Category Archives: Worship

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Certain Doom Of American Idol

Human Beings Aren't Made To Be Worshipped

Every idol—those made of stone, and those made of flesh and blood—will come to certain doom. So will those who have created them and so will those who elevate them to places of adoration in their lives.

Read: Psalm 115 // Focus: Psalm 115:8

“Those who make idols will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.”

Finally, it’s dead. RIP! American Idol—the wildly popular television talent show finally went the way of all the earth. It died, to the dismay of dozens of millions of Americans who glued their eyes each week to the television to watch wannabe idols and text their vote for the latest greatest singing sensation to hit the airwaves. Think about the shows premise: one lucky dude who was just as un-famous and you and me only a few weeks prior to the show would hit instantaneous stardom—and he or he became the next American Idol.

By the way, I enjoyed the show, so my purpose is not to trash it—although shows like American Idol remind us that far too many people are way out of balance in their adoration of anything celebrity. But I do think we have an idol problem in our culture today. Just like the people to whom the psalmist referred, we, too, have our idols, and we would be wise to take note of his warning that not only will these idols come to certain doom, but so will those who have created them, and so will those who elevate them to places of importance in their lives.

Of course, we don’t worship literal images made of wood, stone, silver or gold like the ancients did, but wouldn’t you agree that we are just as susceptible to the seduction of less visible but highly sophisticated idols like wealth, celebrity, power and pleasure? Don’t you agree that the love money, the pursuit of fame—or at least the homage we pay to those who have attained it—the jockeying for top position and the relentless indulgence of self stand between many and their full and singular devotion to God?

Perhaps, in all honesty, you would have to admit that this includes you. Maybe you sometimes struggle with hanging on to “your” money when you really ought to be investing it in God’s work. Perhaps you wrestle with the desire to be known and admired for what you have done when you should really be offering acts of selfless, anonymous servanthood. It could be that there are times when it is difficult for you to put the things of God ahead of your own plans for pleasure and entertainment.

If you are placing importance, expending energy and make personal investment in things that drown out your full-throttled devotion to God, you have made them into an idol. But here’s the deal: at the end of the day, those things will have amounted to nothing. They cannot speak, see, hear, smell, feel, act or offer anything that benefits your preparation for eternity. (Psalm 115:5-7) The wealth, power, pleasure and fame they may produce in this life will crumble on that day when all creation stands before Almighty God—and so will all who have worshipped them ahead of God.

Don’t give your worship to another. It belongs to God alone. Worship God and he will be your protection (Psalm 115:9-11), your provision ((Psalm 115:12-13), your prosperity (Psalm 115:14-15) and your peace (Psalm 115:16-18).

No idol will do that for you—American or otherwise. Only God can, and only he is worthy of your worship.

Making Life Work: Psalm 115: 16 reminds us, “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.” Take a moment to recognize and thank the Creator for allowing you to enjoy what he has made.*

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Earth Worship

Common Sense Stewardship Over A One Of A Kind Planet

We are the earth’s stewards, not its Savior, and while this planet is our home, don’t confuse it with our heaven. We are simply to watch over the created cosmos, being careful not to cross over the thin line that exists between watching and worshiping.

Read: Psalm 114 // Focus: Psalm 114:3-4, 7-8

“The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back; the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs … Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.“

There is a lot of earth worship going on these days. If you don’t know what I am talking about, pay a little more attention to what is happening in the environmental movement. In my view, a radical form of environmentalism that is tantamount to idolatry has replaced common sense stewardship of the earth. Earth worship, to be precise—the worship of creation over the Creator.

Think about it: Blind loyalty, if not fawning love, is offered to the cosmos, monetary offerings are given to uphold its cause, the words of its high priests are revered without challenge, its message is spread by aggressive followers with the fervor of door-to-door evangelists, and those who don’t readily accept the message are mocked and marginalized.

Sounds like a religion to me!  The Apostle Paul spoke about this in Romans 1:25, “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.”

Now don’t get me wrong, I love the earth. I think God brought his ‘A game’ when he created this planet. But don’t miss the point: Like everything else, it was created. And we, as the highest order of God’s creation, were given the assignment to manage the rest of creation on God’s behalf—and that includes lovingly and wisely caring for Planet Earth. But we are the earth’s stewards, not its Savior, and while this planet is our home, don’t confuse it with our heaven. We are simply to watch over the created cosmos, being careful not to cross over the thin line that exists between watching and worshiping.

Grasping this is so important, you see, because the earth actually worships its Creator. (See Romans 8:19-21) That’s what this psalm is about. And though God has put the systems in place that run the physical world day in and day out, season by season, eon after eon, every once in a while he breaks back into it and commands the cosmos to fulfill extraordinary things for his purposes. Those extraordinary acts are, in reality, nothing more than the release of pent up praise the creation longs to give its Creator. In other words, during those extraordinary moments of earth-shattering activity, the planet is praising.

And yet, when the earth simply goes about doing what the earth does—rising and resting with each twenty-four hour period, moving seamlessly from one season to the next—it too, in those ordinary moments, is offering praise to the One who created it and by his mighty power, sustains it. Moment-by-moment, day-by-day, year-by-year, the earth is worshiping.

The creation worships its Creator. What an awesome thing to consider. What an amazing thing to behold. I don’t want to get caught up worshiping something that worships Someone else. Do you? I want to give my worship to the Creator, and as I care for his creation, even then, I am offering him his rightful worship.

Earth worship! Sure go ahead. Join the earth in worship of its Creator.

Making Life Work: Get out your hymnal (that’s a song book we used to use in church) or Google the hymn, Praise To The Lord The Almighty, and sing it back in worship to your Creator.

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The Condescending Creator

Reaching Up to the God Who Stoops

God is not an invention; He is the Inventor. And the Great Inventor has taken the initiative to walk among his people.

Read: Psalm 113 // Focus: Psalm 113:5-6

“Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?”

He is the God who stoops.

No one in a million years could ever have invented a condescending deity like that. Even if we had thought God up, it would have been a long stretch to imagine One moved by interest in the plight of his creation, full of compassion and pity, extending grace and mercy, exuding love and kindness, much less One who actually stoops to do something about it.

The God who stoops—who’d a thunk it?

Whenever man invents god, there you find a deity who is unapproachable, aloof, angry, interested only in his subjects keeping him happy and characteristically impossible to please. But God is not an invention; He is the Inventor. And the Great Inventor has taken the initiative to walk among his people. As John Henry Newman quipped,

I sought to hear the voice of God and climbed the topmost steeple,
But God declared: “Go down again – I dwell among the people.”

A God who dwells among his people! It is no wonder the psalmist begins his song with a hearty, ‘praise the Lord” as he tries to grasp this Condescending Creator. He is a God who condescends to lift his people up and fill their lives with satisfaction: “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap” (Psalm 113:7); he gives them significance: “he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people” (Psalm 113:8); and fills them with unbridled joy: “He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children” (Psalm 113:9).

He is the God who stoops—imagine that!

And this God who stoops was at his condescending best when he not only walked among his people, but when he became one of them. You see, he was not merely a God who got his hands dirty for a day before returning to the riches of heaven, he became poor for a lifetime so we through his poverty we could become rich for eternity.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (II Corinthians 8:9)

He is the God who stoops!

The late Carl F. H. Henry, arguably America’s preeminent twentieth-century theologian, put it simply, yet profoundly: “Jesus Christ turns life right-side-up, and heaven outside-in.” The Condescending Christ stooped to lift fallen humanity from the quagmire of sin into the undeserved riches and indescribable glory of Almighty God.

Yes, thank God for a Savior who stooped!

Making Life Work: I think a simple and heart-felt “thank you” to God is in order here.

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Built-In Reminders

Ponder Anew What The Almighty Can Do

God wants you, on a regular basis, to call up from your memory banks the things that he has done. He wants you to delight in his sovereign acts and stand in awe of the mighty works his hand. God didn’t perform them only to have the written in the history books. They are to be pondered, delighted in, publically extolled.

Read: Psalm 111 // Focus: Psalm 111:2

“Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them.”

When was the last time you took some time just to remember what God has done? Psalm 111:4 says, “He has caused his wonders to be remembered.” In other words, built into the mighty acts of God is a reminder to remember the One who performed them.

God wants you, on a regular basis, to call up from your memory banks the things that he has done. He wants you to delight in his sovereign acts and stand in awe of the mighty works his hand. God didn’t perform them only to have the written in the history books and then forgotten. They are to be pondered, delighted in, remembered, and as Psalm 111:10 says, they are to lead his people to offer him eternal praise. (Psalm 111:10)

Now there are reasons God has built these reminders to praise and thank him into his mighty acts. The most important reason is the reminder that he is worthy to be adored, plain and simple. But another very pragmatic reason is that it benefits your own soul. Arthur Pink said, “Happy the soul that has been awed by a view of the majesty of God.” But the downside of failing to recognize what God has done is huge. John Piper powerfully points out,

“If you don’t see the greatness of God then all the things that money can buy become very exciting. If you can’t see the sun you will be impressed with a street light. If you’ve never felt thunder and lightning you’ll be impressed with fireworks. And if you turn your back on the greatness and majesty of God you’ll fall in love with a world of shadows and short-lived pleasures.”

Let me suggest a profound way to engage the greatness and majesty of God: read and reflect on Psalm 111 in its entirety. Then take a moment to speak forth your delight in the great things God has done. The psalmist has even provided a wonderful template of praise just for you. For instance,

• You can reflect on the undeserved compassion that God has extended to you. (Psalm 111:3)

• You probably ought to include a verbal gratitude list for the gracious provision he has made for your daily needs.

• While you are thinking about that, thank him for staying true to his character and his promises. (Psalm 111:5)

• You might want to bask in the Divine power that has led to victories in your life. (Psalm 111:6)

• You could add your appreciation for his fair and just rule, too. (Psalm 111:7-8)

• And best of all, why not let the reality of your redemption cause you to be undone with love all over again. (Psalm 111:9)

If you allow yourself some time to ponder anew the past acts of God on behalf of his people, and on your behalf, too, I am sure that nothing but good things will come from it. I can’t think of a downside to a session of praiseful pondering, can you?

Making Life Work: Take a few minutes to listen the hymn, Praise To The Lord, The Almighty, the offer your own heartfelt praise to the Lord, the Almighty! Here is a good link to this beautiful hymn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNq0WtMSmIY

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God’s Love Never Runs Out

God is Good—All the Time! All the Time—God is Good!

The truth is, you and I depend upon God’s mercy every single moment just to draw in the next breath, since the holy and righteous God has had innumerable reasons and every right to annihilate us from the planet because of our sinfulness. But thank God—he’s so good! His love never runs out!

Read: Psalm 107 // Focus: Psalm 107:1-2

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this!” — Psalm 107:1-2

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this!

I like the way The Message version of the Bible renders the psalmist’s call to gratitude: “Oh, thank God—he’s so good! His love never runs out. All of you set free by God, tell the world!”

God is good—all the time! All the time—God is good! That truly is the testimony of my life—and I have a feeling it is true of your life as well. Certainly, I ought to be proclaiming God’s goodness to anyone who will listen, and even to those who won’t, much more than I do. Add to that the fact that I am, on my best day, not so good, and on my worst day, frankly, pretty bad, only adds to the brilliance of God’s overwhelming goodness to me.

The New King James’ translation of the psalmist’s words are even more meaningful to me: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Mercy—I can really relate to that. Now don’t misunderstand what I’m saying: I’ll take either enduring love or enduring mercy—I can’t live without either one. Love and mercy are simply different facets of the same diamond we understand as the goodness of God.

But God’s mercy really speaks to me, and I’ll bet if you thought about, it, you would say the same. Someone said that mercy is not getting what you deserve. The truth is, you and I depend upon God’s mercy every single moment just to draw in the next breath, since the holy and righteous God has had innumerable reasons and every right to annihilate us from the planet because of our sinfulness. Jeremiah said it well in Lamentations 3:22-23,

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

The entirety of Psalm 107 is simply giving one example after another of how God in his faithful love and enduring mercy has freed his people from what they deserve. And at the end of each example, the psalmist expresses the call to gratitude: Oh, thank God, he is so good! He love never runs out!

I’ll bet you could write your own Psalm 107. In fact, that might be a good assignment for you and me this week. And then, like the psalmist suggested, we should go tell the world. Now that’s a pretty tall order, so how about starting the part of the world in which you live? Write your psalm and share it with your spouse, your family, your friends, and then your co-workers.

I am not sure how they will feel about it, but you will certainly feel pretty good. That’s what heartfelt gratitude to God for his faithful love and enduring mercy does.

Making Life Work: Write your own psalm of gratitude for God’s mercy in your life. Cite specific examples. Then share it with your spouse, your family, your friends and your co-workers.

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Soul Music

Count Your Blessings—It'll Do Your Soul Good

What makes your soul sing? Whatever it is, that’s your “soul music!” For King David, it was the innumerable blessings of belonging to God. Try doing what David did: count your many blessings and offer them in a prayer of gratitude to God. Do that and I will guarantee that it will do your soul good!

Read: Psalm 103 // Focus: Psalm 103:2

“Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” — Psalm 103:2

I love this psalm—it’s one of my favorites. For most people who love the Book of Psalms, this one is right up there with the Psalm 23, the Shepherd’s Psalm. I suspect it has made your Top Ten, too!

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Pre-flight Checklist for Worship

Experiencing Worship At A Higher Level

Most of us wait until we are comfortably situated in the sanctuary, the lights are dimmed and the worship leader gives the downbeat before we begin to worship. That’s too late! That’s a recipe for a less-than-satisfying experience of the greatest activity to which we are called: worshipping in the presence of Almighty God. True worship begins long before we get to church.

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 100 // Focus: Psalm 100:4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

The psalmist is speaking of what you do before you get to church. He is talking about how you enter the sanctuary. He is thinking of pre-worship—how you ready your heart in anticipation of meeting the God of all creation as you gather with his people in corporate praise. He is describing your preparation for worship.

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