Why Worship?

I recently started a new book called Experiential Worship and ran across a quote that I think I've heard before, but had forgotten: "Worship is the one thing that we can give to God that He doesn't already have."

Wow! That's stinkin' cool...to think that we can actually give God a gift!

Ever since I read it, it's been bouncin' around in my head, and it feels as though someone has sprayed starter fluid into the carbeurator of my worship engine. I grew up hearing phrases in church like, "If you'll praise God, He'll show up" and, "There's something special that happens when we all come together to worship God." While I don't discredit those statements completely, there were times that I felt as though we were saying that we could somehow manipulate God to "show up" or that we could "stir up" something if everybody would just get into it.

It seems this quote has helped me to see the deeper beauty of worship again. God loves us so much that He has never and will never take away our power of choice. When we make the conscience decision to direct our worship to Him, it is His pleasure to "show up" and be with us. When we take inventory of our lives and recognize that no matter how much we accumulate, there's no real meaning to life without Him, and we choose to reach out to Him, He reaches back!

What an amazing truth it is...God made the sun, moon, and stars. He owns "the cattle on a thousand hills" (Ps. 50:10). "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it" (Ps. 24:1). It's all His, but He doesn't have our worship unless we choose to give it to Him...He's already chosen us (How? Well, for one, He died on the cross for our sin...hello!). Now, He patiently waits for us to choose Him.

We don't, and can't, manipulate God, but He has made some promises to us that we can bank on: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8)..."For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20)..."The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth" (Ps. 145:18). When we choose to truly worship God, He's there because He wants to be, and He responds to us making the first move. As much as He wants to be with us, He won't impose...He's a respectable gentleman, and waits to be invited.

It's crazy cool...when you choose to give Him your worship, you get to be with Him (the all-powerful-massively-huge-God-of-the-universe). Then the more you get to be with Him, the more you wanna worship. What a beautiful upwards spiral it is! It becomes no longer just worshiping Him because it's your unique gift; you wanna do it because you've gotten to know Him, and who He is so incredible!

Guilt

I've been praying for a close friend of mine who is struggling with feelings of shame and guilt, and this Bible verse came to mind that I heard often growing up in church:

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

I couldn't count the number of times I've heard that verse or quoted it myself, but as I prayed, it hit me in a new way. It's the word "in" that got me. I think we are all prone to guilt, whether we profess faith in Christ or not, because deep down we know what's right and wrong..."the law written in their hearts." (Rom. 2:15) However, I think this passage offers clear hope to those who do believe that their past is no longer an issue.

So why do so many Christians still struggle with guilt? Granted, there is an enemy of our soul who constantly tries to remind of us of our mistakes to drag us down and hold us back from the future that God intends, and we must take up our shield of faith. But that word "in" really means something.

If you're a Christian, that means you've accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit now lives "inside" you. He helps you lead a better life, and you find fulfillment living and growing "in" Him. At some point, many Christians become stagnant in their growth, and suddenly find themselves fighting a constant battle against the memory of their failures. Read the verse again like this:

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

He might be in you, but are you in Him?

Kindness

Who hasn't seen the bumper sticker: "Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty?" Seriously, the first time I saw it, I thought it was a joke...but I didn't get it. I was thinking "whoever made that up isn't very funny."

When I realized it was for real, I felt a lil' stupid, and I thought it was kinda cool. It's like another version of the Golden Rule, ya know? I was reminded of it by an older movie I just watched yesterday called "To End All Wars." It's a pretty heavy war movie (definitely not light-hearted), but has a powerful message.

I had heard the story of a WWII prison camp where the Allied prisoners studied philosophy and Bible scripture together at what they called Jungle University. Through the hope and inspiration they discovered in their learning, they were able to complete their forced labor--building the Thailand-Burma railroad--ahead of schedule and won the hearts of their captors. That's the story this movie tells.

One of the biggest God-truths that I've rediscovered since working with Mercy Church comes from Romans 2:4 "Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" As I watched this movie, that truth came to mind. As half-starved prisoners truly practiced "random acts of kindness," the very men who oppressed them...many to death...became witnesses of something amazing, transforming, and other-wordly. It transcended culture, language, and even war.

In Psalms, David writes about the "lovingkindness" of God often...I think we could definitely use a lot more of that in our world. The kind that takes the initiative, makes no sense, and expects nothing in return. What power lies therein!

Faith

Cinnamon raisin biscuits from Hardee's...they don't have 'em anymore, but they used to, and they were the bomb! They had this warm, gooey white frosting if they were fresh, and my brother and I would always get 'em on the mornings that Dad woke us up early before school to go to breakfast.

That's what came to mind as I did my devotion the other day in Ephesians 5 & 6. Dad always prayed with us on the drive from Hardee's to the junior high, and part of that prayer was the "Armor of God" from Eph. 6:10-20. When I read it again over the weekend, vs. 16 brought me to a halt. The version I read said, "Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one."

It's that "above all" part that got me. There are several Godly attributes listed here: truth, righteousness, peace, salvation, prayer...but it's the "shield of faith" that gets the mantra "above all." Why? I thought about it a lot, and I came up with three reasons that resonate with me:

• We can lead a "good" life, doing our best to tell the truth and do the right thing, but if we don't have a real faith in our hearts that believes in a real God, what's it all for anyhow?Heb. 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

• I don't think that most people consider faith as a shield. It seems they treat it more as a banner, waving it around and knocking others who don't believe the same way in the head with the flagpost. What's up with that?! A shield is primarily a defensive weapon... Maybe it would serve us believers well to stop flailing around so much and live out our beliefs meekly, keeping our shield up and our hands free to do some work for God.

• Many people struggle with self-doubt, including me. I read a book that showed me that my greatest strength is BELIEF. That has really changed the way I look at my life. Do I really believe in God? Do I really believe in the big dreams that He's put in my heart? Do I really believe in myself enough to get there? I should...because He does.

Take up your shield...you might be surprised by what doesn't bother you anymore!