Tag: david
Living Sacrifice Day 18 – A Lifestyle of Worship
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Begin by reading John 4:1-26
Being involved in music and worship teams and in traditional and contemporary churches, I’ve heard every possible criticism about music that you could possibly hear. I can still picture the older gentleman, wearing a suit to church, making a serious face as he bellows the words from the hymnal he holds in his hand. He praises the old hymns as great doctrines of theology, while criticizing songs like “Holy is the Lord,” because he’s repeating the same thing over, and over, and over again.
In the other corner, I see the young person, hands raised, signing out the refrain of the contemporary praise song. He criticizes those who sing about the Lord without emotion and says that the hymns of old seem to lack emotion themselves. He rolls his eyes at “We are One in the Bond of Love,” as he mocks the song by singing with a dramatic southern twang.
These are often the arguments in churches that try to appease the traditional and contemporary crowds, and for the first twenty-something years of my life, this was something I constantly heard. But to be honest, arguments about worship styles are nothing new. In the passage we just read, we saw a Samaritan woman who tried to argue with Jesus about worship styles. We even see this earlier in the Bible, as David’s wife Michal rebuked him for being so expressive in public worship.
Yesterday, we redefined the common understanding of worship by analyzing Romans 12:1. We said that “worship is a voluntary activity in response to God’s goodness, predetermined to glorify God – a personal expression of gratitude at any time, at any day that is pleasing to the Lord.”
In the case of Michal and the Samaritan woman, the worship they were referring to were moments of worship, whether they be a physical expression of praise or a sacrifice at the Temple. However, Jesus explains what true worship is – a seeking of the Father in spirit and truth. This is similar to what Paul writes in Romans 12:1 when he uses the phrase – “a spiritual act of worship.”
What Paul is saying is that if we are committed to being living sacrifices, then every moment, of every day is an opportunity for worship. It doesn’t matter what the activity is, as long as its predetermined to glorify God and is something that actually pleases Him. In other words, what Paul and Jesus are saying is that becoming a living sacrifice doesn’t mean merely having moments of worship but rather adopting a lifestyle of worship.
We’re so used to thinking of worship as those moments involving music. That’s what’s been ingrained in our heads. But it’s time to grow out of that thinking and adopt a Romans 12:1 understanding of worship. So, let me challenge you today to make your activities worshipful. What are some things you’re going to do today with an attitude of worship? And how will you begin or continue adopting a lifestyle of worship that will permeate every corner of your life? Those practical things you offer to the Lord are indeed spiritual and acts of worship.
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Living Sacrifice Day 13 – The Last Penny
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Begin by reading Mark 12:41-44
Every year around Christmas, we hear the bells ringing outside the grocery stores and the occasional clang of coins dropping into the red can. It’s the campaign that the Salvation Army does every year to raise money for their cause. Have you ever been in a situation where there’s an opportunity to give, and you look in your wallet only to find you have one bill left, and so you choose not to give?
What is it about that last bill? Why not give it away? Is it really about the money, or is it about something else? Is it about security – the safety of knowing that at least there’s some cash in your wallet if you get into a bind?
Today’s reading was about the widow who gave her last two coins. There’s debate about how much those coins were worth, and some argue that it could have been worth as much as $1.20. Amazingly, she gave it all. While we don’t know the exact worth, we know that they could have at least provided her with the security of knowing that she had something for herself. There are three lessons that we should take away from this story.
The first lesson here is not about how much money you should put in the offering plate, the lesson is about trust. Whenever we give to the Lord, we are trusting Him. God required an offering, not just to maintain the Temple, but to teach His people about trusting Him. It’s as Malachi 3:10 says, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.’”
The second lesson is about giving without holding back. We don’t pass an offering plate often in our church, but I have to admit that when we do, I have at times felt the temptation to hold back. I dig through my wallet and see what I’ve got. If I only have one large bill, I feel the temptation to hold on to it. I have plenty of money in the bank, so it’s not like I’m dirt poor and that’s all I have to live on. It’s a security issue. Something about that $20 bill brings me security for whatever reason. However, when I give that money; I don’t miss it. I don’t get to the end of the month and say, “Man, I shouldn’t have given that $20! It’s more like, “Man, I didn’t really need to stop at Starbucks 10 times this month.”
The third lesson is about priorities. Jesus says in Matthew 6:21, “where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.” In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul instructed the Church at Corinth to set apart their offerings on the first day of the week. Why? Because then, it would be their priority and they wouldn’t spend it on other things. I think we as Christians often fall into the temptation of giving leftovers – our leftover time, energy, and finances, instead of giving our firstfruit and best to the Lord. Sometimes our possessions become our security, and we essentially say, “Let me make sure I have what I need first, and the rest is the Lord’s.” In fact, I wonder if this widow had money at the beginning of the week and had chosen to set apart these two coins. If such was the case, she came through on her promise and gave to the Lord what she had set apart, even though it was all that she had left.
In our quest to be living sacrifices, ask God what He wants you to give of yourself. Then set that thing apart – whether it’s time, energy, money, talent or something else. When it comes time to give. Do not hold that thing back. Bring forth your offering joyfully, focused on how Jesus poured all of Himself out for you.
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Living Sacrifice Day 12 – Poured Out
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Begin by reading Luke 7:36-50, John 12:1-8
I want you to imagine for a moment that you were at the party you just read about. You’re there eating, talking with some friends, and out of the corner of your eye you see a woman (someone with less than a stellar reputation) bathing Jesus with her hair. The aroma of the perfume quickly permeates the room. You detect the scent immediately. It is expensive, and she is pouring it out like water.
Now stop for just a moment. What are your initial reactions? Are you shocked? Are you horrified? I’m going to be honest with you; my first thought is “what in the world is going on? How is a Rabbi allowing this sinful woman to express herself to him like this in public?”
I think if we were all honest with ourselves, we would admit at least some level of discomfort with this story. We may be like Simon in Luke’s account and feel distaste at how this sinful woman was all over Jesus, or we may be like Judas in John’s account and feel like this act was a waste of money. Why might we feel that way?
Here’s why. Because we’re humans, and we are sinful. Have you ever seen someone express themselves dramatically in worship, and you began judging their actions? Maybe you thought, “that’s so annoying that they do that. It’s so distracting to others.” Have you ever seen someone poor give something away that you felt they couldn’t afford and thought of them unwise? This is because we’re still carnal creatures. It’s hard for us to accept another’s devotion to our same Heavenly Father if it’s not done the same way we like to do it. That’s just the way it is. Like the disciples stopping the children from coming to Jesus, we want to be God’s gatekeepers and determine what should and what shouldn’t get through. While there are indeed boundaries set for us in Scripture, we have to recognize that there’s a real temptation to deny others the opportunity to express their devotion to God. It’s no wonder why churches split over the most basic elements like music and expressions of worship. Even after 2000 years, we are still struggling with the same feelings that corrupted Simon and Judas.
The lesson for us is not merely accepting how and what others offer to the Lord, the lesson is to be the one offering to the Lord. Simon the Pharisee ignored Jesus during the entire party. Judas said his concern was for the poor, but Judas. the treasurer for Jesus’ ministry, was swindling money. They were missing the boat, and they lashed out like Cain did to Abel. Their sacrifice was fraudulent, and so they became jealous. We need not worry what others are doing if we are the ones offering to the Lord. When our eyes are focused on our Rabbi and are hands are busy anointing His feet, then we have no time to worry about how others are serving. We must be the Marys and find our place at Jesus’ feet.
The world and those with worldly minds will judge. They will stand before God’s altar and mock. They may tell you that you are doing a nice thing then talk about you behind your back. Don’t let that deter you. Stand before God and pour yourself out before Him. Listen to His voice and ask, “What is it Lord that you want of me?” and of that thing, do not hold back. He will ask you to give a hard sacrifice. It will cost you. It will hurt. But you will find yourself at the feet of Jesus, bowing before Him, cradled by His love and protection, anointing Him with the very thing He asked of you. He will affirm you, just as He affirmed Mary, and He will give you a crown that will last forever.
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Living Sacrifice Day 11 – The Costly Sacrifice
Begin by reading 2 Samuel 24:18-25.
I don’t know about you, but fasting is one of the most difficult disciplines for me. I can remember back in college when a group of my friends fasted solid food for 40 days. It was unbelievable. Some go about fasting in less dramatic ways, such as giving up meat or another particular food or fasting certain meals. So, what makes fasting so difficult? Well, it’s the idea of giving up something that we enjoy.
In Romans 12:1, Paul writes, “Therefore brothers and sisters, in light of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices.” The keyword in this verse is sacrifice. No, Paul is not telling us to kill ourselves; that’s why he emphasizes living sacrifices. But the word sacrifice gives us keen insight into what it means to live a life of worship and devotion.
In Old Testament times, God called His people to make sacrifices on various occasions. When someone came to the Temple, they either brought their animal or bought one there. The idea here is that everyone has to make their own personal sacrifice and give their own offering. Think about it like this: you wouldn’t say to yourself, “well, Joe put a couple of bucks in the offering plate today, so therefore, I don’t have to give today.” No, the sacrifice was personal, and it was every one’s responsibility to bring that gift to the Lord.
David understood this, and in 2 Samuel 24, we read about God commanding David to go to Araunah’s threshing floor and build an altar. When King David asks Araunah to buy his threshing floor, Araunah offers to give the floor and other items to David for free. That sounds reasonable. After all, if the president personally came asking for a tree in your backyard, a tomato from your garden, or something that you were selling at your yard sale, you might feel a little weird about telling him to show you the money. But David insisted on paying. Why? Because he said, “I will not sacrifice something to God that costs me nothing.”
When it doesn’t cost us anything, it ceases to be a sacrifice. It must cost us something. It’s like fasting. When fasting, we give up a pleasure. It would be pointless to say, “I’m going to fast meat,” if you’re already a vegetarian. There must be something we’re giving up in order for it to be sacrifice.
Well what are we sacrificing then? It might be food. It might be money. It might be our time. But the bottom line is that it has to be us totally. Our mentality should be, “the purpose of my life is to be a sacrifice to God.” When we say it that way, there is no cost too great and no gift too small. Meditate on that thought today. Tell God to help you have the mentality that you are a sacrifice totally devoted to Him, and ask Him to show you what it is He would like you to do.
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Living Sacrifice Day 7 – The Personal Gift
Begin by reading 1 Corinthians 14:26-33.
If you were to come to my office at work, you would see a drawing hanging up on my bulletin board. It’s no Picasso, but it’s an original artwork of great worth to me. It’s the most precious picture I own because my daughter Annalía drew it. Like any artwork, the value is in who created it, and for me, it’s precious because it’s a gift from my child.
Being a worship leader, sometimes people come up to me after church and say, “Justin, worship was really great today.” I appreciate that, but at the same time, I’m not sure how to take it. “Thanks?” I say, lacking a better response. I guess what perplexes me is what do they mean when they say worship was really great? Does it mean that sometimes the worship isn’t good? Are they talking about the music? What are they talking about?
Here’s what I think. In Romans 12:1, Paul says, “to offer our bodies as living sacrifices.” One thing I think he’s urging us to do is to invest ourselves in a service of worship to God. So, when someone says to me, “worship was really good,” I think what they’re saying is effectively, “I worshiped God today, and you helped me do that. You helped me personally bring a gift to the Lord and invest myself in an expression of worship to my Heavenly Father.” It could be that they had a great experience worshiping and someone who was in the same room may not have. What makes the difference isn’t me, the music I chose, or anything else, the difference was them and their attitude. It was meaningful because they wholeheartedly invested themselves in worshiping God.
When we worship, we are bringing that gift to God. This is part of what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 14. We are bringing a piece of ourselves. My daughter could have bought me a picture to hang in my office, but her picture is worth more to me because it’s an expression from her to me.
Take some time today to read 2 Samuel 24:18-25 and reflect on how David insisted on investing personally in his worship of God. We’ll be talking about this passage in a couple of days, but for now, ask yourself, “What does it mean to be personally invested in worship, and how can I be better at doing this?” Don’t be content with watching other people worship around you. Make worshiping God a personal experience where you are totally invested.
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Living Sacrifice Day 5 – Joyful Worship
One of the greatest hymns of all time is “It is Well with My Soul.” This powerful song was written by a Christian lawyer and real-estate investor from Chicago named Horatio Spafford. He and his wife experienced all sorts of horrendous trauma. First, their youngest of four, their only son, died from illness at the age of four. The Great Chicago fire destroyed everything they had, and so they planned to move to Europe. Horatio’s wife and three daughters set sail ahead of him, while he stayed back to get some things in order. However, during that Atlantic voyage, their boat collided with another and sank rapidly, killing all three of the Spaffords’ daughters. His wife, who survived, made it to Europe and sent a telegram to her husband Horatio with these infamous words – “saved alone.”
Horatio boarded a ship and headed to Europe to grieve with his wife, and as his ship crossed the area where his daughters were lost at sea, he penned these words – “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows, like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.”
We still sing that song in our corporate worship services today, even though it is a song born out of horrific sorrow. A misconception about what it means to worship is that we must be happy to worship. Horatio Spafford’s song was a song of lament, a song of surrender, but it was also a song of joy.
How? Happiness and joy are two very different concepts. Happiness is a temporary emotion. Joy is a quality. There are times when I’m not happy because of how I feel or the circumstances going on around me. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” The command to rejoice is a call to be joyful. It is a resting in knowing whose you are, not what you’re going through. You have an eternal hold on you by a Living and Everlasting God. You can rest in His arms. Being joyful is a sign of trusting. It’s as Job said in Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, still will I trust him.”
We can take a cue from David. Some of the most powerful Psalms were born out of frustration, fear, and sorrow. What makes them joyful and wonderful is that he knew who is daddy was. The fact that he brought iit up to the Lord to begin with shows his reliance and trust on His heavenly Father.
Today, I want you to give it to God. Whatever you’re dealing with, let your Heavenly Father know. Talk to Him about it. Are you frustrated about something at work, something at home, is a relationship worrying you, or do you have great happiness? Share it with the Lord. Talk to Him about it. Rest in the joy of your Everlasting God.
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