A person, place, thing, or event becomes Holy when God is conspicuous in it.  Thus the holiness a pious observer sensed at the Jerusalem temple or the holiness of the ground where Moses was commanded to remove his shoes was not that of a building or the soil; it was the presence of God that imparted holiness to them.

            The holiness of the church or an individual believer is due to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).  “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).  And the way an observer sees the holiness of the divine Spirit in Christians is through His continual fruit-bearing in our lives.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self control are markers of radical holiness in the people of God in any generation (Galatians 5:22-23).

            The spirit of our times has Christians aiming too low.  We are unkind and lay it to stress.  We are joyless and explain how bleak and difficult things are in politics, economics, or church.  We are unloving and out of control and dare anyone else to cast the first stone.  We sense that something is wrong with the scenario, but we have no clear idea of how things could be different.

      In THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU, Leo Tolstoy wrote that “all men of the modern world exist in a continual and flagrant antagonism between their consciences and their way of life.”  If this sounds familiar, it should also feel uncomfortable.  Christians should not live in “flagrant antagonism” between our beliefs and our behaviors.  What a burdensome, heavy existence that would be.  It is the path of resisting and quenching God’s Spirit.  ⁷For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ⁸Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8).

            Too many church leaders have fallen to affairs.  Too many hate-filled and venom-tongued preachers have been permitted to intimidate godly people and drive them into other fellowships.  The lifestyle of the “average church member” seems to be little different from that of a the “average person.”  These things happen when people see God’s way as a confining and difficult one.

            I know a man who models holiness.  The presence of God is evident in his life to all of us who are his friends, who see him in public places, and who spend private time with him.  His mind and body were once Satan’s playground, but he was decisively and dramatically saved.

            It isn’t simply that he no longer gets drunk and parties.  It isn’t that his mouth is no longer foul.  It is his tender love for his wife, his generosity to good works, and his powerful leadership of a local church.  There is no strident legalism in his manner.  He laughs a lot.  He has friends galore.  Everyone who has any contact with him respects him.  He is holy-radically holy.  In his life, there is no tension between his conscience and his way of life.  The commandments of God are not ‘burdensome,” and righteousness is not a series of painful concessions by a grudging, resentful will.

            His lifestyle reflects the confident manner of his Savior.  No one would ever get the idea of a holier-than-thou spirit in him.  Self-righteous is not a description anyone would use of him.  His life reflects the radiance of the God he knows through intimate, transforming friendship.  Yes, he knows Scripture; he also knows the author of Scripture.  His life says that Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light.

            My impression is that my friend is living as someone would who has received a gift he knew he had not earned or who has been treated with a kindness he knew he did not remotely deserve.  Because he lives with this in his consciousness at all times, he never has to figure out how to live as Christ would when he is on the spot.  He lives as Christ did constantly, and his on the spot reaction to crisis situations is no different at all from his routine manner of dealing with all of his life.

            Following Jesus is not a matter of turning the other cheek, staying out of trouble, and not getting a divorce-while living the routine aspects of your life as the world does.  That approach to holiness is destined to fail, for it commits to obeying key commandments in the context of an otherwise this-worldly life.  To be a Christian is to follow the way of Christ in all things, seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first in the most routine as well as the most spectacular of settings.

            Until God’s presence is real with us in every situation, the desire to honor Him in the crisis times will remain an elusive frustration.  His yoke will never get easier nor His burden lighter. 

God alone is Holy, yet we are both called and commanded to be Holy.  “But just as He who called you is Holy, so be Holy in all you do; for it is written: Be Holy, because I am Holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16).  How shall we solve this Spiritual paradox?

            A person, place, thing, or event becomes Holy when God is conspicuous in it.  Thus the holiness a pious observer sensed at the Jerusalem temple or the holiness of the ground where Moses was commanded to remove his shoes was not that of a building or the soil; it was the presence of God that imparted holiness to them.

            The holiness of the church or an individual believer is due to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).  “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).  And the way an observer sees the holiness of the divine Spirit in Christians is through His continual fruit-bearing in our lives.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self control are markers of radical holiness in the people of God in any generation (Galatians 5:22-23).

            The spirit of our times has Christians aiming too low.  We are unkind and lay it to stress.  We are joyless and explain how bleak and difficult things are in politics, economics, or church.  We are unloving and out of control and dare anyone else to cast the first stone.  We sense that something is wrong with the scenario, but we have no clear idea of how things could be different.

      In THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU, Leo Tolstoy wrote that “all men of the modern world exist in a continual and flagrant antagonism between their consciences and their way of life.”  If this sounds familiar, it should also feel uncomfortable.  Christians should not live in “flagrant antagonism” between our beliefs and our behaviors.  What a burdensome, heavy existence that would be.  It is the path of resisting and quenching God’s Spirit.  ⁷For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ⁸Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8).

            Too many church leaders have fallen to affairs.  Too many hate-filled and venom-tongued preachers have been permitted to intimidate godly people and drive them into other fellowships.  The lifestyle of the “average church member” seems to be little different from that of a the “average person.”  These things happen when people see God’s way as a confining and difficult one.

            I know a man who models holiness.  The presence of God is evident in his life to all of us who are his friends, who see him in public places, and who spend private time with him.  His mind and body were once Satan’s playground, but he was decisively and dramatically saved.

            It isn’t simply that he no longer gets drunk and parties.  It isn’t that his mouth is no longer foul.  It is his tender love for his wife, his generosity to good works, and his powerful leadership of a local church.  There is no strident legalism in his manner.  He laughs a lot.  He has friends galore.  Everyone who has any contact with him respects him.  He is holy-radically holy.  In his life, there is no tension between his conscience and his way of life.  The commandments of God are not ‘burdensome,” and righteousness is not a series of painful concessions by a grudging, resentful will.

            His lifestyle reflects the confident manner of his Savior.  No one would ever get the idea of a holier-than-thou spirit in him.  Self-righteous is not a description anyone would use of him.  His life reflects the radiance of the God he knows through intimate, transforming friendship.  Yes, he knows Scripture; he also knows the author of Scripture.  His life says that Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light.

            My impression is that my friend is living as someone would who has received a gift he knew he had not earned or who has been treated with a kindness he knew he did not remotely deserve.  Because he lives with this in his consciousness at all times, he never has to figure out how to live as Christ would when he is on the spot.  He lives as Christ did constantly, and his on the spot reaction to crisis situations is no different at all from his routine manner of dealing with all of his life.

            Following Jesus is not a matter of turning the other cheek, staying out of trouble, and not getting a divorce-while living the routine aspects of your life as the world does.  That approach to holiness is destined to fail, for it commits to obeying key commandments in the context of an otherwise this-worldly life.  To be a Christian is to follow the way of Christ in all things, seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first in the most routine as well as the most spectacular of settings.

            Until God’s presence is real with us in every situation, the desire to honor Him in the crisis times will remain an elusive frustration.  His yoke will never get easier nor His burden lighter.

In Him,

Tom Marcum, II

Ted had agreed with some reluctance to go Christmas shopping with Karen. He hated driving around the crowded mall. He resented having to fight crowds of shoppers. And the one gift item he had in mind to buy was not to be found in the store he tried.

As he grumped his way to the car and piled their purchases into the trunk, he muttered the equivalent of Ebeneezer Scrooge’s immortal line: “Christmas? Bah! Humbug!”

Karen’s response was to ask, “Where’s the old Christmas spirit?”

Where is the Christmas spirit? What is the Christmas spirit? And must it be limited to the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day?

The spirit of Christmas is kindness. Tolerance for an unpleasant relative. Allowing someone else to turn first at a busy intersection. Smiling and saying something nice to a harried clerk who has just been chewed out by an irate customer.

The spirit of Christmas is compassion. Food for hungry people. Secret gifts for needy children. Spending part of your holiday time with a lonely person in a nursing home.

The spirit of Christmas is understanding. Feeling the emptiness of someone who is spending her first Christmas without a husband who died recently. Listening to the mixed-up musings of a teen-ager who has gotten into trouble. Reaching out to someone whose personal anguish over a lost job or divorce has him on the brink of suicide.

The spirit of Christmas is sacrifice. Children breaking piggy banks to buy gifts for their parents. Someone missing a party to be with the rest of the family on Christmas Eve. Someone refusing to pass an unkind judgment or choosing to forgive an insult.

The spirit of Christmas is love. Paying special attention to children. Still being thoughtful during the most hectic days of the year. Doing something for someone who cannot repay you.

Kindness and compassion. Understanding and sacrifice. Love. Not one of these is a “secular” virtue which arises naturally from humankind. They are primary spiritual qualities which have been exhibited best in this world by Jesus of Nazareth. With all due respect to Santa Claus, he is not the one who brought us these gifts.

Santa is reindeer and elves, snow and red cheeks, pretty packages and stockings from the mantle. Jesus is much, much more.

Jesus was kind enough to befriend the people everyone else avoided. His compassion made him weep with Mary and Martha when the sisters’ brother had died. He understood fickle Peter and questioning Thomas. He sacrificed all personal ambition and eventually his life for the sake of others. His very name is synonymous with love.

The “spirit of Christmas” did not originate with Charles Dickens or Jimmy Stewart. They merely wrote and performed the Christmas spirit in artistic settings. This special sentiment is rooted in a religious tradition which changed the world. It is produced by our imitation of the Son of God.

Whatever it is you like most about this season of the year cannot be perpetuated by carrying the wallet you get under the tree or wearing the cologne someone gives you. It will endure only for those who remember the Babe of Bethlehem year round and allow him to live in their hearts.

Salvation is a gift, pure and simple. Nobody gets it because she deserves it. Nobody receives it at the end of the day for having worked hard to be worthy of it. Jesus even taught a parable, in fact, to teach that nobody receives salvation as wages for work. It is always and only a gift.

Matthew 20:1-16 (NIV) “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.  ³ “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵ So they went.  “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶ About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’  ⁷ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.  “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’  ⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’  ⁹ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹² ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’  ¹³ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’  ¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

In the Parable of the Landowner, a man hired workers at sunrise, 9 a.m. and noon. He even hired a few more as late as an hour before quitting time. When he came to settle up, he paid every person in his vineyard a full day’s wage. As you might have guessed, the ones who had worked from early morning – and, using their own language, had “borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day” – were outraged at the injustice of it.

Ah, but that is the point of the parable. That anyone should be saved is a matter of grace, not justice! “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?” asked the landowner. “Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Matt.20:1-16).

Strange as it may sound to you, there are still people who resent the abundant generosity of our God. The very idea that a dying thief hanging next to Jesus could be saved needs explanation.  The report that so notorious a criminal as Jeffrey Dahmer could repent of murder and cannibalism and be baptized into Christ is more often received with skepticism and abhorrence than rejoicing. On and on the stories could go – until one passes the limit of your acquiescence. Or perhaps my own.

“But Christ demands something of us!” comes the protest. “If somebody really wants to get saved, he’ll have to repent, start on a new course of life, and prove that he really means it. The Bible says to ‘work out your salvation with fear and trembling,’ doesn’t it?”

Those words are in the text, all right. But they don’t begin to mean what that statement and claim imply. They are Paul’s Spirit-given words, but they are not his instructions to lost persons who want to be saved. They are a challenge to godly believers that they should, by their devoted walk with Christ, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Phil.2:12-13).

God grants salvation by his grace to all who are in Christ

Romans 6:3-4 NIV Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Galatians 3:26-27 NIV So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

 Such persons never work for their salvation but will work out its implications for their unique life situations. Over time, the God who works in them will lead them to work out the consequence of their new standing.

If you’ve ever been in love, you have an insight for grasping this truth. God’s redemptive grace hits you the way being in love does. Somewhere in the depth of your being, something momentous shifts. You are never the same again. You understand yourself and your life in an entirely new way. Then, over time, you work out the meaning of what has happened – with great joy and peace.

Don’t ever begrudge grace or be envious of God’s generosity. Instead, just be grateful. For it must come to you as it has to the rest of us – an unspeakable gift.

Was It an Oversight?

One of the strongest and best op-ed pieces I have read in a long time was run in the New York Times of July 30, 1996. “Protect the Innocent” was written by someone who has experience in the field of child protection services and therefore merits serious reading.

Patrick T. Murphy, an attorney, has been the Public Guardian of Cook County, Illinois, since 1978. He is obviously fed up with child abuse and wants society to get serious about protecting its most defenseless members.

For example, he tells of a woman whose boyfriend beat her newborn child to death in 1987. The murdered baby was her seventh child. Since then, she has had six more. All were born with cocaine in their systems. Three had syphilis. The last four were HIV-positive at birth.

Yes, it is a serious intrusion into personal and family life for some government agency to intervene on behalf of children. Yes, there are cases on record where Big Brother has overstepped the bounds and brought charges against a mother or father for spanking a child. But there are reasonable guidelines under which someone must step forward on behalf of the victims.

Mr. Murphy makes a strong case when he writes: “The nation’s first juvenile court was established in 1899 in Illinois to protect children abused or neglected by their parents. Government intervention in family life was considered radical because children were viewed as their parents’ property. Today, such intervention is common. But we need to take it a step further, to protect defenseless unborn children from abuse. Such intervention must be exercised with great legal restraint and only with credible evidence that the fetus’ health is at risk.”

He suggests requiring any woman who has had two children with drugs in their systems or who has one child born with HIV to appear before a judge. The judge could mandate medical therapy and counseling. Another pregnancy would immediately require her to seek more medical and psychological help. If she refused, she could be prosecuted on charges of criminal child abuse or assault. She could even be sent to jail — with her children put into foster care.

I read the article wondering if anyone else saw its glaring inconsistency. The most obvious, direct, and fatal abuse of an unborn child is abortion. And it is legally protected as a woman’s private decision about the innocent life in her womb.

Either Mr. Murphy’s argument against abuse of unborn infants has cogency and power — in which case our culture must rethink its laissez faire attitude toward abortion on demand — or his case against abusing unborn babies by any and all methods is to be rejected out of hand.

Was it an oversight that the piece didn’t include abortion along with drug use and HIV infection among potential abuses of unborn children? Or is its omission a symptom of our culture’s blindness on this issue? I couldn’t help wondering.

We don’t hear much about gumption anymore. Too bad, since we need it more than ever these days. I was raised on gumption.

Can’t you just see it as a whole new academic field—”Gumptionology 101″—in some college catalog? That will never happen, however, since gumption is better caught than taught.

Most folks get a little gumption in their initial birth packet, but it’s a tool that rusts rather quickly. Here are some pointers that will help you keep it well oiled:

Gumption begins with a firm commitment. Daniel “made up his mind” long before he was dumped in a Babylonian boot camp Daniel 1:8 (NIV) But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Joshua didn’t hesitate to declare his commitment in his famous “as for me and my house” speech Joshua 24:14-15 (NIV) “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵ But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” You want gumption to continue to the end? Start strong!

Gumption means being disciplined one day at a time. Rather than focusing on the whole enchilada, take it in bite-sized chunks. The whole of any objective can overwhelm even the most courageous.

Gumption requires being alert to subtle temptations. Gumption plans ahead, watching out for associations that weaken us as in Proverbs 13:20-21 (NIV) He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.  ²¹Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous, or procrastination that steals from us in Proverbs 24:30-34 (NIV) I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; ³¹thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.  ³²I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: ³³A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-³⁴and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man, and rationalizations that lie to us in Proverbs 23:4 (NIV) Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint, and Proverbs 25:28 (NIV) Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.  People who achieve their goals stay alert.

Gumption requires the encouragement of accountability. At David’s low-water mark, his friend Jonathan stepped in.  When Elijah was ready to cash in everything, along came Elisha.  With Paul it was Timothy . . . or Silas or Barnabas or Dr. Luke.  People need people, which is why Solomon came on so strong about iron sharpening iron in Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another..

Gumption comes easier when we remember that finishing has its own unique rewards. Jesus told the Father He had “accomplished” His assignment in John 17:4 (NIV) I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.  On more than one occasion, Paul referred to “finishing the course” Acts 20:24 (NIV) However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace and 2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV) I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  You see, desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.

If the journey seems extra long today, enjoy a gust of wind at your back from these words out of The Living Bible. It’s one of those gumption Scriptures: “Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up”(Galatians 6:9).

Gumption may be hidden, but it always shows

Sunday, January 23, 2011, marks the 38^th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.  Thirty-eight years ago, the Supreme Court declared that a woman’s unrestricted access to an abortion during the first three months of pregnancy was part of her constitutional right to privacy.

Congress continually seems to be moving closer to limiting some of the implications of that 1973 ruling by prohibiting a specific procedure used in occasional late-term pregnancies. So-called “partial birth” abortions are typically performed at 20 to 24 weeks, with the baby’s feet and sometimes other parts of its body already outside the mother.

And Linda Rios of San Jose, California, is fighting a $271 traffic ticket that charged her with driving solo in the car pool lane. When the police officer pulled her over, she told him to look at her expanding middle. She is expecting a baby this spring.

Linda has California legal precedent on her side. Sue Ann Yasger challenged a similar charge in 1986 by arguing that the child growing in her womb was a person under California law. Diane Correll argued the same thing only a few months later. Judges dismissed the tickets in both cases.

So which is correct? Is a baby in utero nothing more than expendable tissue of the mother? Is the baby a separate person with his or her own right to protection under the law?

In the same hospital, adjoining operating suites may be pursuing opposite outcomes based on the moral confusion our culture has about pregnancy. In Room One, a physician is performing a legal abortion; in Room Two, a physician is performing a surgical procedure on a pre-term infant to correct a problem that could threaten her life.

Our culture is so schizophrenic over this issue. President Obama epitomizes this moral ambiguity when he declares that he opposes abortion on demand in his private self but supports it in his public self.  Matthew 5:36-37 (NIV) ³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Norma McCorvey was the “Jane Roe” whose case was the occasion for the 1973 Supreme Court decision. In 1995 she shocked abortion advocates by announcing that she now opposes it.

Ms. McCorvey has had it both ways now — as many others have in the course of this social controversy.  Ultimately, however, we can’t have it both ways.  Either an unborn with his own distinctive human genetic code has the right to protection under the law or we continue our wholesale attack on the sanctity of life in the womb.

In drone of confusion our world faces, where do you come down?

The Christian faith is objective, historical truth that offers itself for testing in the public marketplace of ideas.

For people who give their life to Jesus Christ as Lord in believer’s baptism, and subscribe to the perspective on human life and reality that comes of such a commitment, it will not do to say that these are “my personal and private beliefs” that have no implication for my views on education, politics, or morality. If the Christian message is true, all other modes of thought, philosophies of life, and ethical norms have to be evaluated in light of it.

The foundation of absolute truth inherent within Christianity combines two ideas: (1) that which is real, authentic, and genuine and (2) the actual facts in the case as opposed to a lie or inaccurate misrepresentation.

In order to find the truth, we turn to Jesus. For one thing, He is truth. That is, He is the real, authentic, and genuine article. He is not simply a witness to God or a teacher of righteousness, He is the genuine divine reality come to dwell among us and the one who exhibits righteousness in His every action. “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17); Moses and the Law bore witness to the reality of divine grace and revelation, but their actuality is encountered in Jesus Christ.  If we are to see God’s reality, holiness, and redeeming love anywhere, it is in Christ Jesus.

“I am the way — and the truth and the life,” said Jesus. “No man comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well” (John 14:6-7a). Man has been seeking the way that leads to God and life ever since the Fall, when the divine presence was withdrawn from intimate communion with His creatures and the sentence of death passed to all. The resolution of this problem of the ages has come in Christ.

Jesus Christ does not simply point to the way and say that new life is possible. He is Himself the truth — the fully revealed presence of God who does not merely state the truth but who is the truth. To come to Him is to find the way to heaven and to receive life eternal; to know Him is to know the Father as well, for He and the Father are one:

John 10:25-30 (NIV) Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for Me, 26but you do not believe because you are not My sheep. 27My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand. 29My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one.”

In a cynical and insecure world, truth is both a lost cause and an abandoned-as-pointless pursuit. To Christians, the concept has form and substance. In the Word (John 1:1) and words of God, we know the truth that sets us free.

To walk by faith is not to take blind leaps into one’s doubts. Instead, it is to follow truth wherever it leads and to make whatever sacrifices it requires.
With truth to tell, why are so many Christians so absurdly silent?

Worship renewal is ongoing throughout the church around the world. I thank God that His Spirit is stirring believers to a keener consciousness of worship as the first business of the church.

After all, worship is the one ministry of the Body of Christ that will extend into eternity. We will not need benevolence programs in heaven. There will be no purpose to evangelistic sermons to the unsaved. Since there will be no sickness, tears, or death, many of the ministries we pursue here in the name of Christ will have long since served their purpose by the time we arrive home. But worship is different.

With all distance and barriers removed between God and His people, we will worship then as we wish we could worship now. No distractions. No possibility of self-absorption. Only glory, honor, and praise to heaven’s throne occupants!

In a brief glimpse of heavenly worship given in Scripture, the redeemed from Earth “held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb.”

The Song of Moses, in Exodus 15:1-18 is a song that exults in God’s faithfulness and power. It recounts His mighty acts among the descendants of Abraham to deliver them from bondage and to give them a promised land.

Exodus 15:1-18 (NIV)

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD :
“I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.

² The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

³ The LORD is a warrior;
the LORD is his name.

⁴ Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.

⁵ The deep waters have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.

⁶ “Your right hand, O LORD,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, O LORD,
shattered the enemy.

⁷ In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.

⁸ By the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood firm like a wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.

⁹ “The enemy boasted,
‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.’

¹⁰ But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.

¹¹ “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

¹² You stretched out your right hand
and the earth swallowed them.

¹³ “In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.

¹⁴ The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.

¹⁵ The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people of Canaan will melt away;

¹⁶ terror and dread will fall upon them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, O LORD,
until the people you bought pass by.

¹⁷ You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.

¹⁸ The LORD will reign
for ever and ever.”

The Song of Moses and the Lamb of Revelation 15:3-4 is modeled on this outline. It focuses on what God has done throughout the ages to reveal himself as the Faithful Deliverer of his people.
Revelation 15:3-4 (NIV)

Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the ages.
4Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Do you get any ideas from this about the worship we should be learning to offer through the church today?  How about we have fewer songs that focus on our situation and needs, fewer that encourage us to do this or that. Let’s have more that exalt the Lamb, rehearse the story of His saving acts, and celebrate the certainty of hope.

Worship whose goal is to fix a mindset or mood among those who have assembled must give way to worship that exalts the only One who is worthy of praise.  Worship is not for our entertainment but for His glory.

It is not too early to rehearse the praise we will give in heaven forever!

There is an old fable about seven men trekking across a wasteland. As they came to a dried-up creek bed on a moonless night, they were startled to hear a voice calling to them out of the thick darkness.

The unidentified voice invited them to pick up stones from the creek bed as they crossed and then journey on as far as possible before dawn. At daylight, the voice said, they would see what they had gathered – and be both happy and sad. With a sense of bewilderment and at some risk in the dark night, they did as they had been told.

When the first streaks of light appeared in the eastern sky, the men eagerly looked into the bags where the rocks were stashed. Instead of the jagged, dirty stones they thought they had gathered, they discovered precious jewels. Then they understood the strange words they had heard the night before: “You will be both happy and sad.”

They were delighted because of their unforeseen bounty. Yet they looked at each other with a sense of dejection when they realized they could have picked up so much more. I wonder if we will have a similar feeling when we pass through the dark night of our trials and stand with the Lord in heaven. Will we be happy to see how God has turned our temporary experiences of life into a Heavenly reward but sad about the opportunities we overlooked? 

· Appreciation left unexpressed
· Words or notes of encouragement left unwritten
· Laughter unshared
· Talks with family without TV interruptions
· Visits with elderly or shut-in people
· People we didn’t invite to church
· Words about the Savior left unspoken 

Jesus has told us that even the smallest things done in the most unlikely and overlooked of settings count. Providing food to the hungry or hope to a prisoner is defined as service to Jesus Himself

 Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV) ³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.  ³⁴“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’  ³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’  ⁴⁰“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’  ⁴¹“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’  ⁴⁴“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’  ⁴⁵“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’  ⁴⁶“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

As you proceed through this day, watch for the little opportunities to do holy things. Though they may seem plain and ordinary at the moment, the dawn of eternity will reveal their worth in God’s eyes. And you will be happy and sad.

Imagine that a young man is courting the girl of his dreams. He wants to make a good impression. He dreams of winning her heart. So he goes to her house — and begins criticizing everything he sees.

“This is the dirtiest house I’ve ever seen!” he begins. “And there’s a terrible odor about the place. How can you stand to live here? This is a pig sty!” “Uh, well, I’m sorry you are uncomfortable,” responds the girl, fighting back tears. “Maybe if you’d come into the dining room and meet my parents . . .”

So, as our hero struts into the room and moves toward the table, he says, “See, I told you there was a terrible odor here. It’s that awful food on your dining table! So these are your parents, eh? Did you cook this foul-smelling meal, ma’am? And you, sir, do you eat this stuff on a regular basis? If so, you sure have my sympathy.”

By that time, somebody is likely to be tossed out on his ear. Whatever hopes he had of impressing and winning the “girl of his dreams” have vanished. The distance he has put between himself and her at that point will likely be too great to bridge in a dozen lifetimes.

Yet some of us have been guilty of using a variant of this shocking approach in trying to represent Christ. We go at people in other churches with wrecking balls, telling them how dirty and foul-smelling their churches are. If we had some insight into God’s truth they needed, rest assured it will never be communicated after that beginning.

Maybe the person has no Christian background. Forget correcting what you see as error in another believer’s understanding or practice. This man or woman has no faith at all. He is skeptical about God, and she has never attended over a half-dozen church assemblies in her life. So some Christian tears into him for asking him to stop at a bar for a drink after work or lets her know she’s going to hell for being in her third marriage.

Suppose you saw a four-year-old boy holding a sharp knife by its blade. Would you yell? Grab the handle? Or gently offer something pretty and appealing in hope he would drop the dangerous knife for the sake of picking up something safe and attractive?

If there is somebody with God has positioned you to share some kernel of truth, be careful going about it. Unless you are deliberately Christ-like in your approach, you may not only drive that person away from yourself but destroy forever the possibility of his hearing something that could have been eternally important.

And whose fault would that be?

            Ephesians 4:28-30 (NIV) ²⁸He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.  ²⁹Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.