Scrubbing floors for Jesus

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"One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship, beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches. I'd rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin." (Psalm 84:10, The Message)

Roland Earl was my pastor and father in the ministry when I was a seminary student. I was blessed to succeed him as pastor of the Eagle Mountain Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, TX when he graduated to heaven in 1991. Between the two of us, we pastored that church for 48 years (31 for him, 17 for me). Psalm 84:10 was his favorite verse. He never had any desire for accolades. He just wanted to serve Jesus.

This verse is not about spending all of one's time at the "church house". God does not live in houses made of brick and mortar (or any other building material). This is about worship (acknowledging and practicing the presence of God) and ministry (pouring out oneself in service to God).

I am reminded of a phrase from one of my favorite Keith Green songs from many years ago: "And when I'm doing well, help me to never seek a crown, for my reward is giving glory to You."

Question: How will you "scrub floors" for Jesus today?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your perspective.

What's your heart condition?

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"Eternal One: These people think they can draw near to Me by saying the right things, by honoring Me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from Me. Their worship of Me consists of man- made traditions learned by rote; it is a meaningless sham." (Isaiah 29:13, The Voice)

I don't know what day of the week it will be when you read this (these online things have a bit of a shelf life); I am writing on a Sunday morning.

There are various approaches people will take today concerning "church" and "worship".

Some will not give it a thought. The fastest growing religious group in America is "none". They will go about their day and their activities. This is just a day.

Some will make today a personal day. It is a day to relax, enjoy nature, maybe head to the lake or golf course. They may take the approach that, since God is everywhere, I can enjoy His creation. I don't need to be in a building to worship God.

Some will go to church because they always have and then they will go on about their business. They have acknowledged the importance of church attendance and made sure their children have the religious experiences they had years ago.

Some will be in church today because it is important to them to be there. Church attendance is a part of their identity. The discipline of religious traditions and activities helps to give clarity and definition to their lives. If they miss a Sunday in church they feel guilty because they are not doing their duty to God.

Some will gather with other Christ-followers today because they want to have a genuine encounter with God in the presence of others who are sharing the journey. This is obviously my preference and what I believe to be closest to what God desires for His people, though I have tried to list the others without condemnation.

Worship is an issue of heart, not activity. Activities matter, but if the heart is not right, they are meaningless. That does not mean that someone should say, "I just won't participate today because my heart is not right." That means that part of our preparation is to bare our hearts before God and ask Him to prepare us for worship.

Question: How will you draw near to God today?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your perspective.  What other approaches can you think of that I left out?

Standing on the Promises

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"With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let's make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let's make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1, The Message)

It is interesting sometimes to note how the Bible is laid out for us. Some people are not aware that the original manuscripts that were eventually collected to make up our Bible did not contain chapter and verse divisions.Those came about centuries later. As a result, we sometimes get a chapter division that makes sense if we are reading the whole book in context, but lacks information if we just start reading at the beginning of a chapter. 

Like this one: "With promises like this ..." What promises? We have to look back to chapter 6.

"But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way: 'I'll live in them, move into them; I'll be their God and they'll be my people. So leave the corruption and compromise; leave it for good,' says God. 'Don't link up with those who will pollute you. I want you all for myself. I'll be a Father to you; you'll be sons and daughters to me.' The Word of the Master, God." (6:16-18)

Now those are wonderful promises! That should make us feel really special. But simply making us feel special is not what God had in mind. That's why Paul continues by saying that those promises should motivate us to "make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God." 

Or as Oswald Chambers says, "God’s perspective is that through His promises I will come to recognize His claim of ownership on me."

Question: What will you do with God's promises today?

Leave a comment.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Embrace the Mystery

"I saw all the works and ways of God, and it became clear to me that no one is able to grasp fully this mystery called life. Try as we might, we cannot discover what has been done under the sun. Even if the wise claim to know, they really haven’t discovered it." (Ecclesiastes 8:17, The Voice)

Just when you think you have it all figured out ... You are wrong. 

There are certainly things about God and His word that are understandable. He has given us enough revelation of Himself that we can make reasonable decisions about following Him. Through the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit in those who follow Him, He gives spiritual understanding.

But there are mysteries of God that are beyond our comprehension. We can struggle with them, or we can trust and worship Him in the mystery.

Michael Card wrote a song back in 1988 called "To the Mystery". The chorus says, "Oh, that is the mystery; more than you can see. Give up on your pondering and fall down on your knees."

Question: What can you do today to embrace the mystery of God?

Leave me a comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Gratitude Attitudes

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  "Open your mouths with thanks! Sing praises to the Eternal! Strum the harp in unending praise to our God Who blankets the heavens with clouds, sends rain to water the thirsty earth, and pulls up each blade of grass upon the mountainside. He opens His hands to feed all the animals and scatters seed to nestlings when they cry. He takes no pleasure in the raw strength of horses; He finds no joy in the speed of the sprinter. But the Eternal does take pleasure in those who worship Him, those who invest hope in His unfailing love." (Psalm 147:7-11, The Voice)

As we begin Thanksgiving week, I wonder if we can begin to shape our gratitude attitudes around the awareness of who God is and what He does. Will we be thankful to Him? Will He take pleasure in us?

How did you worship Him with thanksgiving today?

My Ruler is Too Short to Measure God's Love

"Father, out of Your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root. May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded so that together with all of Your people they will have the power to understand that the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced. God, may Your fullness flood through their entire beings." (Ephesians 3:16-19, The Voice)

As I sit and write this morning, I am awestruck that millions of worshipers around the world will gather today to proclaim and celebrate the infinite love of God. From ornate cathedrals to underground secret meeting places, from storefronts to living rooms, from shade trees to barns ... Everywhere God's people are gathered, He is present. And His love defies measurement ("infinitely long, wide, high, and deep").

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Certainly His love can be celebrated apart from the gathering of His people. His love is the same. But the celebration and awareness of it is not the same apart from the gathering.

With whom will you celebrate today?

Leave a comment below and tell us about your faith community.