Boredom and Little Foxes

A man begins dying at the moment of his birth. Most people live in denial of Death’s patient courtship until, late in life and deep in sickness, they become aware of him sitting bedside.

Eventually, Mitchell Rafferty would be able to cite the minute that he began to recognize the inevitability of his death: Monday, May 14, 11:23 in the morning – three weeks short of his twenty-eighth birthday.
Until then, he had rarely though of dying. A born optimist, charmed by nature’s beauty and amused by humanity, he had no cause or inclination to wonder when and how his mortality would be proven.
When the call came, he was down on his knees.

Dean Koontz

“The Husband”

A strong opening to a story is of utmost importance; that is what I am told. I let Dean Koontz take care of the beginning of this essay for me. Nobody does it better than Koontz.
If you get to know me, you quickly realize I love to read ... mostly fiction. I have often read stories that stirred within me the desire to do something more, something bigger than what I was currently doing. I felt inspired to (cliche moment) "be all I could be."
Obviously, as a Christian, I recognize I can only be the ultimate me when "the life I now live, I live through the power of Christ within me." (Spending more time in the pages of scripture would propel that transportation more effectively.)
Like most people, my actions don't always measure up to the "full stature of Christ." His is the example to follow, and I am meandering down other trails.
The word of God gives clear instruction and inspiration, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, about how to behave as I ought. Many sermons and lessons taught at church remind me of how I should
live and stir inside me the desire to live that way.
And yet I fail. I am tempted and I fail to resist and flee temptation. I act as if sin still had chains on my feet and hands and the power of God did not reside within my by His Spirit to make me free from the bondage of sin and death.
Like many others, I wonder why that is. How do I keep getting sidetracked? Why am I not consistently walking and talking like Jesus?
Why does that "WWJD" wrist band (if I wore one) become more a painful reminder of what I am not (experientially) than a sure light guiding my path and illuminating my footsteps?
One insight into the problem is highlighted in an integral difference between fiction and reality. The most inspirational "story" ... even as it attempts to portray the endurance and patience needed to live ... cannot accurately reflect the mundanity of life. Nobody would read a story that told every detail of every moment!
Fiction is entertainment, an escape from reality, even when it attempts to present a truth and represent real life.
Stories are told in bigger than real bites. They are played out in scenes, not moments (except for momentary emphasis). When I make major mistakes ... when I sin "big time" ... I have almost without fail made multiple small steps in the wrong direction, showing a lack of the endurance it truly takes to live righteously. The big scene in which I sin is always a direct result of those boring moments when I failed to keep my eyes on Christ.
Sins rarely stand alone; they are supported by the foundation of little failures to listen to Holy Spirit. I have forgone anointing to follow after temptations of the flesh. “Small foxes” have begun to spoil the vine, and the fruit is obvious misdeeds.
Paul, the apostle, tried to remind me to “run the race with patience.” He wrote that I would “reap” the blessings of God if I “faint not.”
I have too often forgotten that each tiny moment is actually a big scene in my story. Failure to live it that way is what leads to my ultimate realization that I have walked away from God; I’m no longer intimate with Him. He is saddened by my absence from His side.
I feel Godly sorrow, too, when I choose to repent and draw near to Him. Otherwise, I soon begin a new pattern of moment-by-moment ignoring God.

When Jesus talked about the issue, He used the image of "little foxes spoiling the vine." I, and all of us, must let His words guard hearts and minds moment-by-moment from the spoilage.

Late Start of the New Year

I have a long history of enthusiastic beginnings that lead to to nowhere.
Acknowledging the problem might be a first step, but it is not a solution. Obviously, it does not help to make excuses for the failing.
For three months, I consistently entered blogs. The new year begins, and I am in danger of ending my blogging career before it even begins. February is well-begun and this is the first time I've penned an entry .... one that is simply free form, unprepared, propelled by the realization that I don't want to fade away from the blogosphere.
I have never been a "resolutions" proponent. Making them leads to breaking them. I either do what I should do or want to do or I don't. Pledging to do something does not get it done.
Unless I am a man of my word. Like God, who always keeps His promises. His word is trustworthy. It never fails.
God had no problems with writing His resolutions. One volume 67 books long, the Bible presents a solid foundation on which my life is settled.
Of course, my personal issues with keeping pledges reveals my human failure to live like my life is on that solid foundation.
God loves me ... that means, He is doing whatever is best for me for all eternity.
My best response to His love is to love God ... to do that which honors Him and creates a great atmosphere for us to relate. God is all about relationship.
Jesus came that I might have that relationship ... FOREVER.
Being loved by God while loving Him will directly lead to me loving others ... my family (all of them), friends, acquaintances and the entire world ... as God gives me the opportunity.
Any resolutions I might make would simply be a process to living in the relationship. There are certainly practical things I must do to walk it out. I need to listen when God reveals those to me. I need to be determined to do them.
Not because I will gain any greater favor with God. But because I am so highly favored by Him that I should be willing and desirous of doing them.

Merry Christmas!

I suppose someone will read this sometime before December 25.
May this season be joyous. Let God remind you of the reason for the coming of His Son, our Savior, whose birth we celebrate - that is the best cause for joy!
May you have time to share with family. Have fun with your children. Talk to your siblings, parents and other relatives, recalling good times and reminding one another about how God "sent His only begotten Son."
I would love to think my sons, Scott and Tim, with their families, Katie and Martigan, and Kristin and Sophie, would see this ... "I love you all and pray your Christmas is wonderful."
I will talk to you (and text you) and make this more personal. Besides which, I cannot be certain you will read this.
Many of us have to truly rely on the grace of God to thoroughly celebrate. Heartache haunts us in numerous ways: we lost a loved one to death, we live far from family and have only the unsatisfying electronic media through which to communicate or sickness, poverty or some other trouble is on our heals and worming their ways into our hearts.
While we live in this world, there is no guarantee that tribulation won't touch us. As those who trust in Jesus, we have God's strength on which to rely, His joy to strengthen us, His peace to surround us and comfort us.
I believe ... and have experienced its reality ... that God's love and mercy are tangible.
He may send someone to physically be with you and provide emotional support. At the other end of the spectrum, God often reveals through His word an amazing sense of comfort.
Anyone who views me from the outside (as most of us see others around us, oblivious to what is going on inside them), may think I haven't a care in the world. It's Christmas, and I have everything one could want to make the season joyful.
I am RICHLY blessed, but I am human. I have lacks that may not be obvious but exist nonetheless.
Do I expect to have a blast this year? Yes! I could be wrong ... something could go awry. But the joy of the season is Jesus.
Secondarily, we get joy from family and friends.
And we can share happy experiences ... good worship, caroling, parties, dinner, watching "The Nativity Story,"  "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Miracle on 34th Street" (NOT "A Christmas Story") and, yes, football.
Even giving and getting gifts can be great ... if you steel yourself for the potential for disappointment when all you wanted from Christmas doesn't satisfy when you get them.
Be happy with the perfect gift ... Jesus.

I'll Take All the Stringed Instruments I Can Get!

Another strange issue that creates division (Oh! How I hate to hear of such among the children of God.) in churches is the use of instruments in the sanctuary during worship.
I have only one complaint about instruments - I don't have enough of them at our church!
I'll take any guitars, drums, horns, cymbals, etc. you want to provide. I'm out of practice in dealing with instrumental performance BUT I believe I could relearn quickly how to do it should God prompt the musicians to join in and they say, "Yes," to his call.

Some people actually are completely satisfied with a piano and or organ being the only instruments used. Some churches don't even use instrumental soundtracks, preferring using their keyboard players to accompany every part of the singing - congregational, choir, ensemble or solo.
Some people - and some churches - believe nothing but the human voice should be heard in a service. Their justification - the New Testament, they say, never mentions musical instruments in gatherings of the church AND they limit their form of worship to a New Testament guide, forgoing all the scripture in the Old Testament.
They certainly cannot dissuade the use of instrumental music in worship if they read the Old Testament, especially the Psalms. Among the seven Hebrews words that are translated "praise" in English is the word "zamar."
Zamar means "to pluck the strings of an instrument, to sing, to praise; a musical word which is largely involved with joyful expressions of music with musical instruments."

Psalm 21:13: "Be exalted O Lord, in Thine own strength, so will we sing and praise (zamar) Thy power."

To praise the Lord is a willful decision. I must decide that God is worthy of my worship and, whether I feel like it or not, I lift my voice in song, chant or shout, I lift my hands, ecstatically or in supplication, or I clap, dance or spin in joyful response to Who He is and what He has done and is doing.

Praise is also an emotional response to the character and mercy of God. If I truly understand who God is and what He does, I WILL feel joy, peace and exultation. It will erupt from deep within me in some form of praise.

I am a singer. I don't play an instrument (one of the things I regret most is never disciplining myself to learn to play something). I don't regret being a singer; I am grateful to God for the talent, the anointing and the opportunities He gives.

Yet, instrumental music more fully expresses the joy I have in the Lord than anything else. My songs are completed by the use of instruments. I am blessed by the way the instrumental arrangements enhance the vocal lines.

And I love the unadorned, a cappella sounds. Both fit in worship. Each has its place. Certainly, singing in the Spirit - the anointed harmonizing of human voices yielded in uninhibited song directed toward the Almighty - is as glorious as any praise in which I have participated!

In most worship services, I want to have any and all instruments possible available. And if sons and daughters of God who play aren't available, I'll be blessed to use soundtracks.

I'll worship in "truth" - basing instrumental use on the word of God. I'll worship in "spirit" - focusing whatever is done on glorifying and thanking God and proclaiming the salvation that is through Jesus Christ to whoever hears.

Thanksgiving Is Due the Lord

Psalm 92:1-5 (A psalm or song for the sabbath day)
It is good to give thanks to Jehovah, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to show forth Your loving-kindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night; on the ten strings, and on the harp, with sounding music on the lyre. For You, Jehovah, have made me glad with Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. O Jehovah, how great are Your works You purposes are very deep.

"It is good to give thanks ..." Translation - God is worthy of my thanks and to withhold my praise - to not have a thankful heart from which praise flows is evidence of something deeply troubling in me.
We'll deal with the obvious up front. As much as I love turkey and the trimmings (most especially, after the turkey, the pumpkin pie and whipped cream and other desserts), that is not what this season is about. It is more than a national holiday. The feasting is supposed to be about more than filling our stomachs and not worry about it because we're only going to plop onto the couches to watch the football games.
Feasting originally was intended as a celebration of God's character and what He has done for us because of Who He is. Feasting originated among people who didn't always have abundance, so they celebrated the bounty that God provided.
We now feast in a land of constant abundance ... and our feasting has become more about the pleasure in the abundance and enjoyment of the flavors and sated feelings of a lot of food.
We MUST consciously with determination remind ourselves - I must remind myself - that God is still in control. We have abundance only because He has provided it. I must remember that everyone ISN'T so blessed, and not because God loves me more. He knows who to present with abundance and who to present with lack. God alone knows which circumstance is the best for whomever in preparing them for eternity.
In lack and plenty, I can find blessings. God's goodness is in His presence and His care for me in whatever need I have. And we with plenty of food have as many and as critical needs as those who are hungry.
God is God and worthy of honor and glory.
God is just and worthy of respect and obedience.
God is merciful and worthy of praise.
God is good, and His goodness should compel us to utter thanks ... to sing our thanks ... to shout our thanks!

Get Loud and Proud of the Lord, Your God

Psalm 47:1: "O clap your hands, all ye people; shout (shabach) to God with a voice of joy (or triumph).
I tried to continue looking at the quiet side of praise and worship, but couldn't do it. Yes. I like boisterous praise. I cannot get enough of praising with a loud voice of triumph.
How fortunate for me - one of the Hebrew words for praise is "shabach" - to shout, to address in a loud tone, to command, to triumph."
The people of God don't shout enough. They act like God might be timid and easily disturbed by noise.
They haven't heard His thunder or seen His lightning if they believe He is offended by a rousing "Hallelujah" or "Glory to God!"
I repeat that those who profess Christ as their Lord should be awed by His presence, bowing at His feet and overcome by His glory. The reverent attitude of worship is also lacking in the church.
Silence or quiet, however, is not at a premium; unless the members are in the fellowship hall or spending time greeting one another, they are too willing to be quiet.
The scriptures mention often the fire of God and talk about His word burning in the bones of His followers. Worship is often pictured as smoke, the result of fire.
Modern worshippers are so worried about "wildfire" that they quench the fire of the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Like flint clapped against flint to produce a spark and ignite a flame, sanctuaries across the land need to have a "holy fire" ignited by a good, noisy dose of praise.
I have NEVER witnessed a quiet stadium filled with fans of a winning team. Fans of winning teams are usually so boisterous as to be arrogant. Have you ever been on the losing side and heard, "Sha-na-na-na, sha-na-na-na, Hey, hey, hey, goodbye!" chanted from the opposing stands?
Because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we are made triumphant over sin and death. Because He was raised from the dead, you and I live just this side of eternal life in the presence of God!
Even in life on earth, we are winners, not always having everything the way we would prefer, but able to have the attitude of conquerors as the victory of Christ is imputed to us.
Nobody has more reason to shout and express triumph than sons and daughters of the Most High God.
Practically speaking, we who are still dwelling in fleshly bodies experience sorrow, anger, bitterness and frustration. We do not always enter a time of worship feeling like praising God by singing, clapping, lifting our hands or any of the other ways of expressing worship.
Sometimes the "shout of triumph" - though not an empty noise - must be the kick start, the catalyst for our praise, with the emotions flowing from the will to praise.
The psalmist, believed to be David, said, "I will praise the Lord!" God is worthy of praise. Because of His salvation given freely to me, I have cause to do no less than praise. I can do this any time and anywhere.
I certainly should decide to - in the midst of the congregation of the Lord, and at liberty because of their love and understanding - break forth into praise as we celebrate together the goodness of the Lord.

Worship in Spirit and Truth part 1

John 4:19-24The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you shall neither worship the Father in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem.
You worship what you do not know, we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him.
God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.

The Samaritan woman was in the presence of Jesus, who alone was worthy of her worship. What was her reaction? The same sort of response we have too often - asking questions about issues that have no bearing on reality or the fact that JESUS IS HERE.
Some of us ask questions similar to hers ... they sing hymns and old gospel songs at our church, but they sing those modern choruses at (insert church name). Which is best?
Our church uses musical instruments; their church does not. They say the New Testament doesn't mention playing instruments in worship, and we're a New Testament church, so we shouldn't play instruments. Right?
Should we be ritualistic with an order of bowing and standing to worship?
Should we not plan an order of service, but rather "let the Holy Spirit guide our worship" and just do what we feel led to do?
Singing is great. You're not really going to ask me to clap or shout or dance or bow or kneel or any of that other stuff, are you?
Why can't we just be quiet and reverent? I like to come into the sanctuary and meditate without all that commotion.
I'm so bored. We sing those same old hymns; there's no cool rhythms. And how about adding some guitars, keyboards and drums. What's wrong with really rocking out? Is God afraid of noise?
Who knows if I'll ever answer all those questions or when I might do it. But Jesus set the example and, bottom line, established the standard ... the truth. He is the Truth.
Human beings get religious and figure out myriad ways to mess up the things of God.
God established worship. He is the expert to whom we must go to know how to worship. Besides establishing the various methods of worship, He revealed to us that which holds worship together and makes it WORSHIP.
"... worship in spirit and truth ..."
I'm in the flesh, so I will express my worship in a physical way. Thankfully, God wrote down acceptable methods of physically worshipping. When I'm obedient to do things His way, I'm following the Spirit and Truth.
And the acts of worship are not the totality of worship. If I am not being moved by the Spirit of God and led by the truth of scripture, I am not worshipping. I'm just making noise or performing empty religious rites.
Whatever I do ... and more than singing, playing and bowing is in play here ... I must do in the spirit, led by God, directing it to God and not concerned about "how" as much as I am that whatever is done honors God. Do my actions honor Him? Do my words glorify Him? Do my relationships with others snuggle close to my close relationship with Him?
From there, I have a great hope that, from the overflow of the heart of someone worshipping God moment-by-moment, step-by-step, there will be an eruption into song, dance and all other methods of worship as an individual and in the midst of the congregation.