As soon as one is over, he starts talking about what he wants to do on the next one. He loves to help serve at our church and has done so in many ways over the years. Someday, he says, he wants to be on the worship team.

For most of his days, Caleb is very content. He enjoys his days and looks forward each new day, doing chores and spending time with his dog and his family.  As Caleb likes to say, “This is the life.” So we did not go on a vacation this year. Instead, we sat together as a family, had popcorn and watched a movie on DVD at home. Isn’t life great? Caleb sure thinks so.

However, I find that I am frequently not so content with the life God has given to me. What does it take to satisfy my heart? Does it take reaching a certain level of income? Do I need to drive a certain kind of car? Does it require a bigger home? Does it require me to go on one or two vacations each year? Maybe material things are not what take hold of my heart. Maybe my satisfaction comes from making sure everyone knows that I am right. Does it come from receiving the approval of others? Or does it come from going to a church where they do everything just the way I like it, whether it is programs, preaching style, or music? There are so many things in life that can take hold of us and steer the course of our lives. In of themselves, there may be nothing evil about these things and many more that I did not mention. They can all be a wonderful gift from God. However, as shown in Scripture, the gifts of God can frequently become idols in our lives.

Jesus was clear. No one can serve two masters. No one. If obtaining anything else than Christ becomes the driving force in my life, then, according to Jesus, I am not serving Him. I am serving whatever that other thing is. I am worshiping it because I have valued it more than Christ. In reality, I am worshiping myself because I have placed my wants and desires above the desires of God for my life. I have placed myself on the throne. How easily and quickly this can happen in our lives. I find it to be a constant battle in my life. Instead of beholding the wonder of Christ and all that we have in Him, I become engulfed in my own self pursuits and desires. Instead of worshiping Christ and being transformed into His image, I allow myself to be satisfied by cheap substitutes, which never satisfy for long and have little or no eternal value.

Our lives are so cluttered with many things. We place so much importance on finding those things which will bring us happiness. Yet, there is a simple peace and joy that comes from being satisfied in Christ. When our gaze is fixed on Christ, everything else comes into proper focus. For then, we truly worship and our lives and priorities flow out of that worship and satisfaction. Our son, Caleb, values the simple things in life and he delights in them. Many of the trappings of life do not faze him, mostly because he does not understand them. He has the mind of a child in a man’s body. However, didn’t Jesus say to come to Him like a child? There is joy in simplicity. Simple trust. Simple life. Simple joys. Simply treasuring Christ, our Savior, and trusting Him for each moment of each day. This life is a gift. If we are in Christ, we have true life, for it is not just for our brief days on earth, but for eternity in glory with Christ. This is the life.

Together for His glory…