Worship

 I recently read an article arguing the use instrumental accompaniment vs a capella singing in church.

I know people who follow a pastor from church to church and people who drop out of church all together when a pastor leaves or when life circumstances require them to move away from the area where "their" pastor is.

 One of the biggest ongoing sources of strife in the modern evangelical church is "contemporary" vs "traditional" service structure, specifically concerning the music styles of "praise band" and "organ/piano". This has been an "issue" on some level in churches all of my adult life.

I am really struggling to get my thoughts focused, but the thing that is gnawing on my brain is the question

 

"What do we worship?"

 

More specifically, do we worship God or do we worship... worship?

 If music style, the order of service, or whether the pastor wears a suit and tie, a robe, or t-shirt and shorts causes an uprising in the church, I have to wonder, "What are we worshipping?" Are these things, which are designed to draw our focus to God actually drawing our focus away from God and to our own selfish desires?

If worship causes such division in the church, then are we actually worshipping... worship?

 How do we determine whether or not we have made an idol out of worship, music, order of service, tradition, the pastor, heritage, denomination, or any other aspect of "church"?

I think that, if we are more concerned with or focused on anything other than God during worship,  perhaps we need to ask whether we are worshipping God or that thing we are focused on / concerned with.

That's a question we all have to answer individually I suppose.

 
I do know that Satan loves to disrupt corporate worship and cause dissention between believers. He is who benefits most when he can disrupt an entire congregation. He basks in the glory of his own pride when our focus is distracted from God during worship.

 I've often heard that idol worship is loving the gift more than the giver of the gift.

 Worship is a gift. We should worship the Giver.

The first 2 Commandments speak to this…

Do not have other gods besides Me.

Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands. Exodus 20:3-6

Do we make an idol out of Church, worship, tradition, the pastor, denomination, or religion?

Is it possible that we love the gift of worship more than the giver?

 

Old Testament

In making good on my promise to myself to read the whole Bible, Genesis to Revelation, with as much vigor and enthusiasm as I have read fictional works, I have discovered a love for the Old Testament. This is exciting to me because I bought into the whole concept of "We live under Grace". I bought into "No longer bound by the law". I know some will shake their heads and scoff at me for being so... honest. The fact of the matter is, I am not alone. I am not the only one who has bought into the idea that sounds something like this...

"The Old Testament does not have as much bearing on me and my life as the New Testament does. So...I'll just focus on the New Testament."

I mean, let's face it, The New Testament is easier to digest. I can read through it and see nothing but God's unfailing love for me... and I like that.  I find so much comfort in God sending His son to pay for my sin...that He loves me enough to pay the price for me...that I am valuable enough to Him for it to matter where I spend eternity.  This is all true and I cling to it every moment of every day.

BUT

Taking the love of God displayed in the New Testament without the just-ness and judgment displayed in the Old, I get a skewed idea of who God is and of what HE is about. I run the risk of believing that God is all about me and what I want. I can buy into "cheap grace", believe the "Prosperity Gospel" and even believe that God would let some sin go unpunished. If I only look to the God of the New Testament, I can believe that God is more like me (after all, I relate so much to the Human-ness of Christ) and less like...well...God.

The Old Testament teaches me of God's patience, but it also teaches me that when God's patience runs out, He is swift and thorough in His punishment. I can read the New Testament and believe that God is all about me, but The Old Testament reminds me that God is really all about God. In light of the Old Testament, even Christ's Death and Resurrection are to bring God glory. (But that is a post for another day)

And the truth of the matter is, I need Christ Jesus and the absolute love of God portrayed in the New Testament, but I also need the God who parted the Red Sea, the God who killed the first born in every home in Egypt that didn't display blood on the door as instructed. I need the God who destroyed Sodom and who turned Lot's wife into a pillar of salt. I need the God who flooded the earth and destroyed all who inhabited it.  I need the God who spoke and the world came to be. I need a big huge, mighty, powerful God who takes sin and rebellion seriously. I need God With Us, but I also need the God in the burning bush.

Understanding God's power and justice and the seriousness with which He punishes rebellion and sin helps me to appreciate God incarnate all the more. Having a better understanding of God's standard of obedience helps me understand just how much I really do need Jesus to intercede for me.

The Old Testament teaches me that God takes sin and rebellion seriously and He punishes thoroughly and severely. And understanding that His patience does eventually run out reminds me that there are many who need to be introduced to Jesus.

My strength comes from the Lord

A while back, I posted some of my thoughts about Twilight. One train of thought that has hung around in the corners of mind began with these thoughts, from one of those posts...

 

 I was touched by all the people who came to the Cullen's aid. I was equally drawn to the dark image of the Volturi and I wonder, if we could see Satan's minions, if their presence would be similar. Are Satan and his followers sure of victory when they face me? Are they arrogant in their attack? Are they calm and confident while I struggle to gather myself and brace for their attack? Those are thoughts for another post.

 

It's time for that other post.

 

I watched a movie over the weekend that reminded me of this again. I was flipping through the channels and stopped on something that looked like it might not be too terrible. Ya know how that goes. ANYWAY, the movie was about demons and angels and their workings in this world, and again, the demons were very self-assured, to the point of arrogance, in their attacks against "mortals".

 

So, I am wondering...why? Why do we perceive evil to be so confident? It seems to be a common thought, whether in movies, books, or TV shows. Those who are cloaked in darkness are calm in their attack, confident of their victory. In horror films, crime dramas, and the like we see images of the attacker calmly pursuing his victim with even, calculated, patient steps while the victim runs tripping and falling and flailing as if totally blind and at least partially crippled. Why is this? Why is the victim portrayed as so utterly helpless compared to the attacker...and do we believe this to be true on a spiritual level? While there is no Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers or Freddie Kruger coming after us, we do have a very real enemy in Satan and he does have demons to do his bidding...and they do attack.  If literature, movies and television are any indication, we see "evil" as immeasurably powerful and ourselves as utterly helpless to defend against it.

 

And this makes me very angry.

 

This makes me angry because this "helplessness" is a lie from the Pit of Hell. Satan himself  has deceived us into believing that we are powerless against him. While we have no hope of resisting him in our own power, we MUST know and remember and claim that HE WHO IS IN ME IS GREATER THAN HE WHO IS IN THE WORLD. Yes, Satan has unimaginable power here in this time, but his time is indeed limited and, while Satan is powerful, he is not as powerful as Christ...and Christ lives in me. I am NOT a victim, and neither are you! If I am a victim, it is only because I have believed Satan's lies about me. If I am defeated, it is only because I have taken my eyes off of Christ and have focused instead on my immediate circumstances. If I believe myself helpless, I have forgotten Who fights for me. 

 

 I know that, historically, Satan has unleashed a terrible attack on me when I take this stand, as if to put me back in my place. This does little more than reiterate my point. As long as Satan can keep me blinded to the truth and believing that I am helpless to resist him or fight against him, I am no threat.

 

On my own, I have no chance of standing against Satan. When I try to resist him, I fail...every single time. HOWEVER, Christ has never cowered to Satan. Christ has never fallen victim to Satan's attack. Christ has never, not for one single moment in the history of all creation been defeated by Satan.

 

And Christ fights for me.

 

Christ, the Lord of all creation, stands with me against my enemy. Christ fights for me and with me and in me and through me, and, through Him, I am a conqueror. In Christ, I am victorious.

 

So then, my feelings of defeat and my feelings of helplessness really reveal the truth of my faith in Christ and the truth of my belief about the identity of Christ. Do I believe that Christ fights in me and for me and with me and through me? Do I believe that Christ defeats Satan? More to the heart of the matter...

 

Do I believe that Christ will defeat Satan for ME?

 

I think that's what it all boils down to. THAT's the lie. Just like in the Garden, Satan twists the truth to make me doubt. Satan knows that, only because of Christ in me, I am victorious. Satan knows that, because of Christ in me, I have the power to fight his attacks. Because of Christ in me, I am no longer sentenced to life in bondage to sin. So, the lie is NOT that Christ CAN'T defeat Satan, but that Christ WON'T fight for me. The lie is that I am alone in my battle. The lie is that there is no one to help me.

 

The truth is in in

 

Exodus 14:14

The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still.

 

Isaiah 41:10

fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

 

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go

 

Romans 8:3

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

 

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

 

1 John 4:4

You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

I am not helpless, I am not defeated, and, if Christ is in you, neither are you. Christ in me means that I do not have to cower in the corner and wait for Satan's attack to pass. Christ in me means that I do not have to hide. Christ in me means that I do not have to run from my attacker. Christ in me means that I can turn and face my attacker and, with all confidence in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, tell Satan to leave me. Scripture tells me "Resist the Devil and he MUST flee." (James 4:7)