Living A Life Of Worship

If you were to ask 10 different people for their definition of worship you'd get 15 different answers.

John Piper made a statement which sheds a revealing light on the subject of worship. Piper doesn't begin with the word worship in his assertion, but by the end of the first sentence I immediately understood what he was talking about.

It's not so much a definition of worship as it is an observation of the conflict we find as we approach worship and endeavor to do so in Spirit and truth. Here's what he said: "There are two great passions in the universe: God's passion to be glorified and man's passion to be satisfied."

As I digested the sentence I began to read on: "These two [God's passion to be glorified and man's passion to be satisfied] do not need to conflict. They can come to simultaneous fulfillment through worship, because God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him alone."

Leaving the sanctuary satisfied is not a guarantee that God has been glorified. Unfortunately, for too many worshipers satisfaction is found in singing the types of songs they prefer, hearing the style of preaching they like, and gettin' their praise on in the way that is most comfortable to them. In commenting on people's penchant for gravitating to what feels familiar and agreeable, the Dad of a friend of mine said this: "There's a church for everybody."

I'd like to use the next few posts to stimulate a dialogue about the dynamics of worship, both corporate and personal. It's my prayer that for each of us, our worship will begin to focus more and more on His passion to be glorified, and that we will find our satisfaction in His glorification. Stay tuned.

Knowing God

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country." God also said to Moses, "I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. Exodus 6:1-3 NIV

He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel Psalm 103:7 NIV

In the first passage above we see that the patriarchs knew God as a covenant maker. But God was about to reveal Himself to the next generation as a covenant keeper. The difference between the dynamics is earth shakin'. It's one thing to know that God "can" do something, it's another thing to see Him do it. That's how I want to experience God. But more than by experience, I want to know Him by relationship. That's what the 2nd passage is about.

The people of Israel had seen the hand of God. They knew Him by His deeds. I love it when I can see God's hand at work in my life and the lives of others. But I want more. Moses not only saw His acts. To Moses, God revealed His ways. That's relationship. Moses knew God's modus operandi. My prayer is that we will look past God's hand and into His face. Just a thought...

Cheap Grace

During some study time today I was reacquainted with this quote and it provoked some serious thought: Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

The part that particularly grabbed me today was the idea of grace without discipleship. The Biblical price of discipleship is one that a lot of folks don't want to pay. being accountable has been equated with being vulnerable, and who wants that? Anyway, just passing it on ...

Monday

I start my day at about 5am. No matter what time I go to bed, I ususally wake up at about 5am. I like mornings because it's quiet and I can get a lot done.

I spend some time letting God speak to me then get about sending out a daily email to my church family and friends which I call "For your consideration."

Yesterday's message at church was about "Small Prayers." Taken from the book of Ruth, it was about how many of our prayers are short-sighted. God, who sees the big picture, wants to do the "exceedingly, abundantly, more" than we usually ask, or think for that matter. It was a great Word.

Our dance team ministers every first Sunday. They were awesome again. I absolutely love to see them worshipping God like that. Worship. That's what it's all about for me.