Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Exodus, Chapters 28-29 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Exodus 28: 1-5 … : … [Dressed for Leadership in Worship] … [Yahweh’s Instructions to Moses … 1 “Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. 2 Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor. 3 Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest. 4 These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests. 5 Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen. …
31 “Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, 32 with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear. 33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. 34 The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. 35 Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the LORD and when he comes out, so that he will not die.”
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Exodus 29: 44-46 … : … [Consecrated for Worship] … [Yahweh’s Continued Instructions to Moses … 44 “So I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.”
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1st Peter 2: 9-10 … : … [A Royal Priesthood] … [Yahweh’s Continued Instructions to Moses … 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
My Journal for Today: Today, in my chronological trek through the Bible, I was led to read from Exodus, Chapters 28-29 where God instructs Moses in the establishment of the line of Levite priests, … as well as, in detail, how these descendants of Aaron were to dress and be consecrated for worship. And, from the highlighted passages, which I’ve copied above from these two chapters in Exodus, that’s why I titled my devotional today, Dressed for [Spiritual] Success. There was great detail from God about how the Tabernacle Priests were to be outfitted and God took great lengths to give instructions to Moses about the leadership of the Tabernacle and how He, Yahweh, was to be worshipped during His people’s trek through the desert.
And as I read through and meditated upon these chapters this morning, another passage reference from the New Testament bubbled into my consciousness [i.e., 1st Peter 2: 9-10], which I’ve also copied above for your edification. I brought up the latter passage because, not only are we, as His chosen New Covenant Christians, charged to be worshippers who are “living sacrifices” [see Romans 12: 1], we are, according to the NT passage above, The Lord’s “royal priesthood.”
And as I was meditating on all of this, it caused me to contemplate on how our corporate worship has become so contemporized and “culturalized” (I know, not words – but concepts which hopefully communicates) that our attempts to accept anyone to “come as they are” to our worship services has “dressed-down” our roles as God’s “royal priesthood” in our world of corporate worship today.
Now please don’t mistakenly take what I’m about to say as prideful or judgmental; but, I’ve been asked by some in my church why I choose to ALWAYS wear a suit and tie or the best threads I have to worship service in our church on Sundays. Many come to our worship service in their everyday jeans or very casual “threads.” And I have to confess being “turned-off” a bit by such dress for Sunday worship.
Years ago, my Christian grandmother taught me a lesson about how I should dress; and this was years before I became a Christian. She told me, in preparing to go to our church on Sunday, “Bill, when you go to someone’s wedding or funeral, your mom and dad will always want you to wear your best to honor the couple being married or the person being buried. So, shouldn’t you wear your best to Church each Sunday to honor God?” I’ve never forgotten that lesson; and I apply it today to the way I dress for “Spiritual success” for my worship. And this is especially the case since I happen to be one of the Elders in my church as well as an “Ordained Minister” of the Gospel by my church.
But really, and I have to guard against being judgmental here, since we’re all part of God’s “royal priesthood,” when you read the above passages, wouldn’t you say that we – God’s royal New Testament priesthood – who have become God’s temple of worship (see 1st Cor. 6: 19), should be dressing the part and witnessing our worship in the same way God instructed for worship by the Levites in the time of their exodus toward the promised land. We – in the New Covenant – are also trekking through life toward the “promised land” [of heaven]; and we have God’s tabernacle in our hearts. Therefore, I think (just my belief and opinion) we should be witnesses to our LORD, the Yahweh of the Old AND New Covenant, by the way we dress when we come for corporate, or Temple, worship. Hence, I don’t see myself wearing my jeans or khakis and a sweatshirt on Sunday mornings. I choose to wear my best – as I would to your wedding or funeral – honoring the One true and living God, Who mercifully saved me and has sanctified me to be part of His “royal priesthood.”
My friend, you can wear what you want to church; because God will, in fact and in truth, accept anyone’s genuine and humble worship from the heart, no matter what they wear. However, if you come to Collierville, TN, and to Central Church on Sunday mornings, you will see Bill Berry wearing his “Sunday best” as I come into the House of God to worship and praise the LORD Who saved me. And I hope you don’t think that’s an “uppity” attitude. It’s just one member of God’s “royal priesthood” trying to live up to the instructions God has given to His line of priests [see above] as to how our LORD is to be worshipped.
And as Lily Tomlin used to say with a childish lisp as “Edith Ann,” on Laugh-In … “That’s the truth!” … [and you can see it with this link]
My Prayer Today: … Lord, there is no laughing at the way we present ourselves as Your “royal priesthood” and as we worship You in loving witness, coming to Your tabernacle of deliverance on Sunday mornings. Amen
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Friday, December 23, 2011
December 23, 2011 … Responding to Christ’s Exaltation
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 10 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My Journal for Today: Today’s passage, and John MacArthur’s teachings on the Phil. 2: 10 – 11 passage in today’s Strength for Today entry, point to the inevitable response that all created beings ultimately will have before the throne of the risen and exalted “Lord,” and that is to humbly “bow” in worship. The Apostle Paul’s declaration of this truth here as well in Romans 14: 11 where Paul quotes from Isaiah 45:23, writing “It is written: 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' “ Paul’s forceful statement and quote from Scripture exempts NO ONE!
The subjunctive mood, involving the phrase “every knee should bow” means that such worship WILL take place at some point in God’s future plan for mankind as prophesied first by God through Isaiah (again 45: 23) . Some will have done so voluntarily, as has yours truly. However, some – and many more unfortunately – will come before the glorified and exalted Christ, bowing in stark terror to recognize His Lordship, realizing that God’s wrath awaits their rejection or willful apathy of Christ during their lives. And sadly these latter souls may have known Jesus as a historical figure or as a man if they were privileged to have seen Him walk on this earth. Some may have even recognized Him as the Savior of all mankind. However, unless they have acknowledged Christ as their “Lord” during their lifetime [as we’ve been studying here the past few days], their bowing in worship at His second coming will have been too late to receive the grace of His salvation.
That’s why Paul exhorts in Phil. 2: 5 – 11 for all believers to take on the humility of Christlikeness by choice while living, worshipping Christ as “Lord” in life so that the believer can receive His saving grace, serve the Lord in life [see Romans 12: 1], and worship The LORD forever in Heaven. Prayerfully, reading this, you know - that you know that you know - that you’ve humbly received Christ as Savior AND Lord. As I wrote yesterday … if you haven’t done so, DO IT NOW, so that when that time comes in glory you will be counted among those who humbly received the salvation offered by our Lord.
Yes, you guessed it by now – there’s even more Christology to come. Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: Lord, I will humbly declare it again and often – You are my Lord! Amen
My Journal for Today: Today’s passage, and John MacArthur’s teachings on the Phil. 2: 10 – 11 passage in today’s Strength for Today entry, point to the inevitable response that all created beings ultimately will have before the throne of the risen and exalted “Lord,” and that is to humbly “bow” in worship. The Apostle Paul’s declaration of this truth here as well in Romans 14: 11 where Paul quotes from Isaiah 45:23, writing “It is written: 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' “ Paul’s forceful statement and quote from Scripture exempts NO ONE!
The subjunctive mood, involving the phrase “every knee should bow” means that such worship WILL take place at some point in God’s future plan for mankind as prophesied first by God through Isaiah (again 45: 23) . Some will have done so voluntarily, as has yours truly. However, some – and many more unfortunately – will come before the glorified and exalted Christ, bowing in stark terror to recognize His Lordship, realizing that God’s wrath awaits their rejection or willful apathy of Christ during their lives. And sadly these latter souls may have known Jesus as a historical figure or as a man if they were privileged to have seen Him walk on this earth. Some may have even recognized Him as the Savior of all mankind. However, unless they have acknowledged Christ as their “Lord” during their lifetime [as we’ve been studying here the past few days], their bowing in worship at His second coming will have been too late to receive the grace of His salvation.
That’s why Paul exhorts in Phil. 2: 5 – 11 for all believers to take on the humility of Christlikeness by choice while living, worshipping Christ as “Lord” in life so that the believer can receive His saving grace, serve the Lord in life [see Romans 12: 1], and worship The LORD forever in Heaven. Prayerfully, reading this, you know - that you know that you know - that you’ve humbly received Christ as Savior AND Lord. As I wrote yesterday … if you haven’t done so, DO IT NOW, so that when that time comes in glory you will be counted among those who humbly received the salvation offered by our Lord.
Yes, you guessed it by now – there’s even more Christology to come. Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: Lord, I will humbly declare it again and often – You are my Lord! Amen
Saturday, May 01, 2010
2010 – May 1 – Faithfulness in the Face of Unfaithfulness
Blogger's Note:Well, here I am beginning month five of 2010, still reading through the Bible in a year as I had set out to do on New Year's Day. Thus far it has been a very revealing and productive growth experience; and I intend to finish out my commitment to read/blog through the entire Bible this year ... <'BB><
Study from God’s Word… Psalms 75, 93, 94, 97, 98, 99, and 100 … Passage for Reflection: Psalm 100: 5 … NIV 5 For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.
My Journal for Today: I co-teach what you’d likely call an adult “Sunday School” class at my church along with another brother in Christ, who comes from an African-American tradition of church; and often he begins our class with a ditty he was taught as a young boy, and one which our class also knows well. Many of you reading along with me here may have heard it. KC, my co-teacher buddy cries out, “God is good!” And the class retorts, “All the time!” Then KC responds, “All the time;” and the class comes back, in unison, “God is good!” And you’re probably ahead of me that this little interactive ditty is another expression of one of the shortest Psalms in the Bible, Psalm 100, from which we read today’s highlight passage, in verse 5, For the LORD is good and His love endures forever.”
And that’s another of those God honoring truths from Scripture that can roll off our tongues as Christian believers with almost a knee-jerk and responsive-reading type of reaction, like the little ditty used by my co-teacher friend to begin our class. Somehow, we know, in our heads that God is good, and He’s good forever; but when the issues of life and the pressures of the world bear down, do we really believe – in our hearts - that biblical song to be the truth?
This morning, along with about 25 other men/boys from our church, we’re out on a fishing trip into the lovely hills of the Ozark mountains; and out here, quietly fishing on the Little Red River in Arkansas, it’s pretty easy for me, surrounded by God’s creation and the peace and quiet on the river, to believe that “God is good;” … BUT … (another one of those big “BUTS”) when the tyranny of the worldly urgent is bearing down on me, the very human side of me sometimes wanders in my belief that God is ALWAYS good and that His love surrounds me … yes, even when I see man – and that includes me! - being so cruel and greedy and dishonest in the world.
That’s why it’s very good for me to join in with my fellow brothers in Christ, as we did last night in our cabin; and worship our God together. And last night about 15 of my fellow fisher’s of men, joined me in a short devotional in our cabin after a fun day of fishing for fish. We were brothers in Christ, a few of them with their young sons; and we worshipped God by singing a few praise choruses; and then I brought a brief message which God had lain on my heart about Christian “vulnerability.” And here in this place, along with my fellow Christians, it was wonderful raise up our voices together and worship the God Who, as Psalm 100 declares is truly good and Who is the same LORD, Whose love, in truth, does endure forever.
I pray this morning that you can join me in that same declaration of worship for our God.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I pray that I join with anyone who reads this to shout to the heavens that You are a good God, Who loves us all forever and Whose faithfulness endures through all the generations. Amen
Study from God’s Word… Psalms 75, 93, 94, 97, 98, 99, and 100 … Passage for Reflection: Psalm 100: 5 … NIV 5 For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.
My Journal for Today: I co-teach what you’d likely call an adult “Sunday School” class at my church along with another brother in Christ, who comes from an African-American tradition of church; and often he begins our class with a ditty he was taught as a young boy, and one which our class also knows well. Many of you reading along with me here may have heard it. KC, my co-teacher buddy cries out, “God is good!” And the class retorts, “All the time!” Then KC responds, “All the time;” and the class comes back, in unison, “God is good!” And you’re probably ahead of me that this little interactive ditty is another expression of one of the shortest Psalms in the Bible, Psalm 100, from which we read today’s highlight passage, in verse 5, For the LORD is good and His love endures forever.”
And that’s another of those God honoring truths from Scripture that can roll off our tongues as Christian believers with almost a knee-jerk and responsive-reading type of reaction, like the little ditty used by my co-teacher friend to begin our class. Somehow, we know, in our heads that God is good, and He’s good forever; but when the issues of life and the pressures of the world bear down, do we really believe – in our hearts - that biblical song to be the truth?
This morning, along with about 25 other men/boys from our church, we’re out on a fishing trip into the lovely hills of the Ozark mountains; and out here, quietly fishing on the Little Red River in Arkansas, it’s pretty easy for me, surrounded by God’s creation and the peace and quiet on the river, to believe that “God is good;” … BUT … (another one of those big “BUTS”) when the tyranny of the worldly urgent is bearing down on me, the very human side of me sometimes wanders in my belief that God is ALWAYS good and that His love surrounds me … yes, even when I see man – and that includes me! - being so cruel and greedy and dishonest in the world.
That’s why it’s very good for me to join in with my fellow brothers in Christ, as we did last night in our cabin; and worship our God together. And last night about 15 of my fellow fisher’s of men, joined me in a short devotional in our cabin after a fun day of fishing for fish. We were brothers in Christ, a few of them with their young sons; and we worshipped God by singing a few praise choruses; and then I brought a brief message which God had lain on my heart about Christian “vulnerability.” And here in this place, along with my fellow Christians, it was wonderful raise up our voices together and worship the God Who, as Psalm 100 declares is truly good and Who is the same LORD, Whose love, in truth, does endure forever.
I pray this morning that you can join me in that same declaration of worship for our God.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I pray that I join with anyone who reads this to shout to the heavens that You are a good God, Who loves us all forever and Whose faithfulness endures through all the generations. Amen
Friday, February 05, 2010
2010 – Day 36. Feb. 5 – A God-Centered Community
Study from Numbers 9: 1-12; then from Numbers 1 - 2; Passage for Reflection: Numbers 2: 1-2 … NIV 1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 2 "The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family."
My Journal for Today: Sometimes when one (well, at least yours truly) reads passages like those from Numbers, as I have this morning, it’s a bit hard to extrapolate God’s intent from the historical context to the personal one in the here-and-now, going through centuries of sociological change to get from then to now. But with the help of my devotional author today, Dr. Smith has taken me from the documentation of the Israelite soldiers and even the counting of the Priesthood, centuries before Christ, to an application which would apply from the Old Covenant into the New Covenant and right into my heart as a 21st century Christian. And Dr. Smith does so by asking a very simple, but pointed question: “If I were a community of one, where would God’s special place be?”
And as God’s very special timing would have it, last night in our weekly small group, which is somewhat like a first century home church, I was teaching on the subject of putting God (i.e., Christ) at the center of our lives; i.e., giving Him the center-piece of our worship, which is our 24/7 lifestyle, … where He is the focus of our living. And in that teaching our group was to study and memorize two passages from the New Testament, Luke 9: 23 and Matthew 6: 33 (which I really hope you have already memorized – and if not I’ll leave it to you to seek them out for study. These passages help the New Testament Christian disciple to see the essence of Christian living (or “worship,” if you will); and that is to place our relationship and walk with Christ at the center of our community of the heart, where God’s temple resides Spiritually in the lives of any Christian.
If you read through the passages from the Book of Numbers [mentioned above], you’ll read that God wanted to put Himself, in the Tabernacle, no matter where it moved with these nomadic people, smack dab in the center of His people. And God dictated to Moses exactly how this would take place, … which tribes would be on the East, the West, the North, and the South; and the designation of the Levites to watch over the Tent of Meetings, i.e., the Tabernacle, which was to be placed strategically in the center of the guardians of God’s community … at the center of the lives of His people. And as we move forward in time, God’s New Covenant Tabernacle has been established in the Person of Jesus Christ, Who now resides in the hearts of each Christian, who becomes a community of one. And God expects to be established with each of us as His priesthood; and we are to place His Tabernacle – i.e., our relationship with Christ - at the center of our hearts so that everything in our lives will center on a lifestyle of worship of Him.
That is what Jesus was saying to His church and to us in the two passages referred to above (from Luke 9: 23 and Matt. 6: 33); and isn’t it wonderful how even the structure of the first community of believers in the Old Testament in the Book of Numbers spoke to this truth by the structure of how the community was to be constructed … the Tabernacle at the center for worship and with God residing there for His worshipping people to be able to focus on Him as our Center of their sacrificial worship.
Think on that for a while; and see that even the listings of people and the construction of the earliest of God’s communities became a picture of how our hearts should be put together for worship today. Can I hear a witness of “Hallelujah!” from anyone reading here?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, …Oh Lord, Hallelujah that You were preparing Your Tabernacle of Worship in ancient Israel to be a picture of where You now reside in my heart. And may my life be a reflection of You being the center of my worship this very day. Amen
My Journal for Today: Sometimes when one (well, at least yours truly) reads passages like those from Numbers, as I have this morning, it’s a bit hard to extrapolate God’s intent from the historical context to the personal one in the here-and-now, going through centuries of sociological change to get from then to now. But with the help of my devotional author today, Dr. Smith has taken me from the documentation of the Israelite soldiers and even the counting of the Priesthood, centuries before Christ, to an application which would apply from the Old Covenant into the New Covenant and right into my heart as a 21st century Christian. And Dr. Smith does so by asking a very simple, but pointed question: “If I were a community of one, where would God’s special place be?”
And as God’s very special timing would have it, last night in our weekly small group, which is somewhat like a first century home church, I was teaching on the subject of putting God (i.e., Christ) at the center of our lives; i.e., giving Him the center-piece of our worship, which is our 24/7 lifestyle, … where He is the focus of our living. And in that teaching our group was to study and memorize two passages from the New Testament, Luke 9: 23 and Matthew 6: 33 (which I really hope you have already memorized – and if not I’ll leave it to you to seek them out for study. These passages help the New Testament Christian disciple to see the essence of Christian living (or “worship,” if you will); and that is to place our relationship and walk with Christ at the center of our community of the heart, where God’s temple resides Spiritually in the lives of any Christian.
If you read through the passages from the Book of Numbers [mentioned above], you’ll read that God wanted to put Himself, in the Tabernacle, no matter where it moved with these nomadic people, smack dab in the center of His people. And God dictated to Moses exactly how this would take place, … which tribes would be on the East, the West, the North, and the South; and the designation of the Levites to watch over the Tent of Meetings, i.e., the Tabernacle, which was to be placed strategically in the center of the guardians of God’s community … at the center of the lives of His people. And as we move forward in time, God’s New Covenant Tabernacle has been established in the Person of Jesus Christ, Who now resides in the hearts of each Christian, who becomes a community of one. And God expects to be established with each of us as His priesthood; and we are to place His Tabernacle – i.e., our relationship with Christ - at the center of our hearts so that everything in our lives will center on a lifestyle of worship of Him.
That is what Jesus was saying to His church and to us in the two passages referred to above (from Luke 9: 23 and Matt. 6: 33); and isn’t it wonderful how even the structure of the first community of believers in the Old Testament in the Book of Numbers spoke to this truth by the structure of how the community was to be constructed … the Tabernacle at the center for worship and with God residing there for His worshipping people to be able to focus on Him as our Center of their sacrificial worship.
Think on that for a while; and see that even the listings of people and the construction of the earliest of God’s communities became a picture of how our hearts should be put together for worship today. Can I hear a witness of “Hallelujah!” from anyone reading here?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, …Oh Lord, Hallelujah that You were preparing Your Tabernacle of Worship in ancient Israel to be a picture of where You now reside in my heart. And may my life be a reflection of You being the center of my worship this very day. Amen
Friday, January 22, 2010
2010 – Day 22. Jan. 22 – Reverence with Awe
Study from Exodus 1 – 6; Passage for Reflection: Exodus 3: 5 … NIV “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
My Journal for Today: Can you just imagine what it must have been like for Moses, there observing that bush burning and coming that close to the Creator of the entire universe? And if you’re a student of the Bible, you’ve probably read that greeting from God, ”Do not come any closer,” several times. But did you ever ponder what it must’ve been like for a very curious man, one who was raised like a king but had become a shepherd, to come – all of a sudden – into the presence of the God to Whom he had prayed for many years of his life. And what a bizarre presence it was … a burning bush which was not consumed by the fire.
Here was Moses; and he was in the very presence of the God Whom he had worshipped for the last 40 years of his life; and his God was speaking to him. The scenario certainly begs the question, ”Do we come into the presence of God in reverence and awe when we spend time with Him? We are coming to the God Who is the great I AM!! But do we really experience His presence and revere His power? ” Most of the time, I think not. Right now, in my quiet place, I do sense I’m with God; but I’m afraid I don’t have the awe that I feel I should have.
And I stand as convicted here as anyone might who has let familiarity breed [well, maybe not “contempt”] … maybe something more along the lines of commonality. It’s like one coming into the possession of a painting by Rembrandt and putting it on the wall in our home. It may be worth millions; but if we don’t watch out, having it there on the wall, after a while, it will almost disappear in our lives due to familiarity. When we first hang the painting, there is a great “WOW!” factor; but after a while, it becomes a “Ho hum” presence in our lives.
And I’m afraid that is what God has become to many believers; and I don’t point any fingers of blame at others without knowing that I have three other fingers pointing right back at myself. So, I sit here this moringin, convicted by my devotional shepherd today. F. LaGard Smith has pealed away my confession that I treat my Lord with too much commonality. Oh, … I do recoil when I hear someone pray to “Papa God” or make some casual reference like, “Oh my God!” in everyday conversation. I do have an emotional knee jerk reaction when I hear someone say, “the Man upstairs;” and I recoil even more when I hear someone use the Lord’s name in vain by cussing the name of our Savior. So, maybe I’m not totally wrapped up in the familiarity syndrome of treating God too much like a friend and not enough like the Great I AM.
But I’m thankful today that Dr. Smith has helped me realize that when I get on my knees each morning right after I awaken, I have stepped onto HOLY GROUND, the ground won by my Savior when He died on that cross; and I’m praying to the very God Who delivered His people out of Egypt. Actually, I’m very much like Moses, who felt very insignificant when he was with God; and he was right to feel that way, being in God’s presence as the bush burned before him. He was right to feel very small before an infinitely big God. And we need to feel – and express – to God our awe of His presence and His power in our lives.
As He could have with Moses, God could squash us like a bug; but He doesn’t. Like He did with Moses, our Lord has a plan and a purpose for our lives; and like Moses, it behooves us to find out what that purpose is and to follow it unto completion. I pray that is the goal of anyone reading here with me today. It certainly is mine!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I’m emotionally shoeless here in this place … on Holy Ground here this morning … spending time with You, the awesome and great I AM, … the God who created me and everything which gives me life, … the God Who saved me from my own sinfulness, … and the God Who has decided to use my insignificance for Your glory. I come to You today, desiring that all see YOU for Whom You are … our God! Amen
My Journal for Today: Can you just imagine what it must have been like for Moses, there observing that bush burning and coming that close to the Creator of the entire universe? And if you’re a student of the Bible, you’ve probably read that greeting from God, ”Do not come any closer,” several times. But did you ever ponder what it must’ve been like for a very curious man, one who was raised like a king but had become a shepherd, to come – all of a sudden – into the presence of the God to Whom he had prayed for many years of his life. And what a bizarre presence it was … a burning bush which was not consumed by the fire.
Here was Moses; and he was in the very presence of the God Whom he had worshipped for the last 40 years of his life; and his God was speaking to him. The scenario certainly begs the question, ”Do we come into the presence of God in reverence and awe when we spend time with Him? We are coming to the God Who is the great I AM!! But do we really experience His presence and revere His power? ” Most of the time, I think not. Right now, in my quiet place, I do sense I’m with God; but I’m afraid I don’t have the awe that I feel I should have.
And I stand as convicted here as anyone might who has let familiarity breed [well, maybe not “contempt”] … maybe something more along the lines of commonality. It’s like one coming into the possession of a painting by Rembrandt and putting it on the wall in our home. It may be worth millions; but if we don’t watch out, having it there on the wall, after a while, it will almost disappear in our lives due to familiarity. When we first hang the painting, there is a great “WOW!” factor; but after a while, it becomes a “Ho hum” presence in our lives.
And I’m afraid that is what God has become to many believers; and I don’t point any fingers of blame at others without knowing that I have three other fingers pointing right back at myself. So, I sit here this moringin, convicted by my devotional shepherd today. F. LaGard Smith has pealed away my confession that I treat my Lord with too much commonality. Oh, … I do recoil when I hear someone pray to “Papa God” or make some casual reference like, “Oh my God!” in everyday conversation. I do have an emotional knee jerk reaction when I hear someone say, “the Man upstairs;” and I recoil even more when I hear someone use the Lord’s name in vain by cussing the name of our Savior. So, maybe I’m not totally wrapped up in the familiarity syndrome of treating God too much like a friend and not enough like the Great I AM.
But I’m thankful today that Dr. Smith has helped me realize that when I get on my knees each morning right after I awaken, I have stepped onto HOLY GROUND, the ground won by my Savior when He died on that cross; and I’m praying to the very God Who delivered His people out of Egypt. Actually, I’m very much like Moses, who felt very insignificant when he was with God; and he was right to feel that way, being in God’s presence as the bush burned before him. He was right to feel very small before an infinitely big God. And we need to feel – and express – to God our awe of His presence and His power in our lives.
As He could have with Moses, God could squash us like a bug; but He doesn’t. Like He did with Moses, our Lord has a plan and a purpose for our lives; and like Moses, it behooves us to find out what that purpose is and to follow it unto completion. I pray that is the goal of anyone reading here with me today. It certainly is mine!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I’m emotionally shoeless here in this place … on Holy Ground here this morning … spending time with You, the awesome and great I AM, … the God who created me and everything which gives me life, … the God Who saved me from my own sinfulness, … and the God Who has decided to use my insignificance for Your glory. I come to You today, desiring that all see YOU for Whom You are … our God! Amen
Thursday, May 14, 2009
2009 – Day 133.May 14 – True Freedom
2009 – Day 133.May 14 – True Freedom
Passage of the Day: 2nd Samuel 6: 14 – 23 … Link to 2nd Sam. 6 for study ...
My Journal for the Day: This passage illustrates the power of obedience to produce freedom in one’s life. And Chuck Swindoll brings out two specific points in that regard which relate closely to the way we view life, either vertically in our relationship with God or horizontally, following the world’s view. I’ve discussed this in past devotionals; and I believe that Swindoll’s study today illustrates the strong vertical focus David had on God. I’ve certainly seen this illustrated in my past studies by see David’s vertical focus on God in his slaying of Goliath and his honoring Saul as God’s anointed king in spite of Saul’s hatred and jealousy for David. And now we see it in the way he honors God as he prepares the Arc of the Covenant and worships God with open abandon.
And Swindoll points out that … the better you know where you stand with the Lord, the freer you can be. In today’s passage we see David boldly and gleefully dancing, almost naked before God, much to the chagrin of his wife, worshipping his love for his God openly and honestly. And in Michal, Saul’s daughter and David’s wife, we see what can happen when the world and the flesh come into contact with someone, like David, who boldly and openly proclaims his love for God. And it’s true that when you get bold and vulnerable in your witness for God, the world will likely recoil with embarrassment in the least or anger/hostility at worst. You’ll note Michal’s response in verse 16 of today’s highlight passage. She saw David dancing freely and joyfully, worshipping the Lord, and the verse says, "she despised him in her heart.”
And the second point Swindoll brings out, which is illustrated in today’s stud, is that the freer you are before the Lord, the more confident you will become. And this was certainly true of David as he danced with joy, throwing aside the conventions of “kingly” dress, and freeing himself to worship His Lord. David, in this scenario is the picture of vulnerability and unconventional witness. He didn’t care what others thought, … only that God knew how joy-filled he was in the presence of his God.
What about you? I know that at times I’ve found myself balking a bit and muting my enthusiasm in worship on Sunday mornings, letting my horizontal feelings dictate just how open I would be to raise my hands while worshipping God in our service. We’re a church that has come from a “tradition” of a more subdued, muted style of worship; and having broken away from the boundaries and traditions of our “denominational” style, we now find our newer worship style evolving and growing to be freer and more expressive, which makes some, especially the older members of our congregation, uncomfortable. And I, personally, love the newer, freer style of worship! But I’m convicted by today’s study that I’m not open and free enough in the way I personally express my worship of the God of the Universe and the One Who saved me.
Why should I care what others think when I raise my hands with joy on Sunday morning, singing my praises to my Lord? I need to have more of David in my worship and less of Michal.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, as I grow to know You more, help me to be free to worship You, letting Your Spirit witness my love for You openly and freely. Amen
Passage of the Day: 2nd Samuel 6: 14 – 23 … Link to 2nd Sam. 6 for study ...
My Journal for the Day: This passage illustrates the power of obedience to produce freedom in one’s life. And Chuck Swindoll brings out two specific points in that regard which relate closely to the way we view life, either vertically in our relationship with God or horizontally, following the world’s view. I’ve discussed this in past devotionals; and I believe that Swindoll’s study today illustrates the strong vertical focus David had on God. I’ve certainly seen this illustrated in my past studies by see David’s vertical focus on God in his slaying of Goliath and his honoring Saul as God’s anointed king in spite of Saul’s hatred and jealousy for David. And now we see it in the way he honors God as he prepares the Arc of the Covenant and worships God with open abandon.
And Swindoll points out that … the better you know where you stand with the Lord, the freer you can be. In today’s passage we see David boldly and gleefully dancing, almost naked before God, much to the chagrin of his wife, worshipping his love for his God openly and honestly. And in Michal, Saul’s daughter and David’s wife, we see what can happen when the world and the flesh come into contact with someone, like David, who boldly and openly proclaims his love for God. And it’s true that when you get bold and vulnerable in your witness for God, the world will likely recoil with embarrassment in the least or anger/hostility at worst. You’ll note Michal’s response in verse 16 of today’s highlight passage. She saw David dancing freely and joyfully, worshipping the Lord, and the verse says, "she despised him in her heart.”
And the second point Swindoll brings out, which is illustrated in today’s stud, is that the freer you are before the Lord, the more confident you will become. And this was certainly true of David as he danced with joy, throwing aside the conventions of “kingly” dress, and freeing himself to worship His Lord. David, in this scenario is the picture of vulnerability and unconventional witness. He didn’t care what others thought, … only that God knew how joy-filled he was in the presence of his God.
What about you? I know that at times I’ve found myself balking a bit and muting my enthusiasm in worship on Sunday mornings, letting my horizontal feelings dictate just how open I would be to raise my hands while worshipping God in our service. We’re a church that has come from a “tradition” of a more subdued, muted style of worship; and having broken away from the boundaries and traditions of our “denominational” style, we now find our newer worship style evolving and growing to be freer and more expressive, which makes some, especially the older members of our congregation, uncomfortable. And I, personally, love the newer, freer style of worship! But I’m convicted by today’s study that I’m not open and free enough in the way I personally express my worship of the God of the Universe and the One Who saved me.
Why should I care what others think when I raise my hands with joy on Sunday morning, singing my praises to my Lord? I need to have more of David in my worship and less of Michal.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, as I grow to know You more, help me to be free to worship You, letting Your Spirit witness my love for You openly and freely. Amen
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
2009 – Day 90.Apr. 1 – Doing Time
April, 2009 Topic: Moses … Continued from March 31, 2009
Blogger Bill’s Note: We continue in the life of Moses as I move from March to April. If you want to read or review the journal entries concerning Moses for March, 2009, the reader can do so at this website … <’BB><
==================
2009 – Day 90.Apr. 1 – Doing Time
Passage of the Day: Exodus 24: 12; 25: 1 – 9 … Link to Exod. 24 – 25 …
My Journal for Today: New month, … same study extended. And today – on April Fool’s Day - we see Moses extended way out of his comfort zone, going up the mountain to be with God and to receive His Holy, WRITTEN word. This was HUGE! … not just for Moses … but for mankind. And in many respects the motivation for God’s command to Moses is much the same as it is for you and me today on this day when we really ought to see just how foolish we can be in the presence of the God of Moses.
God wanted to give His children (think of it as you and me), His very character, defined and written for them to follow; and He wanted to dwell with them. Hence, God Himself gives, through Moses, His own word, written for the people to read and follow forever. Then He gives instructions for the Tabernacle where He could dwell with the people in His own special way. And what a picture this is of what the Lord has given us.
But we have His word in a much more elaborate and clearly defined package – the Bible. And we have “The Tabernacle” in Christ, Who now can – and does for the reborn Christian – dwell in the hearts of mankind. Who could ever refuse such a deal; but as we know from reading on ahead in the Moses account, those people became April fools – bigtime! The Hebrews, whom we read of yesterday, were declaring that they would obey and follow God anywhere and everywhere turned into the same people who would – in a very short time – reject God and begin building a golden calf at the base of the very mountain where God was dealing with Moses. … And flashing forward centuries, we see the same short-memory mentality where the people cried “Hallelujah, Messiah!” when Jesus entered the gates of the Temple during his Passion; and then, just a few days later, these April Fools were railing “Crucify Him!”
Swindoll makes some probing observations about how we are doing our time as Christians. He writes, “How many of us take a course in prayer but rarely pray; or we learn the techniques of evangelism but seldom share our faith?” And if you’re reading this, as I am, how many of you are feeling the barbs of conviction right about now?
Last night I shared with a group of men from the ministry I’ve been called to lead; and I told them that we are no different than the Hebrews who were at the foot of that mountain when Moses went up to be with God; and we are no different than the mob which crucified our Savior. We will worship our God with our lives as living sacrifices to the degree we know and see God. If we see ourselves as big and God small, we will serve self. But if, as Moses was getting the picture of God, we see our Lord as big – no, I mean really HUGE! – we will obey Him and serve Him with a life of worship and service He commands … and He deserves.
As I’ve said many times in my devotionals … the more clearly we see and know the God of Mount Sinai and the God Who died for us on the cross, the more readily we will obey and serve the real God. But when we see other things in our life, including our selves, as bigger than God, we will tend to serve them and turn aside from “doing time” for God. I pray that we all get to know God for Whom He is. We are loved by a REALLY BIG GOD; and I go on to pray that I’ll always be in awe of the God Who has given me His word so that I can live and serve Him with the reverence He deserves.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, You are God and I am not! Amen
Blogger Bill’s Note: We continue in the life of Moses as I move from March to April. If you want to read or review the journal entries concerning Moses for March, 2009, the reader can do so at this website … <’BB><
==================
2009 – Day 90.Apr. 1 – Doing Time
Passage of the Day: Exodus 24: 12; 25: 1 – 9 … Link to Exod. 24 – 25 …
My Journal for Today: New month, … same study extended. And today – on April Fool’s Day - we see Moses extended way out of his comfort zone, going up the mountain to be with God and to receive His Holy, WRITTEN word. This was HUGE! … not just for Moses … but for mankind. And in many respects the motivation for God’s command to Moses is much the same as it is for you and me today on this day when we really ought to see just how foolish we can be in the presence of the God of Moses.
God wanted to give His children (think of it as you and me), His very character, defined and written for them to follow; and He wanted to dwell with them. Hence, God Himself gives, through Moses, His own word, written for the people to read and follow forever. Then He gives instructions for the Tabernacle where He could dwell with the people in His own special way. And what a picture this is of what the Lord has given us.
But we have His word in a much more elaborate and clearly defined package – the Bible. And we have “The Tabernacle” in Christ, Who now can – and does for the reborn Christian – dwell in the hearts of mankind. Who could ever refuse such a deal; but as we know from reading on ahead in the Moses account, those people became April fools – bigtime! The Hebrews, whom we read of yesterday, were declaring that they would obey and follow God anywhere and everywhere turned into the same people who would – in a very short time – reject God and begin building a golden calf at the base of the very mountain where God was dealing with Moses. … And flashing forward centuries, we see the same short-memory mentality where the people cried “Hallelujah, Messiah!” when Jesus entered the gates of the Temple during his Passion; and then, just a few days later, these April Fools were railing “Crucify Him!”
Swindoll makes some probing observations about how we are doing our time as Christians. He writes, “How many of us take a course in prayer but rarely pray; or we learn the techniques of evangelism but seldom share our faith?” And if you’re reading this, as I am, how many of you are feeling the barbs of conviction right about now?
Last night I shared with a group of men from the ministry I’ve been called to lead; and I told them that we are no different than the Hebrews who were at the foot of that mountain when Moses went up to be with God; and we are no different than the mob which crucified our Savior. We will worship our God with our lives as living sacrifices to the degree we know and see God. If we see ourselves as big and God small, we will serve self. But if, as Moses was getting the picture of God, we see our Lord as big – no, I mean really HUGE! – we will obey Him and serve Him with a life of worship and service He commands … and He deserves.
As I’ve said many times in my devotionals … the more clearly we see and know the God of Mount Sinai and the God Who died for us on the cross, the more readily we will obey and serve the real God. But when we see other things in our life, including our selves, as bigger than God, we will tend to serve them and turn aside from “doing time” for God. I pray that we all get to know God for Whom He is. We are loved by a REALLY BIG GOD; and I go on to pray that I’ll always be in awe of the God Who has given me His word so that I can live and serve Him with the reverence He deserves.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, You are God and I am not! Amen
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