Death. The word is never easy to discuss. It brings shame and guilt to some. To others, it means regret. To a few, it means freedom from the cares of living in this sin-wrecked world.
But what is death? Is it an end in and of itself? or is it merely a transition to a life hereafter? and if a transition, to what kind of life? These are things which must be researched and discovered here and now. To wait until later may mean that you wait too long and that death will conquer you before you know what it is. It is much, much better to be prepared for it than to be surprised by it!
And how should we prepare for it? The answer is simple: look to the Book which speaks about it the most! What Book is that? The Bible. There IS a life after death, and it is vitally important that we prepare for it. Scripture speaks very plainly that there is a heaven - a place of endless worship before God - and that there is a hell - a place of torment far worse than we can imagine.
So, whether your my grandma (d. 3/13/05) or the Pope, the choice is there. The deciding factor is simple - accept Christ as your Savior and Lord. The time to choose is now.
What will you choose?
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Thursday, March 10, 2005
What is worship?
So this morning I had to give a devotional to the high school teachers here at the school where I work. I came home from church last night tired and exhausted. After a little bit of downtime (think CSI:NY), I gathered some things and began trying to decide what I should speak on today. I started by going through several books of ideas that usually get me going into some line of thought appropriate for a devotional, but nothing was coming. I tried a few more books... but nothing. Eventually I just sat there looking at my bookshelf, staring at the books, and hoping for a source of "inspiration."
But nothing came.
Then, my eyes happened to fall upon a new book that I just picked up this last Sunday - True Worship by Ward and Whitcomb. Now, I've barely even opened the cover to the book, but it got me thinking. Worship happens to be a topic that has interested me in the last year or so, and with the adjective "true" in front of it, it started me thinking. What is true worship? As I began thinking through Scripture, my mind landed on the idea for my worship devotional - personal encounters with God and their results. I present a brief synopsis of it here for your edification:
Exodus 3. The burning bush incident. Moses is instructed to remove his sandals because he is standing on holy ground.
Exodus 19.16-25. God appears to the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai. Moses is instructed to establish a boundary around the mount so that none of the people get too close to God's holiness.
Exodus 33.18-23 and 34.29-35. Moses sees the back of God's glory. Moses' face requires a veil whenever he is in the presence of other people because his face is shining too brightly.
Isaiah 6. Isaiah sees the Lord "high and lifted up." He is immediately struck by his own sin and his nation's unworthiness.
Matthew 17. Peter, James, and John see the Christ transfigured before them. Peter's initial response (however incorrect it might be) is to build a place of worship there on the mountain.
Revelation 1.7. Christ will return someday. Every one on earth will see Him, and all tribes of earth will wail (mourn).
Revelation 1.12-17. John sees one like a Son of Man standing in the middle of the seven golden lampstands. John falls at His feet as if dead.
Now, this list is by no means exhaustive. There may be other passages that should have been included in this listing, but due to lack of time I've not yet spent time looking for them. (Feel free to add them as a comment, if you want!) However, in every one of these instances, seeing God for Who He is makes a noticeable and normally physical change in the life of the one viewing Him.
The thought for today then is this: How often do you truly see God for Who He is? We talk so much about "worship" today, but do we really have true worship? Do we see the God of the Bible or a god of our reasoning and imagination? When was the last time you were physically affected by worshipping God?
What about those "worship services"? When was the last time you walked out of church changed because of Who God is? If God isn't worshipped, please don't blame the music director... the musicians... the preacher... the other members... or even the congregation at large. If God isn't worshipped, it's usually because you and I weren't looking for Him. We don't want to worship Him... because true worship will change us.
So... when was the last time you truly worshipped?
But nothing came.
Then, my eyes happened to fall upon a new book that I just picked up this last Sunday - True Worship by Ward and Whitcomb. Now, I've barely even opened the cover to the book, but it got me thinking. Worship happens to be a topic that has interested me in the last year or so, and with the adjective "true" in front of it, it started me thinking. What is true worship? As I began thinking through Scripture, my mind landed on the idea for my worship devotional - personal encounters with God and their results. I present a brief synopsis of it here for your edification:
Exodus 3. The burning bush incident. Moses is instructed to remove his sandals because he is standing on holy ground.
Exodus 19.16-25. God appears to the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai. Moses is instructed to establish a boundary around the mount so that none of the people get too close to God's holiness.
Exodus 33.18-23 and 34.29-35. Moses sees the back of God's glory. Moses' face requires a veil whenever he is in the presence of other people because his face is shining too brightly.
Isaiah 6. Isaiah sees the Lord "high and lifted up." He is immediately struck by his own sin and his nation's unworthiness.
Matthew 17. Peter, James, and John see the Christ transfigured before them. Peter's initial response (however incorrect it might be) is to build a place of worship there on the mountain.
Revelation 1.7. Christ will return someday. Every one on earth will see Him, and all tribes of earth will wail (mourn).
Revelation 1.12-17. John sees one like a Son of Man standing in the middle of the seven golden lampstands. John falls at His feet as if dead.
Now, this list is by no means exhaustive. There may be other passages that should have been included in this listing, but due to lack of time I've not yet spent time looking for them. (Feel free to add them as a comment, if you want!) However, in every one of these instances, seeing God for Who He is makes a noticeable and normally physical change in the life of the one viewing Him.
The thought for today then is this: How often do you truly see God for Who He is? We talk so much about "worship" today, but do we really have true worship? Do we see the God of the Bible or a god of our reasoning and imagination? When was the last time you were physically affected by worshipping God?
What about those "worship services"? When was the last time you walked out of church changed because of Who God is? If God isn't worshipped, please don't blame the music director... the musicians... the preacher... the other members... or even the congregation at large. If God isn't worshipped, it's usually because you and I weren't looking for Him. We don't want to worship Him... because true worship will change us.
So... when was the last time you truly worshipped?
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Happy Birthday, Sis!
Well, my blog isn't even 24 hours old, and there's already a significant event in the life of one of my family members. My "little" sister turns 21 today! Hope you have a great day, sis! :)
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Introducing... ME!
Okay, so I'm relatively brand-new to this whole blogging thing. In fact, I only started reading blogs in the last, oh, 6-8 weeks. What a surprise I was in for! I've quickly come to appreciate the genre and hope to continue the trend for my own thoughts and life history.
I really wish I could say something prolific or great or memorable in this, my first post, but usually that kind of thing escapes me. The goal here though is not to be memorable... not to be significant... not even to be unique. The goal is to keep the Main Thing the main thing. For those of you who've stumbled across my blog on accident and for those who have come here on purpose, let me explain. The Main Thing in life is God - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Without Him and a personal knowledge of His redemptive work on Calvary, life has no purpose. Life wanders all around with no goal... no structure... no end... no balance.
So that is why this blog was started. I hope to provide a balanced viewpoint on life. I don't want to get off on tangents. I want put Christ first and foremost in this blog. All else is useless if Christ is not first.
And with that introduction, let me welcome my friends. I hope you find the discussions here to be profitable. I hope that you find the personal updates to be useful (and a lot better than the mass e-mails every six months). I hope above all else that Christ is exalted and that God is pleased.
Finally, let me close this introduction with a few of my favorite verses:
Romans 1.16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...
1 Corinthians 10.31: So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Philippians 3.8-9: I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him...
I really wish I could say something prolific or great or memorable in this, my first post, but usually that kind of thing escapes me. The goal here though is not to be memorable... not to be significant... not even to be unique. The goal is to keep the Main Thing the main thing. For those of you who've stumbled across my blog on accident and for those who have come here on purpose, let me explain. The Main Thing in life is God - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Without Him and a personal knowledge of His redemptive work on Calvary, life has no purpose. Life wanders all around with no goal... no structure... no end... no balance.
So that is why this blog was started. I hope to provide a balanced viewpoint on life. I don't want to get off on tangents. I want put Christ first and foremost in this blog. All else is useless if Christ is not first.
And with that introduction, let me welcome my friends. I hope you find the discussions here to be profitable. I hope that you find the personal updates to be useful (and a lot better than the mass e-mails every six months). I hope above all else that Christ is exalted and that God is pleased.
Finally, let me close this introduction with a few of my favorite verses:
Romans 1.16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...
1 Corinthians 10.31: So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Philippians 3.8-9: I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him...
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