More Than Worship, It’s Worthship

Church has often been called a “house of worship.” But I struggle with what that means exactly. Sometimes it’s a house of singing, or a house of preaching, or a house of socializing, but not too often is the primary focus of the gathering people worship.

It seems most of the time worship is something we do at some point during the singing.

Now I will be the first to admit that the atmosphere most conducive to worship is usually created when meaningful—“worshipful”—songs are being played sung. But is that it? Shouldn’t there be something more?

The definition of worship includes:

…a condition of being worthy of honor or renown.

In fact, the Old English spelling was worthship. In other words, the greater the worth something had, the greater the honor or renown that something should be given.

In my case, the Something should have a capital “S.” The Person worthy of greatest honor and highest renown is my God and Savior Jesus Christ.

So why do I have to wait to go to a certain building to express His worth?

Why do I have to wait until the atmosphere is right?

Shouldn’t I be expressing my adoration and honor to Him always?

What does it mean to always be in a place of expressing my worthship?

I’ve been mulling over this quote from Brother Lawrence:

I know that for the right practice of it, the heart must be empty of all other things; because God will possess the heart alone; and as He cannot possess it alone, without emptying it of all besides, so neither can He act there, and do in it what He pleases, unless it be left vacant to Him.

As the Apostle Paul wrote I’m trying to capture every thought during the day and ask myself, “Is this thought taking up space in my heart that should be God’s space? Does this thought draw me closer to my Savior, or further away.” I’m trying to express His worth to me in the way I think about Him throughout the day.

Worrywart

“Worry indicates we’re not willing to let God handle certain things—at least not in His way, and certainly not in His time.” —Craig Groeschel, in The Christian Atheist

Worry is a control issue

…that is, I want to be in control.

Worry is a sovereignty issue

…that is, I think I know best how things should work out.

Worry is a trust issue

…that is, I trust God only when things are happening on my timeframe.

Bottom line: Worry is sin when

  • …I allow something else to be bigger than God.
  • …I allow something else to be more important than God.
  • …I allow something to limit God.
  • …I look more to myself for solutions than I look to God.

Any worry should be a call to prayer: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Any extended worry should be a call to repentance: Jesus commands us four times, “Do not worry” (Matthew 6:25-34).

Worry can be disguised in a lot of different forms, but it’s still worry. And it’s still sin. I’m working on this.  

I Don’t Have To Be A Know-It-All

I’m still reading through Craig Groeschel’s book The Christian Atheist. This morning I read a statement that Craig quotes from Andy Stanley:

“You don’t have to understand everything to believe in something.”

I don’t know about you, but this gives me such freedom! Especially in my role as a pastor where sometimes I feel like I’m supposed to understand it all.

I don’t have to have an answer to every question to point people to God.

I don’t have to be able to unravel every theological mystery to tell people Jesus loves them.

I don’t have to know how He does it to lead people to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

I don’t have to know why everything happened the way it did to care for hurting or confused people.

The bottom line is I can only know the part—the infinitesimal part—that the Holy Spirit has made alive to me. But that part is more than enough for me to keep on loving my God and my Savior!

Fasting

We’re fasting today.

I believe in this: Prayer + Fasting = Breakthroughs.

Even though this looks like a mathematical formula, it doesn’t work like a formula. Jesus challenged religious people who fasted just because. Jesus was really echoing the words God spoke in Isaiah about religious people simply going through pious acts, but their hearts were still far away from God. They thought God operated on a formula: “If we fast, then God has to….” It doesn’t work that way.

We met together for a time of worship and Bible study last night, and we’ll conclude our fast with corporate prayer this evening. We are focusing on our heart attitude. Not fasting just because or even the pastor asked us to. But fasting because we are hungry for God to move … for Him to break chains … for Him to set people free … for breakthroughs!

I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in us and then through us as we spend this time seeking His heart. Prayer + Fasting = Breakthroughs.

So Long, Status Quo!

What’s holding you back from making a change today? What’s keeping you from breaking with the pack? What status quo in your life needs to go bye-bye?

“Status quo, you know, is Latin for ‘the mess we’re in.’” —Ronald Reagan

“The soft-minded man always fears change. He feels security in the status quo, and he has an almost morbid fear of the new. For him, the greatest pain is the pain of a new idea.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I have come that you might have life to the full [away from the status quo].” —Jesus Christ

The gate is wide
The road is paved in moderation
The crowd is kind and quick to pull you in
Welcome to the middle ground
You’re safe and sound and
Until now, it’s where I’ve been

‘Cause it’s been fear that ties me down to everything
But it’s been love, Your love, that cuts the strings

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

I am small
And I speak when I’m spoken to
But I am willing to risk it all
I say Your name
Just Your name and I’m ready to jump
Even ready to fall

Why did I take this vow of compromise?
Why did I try to keep it all inside?

I’ve never known a fire that didn’t begin with a flame
Every storm will start with just a drop of rain
But if You believe in me
That changes everything
So long, I’m gone

—Nicole Nordeman, Brave

Obey─Remember─Teach

I see this pattern of instruction repeated throughout the Bible, but especially as the Israelites are getting ready to enter the Promised Land:

  • Obey God’s commands
  • Remember what He has done for you
  • Teach His commands to your children

When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, He quoted a passage from Deuteronomy, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” And He added, “And love your neighbor as yourself.” These, Jesus said, were the fulfillment of all the law.

  • Love God
  • Love yourself
  • Love your neighbor

This Great Commandment corresponds with this pattern of obey-remember-teach.

  • I obey God because I love Him.
  • When I remember what He has done for me, I can fully appreciate my own value in His eyes.
  • I teach others because I love them and want them to experience the same blessings from God that I have experienced.

This is what I need to be constantly evaluating:

  • Am I obeying God out of fear of what may happen, or out of love for Him?
  • Am I finding ways to continually be reminded of His blessings? Do I realize how valuable I am to Him?
  • Am I expressing true love to others by passing on what I am learning?

Obey [love God] … Remember [love myself] … Teach [love others].

What a great way to live!

No Crutches

In preparing for the continuation of our Ignite series, I’ve been reviewing some of my notes about the Holy Spirit. This quote from R. Hollis Gause has really been working on me:

“[Jesus] was not a crutch for [the disciples’] immaturity. … Jesus did not encourage a mindless dependency on His physical presence; instead, He expected them to be interpretive of His instructions about their mission.”

Jesus said He wasn’t leaving us orphans, but He would send us the Holy Spirit to be a constant Counselor. When I submit to the Holy Spirit’s counsel, it’s not a mindless giving in, but a mind-full acknowledgment of His role. The Holy Spirit didn’t come to be my crutch, but to be my Liberator.

The Holy Spirit prepares me to be a conduit for God’s blessings.

I cannot touch in love…

I cannot speak with power…

I cannot truly represent Christ…

if I’m operating in my own strength.

The Holy Spirit comes alongside me to

Develop agape love in my heart…

stimulate my mind with the right words…

help me behave more like Jesus…

and live mind-full of His empowerment.

To do things on my own is to live with a crutch—to live a limited life.

To live in the flow of the Holy Spirit is to live a life that is fully engaged.

That’s how I want to live every day.

God’s Math

I’m preparing for a wedding this weekend, and I love God’s math that shows up in the marriage relationship. Very simply it looks like this:

1 + 1 = 1

One man + One woman = One marriage.

God said, “Let the husband and wife be joined together. And the two will become one flesh.”

A husband can have his oneness—his uniqueness—enhanced by his wife. So too can a wife have her oneness—her uniqueness—beautified by her husband.

This is why God is for healthy marriages: It gives us a better picture of the oneness that we can have with Jesus Christ. He brings out the oneness—the uniqueness—in all of His followers.

I love it!

What If…

…for just one day you and I only said what God told us to say?

“Everything?” you ask, “Is that even possible?”

Yes! Jesus did it. Look:

I don’t speak on My own authority. The Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it.

Everything Jesus said was directed by His Father. Yes, everything.

Want to try it today? First, we have to spend more time in God’s presence to hear His words. Then here’s a simple gauge to use (as given to us by James). Are my words…

  • true?
  • pure?
  • peace-promoting?
  • considerate?
  • courteous?
  • gentle?
  • sincere?
  • merciful?

Are you ready to give it a try?

A Voice Behind Me

In our series on Building Blocks, I’ve been talking about the basics of a relationship with Jesus Christ. An obvious foundation for any relationship is meaningful conversation.

If you think about any close relationship you have, the closeness was developed through conversation. Gradually you began to know their voice and know their heart. Our meaningful conversation with God produces the same increased intimacy. We talk with Him through reading His Word and through prayer.

The more you read the Bible and the more you pray, the clearer His voice becomes. Isaiah said it this way:

Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. (Isaiah 30:21)

Earlier this week I was on a long road trip, so I took our dog Grace with me. After grabbing some lunch, I wanted to find a place for Grace to run around and stretch her legs, but I was in a town I didn’t know. As I came to the end of the driveway, my next appointment would have been right, but I felt I should turn left instead.

I did, and two blocks away was a huge, grassy park where I could sit and eat my lunch and Grace could frolic to her heart’s content.

Did I actually hear a Voice? No, but I felt a Voice. His Voice. Yes, I believe God even cares about helping me find a place for my lunch and for my dog to run. He cares that much about me. And you too!

He’s speaking to you all the time. Are you listening to the Voice behind you?