worship

Unexpected Find

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

I found something interesting while I was cleaning out one of my desk drawers. It was something I’d written some time before. At least I think I wrote it. Still, I echo the sentiment it contains:

Be radical in serving
Be militant in loving people
Be fanatical in forgiveness and grace
Be sacrificial in worship

I think these things describe Jesus’ earthly ministry. He was all these things and so much more. I also think this is what believers are called to be. Not safe. Not comfortable. Not status quo.

We’re called to be radical, militant, fanatical, and sacrificial. But not in hate. Only in the love of God.

After all, that’s the kind of love that God shows us every single day.

 

 

Reminders from Revelation

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I’ve been loving the sermon series on Revelation from Brentwood Baptist Church, as well as the companion Wednesday night Bible study. Here are a few of the highlights I’ve taken in so far.

1) Revelation is primarily a book written to persecuted believers to give them encouragement that Jesus has already overcome and the victory is already theirs if they hold on a little bit longer. Like I heard it said, we as followers of Jesus don’t fight for victory, but from it.

2) Revelation is a book saturated in worship. The setting of the book is a heavenly scene of ultimate worship. To focus on the symbols and what they mean is to miss the main point that God puts everything right again and the good guys win once and for all.

3) It’s not ultimately about when the end will come or who the anti-Christ will be or what the mark of the beast will look like. Ultimately, it’s about the Lion of Judah, the root of Jesse, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Jesus, and how he has already overcome.

You can read commentaries about the book. I’m reading one right now. But if you really want to understand the book, read the book. Sit down and read all 22 chapters in one setting.

You can even read the ending first if it will help.

 

Yet Another Worship Blog

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I heard something very interesting tonight. Like interesting enough to change the way I look at worship.

The Hebrew word for obey is shamar. The Hebrew word for serve is avad. If you put them together, as in “obey and serve,”  the idea is of worship.

I don’t know about you, but for me worship becomes too much about performance. How good the worship band is. How electric the atmosphere is. How deeply I feel moved by the Spirit.

Worship, especially when it comes to Almighty God, is much too big to be limited to four or five worship songs on any given Sunday morning. It’s too big to be restricted to singing songs.

Worship is obedience. It’s saying YES to Jesus because he’s worthy. It’s saying, “I’ll do anything you want, Lord, because you gave everything for me.”

Worship is service. It’s putting hands and feet and a face to the love of Jesus. It’s stepping outside the sanctuary and going to the least of these and finding Jesus there. It’s not pious theology or good feelings. It’s tangible, something you can touch and feel and grasp with your hands.

I’ve probably said it before but true worship is a 24/7 proclamation of the great worth of God in everything we do and everything we say every place we go to every person we meet.

Evangelism and missions and discipleship and fellowship are all parts of true worship. The goal is to create as many worshipers as possible from every group of people to magnify God’s name.

Above all, it’s not how loud or well we sing. It’s not how hip and trendy the music is. It’s not how eloquently we can read a Bible passage. It’s not about the great deeds of service we perform.

It has been, is, and will always be about how utterly amazing God is. That’s worship.

 

 

A Different Take on Weddings

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I went to the wedding today. It was lovely, as just about all weddings are. As usual, many people put a lot of time and thought and effort into the planning and preparation.

Many people would say that the wedding day is all about the bride. That it’s her day to shine and it’s all about her. I would disagree. It’s not the bride’s mother’s day either, even though she’s dreamed of this day since her girl was little and serving imaginary tea to her dressed-up dolls.

In my humble opinion, the wedding day is all about Jesus. Or it should be. Anyone who really understands the depths of marriage and all its symbolism knows that it’s more than just the union of two people. The Bible in Ephesians reminds us that marriage is a picture of just how much Christ loves His Bride, the Church, and gave everything for her.

A biblical marriage is a lived-out testimony to that great love of Jesus for the Church. It’s about two people coming together to not only serve each other, but to serve others in a way that’s better than they each could individually.

I haven’t been married, but I know that marriage is hard. Probably harder in this anti-marriage culture than ever before. Only two people under the Lordship of Christ and each in love with Jesus can not only sustain a marriage and thrive in it. Only the indwelling Spirit of Christ can overcome the innate selfishness of two people that really shows its ugly head after the marriage begins.

So I’m happy for both the bride and groom. Nothing gives me more joy to see the bride in all her radiance walking down the aisle, looking more beautiful than ever. Nothing makes me smile than seeing the groom’s face when he sees his bride for the first time in her wedding gown.

But nothing beats the joy that knowing when a wedding truly celebrates Jesus and exalts Him to His rightful place in the marriage. Nothing blesses my heart more than when a wedding ceremony is truly a worship celebration.

One day when I get married, I hope it will truly be celebration of the goodness and greatness of God. I hope that it’s not my bride’s day or her mother’s day, but a day that belongs most of all to Jesus.

 

Worship Lived Out

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“If worship does not propel us into greater obedience, it has not been worship.” (Richard Foster)

I got convicted today that maybe I am worshiping worship music. Maybe I’m too caught up in the style of worship music and how current the songs are. Maybe I’ve reduced the art of worship to a once a week exercise in singing trendy songs.

I truly believe that if I’m really worshiping, it won’t matter if it’s a top-notch worship band cranking out the latest Hillsong or Chris Tomlin songs or a piano and organ playing a 500-year old hymn. In fact, it won’t even matter if there’s no music at all.

Worship is so much bigger than singing songs with hands raised or hands in my pockets. It’s so much bigger than the style of music. Worship is so much bigger than music. Worship is making God look great in EVERYTHING I do, whether I’m in a church building or at work or at home by myself.

Regardless of where it takes place, worship that leaves me the same after as I was before isn’t really worship. If I’m not spurred to greater acts of love and obedience, that I haven’t really worshiped. I’ve just sang songs or read words out of a Bible or done religious things.

If people are looking at me and how much my love for Jesus shows, I’ve missed the point. People shouldn’t be looking at me at all, but drawn to and transformed by God. That’s what real and true worship does.

Above all, worship is not an event or an activity. It’s a 24/7 lifestyle that never really ends.

 

 

Some Reminders For You and Me

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Sometimes, I need to be reminded because I am forgetful and easily distracted. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who needs the reminder. So here is a list of reminders for us to consider.

1) God is for us, not against us. He’s not out to kill our dreams or take away what brings us happiness and pleasure, but to be our Ultimate Joy and show us true fulfullment by helping us become all He made us to be.

2) You don’t have to be an expert theologian or communicator to share your faith. You don’t even have to be good. You just have to have a story to tell and a voice to tell it.

3) God is much more interested in your inside world than your outward appearance. It’s no good to wrap yourself in good works and activities if you have a bad heart. God doesn’t want all your best efforts; He wants all of you. He doesn’t want to make you better; He wants to make you come alive.

4) You need to be less hard on yourself. So do I. If God can forgive us, why can’t we forgive ourselves? I read that we should be able to believe what God says about us, no matter how beautiful it may seem.

5) Freedom starts with honesty. I can never be free if I’m not honest about where I’ve fallen short. Sure there’s grace, but grace doesn’t cover denials, only confessions.

6) Sometimes, we can worship strong with our hands held high. Sometimes, we need others to hold our arms up. Sometimes, we need others to pray the words we can’t find and believe for what we can’t see.

7) OK, there’s not really a 7th point, but I really didn’t want to end on 6. It just didn’t feel right.

Most of all, may we be reminded every morning and every night that our Abba Father loves us and is very fond of us and delights in us and sings over us every night.

An Awesome Definition for Worship

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

worship111ma

“Worship is extravagant love and extreme submission.”

I love that definition.

Too often, worship is all about singing songs. It’s all too easy to sit back and critique the song choices and musical styles and whether or not those around me are worshiping the “right” way.

In Nashville, it’s easy to let worship become all about the level of musicianship and charasmatic personality. It’s easy to manipulate a crowd into a frenzy if you’re talented enough, but that’s not worship.

Worship is extravagant love. I can’t help but thinking about the woman who poured the expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and then wiped those feet with her hair. That was more than inconvenient. That was extremely costly and humiliating. That’s worship.

It’s also extreme submission. It’s surrendering my own illusion of self-control and admitting that I have a desperate need for God. And it starts long before you enter the sanctuary and the church service and doesn’t end when you pass the exit doors on your way out into the parking lot.

Worship is not an event, but a lifestyle of saying, “Not my will, but Thine.”

I don’t normally do this, but I posted a link to a fantastic blog about the nature of worship that I ran across today.

http://allsonsanddaughters.com/2012/03/26/art-in-worship-join-the-conversation/

I challenge to you read it and let it soak into your very being.

If I’m truly worshipping in Romans 12:1-2 fashion and being transformed by the renewing of my mind and offering my body as a living sacrifice, then it won’t matter whether I’m singing the most current and trendy modern worship songs or the old, old hymns.

It won’t matter if there’s a rockin’ worship band, or a guy with a guitar, or an orchestra and choir, or just a piano and organ.

It will be worship. It will declare the great worth of God to the world.

After all, like the song says, it’s not about me. It’s all about You, Jesus.

My Obligatory Charlie Sheen Blog

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

image

Honestly, this is not another blog about how crazy Charlie Sheen is these days or how he needs help or any of that. If I were in his shoes, I might be acting twice as crazy. Plus, I’d probably be walking funny ’cause His feet are probably at least 2 sizes bigger than mine.

Actually, this is about a dream I had that starred Charlie Sheen. In my dream, I was about to cut the front yard when ol’ Charlie pulled up and asked if he could do it, because he’d never used a lawnmower before. His dream words, not mine. And that was it. I don’t know if it’s weird that I dreamed this or that I still remember the dream. And yes, I totally pulled a bait-and-switch blog on you.

Dreams always seem normal when you’re dreaming them. You never notice anything bizarre when you’re in the dream. You could be flying naked and be thinking in the dream, “Hey, I always fly on Tuesdays. And where did my clothes go? I’m pretty sure I was dressed when I left the house this morning.” Only when you wake up do you realize that what you dreamed about wasn’t normal. And I mean both the flying and the being naked part.

I think we do that in life, especially as believers. We tend live the same way, thinking that the way we think and act is normal, but only when God’s Spriit moves in and wakes us up, do we realize how abnormal we’ve been. So many live under the belief that it’s normal to feel defeated and discouraged and numb to your faith. It’s normal to not feel anything in worship. It’s normal to think that God must be upset with you and that your fellow believers don’t really want you around.

Only when God opens your eyes do you see that victory is the norm. You see that God sees Jesus when He sees you and He is very pleased with you. And those fellow believers you thought were ready to throw you under the bus? They may need to hear your struggle so they can encourage you or at the least empathize with what you’re going through. And once you start making worship about declaring the great worth of God because He deserves it, whether you feel it or not, the feelings eventually come back. I promise. But at that point, it doesn’t matter whether you’re super-hyped or barely able to sing the words. It’s still worship because it’s centered on a God who is able.

So yeah. I pretty much fooled you into thinking you were going to read a scathing blog about another Hollywood star gone wrong. All I have for Charlie Sheen is prayer and support. But for the grace of God, that could have been me or you. Or much worse. You and I need God’s grace just as much as any of the Charlie Sheens of the world. We needed just as much of the blood of Christ. And God is able to save all the Charlie Sheens. . . and us. . . to the uttermost!

Amen and amen.

Bedtime thoughts

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

That’s it. Love God and love others.

But for you to love God, you have to know the reality that God already loves you. For you to love others as yourself, you have to love yourself. Ultimately, you can’t do it. Well, I will only speak for myself here and say that I can’t love God or anybody else, even me, on my own strength. I need Jesus in me, pouring out His agape love, or else I am empty and cold and love-less.

Sometimes, God calls you to love yourself as you love your neighbor. Sometimes, it’s easier to love someone else than to love that person you hang around with every minute of every day. That person who looks back at you in the mirror with accusing eyes that speak of all the impure thoughts, mixed motives, and selfish ambition.

That’s when you and I have to believe what God says about who we are over what we see and think and feel. As a friend of mine told me once, “What you think and feel will lie to you.” But God never will.

God is true. God is love. And God loves you.

And you have all the power of Christ that overcame the grave in you. You have His perfect righteousness that covers your own wretched self-righteous rags of filth.

So be free to love. Love God, love others and love you.

As always, I believe. Help my unbelief.

My bucket list

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 2 Comments

First of all, I’d like to know who came up with the expression “kick the bucket” and who first associated it with dying. I’m not losing any sleep over it, but it would be nice to know just in case I’m ever on Jeopardy or a caller on a morning radio show with a chance to win a fabulous prize. I’m just sayin’.

But for real, I do have a bucket list of sorts. It’s not written down, but I have one item on my bucket list. Only one. My one bucket list wish is to hear Jesus say to me at the end of my road, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” That’s all. To please Jesus is not only on my bucket list, it is my bucket list. That being said, I pretty much suck at it. Most of the time, I try to please just about anyone and everyone else before I even attempt to please Jesus.

Still, that’s what I want. More than anything else. Sure, I’d like to see Scotland or meet Bono. And for the record, I would try skydiving, but I have a burning desire to NOT DIE! Plus, I’m not really keen on heights, which is pretty much a prerequisite for jumping out of a plane at 1 gazillion feet in the air.

I want to make Jesus proud of  me. I want to be His hands and feet and serve Him every chance I get, whether He be the person at the cash register at Publix or the homeless man on the corner looking for spare change. I want my whole life to be one big THANK YOU note to Him.

I think I’ll get there. In fact, I know I will, because Jesus told me that He would never leave me or forsake me. He said He would finish the good work He started in me. When He sees a heart that yearns to please Him, He honors that.

So I probably have the shortest bucket list on the planet. Just hopefully not the shortest bucket.