Wrong Way Worship

Now some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?’ Ezekiel 14:1-3

Are you a good multitasker? I want you to know today that there are areas of life where multitasking is fine, but there are areas where it is eternally fatal.

Take worship for example. If we try to multitask worship, bad move. The career and the education and the house and all of it is never meant to be something that takes the place of God, but instead allows for us to worship God with those things for all that He has blessed us with.

No, I’ve got it managed. I’ve got it compartmentalized. Here’s my God slice and here is everything else. I can manage it all.

That’s like convincing yourself that even though the law has now changed so that it’s illegal, you can still drive and text at the same time. You’ve got it down. You can do it.

Oh well, Bob, it might be a problem for you, but I am a multitasker.

Listen. When it comes to worship, it is a bad trait to be a multitasker. You should be so single-minded and focused that there is one and one only that you worship. And if somehow you’re still convinced that you can pull it off, that you can manage it all, it doesn’t mean you’re right. And it doesn’t mean you’ll succeed.

It simply means my illustration has failed, because here is God saying, You have to choose. Are you with me or are you against me? Are you going to be my child or are you going to be a child of the god of this world-the devil? Who are you going to live for? Will you stack up on the left or on the right on the Day of Judgment? Will you be a sheep or will you be a goat?

Both.

You can’t. Goofy or regular, you’ve got to choose how you’re going to ride this. You can’t serve two masters. You’re going to end up loving one and hating the other. And so, which will it be, left or right? Goat or sheep? Right or wrong? Blessings or curses? Life or death?

It’s not both. It’s an either/or proposition. You’ve got to choose sides and pick a team. Is God really your God today?

Prayer Lord God,

Thank You for being jealous of my worship and my heart, so that I can only serve one God. I choose to make You my God and worship You alone, not just on Sundays, but with my whole life, my whole heart, with all that I am!

Amen

Heartguard

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. Psalm 5:11

Trust is important, wouldn’t you say? Think for a moment about all the times in any given day when you use or need trust.

You trust your mechanic when you get into your car. You trust your grocery store when you eat your food. You have a measure of trust for the other drivers on the road when you drive. You trust the makers of your chairs when you sit down, your employees when you assign tasks to them, and your employers when you accomplish tasks for them.

Trust is the currency of all your relationships. You will only go as deep with a person as you can trust them.

Trust is important. Equally important is knowing whom we trust.

Consider the things you are facing in life right now, and then think of the person or organization you trust to solve that specific problem. Do you trust the government for welfare? Do you even trust the government to make America a moral place to live through its legislations?

Do you trust the people of authority in your life to do something for you? I have this happen to me all the time, where people insist on seeing me because I’m the senior pastor. They tell me, I need to get off of alcohol; I need you to help me. And all I can say is, I will do everything I can, but the best I can do is to send you to some guys I know who used to be stuck on alcohol, but now they love Jesus.

No, I need you to help me.

It seems that sometimes I just can’t get people to see the truth that I am not the one they need. Who they really need is Jesus, but they come to me like I’m the only one who can fix them.

Don’t put your trust in me. Don’t put your trust in your job, or your possessions, or your government, or your friends. All of these things will disappoint you eventually.

Trust in God. He is your protector, defender, and deliverer. He is the one you need.

Prayer Father God,

I choose to rejoice in You, because I do trust in You for all my needs! I choose to guard my heart for You, not trusting in anything else. Please help me by Your Spirit to stand firm as I put my trust in You.

Amen

A Glimpse of Gory

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago…was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words. 2 Corinthians 12:2,4

What do you think Heaven will be like? Studies show that most American Christians think that Heaven will be just one great, big, unending church service. How sad is that?

I mean, a lot of church-goers don’t even come for all of church. They either like the music and leave before the preaching starts or they like the preaching and come late so they don’t have to endure so much music. And then these people, discouraged about what they expect in Heaven, turn toward the things of this world to find whatever they can down here.

Listen, if Heaven is nothing more than a bunch of halo-wearing, harp-playing, cloudsitting little cherubs with wings, I’m not going there. It’s like, no wonder people are out to seek significance and satisfaction here on this planet, in this life, when they’ve been given very little to look forward to in Heaven.

Gang, let’s take it from someone who glimpsed Heaven that these pictures I’ve described so far are nothing like the real thing. In fact, our witness Paul tells us that Heaven can’t be described by human words.

It would be like you trying to describe the sunset at La Jolla Shores with the green grass coming up to the white sand and the waves breaking and the pinks and the oranges and the reds of the sunset to someone who’s been blind their entire life.

You say to your blind friend, Oh, how I wish you could see this. And he says, So do I. Explain it to me.

And you’re like, Well, the greens are so green.

And he’s like, What’s green?

I don’t know, but it’s nothing like the sand, which is so white, reflecting the sun. What’s the sun?

I don’t know, but it’s turning orange and pink.

What’s pink?

I don’t know. It’s a combination of red and…

What’s red?

He just is not getting it. And neither do we yet. We have no ability to understand what God has in store for us in Heaven.

So let’s stop telling lies about Heaven that make people think Earth is the better deal and instead start talking about it as it really is-indescribable Paradise-and invite our friends to the higher place.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for such a wonderful place as Heaven will be! Please help me to change how people think about Heaven so we can live together with our eyes set on the eternity You have for us!

Amen

Hijacking the American Dream

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 2 Peter 1:5-7

What’s the destination of your train? Oh, you didn’t know that you have a train? Well of course you do! We all have one-it’s called Life.

At the end of your life, when your train stops and you walk out the door, where will you find yourself?

You see, this is the most important question we can answer for ourselves. But unfortunately, many of us are more caught up in how nice our train is than in where our train is going. How soft is the bed? What’s the thread count in those sheets? Is the food in the dining car gourmet, or just café? And, for goodness sake, the coffee had better be from our favorite name brand chain.

Jesus told a parable in Luke 12 to show us just how foolish this way of thinking is. He told the story of a man who had a huge harvest-I mean bumper crops-and he didn’t have enough space in his barns to hold it all. So he built bigger, better barns and thought to himself, I’m set for life! Now I can take it easy for the rest of my days, eating and drinking to my heart’s delight.

God interrupts the man’s celebrations with a terrible message. Fool, this night your soul will be required of you. Then Jesus drops the punch line, So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God.

In other words, even if your train is made of pure gold, it’s worthless if it drives you straight to Hell. You would be better off in a train made of trashcans that gets you to Heaven. So how do you make sure your train is heading to the right place? It all starts with faith in Jesus’ death on the cross for your sins, but in our verses for today, Peter tells us it should build from there.

Our faith is our ticket to board a Heaven-bound train, but what makes us rich towards God is building on our faith virtue, and on virtue knowledge, and the list goes on. If we will do these things then our faith will bear fruit, storing up riches where they will last forever-in Heaven.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for making a way for me to arrive in Heaven! I need Your help to build my life right down here on earth. Please show me how to build on my faith so that it bears fruit that will last forever!

Amen

The Full Surrender

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

What directs your life? How do you make decisions from day to day?

A lot of people simply make their own plans and head out into life in whatever direction they wish to go. However, for the Christian, this is not an option.

The reason that we should not choose our own way is because God calls that going astray. And the truth is that He has plans for our lives that, if we will submit to Him, will be a million times better than anything we would have come up with on our own.

So how do we follow His plans for our lives? What source of direction do we have so that we can perceive our path? The best source we have is God’s Word.

His Word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. When we try to walk by any other plan then we are walking in darkness and it will lead us to stumble in life. Just like if you try to find your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night when you are out camping in the mountains where there is no light, if you do not bring your flashlight then you are going to stumble.

Here’s the problem-we want the five-year plan. We want the ten-year package. We want the blueprints of our life to float down from Heaven and land on the kitchen table. But God’s Word doesn’t promise that, and do you know why? Because if He gave us those things then we would check out.

We would stop seeking Him, looking to Him for direction, pursuing Him for His presence along our path. We would try to accomplish His plans on our own, and that would never work because His plans for our lives are such that He wants to be a part of them. In fact, they even are so amazing that they are things we could never accomplish on our own without Him.

Listen, if you’re not in God’s Word then you are thinking too highly of yourself. We cannot do life on our own-either stumbling in the dark without a light or trying to live by the light with more faith in ourselves than in God.

Let’s do life right-in the light of God’s Word with faith in the One who can bring us all the way home.

Prayer Lord God,

Thank You for being my light and my salvation! Thank You for Your Word that guides me on my path! Please help me to hear Your direction clearly and give me faith to walk with You all my life.

Amen

Home Safe

But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10

What is on your mind today? Is it sports, your job, issues in your family, or some other thing that consumes your earthly life?

My hope today is that your mind is set on Heaven, because what Paul tells us in these verses is that Heaven is so far beyond anything we have here that it’s not even worth comparing them. He is telling us that we need to get excited about what’s to come more than we are excited about what is down here.

Think of the most outrageous thing you have ever seen or heard. Paul says that Heaven is way beyond that. It’s better than the best Super Bowl halftime show, more impressive than the latest special effects masterpiece in digital 3-D, grander than fireworks on the Fourth of July. Even Mount Everest, the Great Barrier Reef, and the galaxies of space pale in contrast. Nothing you have seen, whether in creation or made by man can compare to Heaven.

You might think that such an incredible place would be hard to imagine, but wait-look at the rest of what Paul said. God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. Hallelujah! Do you realize what that means? God does not want this to be a mystery to you! He wants you to know what Heaven is like so that you will be excited about it! And not just excited, but out of your mind in anticipation of arriving to your heavenly home and hearing your Father say, Home safe! Well done, good and faithful servant.

We cannot comprehend Heaven on our own, but God reveals these things to us by the Holy Spirit. Do you want to learn what Heaven will be like? Then pray with me:

Prayer Holy Spirit,

Thank You for making Heaven such a wonderful place! Please reveal to me the mystery of Heaven, so that I will be captivated by it instead of by the things of this world.

Amen

All Aboard

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

What do you do on Mondays?

Church is done. Your religious duty of time with believers-half of whom you think are nuts-and of giving money into the offering are done. Now the rest of your week is before you. What do you do?

I know you know the right answer, but I’m interested in the true answer. Do you forget God during the week? Do you live a double-life? Can your family recognize God in your life when you aren’t dressed up for church?

You see, anyone can behave themselves for two hours on a Sunday. The real test comes when real life hits.

It is for this reason that Paul wrote our verses for today, inspired by the Holy Spirit who saw us and our struggles all the way back when He gave these words to Paul’s pen. And you know what, the faith and the love in our verses today are inseparably connected, and they need to be connected in our lives as well.

First, we need to stand fast in our faith. That means that our faith does not end when we drive out of the church parking lot. Our faith exists beyond Sunday morning into Monday morning when we go serve our employers at work and when we come home from a long Monday at work to our family who needs our attention, affection, and love. God stays present in our lives in all of these things.

Well, what about me? you say. Just wait, we’ll get to that.

We keep God present in our lives by living with love. Everything we do, we do it because of, and out of, and with, and through love. Our motivation is love. Our desire is love. And the biggest sign of this is that we do not live selfishly, but rather we live with others in mind first, seeking the benefit of others before insisting on our own desires.

It is this kind of love that requires faith-faith that someone else is going to take care of us when we make our life about loving others first. That is why we need to be strong and brave, because it can be scary living with others in mind first, trusting God to meet our needs, to be our provider.

Yet that is the life to which we are called. Will you choose to live that life today?

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for loving me! You are the perfect example of someone who loved others even when it cost You everything. Please help me to be strong and full of faith that You will take care of me as I choose to love the people around me!

Amen