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Reality TV: Hoarders

I'm not really a fan of reality television.  And mostly I think the name of the category "reality tv" is a misnomer.  Most reality television isn't reality.  Partially because the cameras effect the real life.  I mean, really, if you had a camera watching you, you would act different, you would.  But there is another aspect of reality television that is interesting.  The reality shows that we love to watch says something about us.  What reality shows do you like?  "The Bachelor" communicates that we have a really skewed view of courtship.  "COPS" might say that we like seeing other people's messes because it makes us feel better about our own messes.  "American Pickers" could communicate that we love to see junk, something with seemingly no value at all, become worth something when brought into the light.  I could go on, but along those same lines "Hoarders" says something profound and disturbing about our culture.  It too, in a way, makes us feel better about what we hoard, because the people featured are extreme cases.  But we all hoard, don't we?  Are you uncomfortable yet?

 

I think the American church has a hoarding sickness.  We want the blessing of God.  We ask for the blessing of God.  We ask again for God to bless us.  But most of us never seek to pass that blessing on.  Have you ever wondered why it is that you ask for God to bless you and feel like He isn't, can't, or won't?  Perhaps it's because he already has and you need to pour out some blessing before there is room to be blessed again.  Perhaps.

 

Consider a few scriptures with me.  Ephesians 1:3 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."  Our cup of blessing is filled, having been fulfilled in Christ Jesus.  Genesis 12:1-3 is the call of Abram.  Notice the Language.  "The LORD had said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 'I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'”  God's blessing is never meant to be hoarded, kept to ourselves.  Anything that is hoarded eventually destroys.  God's blessing is meant to be used to bless others.

 

Do you want to be blessed?  Do you want to be continually blessed?  If you look for God's blessing, then bless others.  God has blessed you, bless others.  Then you will be blessed, and you can continue to bless.  It's a beautiful cycle.

 

That's the kind of reality the church needs to live out.

 

Humbly,

 

Dave

Looking forward to Christmas?

It's interesting to see all the opinions of the playing of Christmas music before Thanksgiving. I've even seen pictures of a Turkey threatening Santa, telling him to wait his turn. I admit, it's pretty comical. Now obviously, Santa as we have come to know the myth, has nothing to do with Christmas, really. Here's the question, is there a place for the anticipation of Christmas. My answer . . . absolutely!

Traditionally Advent is a looking forward to the coming of Christ. It is a season that we don't hear a lot about in our churches (Restoration Movement). And to be completely forthcoming it isn't a prescribed Biblical practice. So why do we think about it? Is there any value in it? Should we make a nod to the season of Advent (literally "the coming")? All good questions. I'm glad you asked!

It is good for us to think about it because we live in a day and age of materialistically anticipating Christmas. I enjoy the giving and receiving of presents, I'll admit. But when that is the most important consideration, we need to refocus. On this side of the Messiah coming we can't understand what it meant to eagerly wait for his first coming. He has already come. But we can certainly anticipate the second coming. It brings to mind the Hope we have in Christ. It reminds us of the Love he has shown, and will continue to show until he returns.

In a culture that gives value to elaborate spending and over consumption, there is value in remembering God's simple gift. And after further examination we realize that in God's simple gift of a baby in a manger actually lies the most extravagant show of love and affection for His creation. There is Joy in the birth of a baby. There is peace in His gift.

We can certainly give Advent a look, through the scriptures, and fully anticipate the coming of Christmas. And in doing so we may discover, or rediscover the meaning of the first coming and the implications of His second coming. And maybe, just maybe, we will begin the process of turning our Christmas celebrations away from the materialism and toward an opportunity to share the hope, love, joy, and peace of God this Christmas. I'm looking forward to it. Are you?

Humbly,
Dave

Worship . . . is it Worth it?

Would it surprise you if I said no? I hope that you are a bit shocked at this point, but hear me out. Worship isn't anything in and of itself. The way we practice worship is not sacred or meaningful in a vacuum. There is a difference between worshipping God and worshipping worship. And we, as God followers, must be on the proper side of that fence.

The Bible has a lot to say about worship. It is full of instruction and exhortation. In the Old Testament there are rules and regulations for the sacrificial system as in the first seven chapters of Leviticus. There are descriptions on how King David centralized and organized Israel's practice of worship as in 1 Chronicles 15. In 2 Kings 23 we can see how King Josiah completely reformed Israel's practices of worship after rediscovering the book of the Law. The New Testament contains some descriptions (Acts 2) and admonishments (1 corinthians 11), but unlike the Old Testament, has few rules and prescriptions.

There are a two main principles that I would like to highlight that come from both Old and New Testaments. First, God's worship is meant to bring everyone together. Unity is the biggest prescription in the New Testament for worship. Read 1 Corinthians 11:17ff and you get a strong sense of the need for unity and the distraction of division. But the more important principle that is absolutely essential when it comes to worship is this: God is the most important aspect of worship! Maybe that sounds like a no-brainer, but I don't believe that we can take Him for granted in this way. Far too often when we gather we worry about the music, how we dress, what time it is, how long things are, where things happen, what the room looks like, who we are sitting by, what we're doing after church, how loud or soft it is, what temperature the room is, I think we get the point. When we gather, we gather in the name of God, His son Jesus Christ, and His Spirit.

Consider this, the word "worship" is a shortening of the Old English word "worthship." We gather because of His worthship, because He is worthy of praise. We gather for worthship because He has invited and initiated it. We gather for worthship because de desires it of us. It is not our worship. It is not our worthship. We are not worthy. We cannot possess worship. When we try to, we make it about everything else other than God, the immortal invisible. We make it about us. When we say "our worship" we make the most important thing us. Maybe it is semantics, but we must see it in the light that scripture sees it.

Worship isn't worth it. God is worth it, and He is worthy, and he deserves the praise of His people. In fact, he inhabits the praise of His people (Psalm 22:3). If there is a difference between worshipping worship and worshipping God, let us worship God. "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care." (Psalm 95:6-7)

Humbly,
Dave

Shortening the Gap

My heart has been so full watching Jackson begin Kindergarten. I am so proud to be his Dad. And at the same time I am wondering if I have taught him enough to be a good example. I love seeing him grow to be independent. But at the same time I mourn a little for him not needing me as much as he used to. Even in a few short days it has gone from "Dad, walk me into the school." to "Dad, can you just drop me off at the curb?"

I wasn't prepared for everything that becoming a father would bring, but there are two major things that stick out from that list that have surprised me. The first is the tension of loving to see my kids reach milestones and being sad that they have moved past a certain "stage" at the same time. Loving to see them grow and be their own person, but losing some of the innocence and childlikeness in the same stroke. Part of it has to do with wishing that time would slow down a bit, but in a bigger broader way it's more about knowing that each moment that God gives us they move farther from me. I am not meaning to be overly dramatic here. It's a simple fact that the older they get, the more they learn, the less they need for me to help sustain their life. It is a ongoing, ever-growing, and sometimes almost ruthless separation. It may be easier to see with Mothers, who at one time were actually physically bound to their child, then after they become an adult they no longer live in the same house, or town, or even the same state or country.

The second item on my list that has caught me off guard is a spiritual irony, one that has been staring me in the face for a while now. There are so many things I learn about God by being a dad, so many parallels, but this one is the inverse. It is this, I want my children to grow and become their own person. I want them to learn to think for themselves and to take care of themselves and be responsible. As we grow in our relationship with our kids, we seek to make them need us less, but as we grow in relationship to God, He seeks to be everything we need. Always. Nothing held back. Complete and utter dependance. It is something I still, at times, struggle to learn.

As I seek to make my son and daughters independent, it is my calling as a father to make them completely dependent at the same time. Independent from me, and dependent on God the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Only through total surrender is this possible. I hope I get it right and I will work to make it so. Humbly, Dave

To worship God or not to worship God? . . . that is the question.

Each day we are given to live, we have many choices before us. What should we wear? What should we eat? What should we do today? It is inevitable that some of the choices have already been made. Some have been made for us. But no matter if choices are made already, by you or someone else, there is one that you must make each and every day. It is this . . . who will I live for today?

Every other choice that you make is wrapped up in that one, all encompassing choice? One might argue that there are more than 2 choices in answering that question. But I believe it comes down to 2 main choices. Will I choose to live for God, creator, our redeemer? Or will I choose to live for myself? Everything else is a symptom of how we answer this question.

If we choose to live for God we will live life intentionally for Him. We will stay away from the things that will destroy us, and others. We will stay close to the things that will bring us life. Will will worship Him when we gather together because of who He is and what he's done. We will be actively in His word, learning to understand God's heart for this earth and His people in it. We will be still and wait patiently for the Lord. We will see people the way God sees them. We will treat people with respect, and better yet, grace. And that is just a start of a list.

But if we choose to live for ourselves, there is nothing we won't do. We will potentially engage in harmful behavior. We will act on every whim that is inherent in our sinful nature. In essence, we will be controlled by this world and what it offers, and essentially the evil one himself. If we choose to live for God, we are, in all essences of the word, worshipping God. If we choose to live for ourselves we worship all sorts of idols, false Gods. But you can't just say whom you will worship, it will be determined by your actions and attitudes.

Joshua 24:14-15 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

I don't always make the right choices. I sometimes choose myself over the Lord. It is always the wrong choice. But as I watch my wife, as I watch over my kids, as I pray over my family and as I look at myself in the spiritual mirror, I pray that I answer like Joshua, always.

So who will you worship today? Tomorrow? Forever?

Humbly,
Dave

What will it take for you to Worship?

I have often asked myself this very question. Because, let's be honest, I don't always feel like it. And I know that I'm not all alone. This very fact reveals something about us, me, that is unsettling. What is it? I don't trust and understand God the way that He longs for me to. Here is a truth that we need to sink our teeth into: We cannot worship God and walk away unchanged. When we really worship, He infects us with himself and we are different. So then the inverse is true. If we aren't different, we haven't worshipped. This is true too often for me. I would venture for you too. So what will it take? Most would argue that true freedom and peace around your life would inspire us to worship. But I find that the times when I am the most attentive to God in our worship services is when there is more turmoil around me. It's a direct correlation. The more turmoil, the more attentive I am in worship. The more outward conflict, the more connection to God. Peace and prosperity lull me into indifference. And I see it in so many others eyes when we gather. So what will it take for you to worship God? To really worship him. If it's hardship, then bring it on. But when there isn't hardship, let us fully embrace an attitude of thankfulness and praise. We must stop turning to God only when we think we need him. Because the truth is that in times of peace and non-conflict, we need him more. Humbly, Dave