Monday, April 26, 2010

Worship as Worth-Ship


Somehow these days I like Hyphenating words that don't belong together. Like Michael Scott of The office TV Show. He is credited with such clever hyphenations such as superstitious and its antonym Little-Stitious, or turning the word Disgruntled into "Extremely Gruntled". So taking a page from His book I am making my own word. I want to turn Worship into Worth-Ship. I want to view Worship of Christ as Worth-giving. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let is fix our Eyes on Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith". Why do we fix our eyes on something that we do not give worth to? That is why worship is Worth-Ship or Worth Giving.
So what does worth giving look like in your life? I don't know about you but I give worth to things that I give my time, energy, money, hope, care and concern, love, dreams, life, and my physical posture to. This is worth giving at its best. I think the Accuser of the Brethren, the great enemy of God; the Devil wants us to think that posture is not important in worship. We are wrong to think that. The word for worship in the Biblical texts usually has a physical posture in mind and it is a posture of prostration. This does not mean we need to lay prostrate every time we go to Church. It does beg the question would you not bow so low in his presence that you would if he called you to lay prostrate do that as His best Worth-Giver?
Jesus in his conversation with the woman at the well alluded to this type of worth giving "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.”You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.”God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
Wow we must worth Him in Spirit Jesus says God is Spirit. So if you are not worshiping him and Giving God worth privately and corporately; as he explains worship is not bound by place, then we are not worshipping. He also says worth giving is to be done in truth. God is also truth so the closer you come to Him the closer you will come to truth. Seek Him and you will find truth, seek something else and all you come up with are lies and half-truths. The other thing I notice about what Jesus says is that God the Father is seeking Worth Givers. Such kind of worth givers the Father is seeking. When we come to God we think we have sought Him, but come to find out over and over again He has sought us to be His highest worth and glory givers! WOW! We are his prize and He is our portion. I pray this helps you become a hyphenated Worth-Giver!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Fighting Un-Humility


Ever since I was a young man I have fought Un-Humility. Then I memorized Philippians 2:5-8. "Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross." after reading what Jesus did (Son of God) I then realized that I was a really proud person. Pride in anything. Anything I could get my hands on to wrap my pride into. Sports, school, my smashing good looks although my hair is washing down the shower drain daily, or anything that I could boost my Un-Humility. If it smacked of pride I liked it. I still like it, but everytime I read this passage again I realize the true depths of lowness I can sink to in the area of pride, and how sick it really makes me. And so my first post will be one of Humility. I will seek in this blog to relentlessy pursue the mind of the Humble Christ. If you promise to pursue it with me. Thanks for reading and hope it inspires you, empowers you, and most of all imprints you with the mind of Christ. Blessings!