Thursday, February 23, 2012

Grace

I'm amazed at the grace of God.  Not a novel concept, is it?
"Amazing Grace"
"Your Grace Still Amazes Me"
"Wonderful Grace of Jesus"
Yeah, I think there have been a few songs written about that.

But, as I sit here in my office finishing up the day, I've got to say I'm just amazed by God's grace toward me again.

I've been blessed with innumerable blessings which I did not choose for myself.  Did I decide, "The United States looks like a good place to be born, I think I'll go there?"  Nope.  Did I choose to be born NOT in the Little House on the Prairie times when life expectancy was, like, 40?  Nope.  Did I choose my family?  My father's job?  My health?  My talents?  No, no, no, no, and no.

Whenever I hear people talk about the virtues of free will, I cringe.  Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but I think, "Free will?  Where did my free will ever get me?"

My free will led me into lots of error.  It led me into bad decisions, bad situations, things I wish I could forget, bad friends, good friends that I hurt, bad relationships, hurt people I had didn't do anything to help, helping people that I hurt.  Oh, man.  My free will has been something I need to FIGHT in my life, not celebrate!

Look at what God has done.  Has He treated me as my sins deserve?  Has He let me see the end of every bad road I've started down?  Has He punished me immediately for my sins when He totally could have?  No. Much more than that, He has blessed me immensely.

I don't deserve my wife.  I don't deserve my kids.  I don't deserve my family.  I don't deserve my job.  I don't deserve my church.  I don't deserve my friends, my home, my clothes, my neighbors- nothing!  I deserve to be punished for my sins!  For where my free will got me.

But, thanks be to God, I haven't received what I deserve.  Moreover, I receive the acceptance that Jesus Christ deserves.

"How can that be," you may wonder.

Because Jesus didn't deserve to be born in a manger.  Jesus didn't deserve to be born in a poor town, in a minor nation allotted a little land to keep the citizens happy.  He didn't deserve to have to work hard to make stuff- He already made everything.  He didn't deserve to be alone, or hungry, or tempted.  He didn't deserve to have His own people reject Him.  He didn't deserve to be betrayed by a friend.  He didn't deserve to be mocked.  He didn't deserve to be called a blasphemer and judged a heretic.  He didn't deserve to have to appear before a court or a crowd or a small group of soldiers with nothing better to do than to make him a mockery king costume and beat him over the head.  He didn't deserve the whip, the thorn, the nail.  He didn't deserve the cross.  He didn't deserve to die, and He really didn't deserve to die like that.  He didn't deserve to have God's punishment for my sins poured out completely on Him- imagine, the fury of eternities in Hell squeezed into a few hours.  He didn't deserve to pay that price.

But He did.

Of His own free will, He did.

More than that, He rose over death, ascended to His Father's right hand and now stands as my Advocate.  My Advocate.

So that, whenever I fall again and need His grace and need His forgiveness, He is there.  He's paid for my debt in full.  I confess my sins right to Him, and He extends His grace and forgiveness to me who did absolutely nothing to deserve it. And He blesses me

Pretty amazing, huh?

Friday, February 10, 2012

Come Close

As I go through my chronological read through this year, a theme has kept popping up over and over again: sin separates us from God. I know, basic theme, right?  But no less captivating.

You see it first in the garden, and you see it over and over again in individual stories. Time and again we see man's sin forging a barrier between them and God. Ever since the fall of man and the ensuing curse, man has been separated from God. God faithfully loves His people, but they can never come too close to Him because of their sinfulness.

After being rescued from Pharaoh's hand in Egypt, the Israelites finally arrive at Mt Sinai. There, they enter into a covenant with God-

"The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

The people agreed to do everything that the Lord commanded. So Moses climbs up the mountain to receive the first instructions that the Israelites are to follow: The 10 Commandments.

Over and over again the people are reminded to stay at a distance from the mountain. First they are warned that, if they come close, they are to be put to death. Later, the Lord says that if the people came near they would die. They couldn't even come up the mountain a little bit. And, given how awesome the scene on the mountain was, they didn't seem to want to:

"On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled... Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly...

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”

Important things were happening. God was meeting man on the mountain and making a covenant with them. He had chosen two men (Moses and Aaron) to meet with Him on the mountain, and no one else could come near. The display of God's power was so awesome, no one wanted to.

How could man ever come near to God? Who can keep His commandments perfectly?

"Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully."

Who has ever lived truly clean hands (ie, never sinned)? Who has EVER had a truly pure heart? Who has never given his affection for a god lesser than our Creator?

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

Who, then, will ascend the hill of the Lord for us who have failed to keep His covenant? Who can represent us before the awesome presence of the Lord?

"But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

Fast forward to another time when God met with man, doing an important thing, making a covenant with them:

"And he (Jesus) said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vineuntil the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."

Did you catch it? Do you see what happened? We can't draw near to God because we're sinful. So God drew near to us. Sinners. Rebels. Idol-factories. And He makes a new covenant with us. He doesn't wait for us to go up the mountain to Him. He sends His perfect Son to go on our behalf. His Son has clean hands and a pure heart. His Son never lifted up His soul to what is false. He was tested in every way, and was without sin.

And what did He do when He ascended the holy hill on our behalf? He gave Himself for us. His body and His blood given for us is what enacts this new covenant. Why? Because God's punishment of sin demands that the price (death) for sin be paid. Jesus takes our sin on Himself and carries it to the cross, bears the punishment for the sin, and rises again victorious on the third day. Knowing this would soon take place, He invited His disciples to come close to Him.

Close enough to break bread together, close enough to pass the cup of wine that symbolized His blood which would be spilled for them soon. And He invites us as well to come close to His table. Close to Him, the same one who filled the Israelites with terror in His presence on the mountain. Now, because of His finished work- because He has dealt with our sin- we can come close. More than that, He invites us to come close!

How in the world could we possibly pass up an opportunity to come close to the table to commune with Him? The display of God's love is so awesome, who wouldn't want to come?

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Enter His Gates

I was behind a lady the other day at my local Starbucks who ordered the most complex sounding drink I've ever heard. It had a couple of "half-pumps" in it and strict temperature demands. When she got her drink, she took a little sip and immediately retorted to the barista that she must have put in more than half a pump of some syrup.

I stood behind her marveling at how specific her demands were for her coffee. I was amazed that someone would accept nothing less than exactly what suits her tastes. And I was aghast at how much she is like the Church when it comes to worship.

I hear people say all the time "I love it when so-and-so leads worship, but when such-and-such leads I just can't worship..." "I would worship so much better if so and so ALWAYS led worship." We all have favorite songs and favorite types of music. But what in the world are we expecting the songs and instruments to do? Are we expecting them to lift us to a place we won't otherwise go?

Now, don't get me wrong. The Church needs musicians who play excellently. Well-written songs can express what is in the heart of the Church and be a fantastic way to lift up worship to our great God. But have we become addicted to music in worship? More specifically, have we become addicted to the musical style that we like or a certain group of songs that we like?

I can't lead anyone in worship. I can lead BY worshiping. But leading in worship can only be done by the Holy Spirit. When we approach corporate worship with cold, dead hearts it is no wonder that our offering to God is passionless and dull.

I think that corporate worship can be really wonderful and alive when believers come into the door already worshiping. Then the music is just a means of expression and not the critical part that it so commonly now plays.

What changes from week to week? Or song to song? Maybe the quality or the instrumentation or the lead worshiper. But God hasn't changed! God is no less worthy of honor, glory, blessing... (worship!) when the worship team doesn't suit our personal tastes. God's glory and greatness can be found in the songs written by Redman, Tomlin and Baloche. His immanence and love can be found in the Gaither songs. The profound riches of his work are throughout the newer songs written by Keith and Kristyn Getty, or the older Hymns of Worship and Remembrance. But none of these songs can make us worship. They can help us express what is in our hearts, but the worship needs to be in our hearts first just bursting to come out no matter what the baristas are making that day :-)

starting again

Rebirth? No, it's not that dramatic.
Resurrection? No, it's not nearly that powerful.
Revived? Maybe, that's a little closer.

I'm just starting up my blog again.  I guess it's really not that big of a deal for anyone but me.

I want to do everything I can to stir up the Church for the worship of Jesus.  To help light a spark in us, to help us lift up our eyes.

That's why I changed the blog title from the super-catchy "Dan's Worship Blog" (which sounds like the web version of a hot dog stand) to worship34/3.  Psalm 34 is frequently in my heart as I do my part at my local church to encourage worship.  It starts out:


 "I will praise the LORD at all times. 
      I will constantly speak his praises. 
  I will boast only in the LORD; 
      let all who are helpless take heart."



David starts with a bold declaration that he would praise or bless the LORD at all times.  He would constantly speak His praises.  This is a worshiper who is unquenchable.  With a heart filled to overflowing with Who God is and what He has done, he always has a word of praise that makes its way from his heart to his mouth.  This is a worshiper who is ready.

David's worship does not merely result his own praise to the LORD.  It has a spreading effect- an inviting effect.  You can see it in the last part quoted above: "Let all who are helpless take heart."

But the extent of the invitation does not end with an opportunity to observe David's worship and to "take heart."  No, the invitation is extended to join with him in praising God in 34:3:


Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness 
(some versions: 'Come magnify the LORD with me')
      let us exalt his name together.



Here is where what is going on in David's heart is projected out for others to see and hear.  Not to make anything special of David, but to display Who God is and what God has done for him as a means to stir others to worship.  David is taking the role of a lead worshiper here: Inspiring and encouraging worship through exemplifying worship.  He is saying, "I am going to worship the LORD all the time.  And I invite you to join me!"

And that's exactly what I want this blog to serve as: I want to make my boast in the Lord, to speak His praises and invite you to do so with me.

Every so often I plan on looking at the more practical side of being a lead-worshiper, but I don't want this to be a technical blog for a restricted audience.  I want this to be an invitation to any who would worship Jesus Christ, the risen Son of God:


Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness; 
      let us exalt his name together. Psalm 34:3