Category: Daily Post

The other thought that has been bumping around in my brain is ‘are we worshipping worship more than God’. I am not sure exactly where I read this, but it’s just a condemning and mind provoking thought.

As you head to your church to worship God this weekend, give this some thought. Are we more in love with the ceremony and process and methods than the outcome?

Psalms 29:2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Psalms 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
Psalms 99:5 Exalt the LORD our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!

Psalms 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

My heart and head have been over in a different space, studying and thinking and I haven’t had great thoughts nor have I allowed much time to share with all of you.

But I have been thinking about two little sentences this week.  One is from Martin Luther when he was writing about the liberty we have in Christ discussed in Galatians 5.

The Law is not given for the righteous man. A true Christian conducts himself in such a way that he does not need any law to warn or to restrain him. He obeys the Law without compulsion. The Law does not concern him. As far as he is concerned there would not have to be any Law. – Martin Luther

That’s a pretty interesting thought. If we live the life that Christ asks (not tells) us to, then we really would not be concerned with any law. ( and that makes the parking ticket I received on Sunday for ‘wrong direction’ even more frustrating!)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 NIV

Yesterday I was reminded on one of my favorite verses. One that encourages us to action and to doing something with the gift of salvation we have been given. It’s Romans 12 that starts out ‘In light of his mercy’

I tell the teenagers I teach all the time that they can’t save themselves. No matter what they do, they can’t do more than what Christ already did for them.  However, there’s still an expectation of behavior and action.  That action is not a not an ‘in order to’ proactive action, but a ‘because of’ reactive action.  One that prompts us to realize that with what we have been given, why would we not give it all back?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

“The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

http://bible.com/116/psa.23.1.nlt

A great friend of mine is finally getting married this Spring.  On the RSVP card they left a place to send a note to the happy couple.  I have taken upon myself to take an image of that section and text a message to the groom each day until the big day.  So far the messages have been full of silliness and inside jokes.  However I intent to intermix some meaningful stuff along the way.  For instance today I sent along 

“Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

To which he promptly replied 

“And women cover your heads and obey your husbands!”.

He has a lot to learn. Both about the Bible and about matrimony.
So what advice would you pass along ?