Tag: Jesus Christ

Significant Worship

A Psalm Study, 108:1-6

A Song. A Psalm of David.

 1 My heart is confident in you, O God;
      no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!
 2 Wake up, lyre and harp!
      I will wake the dawn with my song.
 3 I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.
      I will sing your praises among the nations.
 4 For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens.
      Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
 5 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
      May your glory shine over all the earth.

6 Now rescue your beloved people.
      Answer and save us by your power.

–Psalm 108:1-6, NLT

David has tapped into strength and significance.  The astounding part of it is–it’s a Person, not a method.  He has a relationship that alters the reality around him.  David is outrageously enthusiastic about this.  He exudes a confidence that can’t be contained.  Our strength is in a person!  (Not religion, a moral code, ethics or even discipleship.)  It’s Jesus, it is a relationship, that is personal–a intimate friendship.

David refers to a ‘harp and lyre.’  These are obsolete for the most part.  But I think any musical instrument can be used.  A piano or a guitar, (even a cherry red Stratocaster) is quite acceptable.  But there is an interesting shift.  David’s heart and soul is his musical instrument!  Worship starts right there, not in a set of drums.  His heart is the primary place of worship.  That is where worship must happen.  And we can easily confuse this.

King David understands innately the significance of worshipping God.  He visualizes going out to all the peoples of the world–not as a diplomat, but as a worshipper.  That is his central thought and theme.  No trade treaties, or ambassadors or even peace envoys.  But Jehovah God is his ingrained purpose.

And worshipping Him is a reasonable thing.  David proclaims two attributes that are ‘sparkplugs’ for his spiritual life, (v.4).

  1. Love
  2. Faithfulness

These ignite his love and worship.  When King David thinks about them, he can’t help but sing and worship.  And they are extremely significant for us as well.  When you think of God’s love and His unceasing faithfulness–and if they are properly seen, and understood, you too will worship.  As a matter of fact the existence of heart worship is evidence of a healthy spiritual heart.

David wants to God to show Himself to the whole earth–everyone!  Far jungle tribesman and Eskimos, all need to see God!  Everybody gets to see Him. That is the wonderful purpose of Christian missions.  David wants desperately to share this with all.  He has a true zeal (and sometimes that scares us).

Verse 6 hints of the existence of sin and evil.  These are things so engrained and prevalent in our society, and in our hearts–we need a deliverer and a savior.  Jesus has to step in.  We have no other options, and our creator has got to be our Savior.  When we begin to realize our desperate predicament, all the vanity (an old fashioned word) and emptiness, we are halfway there. I encourage you to worship, everyday.

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ybic, Bryan

 

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The King Concept

“Power and peace will be in his kingdom
       and will continue to grow forever.
    He will rule as king on David’s throne
       and over David’s kingdom.
    He will make it strong
       by ruling with justice and goodness
       from now on and forever.
    The Lord All-Powerful will do this
       because of his strong love for his people.”

Isaiah 9:7, NCV

Things are now finally falling into place.  Jesus brings with Him a very definite sense of the Kingdom.  Darkness has been tricked.  It has been totally overcome by His presence.  The twin attributes of power and of peace are penetrating everything they touch.  We will no longer have to put up with deception and sin.

This intervention will continue, forever.  All I can do, is witness to its power.  Nothing phases it.  It continues to advance without melodramatics or manipulation.  He fully intends to sit on the throne of David; it is His by right and by deed.  Because, after all, He is the true King.

He is not just a token king, or a king in idea or theory.  He does rule, fully and completely.  He fortifies the kingdom and brings an intentional awareness to His subjects of true love and peace.  The concepts of justice and goodness, which have never really been considered, are released into the lives of the people.

There is a pervasive sense that this will continue and endure.  The King and the kingdom has come  (and there isn’t a thing we can do about it.)  This is not a ‘flash in the pan’.  It has the idea of eternity stamped all over it.  What He is doing is eternal.  It is not temporary or fleeting.  What He is doing is nothing more than revolution in the spiritual realm.

Our verse in Isaiah 9, speaks resoundly about ‘love’.  It is His love that pushes through all this turmoil and confusion.  He loves us to the extent of dying in our place.  Love is what energizes Him, it causes Him to look for us.  Love are the ‘rails’ He moves on, to come to us.  When He finally locates us, He purchases us with His own money off of the slave block.  No questions and no demands.

Because He is all-powerful, He cannot be limited to the status of a ‘quasi-God’. His complete strength allows Him the option of doing whatever He chooses.  There are voices, scattered and strained, that have the audacity to claim that they really rule.  But if we think about, we discover that this is nothing more then a spiritual comedy being played out.

As we think about Isaiah, and his prophetic awareness, we are brought to an understanding that absolutely ‘rocks’ our world.  Jesus flips it all on its head, and the weakest become the strongest. He alone is our hope.  And He has done it all.

&

ybic, Bryan

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The Father’s House

 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

– John 14:1-3

Our hearts can be very disturbed.  It happens more frequently than we think.  We are like a styrofoam cup on the sea in a storm.  Jesus asks us to trust Him in this.  Your trust is very important to Him.  He covets your faith in Him.

Jesus reveals a bit of heaven to us.

  • First, it is a house and not a motel.  There is a warmth and comfort in a house.
  • Second, it is expansive– many rooms, the word is ‘dwelling places’.  Someplace that is relaxing and restful. It’s a place you’ll never, ever want to leave.
  • Third, it is a ‘prepared’ place.  I have friends with a B & B.  They are continually working to make it a comfortable and restful place for their guests.

We see our Lord Jesus taking a personal interest in our stay.  He is involved in making heaven a remarkable place.  That intrigues me.  Somehow eternity seems more hospitable with Jesus directly handling our transition.  He is making all the arrangements on our behalf.

A promise has been given.  He intends to be our escort into heaven.  No one gets lost, or confused as He is completely present.  Our destination is sure, and our Savior is strong.  When Jesus spoke these things, His disciples were encouraged and fortified in their hope and faith.

“It is not darkness you are going to, for God is Light. It is not lonely, for Christ is with you. It is not unknown country, for Christ is there.”

 Charles Kingsley

The promise is precise.  Where I am, there you will be!  This is solid and definitive.  There is nothing vague or ethereal about this.  We will be in His presence just as if it were a dear friend coming by for coffee.  Too often this all gets lost in a haze or fog, and reality is just not there.  But it is real, and its this life, here and now that has no eternal solidity.  And, He has given us His word.

&

Back When We Were Grown Ups

 

“I promise you that you cannot get into God’s kingdom, unless you accept it the way a child does.”  Mark 10:15, CEV

“So Jesus called the children over to him and said, “Let the children come to me! Don’t try to stop them. People who are like these children belong to God’s kingdom.”   Luke 18:16, CEV

One of the essential tenets of real discipleship is Jesus’ insistence on his disciples becoming children.  It actually is the entry point for all believers.  Everyone who really believes begins here, at ‘childlikeness’.

It’s interesting to note that ‘religion’ moves in the opposite direction– a level of sophistication is cultivated.  One becomes intellectual, emphasising the ‘academics’ over gentleness and goodness or love.

I think that there is an excessively high appreciation for broad-mindedness, but it is a cultivated, savoir-faire that is really is nothing but an embarrassment to the Kingdom of God.  It seems our discipleship is strongest when it is simplest.  Humbling ourselves is what makes us incredibly authentic– at least from His point-of-view.

And maybe–  just maybe, ‘becoming small’ is exactly what ‘the doctor has ordered’.  We need this, it needs to be imbedded into our hearts, and altering the way we encounter life.  If we are going to be real, then we must become children.  Becoming a child is an imperative.

Who do we think we are?  Often, we start out ‘broken’.  We esteem gentleness and brokenness.  We understand that the most valuable possession we can possess is a ‘childlikeness’. This can be understood by everyone we encounter– especially believers.  But this is only our starting point, we do not outgrow this, never.

Christians are set apart by their childlike heart.

“But I am calm and quiet,
like a baby with its mother.
I am at peace, like a baby with its mother.”

Psalm 131:2

ybic, Bryan

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