Tag: Worship

Digging in Deeper: Hosea 5:6

Leave a comment

“They go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord but do not find him; he has withdrawn from them.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever been in one place while your mind and heart were someplace else? You may be physically existing wherever you are, but you aren’t really there. It’s hard to get much of significance done like that. The odds are that whatever it is you are looking to accomplish there either isn’t going to happen at all, or at least isn’t going to happen well. This is true physically, but it’s also true spiritually and relationally. Let’s talk about how. 

Read the rest…

Return the Favor

Leave a comment

Only two more installments in our series, Being Useful, after this one. In this seventh part, we are reaching a point that the qualities on Peter’s list are both the next natural addition as well as the result of the previous additions. What does it look like when we pursue faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, and endurance on a consistent, intentional basis? We begin to fulfill the duty we owe to God. A duty to God? For what? Keep reading to find out more.

Return the Favor

Just out of curiosity this morning, how many of you have both been called and actually served for jury duty?  Thank you for that.  We don’t often thank jurors, but they contribute a vitally important service to our nation’s judicial system.  As much of a headache as this particular service is seen to be—much more of a burden than a blessing—it has kept our court system its distinction as one of the best and fairest in the world for the accused for almost 250 years.  That’s not a small thing. 

Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Deuteronomy 4:39

2 Comments

“Today, recognize and keep in mind that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other.” (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Idol worship is silly. The idea of bowing down to some statue like that statue could do anything is ridiculous. Even bowing down to a statue like it represents some kind of meaningful power and that power could impact you is laughable. Right? Sure, if you live in a culture where monotheism has been the most fundamental worldview assumption for most of 1500 years. If you don’t, it’s not nearly so laughable as it perhaps seems. And, just because monotheism is one of a culture’s guiding assumptions doesn’t mean that idol worship goes away, it simply changes forms. 

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Matthew 5:23-24

Leave a comment

“So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever tried to worship with an angry heart? That’s no small task. In fact, I dare say it is an impossible one. Worshiping the Lord is something that should happen primarily between us and the Lord. Worshiping angry, like doing just about anything angry, is a recipe for not doing it very well. Jesus here offers us a solution. But hold on tight because it sounds pretty radical. 

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 2 Samuel 7:22

Leave a comment

“Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”  (ESV – Read the chapter) ‬‬

David speaks to a truth here that is absolutely essential to understanding if someone is going to be a faithful, consistent follower of Jesus. It is what makes Him stand out as someone worth following in the first place. In fact, he proclaims three truths here along with a piece of evidence that is a whole lot more convincing when you really think about it. What David said here was true and important in his own time, and more than 3,000 years of history since has allowed us to understand that he spoke even better than he could have known then. Read the rest…