My Gift of Worship – Giver #2

This is a continuation of the "My Gift of Worship".

A couple days ago I wrote about giving our gift of worship to God. In that post, we compared the gift givers who give gifts pleasing to themselves to someone who adds things to worship which God did not authorize. But there is another kind of gift giver.

Giver #2 – Giving Thoughtless Gifts

Remember back to the aforementioned MasterCard commercial. In the other half of it, the actress (Alyson Hannigan) gives gifts that we would consider to be pretty thoughtless. She gifts a shampoo gift basket, to of all people, a bald man. The scene cuts to her giving another gift. This time she is giving taffy to an older gentleman. He politely says thank you, the makes the statement, "Let me go get my teeth."

Everyone is familiar with this kind of gift giving. Some stores even have the pre-wrapped "knick-knack" gifts that someone can buy for "under $10". These are gifts that require no thought on the part of the giver. These are gifts that are given out of duty rather than devotion.

We must take care that our worship to God does not become a thoughtless set of actions. We can't approach the worship assembly as though we are simply there to "get our card punched". Our minds must be engaged.

This is true of all aspects of worship, but comes to the forefront in the acts of singing and communion. Paul writes in Colossians 3:16 that when we sing we are to be "singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Singing is something that is done toward the Lord – but from where? The heart. Likewise, look at the Lord's Supper. Paul warns about not thinking about the sacrifice that Christ made when we take it:

1 Corinthians 11:29 – "For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." (NKJV)

 

What is this discerning that is happening? It's engaging our minds to think about that which we are proclaiming through communion (cf. 1 Cor. 11:24-26)! Let us make sure that in all acts of worship that we are not only worshipping in truth, but in spirit as well. We cannot give the gift of thoughtless worship to God and expect Him to be pleased!

 

This is part of a month long series of lessons here at Sweetwater (borrowing the idea from Donovan Palmer) that examine the "Heart of Worship".

Visit "What Can I Give To God?"

 

 

 

I’ve Got To Get There On Time!

Today I'm taking a short break from the "Heart of Worship" series – more on that tomorrow.

As I was preparing to leave for the office this morning, I was thinking about how much harder it is for me to get up during the winter months. I grew up in West Tennessee, where during this time the sun comes up around 7 in the morning. Now that I'm living in East Tennessee, and on the western edge of the Eastern Time zone, the sun doesn't come up until… nearly 7:45! What an amazing difference that 45 minutes makes in my day.

Sometimes, especially during the winter, it's hard for me to get up out of bed and get going every morning at a respectable time. That got me to thinking though, about my motivation for getting up. What is it that drives me and keeps me from just laying in bed? Answer: I have a deep interest and zeal for what I am doing.

It's funny how being extremely interested in something can be a motivating factor. When someone is going on vacation, they don't arrive at the airport just before the plane leaves. NO, they are motivated to leave at 5:30 in the morning to arrive at the airport at 6 so that they can catch an 8:30 flight. The same thing is true for sporting events. How many people show up at the stadium (take for instance, Neyland Stadium in Knoxville) just a few moments before the game begins. Who would have the audacity to show up late for such a thing? Anyone who has ever been to Knoxville on game day knows that the campus is flooded in orange hours before the game begins.

You say, well those are "one time" things. They don't happen very often, so it's easier to find motivation. Really? What about school? Do most parents consistently take their children to school late? No, because there are a couple of motivating factors – education and avoiding truancy. Parents routinely wake up at 6 a.m. to send their kids off to school. They may even prepare for it the night before. What about our jobs? How often could we show up late and be able to keep them?

No, we don't have a problem getting up and going in this country, as long as we have a motivating factor. It only leads me to wonder – why are so many people late to worship?

Colossians 3:2 - "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."

 

My Gift of Worship

In the last post, the question was posed, "What can I give to God?" Indeed, the only thing we can give to God which is truly ours is our worship to Him.

Many thanks to Donovan Palmer for sharing the following ideas – What kind of "gift-giver" will we be in giving God our worship?

Giver #1 – Giving Gifts Pleasing To Ourselves:

Sometimes people give gifts that they find pleasing. It's as if they say, "I like it, so maybe they will like it too!" Have you seen the recent Mastercard commercials? One of them has famed quarterback Peyton Manning (who would have thought he'd be funny?) giving gifts. Obviously, though, Peyton is giving gifts that he likes – gifts that he can identify with. He gives one man a package that is obviously shaped like a football. To a woman, he gives a gift bag that contains a "mouth-guard" – he then tells her to "try it out and see how it fits." In both cases the receiver of the gift obviously does not particularly like what they receive.

We become this kind of gift giver, the one who gives gifts that they like, when we substitute things into worship that God has not instructed us to add. This worship is vain (Matthew 15:7-9). God has no problem telling us what he wants! We need to listen.

A very sad example is found in the Old Testament, in Jeremiah 7:30-31. There the Lord says about Judah:

For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight," says the LORD. "They have set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to pollute it.(31) And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into My heart.

 

Notice what they were doing – things which God had not even commanded! These were terrible things, things which God didn't even think about them doing! Oh, how important it is for us to look to God to see how he wants us to worship Him.

Check back tomorrow for the next kind of gift giver.

This is part of a month long series of lessons here at Sweetwater (borrowing the idea from Donovan Palmer) that examine the "Heart of Worship".

Visit "What Can I Give To God?"

What Can I Give to God?

It's hard to believe that we've experienced yet another "gift-giving" season. What's even harder to believe is that we are already 18 days closer to another one! I think back to going shopping for all of my loved ones. Many times the question passed through my mind, "What can I give to _________?"

The psalmist asked this question:

"What shall I render to the Lord For all his benefits toward me?" – Psalm 116:12, NKJV

Have you ever paused for a moment to think about the wonderful benefits that God has given to us? I feel blessed this morning for a few reasons. First of all, I was able to get up out of bed, walk through my nice, heated house, and take a long warm shower. There are many people in this world who don't have the same nice warm house, much less the opportunity to enjoy singing in the shower. Those are just the physical benefits. The spiritual benefits, and the grace of God offering me salvation through my obedient faith to Him far outweigh those things (Ephesians 2:8).

In keeping with that thought, what could I give to show God my appreciation for all of these things? Think about why we give gifts to those we love. These gifts not only show how much we care, but that we appreciate the recipient of those gifts.

Do you ever find that person, though, who seems to be hard to shop for. No matter what you think about giving them, it appears as though they have everything anyway. What, then, could I give to the one who created and who owns the whole universe (Col. 1:16)?

The psalmist continues by writing this:

"I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD." Psalm 116:17, NKJV

Indeed, if you really stop and think about it, the only thing that we can offer to God that is truly ours is our worship to Him. So what kind of gift will I give to Him?

More on this later…

This is part of a month long series of lessons here at Sweetwater (borrowing the idea from Donovan Palmer) that examine the "Heart of Worship".

“Ex-Gays?”

Hello everyone, and welcome to my return to blogging. It's been awhile since I've done this, so bear with me.

I recently decided to try to find a way to be more "in touch" with the world. I don't watch a lot of TV, but I want to be aware of the things that are happening around us and the dangers that they might present to our spiritual lives. Thus, I decided to blow the dust off of my old Google Reader account, and subscribe to several different news organizations. Doing so, and sorting through the various stories listed, has spurred on a lot of thoughts.

There was one article in particular that caught my attention this morning. I was looking through one of my sources and found this headline: "Disney to hear plans to protect ex-gays/SEC says entertainment conglomerate can't simply ignore shareholder". Wow – there's one word that really stood out. "Ex-gays".

You can read a press release here or here to see what I'm writing about. It seems as though the extensive "sensitivity training" that Disney employees are subjected to has left a major group out: those who were once homosexuals. The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) is ordering Disney to include them in their corporate policies.

Does this not sound like a very tolerant thing to do? Why sure, in the interests of tolerance this is what an organization (speaking from their view) ought to do to show tolerance. Why all of the fuss? Well, it seems as though homosexuals do not want this particular group to be recognized. Why? Because the recognition of this group ("ex-gays") would mean that such a thing would be legitimized.

Long has the cry been that homosexuality is something decided genetically instead of intelligently. Such a ruling undermines the very foundation that the homosexual movement is based upon. Examination of the scriptures, though, brings to light the fact that the choice of homosexuality – or to spurn it – is not an old thing.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 reads this way in the NKJV –

 

"(9) Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,(10) nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.(11) And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

 

Make careful note of the underlined phrases. Homosexuals are listed as those who "will not inherit the kingdom of God". Also, Paul asks the question in vs. 9 in such a way as to suggest that this was a fact which the church in Corinth was intimately familiar with. Why? Look at the beginning of vs. 11 – "And such were some of you". What are you saying, Paul?

 

Simply stated, what Paul is saying is that he knew some people who were living in one of the most abominable environments in the ancient world who had changed their minds not just about being drunkards, thieves, or extortioners. No, there were some who had changed their mind about being homosexual. Why? Because they wanted to go to heaven.

 

Once again, scripture shows that the extremes to which man will go to justify sin is ultimately vain and futile (Romans 1:21-22).

 

Sources:

"Disney Ordered to Include Ex-Gays in Shareholder Resolution"; http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/disney-ordered-to-include-ex-gays-in-shareholder-resolution-81311002.html

"Disney to hear plans to protect ex-'gays' / SEC says entertainment conglomerate can't simply ignore shareholder" http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=121865