Understanding Fear & Finding Knowledge

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

- Proverbs 2:1-5

So it comes down to this...

If -- then. Cause and effect. It's not so difficult. But it is.

There's a song...

Lord, You are more precious than silver
Lord, You are more costly than gold
Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds
And nothing I desire compares with You.

Make it so, Lord...make it so!

Selah.

All Fall Down

Humility and brokenness are interesting things.

You can bow willingly under the mighty hand of God in this life in preparation for the next. This is the scriptural prerequisite for living a blessed and full life.

Or, you can be broken by sin and disobedience, get slammed by the judgment of a holy God and this fallen world. Ouch.

One way or another, we will all fall down.

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

- James 4:1-10

Adulterous people...Is that really too harsh for us?

Not when you consider that marital infidelity and adultery is running rampant in the church. I just heard of another pastor that has been carrying on...wink, wink -- nudge, nudge. Lovely wife and family and still he felt the need to "fool around." But the cat's been let out of the bag and the weeping and sorrow is filtering through our community. If it was just his family that's been defiled -- that's bad enough. But it's an entire church congregation. That trusted him. Trusted he was rightly dividing the Word, rather than dividing his affections.

Don't worry... I am well aware of my own propensity to drift and wander. God help me to stay the course, to honor my wife and family, to be committed to my vows, even if I'm the only one who has the nerve to hold on.

(BTW, I know I'm not the ONLY one. But we are beginning to look more like a remnant than a strong army of warriors.)

And it's not just adultery that we're facing. It's idolatry, gluttony, lukewarmness, pride, lust, greed, etc. All are traps. All are possibilities. All are sin.

We will all fall down. Choose you this day when your humbling will occur. Do it today!

Selah.

You've Got To Be Kidding...

"I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image. "

- Stephen Hawking




This quote from the one of the most brilliant people on the planet appeared on my homepage this morning. I had to read it twice to make sure I was understanding what Mr. Hawking was suggesting... What is he thinking?

I feel sorry for this genius trapped in a humbled, broken body. His halting vocal communications via computer are equally fascinating and painful to behold. He has a view of the universe that makes most mere mortals shrink back to the rudiments of simple arithmetic and basic syllogisms. His writings really do reflect the magnificence of the Creator that he is too intelligent to believe in. Yep! He's an atheist.

Yet, even this quote reflects a certain longing for a Creator/creature type of worldview. A computer virus -- life? Even a common virus -- Is it life worthy of dignity and redemption?

I'm pulling out two books to re-read during the holiday break. The first is "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. I know, I know... why read a horror story during the holiday season? If you've never read it, then I challenge you to pick it up and discover that the true horror of this story is theological in nature -- a creature trying to be reconciled with it's creator. Sound familiar?

The second is an older and more difficult tome to find from R.C. Sproul entitled "In Search Of Dignity." Sproul is a theologian and writes about the human condition from a more reformed theological perspective, BUT it is a powerful treatise on why life is so precious, unique, God-created, and worthy of dignity.

If you haven't ever read them, I encourage you to give them a go. If you have trouble finding them, the links below will get you there.

Lord, help us to stay far away from the description of man in Romans 1:22 -- "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools."

Selah.

Great Book

Understanding the paradigm of worship is one of the greatest challenges for a worship leader. Sure we can read and pray and sing the Psalms. Good stuff, straight from the heart of the Father.

But sometimes we need a little jumpstart to help us break out of our modern sophistication and into the quietness of God's still, small voice.

This book is fantastic and I would recommend you buy one for yourself and one for a worshipping friend. Christmas present material...most definitely.



Selah.

Remove The Mask

Till we show faces we never will notice
The hidden traces of glory within us
Remove the mask that is hiding the unity
Begin the task of revealing the mystery

Till we are quiet we never will harken
The subtle accents that make up the spectrum
Remove the mask that is hiding the unity
Begin the task of revealing the mystery

Till we are humble we never will learn from
The times we stumble because we are human
Till we show mercy we will not trust justice
Till we can cry we do not deserve laughter

Remove the mask that is hiding the unity
Begin the task of revealing the mystery

Remove the mask...

Lyrics by Jeff Johnson from his album "ICONS" (based on, in part, C.S. Lewis' "Till We Have Faces").

Are you hiding behind a mask today? Did you awaken and face another day, another week, another trial, another bill to pay, another hurt, another mountain, etc. and take your mask out of the drawer, off the counter, out of the closet -- and begin again to hide who you really are.

Before you jump to conclusions about the "what" behind the motivation of this post, look at yourself. Did you worship God yesterday? Did you do with ALL your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Did you put your ALL on the altar? Did live up to Rev. 12:11 -- "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death?"

Remove your mask. Don't try and save face. Be who God created you to be -- NOW!

BTW, if you have reasons to hide (i.e. sin, duplicitous living, deception, etc.), take a few moments to look in the mirror (sans mask) and make those things right. It is time to gird up for untainted service to the King.

Selah.


Comments are always welcome.

Silenced Again

What were we thinking? Could South Dakota actually ban abortion by a popular vote of the people? Could South Dakota serve as the benchmark law to bring down Roe-v-Wade and allow the unborn to once again LIVE in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Yesterday's vote told us "NO." Unfortunately it was actually a vote of "YES." Yes to Molech, the pagan god of child sacrifice. Yes to selfish, wanton, licentious, immoral, hedonistic living which results in "unplanned" pregnancies and the inconvenience of a baby. So much for the concept of "live, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" when it comes to the unborn.

Yet, my heart is stirred to praise God. He hears the silent cries of the nearly 50 million babies that have been destroyed since 1973. He knows each one and He is not defeated. His people, of which this generation is missing millions of those silenced voices, will still praise Him and stand before Him in intercession.

Will you stand with me?

"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him…" - Job 13:15

Links:
Bound4Life
Abort73

Obdurate

The word "obdurate" means "stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action."

Read Jeremiah 14. Here's verses 20-22...

O LORD, we acknowledge our wickedness and the guilt of our fathers; we have indeed sinned against you. For the sake of your name do not despise us; do not dishonour your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us and do not break it. Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.

Lord, hear our prayer.

How Great The Price

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” - John 12:1-8

I am struck by the idea of "great price" or "costliness" of worship communicated in this account from the Gospel of John. Mary (the same who sat at the feet of Jesus while Martha fussed about dinner preparations in Luke 10:38-42) knew that this act of worship would be misconstrued and would appear controversial. But she also knew how great was the love of God for her as expressed by Jesus, God's only begotten Son. What are the things in this present age that would carry the same or greater value as "a pint of pure nard" did during the time of Christ? Is it your time, or your money, or your possessions, or something else?

Clearly, Judas had value in shekels or denarii on his mind. "Sell the perfume and let's use it to feed the poor (and suppliment my retirement fund)." Judas' motives would be suspect due to history's record of his true colors. But what about the "Judas" in us? What about the "Martha" in us? How do we "judge" value and worth when it comes to someone else's offering of worship to God? Do we say, "They don't sing very well, or they don't give enough, or they are always taking handouts, or they're never grateful for their many blessings."

Take a moment to consider the great price Jesus paid for your sins, the agony He bore on himself to restore your relationship with His Father, the continuous intercession He is making on your behalf right now, at the right hand of the Father entrhoned on high. You are His precious child, His priceless treasure, His favorite one. What can you give Him in return?

Start with your full devotion, your unfettered worship, and obedience that is without condition. If your sacrifice of praise makes you look a little foolish or even provokes murmurs and whispers, keep your focus on the face of God and doing the things that will being Him the greatest joy. Seek only His approval and your offering will be acceptable to Him Who is worthy.

Worship Jesus!