R U Ready? - To Worship

In the early 90s, there was a significant amount of change happening in churches all across America and, though the changes ran deeper than this, the heart of the transition had to do with worship, and primarily worship music. In fact, Christianity Today magazine had a cover story in the early 90s dedicated to the issue they referred to as “The Worship Wars.” Their story over simplified the change as largely being about style instead of substance but it definitely ran much deeper than style. I found myself in the middle of that change, initiating much of it, at least where I served. To me is was about so much more than style. In fact, style was way down the list for me and taking a fresh look at what churches were calling worship came to the forefront. I grew up in the tradition of featured choral selections and hymn singing, and, while it could be majestic, moving, and occasionally even awe-inspiring, I don’t know that it regularly took us (or at least me) into a place of genuine worship. A place where we knew that we were in the presence of a holy God and we were certainly not worthy to be there. My experience taught me that genuine worship was occurring at a lot of churches, it was just taking place at the weekly youth group meeting instead of on Sunday morning. It caused me to examine the scriptures to see what the Bible says about worship and then adjust my leadership around those discoveries. Much of the new praise and worship music out at the time was, musically appealing but lyrically, well.. thin. That was a major criticism from the traditionalists and, in some cases, they were right. That moved me to begin to dive deeper into searching for songs that actually said something and even moved me into writing some myself to try to close that gap.

That said, music was and is just one tool in the worship toolbox and, though an important one, doesn’t, by itself, get us to where we need to be. So what else does worship consist of and what does the scripture have to say about that?

R U Ready? - To Grow

I’m pretty good at killing plants. The Mrs. however is pretty accomplished at getting things to

grow. Very few people who come to our house, especially for the first time, don’t have something to

say about the flowers, in both the beds surrounding our porch, and on the porch itself. They are all

beautiful and healthy. Then there are the raised beds in the back yard. They are full of cherry

tomatoes, Better Boy tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, squash, and okra and we are harvesting a

pretty good sized bowl full about every evening. She loves watching things grow and it shows, it’s a

passion of hers and something that brings her joy. That said, tending to flowers and plants,

especially vegetables, is a lot of work, weeding, feeding, watering, pruning. It’s something about

constantly, but that’s what it takes to get the desired results.

Spiritual growth is no different. It doesn’t just happen. It occurs because we pursue it with at least

some intentionality. Sure we can pick up a few things from observing how our friends and family deal

with spiritual issues from time to time, but to really glean the lessons that help deepen our roots is

going to take some effort on out part. Understanding how God can and does use everything from a

personal health crisis to the brewing wars in the middle-east to teach us something about who He is,

how He speaks, and what He is up to, is what each of us want to know. And we can, but there are

some investments that we have to make in order to experience sufficient spiritual growth to not just

understand those things, but even learn to anticipate them, adjust my priorities in response to them,

and glean the lesson that gives us a clearer picture of how and where God is at work in us and

around us. There is weeding, feeding, watering and pruning involved there too. But when we start to

grow and mature in our faith, it’s both self-perpetuating and contagious.

R U Ready? - To Pick Up the Mantle

A brief look at the American 4X100 relay team’s baton-passing failures reveals that in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, a runner dropped the baton during an exchange. In the 2009 world championships, two runners exchanged the baton before the passing zone started and were disqualified. In 2015 the U.S. team made the exchange after the passing zone and were again disqualified. If there’s a way to blow a baton exchange the U.S. men’s 4X100 relay team has done it. No matter that the team is usually made up of 4 of the top 10 sprinters in the world, if you can’t make the baton pass, all that speed is useless. The success or failure of any relay race lies in the baton exchange, a simple concept that is obviously not so simple to execute, even for Olympians, the greatest athletes in the world. I guess it should be no surprise then that passing spiritual batons from one generation to the next can be problematic as well. Probably in large part because many of us don’t even realize that there are spiritual batons (the Bible calls them mantles) to pass on in the first place. We learn how to do most things by watching our parents and most moms and dads realize that reality and are hopefully pointing out the details and nuances to their children when it comes to the practical. Things like personal hygiene, cooking, driving a car, a work ethic, taking personal responsibility for your decisions and actions, and the like. But what about things in the spiritual realm? Trusting Christ as our Savior, learning how to read and study the Scripture, discovering God’s call/plan for their life, learning the importance of the church and living an on-purpose life in front of their friends. Then, how to find a Godly mate, raise Godly children, and then pass the mantle down to them. None of that is easy but every bit of it is essential if we don’t want our spiritual influence to die when we do.

R U Ready? - For the Battle

Readiness breeds confidence. That’s the over-arching theme for the upcoming sermon series beginning this coming Sunday. The more prepared you are for whatever it is that you’re about to face, the more productive you are going to be with it.

The Olympics are in full swing right now and in most of the back stories that are done on the featured athletes, the preparation to be where they are today began in early childhood. Perhaps with mom or dad getting them up early every morning to take them to practice before school starts. Some even hiring special coaches or tutors to help their child stay current with their school work. Someone once said that the difference between talent and skill is that talent can simply show up and perform well regardless of preparation and skill is what grows out of sometimes years of preparation.

Situational readiness is something all of us understand when it comes to the milestones in life; graduation, getting that first career-shaping job, getting married, starting a family, getting that promotion or moving from one job or career to another, then there’s retirement. Then most of us have purchased life insurance so that our family isn’t stuck with indebtedness after we die. So, at all of those stops, most of us see the need for readiness.

It’s when things move into the spiritual realm that many find themselves lacking when it comes to being prepared, and I’m not referring to salvation necessarily, although that is definitely step one when it comes to readiness. However, what about our readiness when it comes to worship, sharing our faith, facing persecution, pursuing maturity, or, as we’ll see this Sunday, our readiness for the battles we face with the enemy? Not quite as ready for those as you’d like to be?

I Am - Known

On average, most of us know about 200 people on a first name basis. Of your 200, how many would you say that you know well? Well enough to be able to accurately predict how they would react to a situation ahead of time? Now within that small circle, how many of those do you know as well as you know yourself? It’s amazing that in the Facebook, X (Twitter), Snapchat world we live in, how few people we really know and, in turn, how few people really know us, how few have an “insider’s” view to who we really are. Whether we are the same person when everybody’s looking as we are when nobody’s looking. If everybody knew us as well as we know us, would there be anybody still around? To be really known is one thing. To be really known and still loved is quite another.

Scripture tells us that God really knows us, from the hairs on our head and the chromosomes pulsing through our veins, to our most private thoughts. It tells us that He knows both what we want and what we need before we’ve ever considered either one. It says that because He knows our steps, He sees the consequences of our decisions before we even knew there was a decision to make. Amazingly though, in Him, we are both deeply known and deeply loved, an oddity in and of itself. But coupled with the fact that many of us walk away from Him more often than we walk to Him or with Him, and our being both known and loved is staggering. You see, He doesn’t just know us intimately. He knows us intimately and pursues us tenaciously at the same time. So, that knowledge should beg this question; Do I know Him even half as well as He knows me? Relationship and fellowship, while often considered bedfellows, are really very different. Relationships take work and effort and fellowship is the outgrowth, the reward of that work and effort. He has made and continues to make the effort in our relationships with Him. Could it be time we turned that around?

I Am - Cherished

I have a couple of watches of my dad’s that are cherished possessions to me. Not because either are very valuable but just because they bring back memories of dad wearing them and then of Him giving them to me. So, in a time where watch sales are in decline, since everybody carries around a watch/clock on a phone that is in a pocket or purse or tethered to them, wearing a watch can seem rather redundant. I’d say that most guys probably have something from their dad or grandad that they cherish in some way, whether it’s a watch, a tool, or a tie, for example. Women aren’t much different, whether it’s their mom’s wedding dress, or a piece of jewelry, a blender or a box of recipes, they cherish those items and no amount of money could buy them. And it’s usually not so much the items but rather the memories associated with them that are meaningful in ways that are hard to put a value on. Those cherished items take our minds to another place and time that we remember as fun, special or impactful.

Did you know that the Bible says, if you have a relationship with Christ, you are God’s possession and are cherished by Him? That He sees you as having far greater value than something as mundane as a watch or a dress? So cherished in fact that He took every wrong thing that we would ever do upon Himself at the cross as a way of showing us how valuable we are to Him. We all take great care to preserve and protect what is of value to us and He does the same thing as well. But not in terms of putting something in a safe, or safety deposit box, or garment bag. You see He wants to show off His cherished possessions as a way of revealing Himself to the world around us. So that when they see us, they see Him also. I know that my dad loved me and cherished me as a son and, whether intentional or not, there are ways that I’m just like him. When we get a grasp of how our heavenly Father cherishes us, it should have that same effect of revelation and replication.

I Am - Forgiven

Do you remember when you were a kid and would do or say something that you knew if your parents found out, you would either be punished for, have to apologize for, or both? Maybe it was a fight with a friend or sibling and mom or dad would make you go to that person and say the two hardest words in the English language, “I’m sorry.” Often that was the worst punishment you could receive, especially if you felt you were the one in the right all along. Forgiveness is a hard thing to ask for at any age but in one’s formative years it’s an especially difficult but valuable lesson to learn.

As we get older, and hopefully wiser, and are honest about our own weaknesses and failures, forgiveness then becomes harder to receive than it is to give. And yes, it’s again our enemy the devil that inserts himself into our thoughts to remind us of how unforgivable we really are and we often buy in to his lies and deceptions and think we really don’t deserve to be forgiven.

According to the scripture, forgiveness to a person without Christ is instantaneous and eternal when we believe and confess to Him, our lost-ness and need for a Savior. The forgiveness that person receives is often described as overwhelming and usually emotional when they realize it for the very first time Forgiveness to a child of God however, can be quite the hurdle to get over and the hurdle can be summed up in one word... guilt. If our enemy knows that he can play the guilt card and win consistently with us, he will never stop pulling it out and we will never again walk in victory simply because we think we aren’t capable or worthy of receiving God’s forgiveness. Truth is, none of us are worthy and most are incapable and that’s where the Holy Spirit of God steps in to remind us of His unfailing love and of forgiveness that is already there, even before we ask for it. That’s what loving parents do and what a good, good, Father does too.

I Am - Free

It’s amazing the things we think are free that really aren’t. Like free vacations to exotic places. Or like “buy 3 tires, get one free,” - which you have to pay to have mounted and balanced, not to mention the mark up on the other three tires, to offset the fourth one. I saw a TV commercial not long ago that advertised a book that told of all the free stuff available from the federal government and where and how to obtain it. The book was even free the announcer said, “just pay shipping and handling.” I paused the TV to look at the fine print at the bottom of the screen and discovered that the “shipping and handling” for the “free” book totaled $49.00. Not such a free book after all. Even if we get something that costs us nothing, which is extremely rare, it did cost someone something because someone had to make it, if it’s a product, or provide it, if it’s a service. So when you stop to think about it, is anything really ever free?

Though salvation from our sin and lost-ness are free to us, it actually cost Christ his life at the cross to free us from the debt of that same sin and lost-ness. However, a costly salvation, though not free, is ironically the very vehicle that leads us to real freedom. And, though finding something that’s really free can be difficult, finding real freedom isn’t. It’s the living in freedom part that most find to be a challenge and the reason it’s difficult to live is that it’s so difficult to accept or receive. So how do we get over that hurdle of acceptance and get on to the freedom part? Good question, since most of our bondage, in whatever form, is usually self-induced. Breakin’ the chains on Sunday.

Oh, and another thing, the actual freedoms that we enjoy, like the freedom of speech, the freedom to worship as we see fit and hundreds of others just like those are made possible by the men and women who landed on these shores seeking religious freedom over 250 years ago and the men and women that have served and fought to keep tyranny from invading our shores ever since.

I Am - Loved

Remember your first love? Maybe it was in middle school or perhaps high school but it captured your heart with the warm fuzzies all over and, at that time, you thought you really understood love, right? Wrong. Then you find “the one” and date, get engaged and married and look back at your “first love’” years later and realize how immature you were in your understanding of love. Now your married, committed, invested, and you really finally get it, right? Nope. Then you have children and as your holding that newborn in your arms for the first time, or experience their first steps or their first words and you’re dreaming of what he or she will become and all that they’ll do in their life and are overwhelmed with the realization that you thought you could never experience that much love in this life and realize finally that this is the pinnacle of love, right? Not even close.

You see, love, even as deeply as we’ve experienced it, known it or shared it, can never be fully understood on simply a human level. That’s because we aren’t just physical or emotional beings but we experience, to the greatest of our comprehension, love on its deepest level when we experience the love of God by way of the Spirit of God. When we begin to understand that, not only does our understanding of love blossom and grow but our use of the word tends to be a lot more filtered. We no longer waste it on a pair of shoes, a restaurant entree, or some form of entertainment. It becomes a far more precious word and a far less trivial one. The only place this kind of love is found is in relationship to the King through His Son Jesus and by the experience of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Heady stuff no doubt, but let a Christ- follower experience love in this way and it changes them... forever. And not just them but the people around them, by experiencing for themselves that same love that leads to the divine things, eternal things. And that kind of love friend, will setchefree.

I Am - Redeemed

Are you a clipper? Do you wait eagerly for the Sunday paper to see how many coupons are in there that you might be able to use? My dad watched for and clipped coupons every week but he was also that guy that would drive 20 miles to save $2.73 on one item. He loved saving a dime or a dollar here or there and loved telling you about it even more. Some coupon clippers have categorized storage systems and know when to get double the value on their coupons at certain stores and at certain times. There are even books and TV shows dedicated to coupons and many retailers are offering online coupons for free downloads to mobile devices that you can use either online or in the store. Many stores also honor competitors coupons as a way of keeping your business. Bottom line is that coupons, and their redemption, is big business in terms of savings. Consumer Reports did a study in 2014 and determined that the annual savings realized by coupons in the US was in excess of 11 billion dollars!

Did you also know that there is a coupon of sorts for your soul? It’s the coupon of our lost-ness and separation from God. However, the only place that it’s redeemable is at the cross of Christ. Here’s the amazing news though in regards to your “soul coupon,” it’s saves you not 10, 20, or even 50% but it’s redeemable at 100% plus, and the plus is off the charts. You see, according to the Bible, heaven and hell are real actual places that are eternal, and each of us will face the Christ of the cross to redeem it, or not, for our place in eternity. However, and here’s the 100% part, we don’t have to wait until then to glean the benefits of redemption. We can live now with a sense of immeasurable peace, unswerving confidence and unshakeable hope that our redemption is as good as our Redeemer says it is, and believe me, He says it’s good. But how good?