Hammer on Anvil '

We were created to worship. From Cain & Abel giving the tithe of their labors to Revelation 14:7--"Fear God, and give Him glory...worship Him who made the heaven & the earth..."--the Bible is filled with references to worship. The desire to worship is so ingrained in our DNA that even if we don't know God, we will still worship something. "Burn with fire the graven images; do not covet the silver or the gold that is on it or take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it" Deut. 7:25 (paraphrased). Money, possessions, drugs, relationships, and even the desire for safety or prosperity can become objects of our worship.

When we worship the wrong things, people can see it. There is commitment-however misplaced. There is passion-we are all in. That's why it's so hard to break the hold these things can get on us.

I would be willing to bet that each of us at some point has checked out our neighbors during church. We have watched others as they sing, looked at the paper of the person next to us on the pew to see if we're on the same page. Ever notice how many frowns are in a congregation during worship? That's so ironic to me. As we stand and worship the King of kings and Lord of lords, we can't even muster a happy look! Some of the time, we may even be stifling a yawn! When we worship worldly things, we put everything we have into it, but when we worship God, we fail to give even a tithe of our energy.

Why is there such a disparity between these things? Why must we be quiet, subdued, composed--even bored--when we worship the one true God? David wasn't reserved in his worship. 2 Samuel 6:14-15 says, "And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn." Wasn't David called, "a man after God's own heart"? He had a love for God that was true, passionate, and enduring-despite his failures and sins recorded in the Bible.

The answer to the question of 'why' is in this same chapter of 2 Samuel. We find our answer in Michal, David's wife. She saw him dancing. She watched him give his whole heart and all his energy to the Lord in front of all the people. Unlike God, she did not see inside his heart. She only saw the exterior. "As the LORD’s chest entered David’s City, Saul’s daughter Michal was watching from a window. She saw King David jumping and dancing before the LORD, and she lost all respect for him." v. 16. Michal drew her own conclusions about David's motives, based solely on appearances. She even said to him, “How did Israel’s king honor himself today? By exposing himself in plain view of the female servants of his subjects like any indecent person would!”

This is the very thing that causes our reservations during worship. At times, we may even make Michal's judgement on people in our own congregation when they lift their hands, kneel at the altar, or speak out an "Amen!" or "Praise the Lord!" It's also what we fear-others looking at us, seeing our true worship and 'losing respect' for us.

Jesus tells us in Matthew that those who seek the approval of men have their reward on this earth. He tells us to do good deeds, and not call attention to ourselves. He tells us to seek God and only God during our prayers. And, as David demonstrates, He tells us to worship without reservations. Our proper response to God's goodness is told in David's response to his wife's criticism: “I was celebrating before the LORD...and I will celebrate before the LORD again! I may humiliate myself even more, and I may be humbled in my own eyes, but I will be honored by the female servants you are talking about!”

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and foremost commandment." Matthew 22: 37-38

"Let your conversation always be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Colossians 4:6

One of the summers I worked at Camp Windermere, I wrecked my bicycle and earned some scratches and a small patch of road rash. When my friend helped me to the Nurse's station she poured on peroxide twice; both times it bubbled up white. She wasn't satisfied with the peroxide and decided it would be best to pour some saline on it to help prevent infection. All I thought was, "Saline is salt-water...salt on open wound...that's supposed to hurt." My friend has a look of, "I'll enjoy watching this." Sure enough, it hurt and I got really light-headed from it, but it worked and I have a small scar to remind me of the episode.

That phrase, "pour salt on an open wound" is usually in a negative sense; as in making a situation worse or causing additional pain. Sometimes I picture the effect of salt on a slug, though there are far better uses. If you look up the history of salt, you will find that it has been used a long time. It is used for preserving meat and flavoring (imagine fries without it), and because of these it was even part of a Roman soldier's payment. Check out more here if you like.

Anyway, given the uses of salt, what did Paul mean exactly when he wrote that our speech should be "seasoned with salt?" Did he simply mean, "the truth hurts" and it will sting. My thoughts on this are a little scattered, but as I think about my own words, I wonder. How often is my speech like intentionally hurtful, like salt on a wound? I think Paul had more in mind than this so I hope you'll check again as I explore this further.

Brett

Today brings a conucopia of feelings for me. Today is the first day of school for our students. That means several things for me.

• I will have more time in the office for office-type-work.




• I will not have students around during the day.




• My phone will have a lot less activity during school hours.




• I will be missing lunch with students, and thus probably drop a few pounds.

Summer is a great time of ministry and it is always bittersweet to me when "my kids" go back to school. It has been a productive summer and I have seen much growth in many of our students. The true test of that growth happens NOW, as you return to your mission field - school.



What will you do this week to give God glory and to make Him smile today? this week? this year?
What are you planning to do this year that will bear fruit for the kingdom?

Make it your best year ever.

Be the change you wish to see in the world. Ole Gandhi was a pretty wise guy. I'm pretty done with hearing from friends or prominent pastors at some little C churches about how badly the big C church in America or around the corner or that they attended last week is doing. Duh we're sinners and put enough of us together and we're bound to mess up. So Instead of pointing out faults and failures of those around us why don't we consider just for a second our own walk. How is the life I'm living going to change the set of circumstances about me that I've allowed myself to become so angry about or worked up about? The gospel is about walking in life and while I'm not advocating accepting wrongs in the world or glazing over the sinfulness of mankind I am advocating shutting up for two seconds and putting some dad gum actions behind our words. Do you feel a sense of community at your church and if not what are some practical steps you can take and keep taking to see that change? Do you feel angry about some injustice, well first things first make sure the anger isn't rotting your insides and that Christ's love is your motivation then look for some way to contribute towards setting the situation right. If you feel hopeless about the state of America or the apathetic nature of your church, then maybe it's time to grab hold of whoever is around to join with you in prayer as often as you can, pray that town you're in up one side and down the other. The point is no matter how small or unlikely to have impact that your action may seem to be that it doesn't mean you shouldn't still do it. Radical change and personal revival begins somewhere and it's definitely not in complaining and pointing out how terrible of a job everyone else is doing. May your life exude so much fruit of the spirit that people would flock to whatever cause you're leading in and the ways that God is continuously using you. If the work is of the Lord then he'll use it and you may be fortunate enough to see the work grow from small to large. However the return on your work may not be noticeable in this life and instead maybe He just wants to see how faithful you're truly going to be in the small things here on earth. I'm not a sports guy, but Nike has their motto right. Just do it.