Worship

"Then the temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God. (II Chronicles 5:13b-14)"

No service, but I’m sure worship was not lost. We express worship in many ways, but this verse had me wondering when I last was brought to stillness from the overwhelming awe of Who God is. Consider: a loved one delivering a eulogy often pauses to hold back tears or a parent unable to express the grandness of their love for the sleeping newborn they rock. The moments are so real to the heart that a form of expression becomes impossible to find and so we pause. The last moment I recall not being able to find an expression other than my quiet and amazed heart for God was a few months ago when I was sitting on a dock surrounded by the night. Overwhelmed, I sat in silence and just recognized. I knew in my heart it was an amazing moment of worship and words would only cheapen my heart’s cry.

What moment has ceased your outward expression? I would love to hear the testimonies of others’ awe.

Verse for Thought

"Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place. (I Chronicles 16:27)"

Is my walk with God leaving me in awe of His splendor and majesty? I believe it’s easy to become casual in the walk and drift to numbness toward these attributes. Is my walk with God filling me with the strength and joy that are found in His presence? Unfortunately, I often create my own barriers to experiencing the fullness of these gifts. It can be a frustrating thing because I want to rest in who He is, and the only thing between them is me. It comes down to releasing my own guard and staying open and true in my walk with God. Why do we drift from the One that is essential to completing who we are? This verse simply expresses traits of God but it challenged me and I hope it challenges others.

One

If you didn’t see last night’s opening ceremony to the Olympics you really missed a well orchestrated phenomenon. All controversies of this year’s events aside, it was a stunning vision from start to finish. Everything was executed with great precision and attention to detail. The most inspiring part was the unified imagery produced by more than 15,000 synchronized individuals. Several times the words of the commentators were brought back to the producer who envisioned this masterpiece and the awe of how it was being manifested in that moment.

The message China is bringing to this year’s games,
One world. One goal.

As a Christian my mind was carried to God’s plan for the body of Christ,
One body. One message.

I have actually been thinking about the importance of God’s beautiful concept of one body for awhile now. Various readings and experiences have provoked my thinking. In a way greater than how last night’s performance captured the attention of people all over this world, a unified body of Christ would captivate our dying world. No individual in last night’s performance was repeated. A few had roles that brought more personal attention than others, but each role was significant to the full picture. It was a reminder to me of the Christian’s responsibility to live out their role, the will of God for their life. It’s not about a jealous spirit of those who appear to be more visible than us. There is a purpose to our life and the picture is so much greater than any one of us. Just as last night’s performers only had a single moment before the audience of the world, we have only one life. It is brief and it’s our one chance to live it for God. When our focus turns away from self glorification to the greater message our lives take on a meaning so much larger than our human perspectives can comprehend. We will see the picture one day in its full glory. For now we need to follow our Producer, our Creator in portraying the vision He has for mankind. It’s bigger than us, but there is a role for us.

You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.

I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge. It's all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, "I'm not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don't belong to this body," would that make it so? If Ear said, "I'm not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don't deserve a place on the head," would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.

But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn't be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, "Get lost; I don't need you"? Or, Head telling Foot, "You're fired; your job has been phased out"? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the "lower" the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it's a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn't you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?

The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

You are Christ's body—that's who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. You're familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his "body":

I Corinthians 12:12-27 (The Message)

I Corinthians 15

I was just reflecting on my favorite verse. It’s a verse of motivation, challenge and promise. I rarely use KJV anymore, but I love this particular translation of the verse. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord (I Corinthians 15:58).” This life is short and the work of our lives should boil down to this passage. I love to return to this portion of Paul’s letters from time to time. The whole chapter recounts the cornerstone of our existence in Christ, which is so much bigger than this life. The focus and glory found in Paul’s writing provides us believers with hope, but it also presents an undeniable command upon our lives. We need Him to be the center of our quickly fading lives and it’s an individual’s decision to make Him that.

Christmas in July

So I have been thinking about this idea for a while and really think I want to commit myself to it this year. Please first note that I am not a Scrooge and I am not staking claim to be against all holiday traditions. I say holiday because I believe it fits most traditions better than a linkage to a true Christmas. What about them is centered on Christ? For some believers there may be a moment during the season that reflections of its origin takes place. Maybe it’s through a reading, a time of singing or a Christmas church program. But haven’t even these things been found tainted with selfishness? We want to sing our favorite song, not because of its message but because of its happy tune or because we like the way the different parts sound together. We leave a church program feeling in the “Christmas spirit” because of the warm and fuzzy storyline. One of the better intentions of holiday traditions has got to be the emphasis on family time. It’s a quality factor in our lives, but the presence of Jesus is still missing from the equation.

Of course, today’s reality of the whole season is spent restless with the strangers around us on the roads and stores. American marketers know it is the time to push consumers to spend well beyond there means. Gift giving can be more about meeting expectations than sharing a heart of love. Many people find themselves in the weeks prior Christmas day saying to themselves that it doesn’t feel like Christmas. I’ve said it. I’ve even felt that way in the midst of family at a dinner table on Christmas day. What does that mean? It doesn’t feel like Christmas? Does it mean all of our expectations of the holiday are not in place? Does it mean the fresh blanket of snow isn’t in its place (not for a FL girl)? Does it mean we weren’t able to find that perfect gift for someone we love?

Well, all of this is to say I am planning to commit this year to be free of all expectations and traditions. I want to go back to the core. I’ve heard others say and have said to myself before that I need to focus more on the meaning of the season. I want it to be more than a Bible study. I don’t want it to be about me at all. When I think of Christ’s entire existence on this earth I think of selflessness. I don’t want an empty Christmas, but I do want to discover a selfless one.

What is Christmas? It’s a celebration of Christ’s birth. Birthdays are meant to be about celebrating an individual’s life. Sure we celebrate Christmas, but who’s our celebration for? When we celebrate a person’s birthday, gifts and special time with that individual are commonplace. How can I give to my Savior? How can I spend time with Him? As I considered these questions my mind went directly to the Scripture I want to hold as inspiration for this coming season.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

(Matthew 25:34-45, NLT)

Where can Jesus be found? In the least of these. That’s where I want to be. That’s where I need to be.

I want to spend this Christmas with those Christ would want to spend His birthday with. I plan to make it happen. It’s not going to be a matter of putting a portion of my time into this, but giving the whole season back to my Christ.

Many Christians have expressed outrage as the term holiday has become more prominent in attempt to be politically correct. But, has Christmas been missing from our season for much longer? I’m afraid that for many “righteous” followers it has.