Posted on

Sing On The Way

As we come together corporately, the very place where we gather—church building, school auditorium, family room, under a tree—along with those who gather, is the temple of God, his holy dwelling place on earth. Something powerful happens when we, the body of Christ, gather to exalt the head of the body, Jesus Christ. As Christ is worshipped, God’s presence fills the temple. And that is something to sing about! If you’ve lost the kind of anticipation for going to church that makes you sing, I would suggest you have misplaced your understanding of what the community of believers is all about. Go back and find it—it is crucial to your spiritual health. When you come to church, you are coming into the very place and to the very people who are now the dwelling place of God! And where God dwells there is both earthly joy and eternal pleasure.

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 84
Focus: Psalm 84:10

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Do you sing on your way to church? The Israelites did. There was a whole series of songs written just for people on their way to the tabernacle, and later, the temple, in Jerusalem. They were called psalms of assent. And while technically, this psalm isn’t included in the psalms of assent, like those songs, this song extolled the blessings of belonging to God and the anticipation of coming to the earthy dwelling that housed his uncontainable presence. This is a good song to sing on the way to church.

Perhaps we ought to revive that tradition of singing on the way. I’m sure it would heighten our anticipation of entering the Lord’s presence with the community of believers and deepen our experience of his mighty presence in the house of worship.

Of course, the New Testament teaches us that we no longer need to go to the temple in Jerusalem in order to worship—a good thing, since it no longer exists. Under the new covenant, God, himself, continually dwells in you, personally—you are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 6:19) Yet while God dwells in you individually, your salvation is not to be divorced from God’s people collectively—the church. You and I, together, make up the new covenant temple of God. (I Corinthians 3:16-17; II Corinthians 6:15-17; Ephesians 2:20-22)

As we come together corporately, the very place where we gather—church building, school auditorium, family room, under a tree—along with those who gather, is the temple of God, his holy dwelling place on earth. Something powerful happens when we, the body of Christ, gather to exalt the head of the body, Jesus Christ. As Christ is worshipped, God’s presence fills the temple. And that is something to sing about!

If you have lost the kind of anticipation for going to church that makes you sing, I would suggest you have misplaced your understanding of what the community of believers is all about. I would challenge you to go back and find it—it is crucial to your spiritual health. When you come to church, you are coming into the very place and to the very people who are now the dwelling place of God! And where God dwells there is both earthly joy and eternal pleasure. (Psalm 16:11)

One day of the kind of earthly joy and eternal pleasure we experience as God dwells among his people is better than a thousand days on the best beaches of Maui or on the rides at Disneyland or on the greens at Pebble Beach or in between the sheets of your bed. If you don’t get that, your vision is clouded.

Making Life Work: Try it. Start singing about the goodness of God on the way to church. If you will, at some point the goodness of God will get into your spirit and you will begin to see what the psalmist saw—and then you can write your own psalm of assent.

Posted on

Kicking Tail and Taking Names

Have you ever prayed a “kicking tail and taking names” prayer, calling down the fury of heaven upon the heads of your enemies? Is that ever okay? It is, provided those people are hindering, hurting, or plotting the destruction of God’s people and God’s plan. (Psalm 83:3) It’s not when someone cut you off in traffic, or took your seat in church, or pulled out 15 coupons in the “15 Items Or Less” checkout line when you were in a hurry. If those personal offenses are your motive, that reveals more about the condition of your heart than the people with whom you are upset. So if the motive is right, then pray…but don’t just pray for their ruination, pray for their redemption. And by the way, it’s hard to pray angry prayers for very long when you are praying for the redemption of their soul!

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 83
Focus: Psalm 83:16

Cover their faces with shame so that men will seek your name, O LORD.

“May my enemies know the fiery terror (Psalm 83:14) of your judgment; make them to know the tempest of your storm (Psalm 83:15). Make Edom, the Ishmaelites, the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, Tyre and Assyria (Psalm 83:6-8) like refuse on the ground (Psalm 83:10), nothing more than a tumbleweed tumbling along (Psalm 83:13). Make them pay, Lord!”

Have you ever prayed a “kicking tail and taking names” prayer like that? Have you ever gone before the Lord and named names, calling down the fire and the fury of heaven upon the heads of your enemies? Have you ever got that brutally honest with God?

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, unless it’s called for. If you are doing that a lot, it may reveal more about the condition of your heart than the people with whom you are upset. Perhaps you need to do a little soul work, asking God to do a deep work of healing in your heart, teaching you how to truly forgive your enemies and learning how to patiently put judgment in his just hand.

Yet there is a time where it is appropriate for you to get good and angry—not just good, and not just angry, but good and angry! Now the question is, when is that appropriate time? I don’t think I can give you a sure fire answer for every situation, but there is a clue here within this psalm that seems to echo other times in Scripture where good anger was called for. It is when the people who are upsetting you are upsetting you because they are hindering, hurting, or plotting the destruction of God’s people and God’s plan. Psalm 83:3 says,

“With cunning they conspire against your people;
they plot against those you cherish.

So that’s it—that is how you get good and angry. It’s not that someone cut you off in traffic, or took your seat in church, or pulled out fifteen coupons in the “15 Items Or Less” check-out line when you were in a hurry. It’s when their motive, known or unknown to them, is to destroy the work of God. That’s when it is appropriate to pray like the psalmist.

But here’s another clue that will keep you good when you are angry: Don’t just pray for their ruination, pray for their redemption. At the very least, pray that the Divine punishment brought down upon their heads will serve as a witness to others of the glory of God’s great name (Psalm 83:16).

By the way, it’s hard to pray angry prayers for very long when you are praying for the redemption of their soul!

Making Life Work: Now after reading this blog and you can still manage to be angry AND good, then go ahead and offer up a ‘kicking tail and taking names prayer!

Posted on

Hassled By The Man

Liberty and justice for all! That’s the common cry of the human spirit. Yet too often, the powerless have been hassled by “the man,” with impunity. Throughout history, the rich have built their wealth on the backs of the poor, men have treated women as chattel, adults have neglected children, ruling parties have disenfranchised minorities, captains of industry have enslaved “lesser” human beings, and those who have the means to prevent and eradicate poverty, hunger and disease have stood by while the lives of untold millions have been needlessly ruined. Perhaps at some level, you have even felt hassled by “the man.” And our spirit cries out for God to intervene. Friend, there is a day coming when God will rise up and bring both the living and the dead to full account. And on that day, justice and fairness will finally and fully reign, and there will be true liberty throughout all of creation. It may not seem like it today, but that day is coming. So put your hope in the coming liberty and justice of God, but then pursue it as a reality for today!

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 82 // Focus: Psalm 82:4

Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

This entire psalm is a plea for God to rise up against the powerful who use their positions of power—either through aggression or neglect—to harass and abuse the powerless: the poor, the orphan, the destitute, the oppressed. In fact, this psalm is more than a plea; it’s a challenge, really, to the Almighty to do what a righteous God ought to do: Ensure liberty and justice for one and all.

That has been a common theme in every age—including ours. Too often, the powerless have been hassled by “the man,” with impunity. Throughout history, the rich have built their wealth on the backs of the poor, men have treated women as chattel, adults have neglected children, ruling parties have disenfranchised minorities, captains of industry have enslaved “lesser” human beings, and those who have the means to prevent and eradicate poverty, hunger and disease have stood by while the lives of untold millions have been needlessly ruined. Perhaps at some level, even you have felt hassled by “the man.”

There is something in us that cries out for God to intervene, isn’t there? And sometimes we feel as though the God of justice who rules from heaven above has turned a blind eye to the plight of the unfortunate. But there is a day coming when God will rise up and bring both the living and the dead to full account. And on that day, justice and fairness will finally and fully reign throughout all of creation. It may not seem like it today, but that day is coming.

The very fact of the Christian day—Sunday—the day of the week we gather to worship in honor of the the first resurrection Sunday when Jesus rose victorious from the tomb, reminds us that death, hell and the grave have been eternally broken! So to has sin, sickness and suffering. When Jesus rose, he sent notice throughout time and eternity that he will not rest until the rulers and principalities and world systems and spiritual dominions that have caused the ruination of God’s plan for the human race are brought under his fair and just dominion.

It may not seem like it today, but the empty tomb and the Risen Savior we celebrate each Lord’s Day reminds us that God has not turned a blind eye to this planet, nor to you. This Sunday, when you go to worship, be remind that “the man’s” days are numbered. And when “the man’s” days are done, the innumerable and unending days of the rule and reign of the Son of Man will begin—and then there will truly be liberty and justice for all!

Making Life Work: Every Sunday is a recognition of Easter, the empty tomb, and the eternal, unbeatable reign of Jesus Christ. Make this and every Lord’s Day your personal Resurrection Sunday, and let them remind you every seventh day that “the man’s” days are numbered.

Posted on

The Big “If”

Imagine if you could guarantee your success. According to the Law of Dependent Events you can! Two events are dependent if the outcome or occurrence of the first affects the outcome or occurrence of the second so that the probability is changed. The Bible is full of dependent events…if we do this, then God will do that. If you are looking for a prescription for success we should pay heed to God’s if-then statements.

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 81 // Focus: Psalm 81:13-14

If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!

We often speak of God’s unconditional grace, unlimited love and undeserved mercy—for which we are all unspeakably grateful. But let’s not forget that God does have some conditions for us; there is a sense in which his unlimited love is limited; there are some things we must do to deserve his mercy. There are some big “if’s” to this relationship we enjoy with God.

God is a conditional God. Did you notice how the psalmist put it? “If” God’s people listen to him, “if” God’s people obey him, then, and only then, will he fight on their behalf and give them victory. The psalmist is only echoing what is taught in a hundred other places throughout Scripture: The blessings of the covenant that God has made with us are conditional—God’s unconditional, unlimited, and undeserved favor flows to us only as we walk in loving surrender to his rulership over our lives.

In our Christian culture there has been a tendency to emphasize grace in a way that is not balanced by truth, love that is not balanced by obedience, and mercy that is not balanced by authentic repentance. That has led to “easy believism”—an unhealthy and risky view of salvation. It is time for us to reexamine what the Scriptures tell us rather than to mindlessly allow current preaching trends to adjust what the Bible teaches to what our culture finds acceptable. We must adjust our beliefs and behaviors, as painful and costly as that might be to what God’s Word says, not vice versa.

So on this particular day, as you examine your heart, honestly and openly ask yourself if you are living up to your end of the bargain. Check to see if you are meeting the conditions of the covenant. The painful part of doing that may be that you are required to do some costly realigning of your life.

The upside is that if you are fulfilling the big “if’s” in your relationship with God, then you can expect an unimaginable supply of unconditional grace, unlimited love, and undeserved mercy.

Making Life Work: Are you living up to what God rightly deserves from you: wholehearted love, overflowing gratitude, compassion for others, authenticity, integrity and holiness of character? I admit, that is a tall order, and if you’re like me, you’re not batting a thousand. So maybe you ought to have a little talk with God and ask him to help you uphold your end of the bargain.