The word 'Truth' evokes mental images of some authoritative figure declaring they have all the understanding of God. Jesus, God in flesh stated unequivocally, "I am the Truth." If one could boast of knowing all the truth, they would have to boast of knowing all of God.
The Bible tells us that God's ways are unsearchable and beyond our comprehension. Paul writes of the depths of the riches of the knowledge of God and His ways are unfathomable. I heard on the news this morning that someone is actually trying to count the stars! I had to laugh. They haven't even found all the galaxies yet. Last I heard there were more than 90 billion galaxies with more than 90 billion stars in each galaxy! The point is, man cannot comprehend the number of stars much less count them. And while there is much of God we can know, there is so much that we will not know until we get to see Him face to face. This dark glass of humanity, prohibits the complete view.
With that said, may I turn your attention to John 4:15-24? Especially the part that says, true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth. We can easily understand that to worship in spirit means worship is more than lip service. Jesus bemoaned the fact that some make noise with their lips but their heart is far from me. Spirited worship is the kind that emanates from our souls on Tuesday as well as Sunday. Worship is a lifestyle. If we are in love with God, that fact spills from our mouths and oozes from the pores of our skin. I believe God accepts worship from those who have never even seen a bible...but reach to Him with the limited knowledge and inner tug they feel within their souls. This is 'spirit' worship. Whether in silence or at the top of your lungs, worship needs to be spirited. Know that the word spirit here is not a capital S, but a small s...meaning our human spirit. You can then stop waiting on the Holy Spirit to shake you like a ragdoll. Spirited worship is from the human spirit.
The second vital factor for a true worshiper is they must worship in truth. I want to drill down on this point. What truth exactly is the writer talking about? You know as well as I do, that every church on the street claims to preach the truth...the whole truth and nothing but the truth!!! They thump their pulpits and declare that their way is the right way and everyone else is in darkness and the rapture will settle the score! It is so pompous of man to even make such a boast. In truth, there is so little difference between brand A and brand B that it is ridiculous. Yet we draw our denominational lines and refuse to fellowship with the church down the street because they don't see it as we do. Often it is pure semantics, or the way we say things, that separates men. One says, "I'm Oneness," the other says, "I'm trinitarian" and both of them are monotheists! Both of them believe Jesus is Lord, Messiah. By majoring on minors, pretending to have the 'truth' we push one another away and forbid the answer to Christ's prayer in John 17..."That they may be one!"
Look closely at the passage in John 4. The Samaritan woman was told by Christ of her past. She made a bold proclamation, "You are a prophet!" Well, she was wrong! Jesus was not a prophet, He was the Messiah! But Jesus didn't rebuke her because she was wrong. Further, the woman tried to play the religious heritage card on Him. "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain!" Again Jesus was not rattled by her religion. He simply stated, you worship what you do not know! I have to tell you there is a bit of that involved in all of our worship. There are parts about God that I do not know....but I worship anyway. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the truth part of a true worshiper. Like the Samaritan woman, we all have our mountains. We like to express the way we were taught....the way we think it should be....the way we were explained the scripture. This to us is 'truth'. Reality says, truth is much bigger than the mountain your father's worshiped around. Truth involves admitting questions.
If you can still worship with questions...you are a true worshiper. If exalting God becomes greater than exalting your religious stance, then you are a true worshiper. If you can accept God's will for your life, even when it hurts, even when it is not convenient, even when it brings tears...then you are a true worshiper. Hebrews states, "Jacob worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff." No healing, no answered prayer, lots of pain....but true worship. Get it? The Father seeks those who worship in spirit and truth.
At last Jesus said, "There will come a day when you will not worship me in this mountain or in Jerusalem." What He was saying is, there will be a day when your personal religious mountains will fall down and we will worship God for who He is...questions and all!! When we all get to heaven, as the old hymn poses, there will be a good deal of reconciliation to be had. When the Baptist walks in beside the Pentecostal, and the Methodist enters with the Presbyterian...and suddenly we realize God was not looking to save a denomination, but to save and win for Himself a bride! The bride will be those who love their Lord and in truth admit they do not have all the answers. This is true worship.
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Cardinal's Call
Each morning there are guests at my home. They arrive daily right at daylight. I welcome them each morning and never grow weary of their company. These feathered guests are my cardinals that we feed daily. It is not uncommon to have 30 or more of them flitting about and singing their God--given song. I love cardinals. Their color, their distinct features and sounds set them apart from all other birds.
God sends them and I gladly feed them. It is part of my communication with God each day. I know that sounds funny perhaps, but God and nature are not distant in their relationship. To be involved in the creation is to be attached to the Creator. For me, interacting with these birds is one of the simple privileges of life.
From their daily flight to my door I learn faithfulness. From their need of my gift of grain, I learn dependency. From their song during bad weather, I learn the importance of worship. These lessons and many more I have learned, as these crimson colored fowl decorate my backyard and back porch day after day.
The final glimpses of the sun are about to disappear this cold evening, the first day of March 2009. But I know in the morning when I awaken, the cardinals will call and I will once again be greeted by these majestic lessons of life, born on the wings of Gods special creations.
Tim
God sends them and I gladly feed them. It is part of my communication with God each day. I know that sounds funny perhaps, but God and nature are not distant in their relationship. To be involved in the creation is to be attached to the Creator. For me, interacting with these birds is one of the simple privileges of life.
From their daily flight to my door I learn faithfulness. From their need of my gift of grain, I learn dependency. From their song during bad weather, I learn the importance of worship. These lessons and many more I have learned, as these crimson colored fowl decorate my backyard and back porch day after day.
The final glimpses of the sun are about to disappear this cold evening, the first day of March 2009. But I know in the morning when I awaken, the cardinals will call and I will once again be greeted by these majestic lessons of life, born on the wings of Gods special creations.
Tim
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Christmas...Where Shepherds and Wisemen meet.
I enjoy Christmas. The older I get the more I enjoy watching others, especially the youngsters, enjoy it. For me, Christmas pleasure comes from being with my family and friends. Oh, and...I really love to eat the sweets too! Togetherness is the essence of Christmas.
The story of Christmas, it occurred to me, has much to do with bringing people together. No where is that more evident than the two groups who attended the nativity...wisemen and shepherds. Just their differences of culture could have been a major distraction. Think of it!
Historians say the wisemen traveled as much as two years to find the babe. They were obviously studied men. They knew the signs in the heavens...astronomers we call them today. Wisemen were called such because they were indeed wise. Without a doubt they knew the prophecies of the Old Bible. Dare I say any who will become a student of the Word can be classified as wise.
These were also men of means. It must have taken much money and provision to sustain them on their journey. Their gifts bore witness to their financial standing. To have gold, frankensince and myrr for gifts is more impressive than a tennis bracelet and a rolex watch!
Juxtaposed against the contrast of wealth is the humble shepherd. Shepherds were outdoorsmen, men who drifted from pasture to pasture, slept in tents and cooked over a campfire. Their skin was weathered, their whiskers were no doubt long and wooly. They smelled of smoke and had rough hands and breath. Their call to find baby Jesus was an instantaneous thing, much different than the pre-arranged trip of wisemen.
This brings me to a couple of points for your consideration. It doesn't matter how you get to Christ, just so you get there. Some have come from afar. They heard the Word, felt the pull, studied, took time, planned, calculated and finally arrived. Others had a sudden flash from the heavens and suddenly they were on their way...no planning, no nothing except desire to find the King.
Once these two sharply different cast of characters made it to Bethlehem and to the manger out behind the Inn with a "No Vacancy" sign, there was something else important. Both groups refused to be distracted by the differences of those who knelt beside them. Let me ask you a question here. Wouldn't it be great if we could get our churches to do the same? I mean, once your church becomes known by a particular classification, you suddenly eliminate others from your midst. If you are an 'uppity' church, the country folk will likely look elsewhere for worship. Or, if you are the 'Cowboy Church' the business men in your area will not have the truck and boots to fit your mold. It is my belief that the church should be the one place where business man and cowboy, high society and poor, beautiful and not so beautiful, wise and unwise, cultured and uncultured can assemble together and kneel for worship. This can be done if our focus is on the babe in the manger and not on those who may dress differently than we do.
That is what Christmas is all about! Merry Christmas.
The story of Christmas, it occurred to me, has much to do with bringing people together. No where is that more evident than the two groups who attended the nativity...wisemen and shepherds. Just their differences of culture could have been a major distraction. Think of it!
Historians say the wisemen traveled as much as two years to find the babe. They were obviously studied men. They knew the signs in the heavens...astronomers we call them today. Wisemen were called such because they were indeed wise. Without a doubt they knew the prophecies of the Old Bible. Dare I say any who will become a student of the Word can be classified as wise.
These were also men of means. It must have taken much money and provision to sustain them on their journey. Their gifts bore witness to their financial standing. To have gold, frankensince and myrr for gifts is more impressive than a tennis bracelet and a rolex watch!
Juxtaposed against the contrast of wealth is the humble shepherd. Shepherds were outdoorsmen, men who drifted from pasture to pasture, slept in tents and cooked over a campfire. Their skin was weathered, their whiskers were no doubt long and wooly. They smelled of smoke and had rough hands and breath. Their call to find baby Jesus was an instantaneous thing, much different than the pre-arranged trip of wisemen.
This brings me to a couple of points for your consideration. It doesn't matter how you get to Christ, just so you get there. Some have come from afar. They heard the Word, felt the pull, studied, took time, planned, calculated and finally arrived. Others had a sudden flash from the heavens and suddenly they were on their way...no planning, no nothing except desire to find the King.
Once these two sharply different cast of characters made it to Bethlehem and to the manger out behind the Inn with a "No Vacancy" sign, there was something else important. Both groups refused to be distracted by the differences of those who knelt beside them. Let me ask you a question here. Wouldn't it be great if we could get our churches to do the same? I mean, once your church becomes known by a particular classification, you suddenly eliminate others from your midst. If you are an 'uppity' church, the country folk will likely look elsewhere for worship. Or, if you are the 'Cowboy Church' the business men in your area will not have the truck and boots to fit your mold. It is my belief that the church should be the one place where business man and cowboy, high society and poor, beautiful and not so beautiful, wise and unwise, cultured and uncultured can assemble together and kneel for worship. This can be done if our focus is on the babe in the manger and not on those who may dress differently than we do.
That is what Christmas is all about! Merry Christmas.
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