Change that tune!

Anxious? Feeling stressed? Stalked by sadness? Don't play into those emotions by rehearsing them, by making the song of your life a sad one! Instead, intentionally offer praise to God! Praise God! The act of praising Him is like the background music of your life. Complaining, whining, and going over all the
troubles that surround us will only deepen the sense of futility. The Bible urges a different response to hard times. "With Jesus' help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name." (Hebrews 13:15, NLT) We do not offer insincere words of thanksgiving and worship.

I've heard disciples respond to tough situations with 'praise' that sounded suspiciously like swearing in disguise! When a man hits his thumb with the hammer and yells, "Praise the Lord," that is not likely a sacrifice of praise. I think he is likely thinking "God d_____ it" even as he's mouthing praise! However, if that same man steps back and after shaking off the pain, offers sincere thanks to God for being present in the moment with him, he is learning to give God proper praise. We may not always be able to thank God for what is
happening to us or around us, but we can praise Him for who He is, for His enduring mercy and unending love.

The power of praise is multi-faceted. When we sincerely praise, we destroy the Enemy's ability to skew our point of view and we regain God's perspective on life. What seems like a mountain to us is but a molehill to Him. What seems to be a dead-end is really a door to "immeasurably more than all we ask or  imagine,"  (Ephesians 3:20, NIV) When we sincerely praise, we look away from our 'dis-ease' to His wholeness. The fact that we are uncomfortable in a situation is eclipsed by His sovereign control of our life when we worship.
When we sincerely praise, we release Divine Power into our lives. Praise is the protocol for entering into God's holy Presence. Psalm 100:4, (NLT) says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name." If you were invited to the White House to meet the President personally, the office of Protocol would brief you about how to greet the President, what to wear, where you would sit, and when you should stand. There is an accepted way of doing these things that preserves the dignity of the high office. God asks us to come to Him with thanksgiving on our lips and praise filling our hearts. It honors Him and lifts us up, too!

'But,' you might be saying, 'what if I just don't feel any sense of praise?'
Then, offer a sacrifice of praise! No, you don't have to thank Him for the situation you find yourself in. But you can thank Him that He is greater than that situation, that He knew what was coming your way and has prepared just what you need for this day, that He has gifted you with an eternal inheritance in Christ Jesus that your problems cannot steal away!

Take a break for a few moments. Begin to praise! God is pleased when we praise so offer Him words of worship today and then watch His glory flow into your situation.
_______________________

Appeasing God?

When I had teens in my house, I generally knew when they were up to something they were not supposed to be doing because they grew distant, avoiding contact with me. It wasn't that I drove them away or even that I was suspsicious. They had a guilty conscience and didn't want to be around me. Sometimes they would start to overdo 'nice,' being overly polite or helpful, which was reason to wonder - "What's up? What do we need to deal with and get out of the way?" A simple confession was sufficient to clear the air. Were there consequences for their disobedience? Yes, but the relationship was made whole, which was the highest priority.

Saul was sent to visit God's judgment on the Amalekites. The directions that Samuel delivered were clear. "Destroy everything. Don't bring any plunder home with you." The king went and his campaign was successful and he almost all that he was told. God told Samuel about Saul's disobedience and sent him to meet the returning king with a message. When they met, Saul was cheery; "As Samuel came close, Saul called out, "God's blessings on you! I accomplished God's plan to the letter!" Samuel said, "So what's this I'm hearing-this bleating of sheep, this mooing of cattle?" (1 Samuel 15:13-14, The Message) After offering several excuses for his actions, Saul heard this rebuke.

"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." (1 Samuel 15:22, NIV)

How does that speak to us? God wants to love us, to share our lives. When we fail to do what He says, our guilt creates distance from Him. We don't pray. We don't enter into worship. We don't ask Him for guidance or meditate on His goodness. Our sense of guilt makes us want to appease Him with gifts, tithes, or church attendance. In this we doubly insult His grace! First we ignore His commands, which are always in our best interest; and then we try to buy His forgiveness which is offered freely.

Are you working hard to try to pay for some sin, to ease a guilty conscience?
Are you avoiding real prayer, substituting ritual for genuine relationship with God?

Here's His promise: "If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous." (1 John 1:9-2:1, NLT) That word 'confess' is interesting in the original language of the New Testament. It is a compound word in NT Greek, homologeo- meaning, 'to say the same thing.' God desires that we agree with Him about what we have done, that we share His assessment of our actions. The result is complete forgiveness!

We are imperfect. We will fail to follow His directions completely, won't we? But, let's not fall into religiosity, trying to appease Him, attempting to buy what He offers freely to us through Christ Jesus, who is, even now, our Advocate, our Intercessor, at the Father's right hand.
_______________

Before the throne of God above,
I have a strong, a perfect plea,
A great High Priest whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands,
No tongue can bid me thence depart,
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me,
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the Risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I Am,
The King of glory and of grace,
One with Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God,
With Christ my Savior and my God.

Before The Throne Of God Above
Cook, Vikki / Bancroft, Charitie Lees
© 1997 PDI Worship (Admin. by The Copyright Company)
CCLI License No. 810055

A Critic or an Encourager?

“Why does he do that anyway? What is wrong with him?”
“Doesn’t she know that she looks silly? Someone ought to tell her the truth!”

Think of how many critical remarks we hear creep into daily conversations. We criticize our political leaders, our spiritual leaders, friends, family members, artists, musicians… everybody! Yes, I am too often guilty of being a critic of another’s actions. Tolerance is a much ballyhooed social value in 21st century America, but I’d never know it listening to many conversations that are filled with denigrating comments about the choices and actions other people.

Even Jesus’ disciples fell into the role of the critic when they saw the extravagant loving act of a woman. "Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head. The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said. “It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me?" (Matthew 26:6-10, NLT) “Celebrate her choice,” He told them. She did something different than they might have chosen to do with such a valuable item, but her motive of honoring Jesus was good.

People are amazingly different. I don’t ‘get’ why many do the things they do, but who made my way the only way? Who gave me the right to decide what is best for everyone? Of course, some choices cannot be encouraged. The Holy Scripture names sin and we cannot change God’s eternal Truth. Remember, too, that the Bible tells us that even when we are challenging sin in another we are to do so gently as we ‘speak the truth in love.’ But, honestly, wouldn’t you agree that much of what we criticize is not sinful or morally wrong but rather another’s preference?

Disciple, let’s work at being an encourager! Let’s go beyond mere tolerance to genuine appreciation of the unique people who are part of our lives. If we will listen carefully and attempt to really understand those whom God brings into our lives, we will discover more of the richness of the diversity that exists all around us. May this be especially true in Christ’s Church where we are, despite our many differences, truly one.

Here’s a word from the Word. May the Spirit use it to direct us to greater appreciation for the people that God has brought into His Body, right alongside of us. "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26-28, NKJV)

_____________

We are one in the Spirit,
We are one in the Lord,
We are one in the Spirit,
We are one in the Lord,
And we pray that all unity
May one day be restored.

And they'll know we are Christians
By our love, by our love.
Yes, they'll know we are Christians
By our love.

All praise to the Father
From whom all things come;
And all praise to
Christ Jesus, His only Son;
And all praise to
The Spirit who makes us one.

They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love

Scholtes, Peter
© 1966 F.E.L. Publications (a div. of the Lorenz Corporation)

CCLI License No. 810055

Hatred is easy

Hating is the easy way to live. It comes in many degrees, mere dislike, disdain, outright contempt, animosity, and murder! Hatred, in its various degrees, allows me to distance myself from you, to be who I want to be without regard for how it might affect you. Hatred is much more common than we think. It’s not only bombers and serial killers that show hatred. Parents who go on their way ignoring their children are haters. Husbands who refuse to engage their wives at their deepest emotional needs are haters. Those who have and choose not to see those who are without, are haters!
The Holy Spirit smacked me with real guilt recently by revealing to me that I was hating another person. I refused to believe it, at first. How could I hate anyone? I am a Christian, devoted to love. After all, I wasn’t doing anything! How could that be hatred? And it was my ‘nothing,’ that the Spirit pressed on my conscience. It was hard to acknowledge that my passivity in the relationship was a form of hatred. Love is always active. There are only two ways to live; in love, which requires working for the good and benefit of another, or hatred which can be expressed by the simple act of turning away from someone to preserve our own comfort.

Love is costly! It won’t let us walk away from that person who is hurting. It won’t let us build walls to protect our hearts from hurt. Love requires that we share our resources. It makes us move out of our revered and treasured privacy to be involved with people. Love makes us care – for the least, the lonely, the lost! Far from being merely sentimental, love is a muscular, robust choice demanding much of us. This is the kind of love which Jesus Christ said sums up “all the Law” of God. It is the very thing that marks us as His followers, for it absolutely requires a transformation of spirit, a conversion. Apart from the love of God and the life of the Spirit in us, we cannot love as He demands. Nice is not enough.

Jesus, in the 25th chapter of Matthew, says that our love will cause us to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, be hospitable to the homeless, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and take up the cause of those who are imprisoned! Nobody is marginalized by lovers.

Here is what the Word says about it. "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. … If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. … We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." (1 John 4:7-8, 15-16, 19-20, NIV)
____________


Father, Your love for me is compelling and costly.
It brought Your Son, Jesus Christ, to my side.
It made the Lord of Glory, my Advocate in Your holy Presence.
I bow my head in humble joy at the thought.

Spirit of God, convict me of hatred;
compel me to love.
Change my heart, break it even, so that
I cannot live self-righteously, selfishly, or absorbed in my own interests.
Lord, let me live in love,
Pleasing You, lifting up others, leading them to know and love You.
In Your amazing Name, I ask these things. Amen

______________________

Love divine, all love excelling,
Joy of heav'n, to earth come down!
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling;
All Thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, Thou art all compassion;
Pure, unbounded love Thou art.
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter ev'ry trembling heart.

Finish then Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation,
Perfectly restored in Thee:
Changed from glory into glory,
'Till in heaven we take our place,
'Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.

Love Divine
Wesley, Charles / Zundel, John
© Public Domain

Can I hold onto to this?

The music built to a crescendo, “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again… Celebrate His death and rising… Lift your eyes!” [Mystery, Charlie Hall] We sang the mystery of our faith and it became the high point of the Easter service. Standing on the front row I could hear the voices lifted in song and praise behind me. I could feel the emotional response. I sensed the Presence of the Spirit moving on us. For those moments, the stresses of life were eclipsed by the joy of the Lord. No wonder we call that part of the church building a ‘sanctuary.’ It was a refuge! This morning, as I prayed, I wanted to hold onto the sweetness of joyful peace which I felt in His Presence yesterday.

Is it possible to do that as we go back to work, back to the daily trials, back to dealing with traffic, computers, deadlines, bosses and budgets? Perhaps, the emotional excitement that the a day of celebration provided cannot be maintained. In that one sense, we cannot stay on the mountain top. But, God is the same on Monday as He was on Easter Sunday morning. God met us in such a sweet way, in part at least, because of our holy expectation! We came together on Resurrection Sunday with our hearts open to Him, our minds prepared to rejoice at the great news that "everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life." (1 Corinthians 15:22, NLT)

There is the key! What do we expect of this day? Are we open to the Spirit’s serendipitous arrival? Are we creating, by our prayers and faith, a holy faith that will receive His grace for this day? As much as we might appreciate the prompts of music, candles, and calls to worship; we know that God does not only speak on Sunday or live in the church. The Holy Spirit is not defined by place or holy day! He is with us everywhere. Jesus illustrates the holy connection that allows us to hold onto the joy with the vine and the branch picture. He says, “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing." (John 15:4-5, The Message) Ah, there it is!

We cannot hold onto a feeling, but we can stay connected by expectation and obedience! That connection to Him allows the Spirit to work in us, to keep us, to fill us with holy joy! This day after Easter, don’t leave Jesus at home. Don’t just slide back into the same pattern of complaining, eyes to the ground drudgery, joyless existence. Create a new pattern, focused on faith, expectant, inviting Him to go with you.

Here’s a word from the Word that is the key to holding onto the joy. "So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life." (Colossians 3:1-4, The Message)

__________________


Sweet Jesus Christ, my sanity.
Sweet Jesus Christ, my clarity.
Bread of heaven, broken for me,
Cup of salvation held up to drink.

Jesus – Mystery.

Christ has died, and
Christ is risen,
and Christ will come again!

Celebrate his death and rising!
Lift your eyes! Proclaim his coming!

Jesus – Mystery!

Mystery
Charlie Hall

SixSteps Music, Worship Together

CCLI License No. 810055