8 1 all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
2 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand.3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
4 Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.
5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up.6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
7 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there.8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear[a] and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:1-10
Day 50: Visit Home
There are places that are familiar to us from our past. Often they are places that we have special memories from. Even places that we discovered many of the ideals we currently hold sacred. It’s important to visit home. Visiting home can be going to a neighborhood you use to hang out in with your friends. It can also be going back to the roots of your spirituality.
In the above scripture from the book of Nehemiah we see depicted a seen where people are weeping. They are weeping because they are listening to the words of the Law of Moses. Perhaps they realize that God had been so good to them and yet they had neglected their relationship with God. Maybe they understood more clearly things they had heard many years before but had forgotten. Sometimes we need to visit home. We need to be reminded of what we have valued in the past. We need to remember what truths we already knew and see how they relate to our current situation.
In visiting home we may find the answers to many of the questions of our today.
Today, I will meditate on past locations and journeys, reflecting on lessons learned.
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TheLordsaid, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of theLord, for theLordis about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before theLord, but theLordwas not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but theLordwas not in the earthquake.After the earthquake came a fire, but theLordwas not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his faceand went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
I Kings 19:11-13
I used to think God was in the show. I used to voraciously consume the latest and greatest Gospel, CCM and worship music seeking for that which would bring me into God’s presence. I used to church hop looking for that sermon that would turn on the brightest spiritual light unto my path so I could figure out just exactly what He wanted me to do or to be.
But as time went on I played for some of the artists I’d unknowingly worshipped. I sometimes was their chauffeur. I had conversations with several of the preachers I’d revered. I became an artist and a preacher myself. And while I’ve experienced many answers to prayer and have seen our Father transform lives my focus began to shift. I no longer was drawn to those gatherings I had chased in former years.
I have grown to yearn more for His quiet intimate communications. I realized that a lot of what I had admired was anointing surrounded by smoke and mirrors. But let me assure you: God does not need special effects! Yes he is almighty! But he wants to have an intimate relationship with us–the kind where we can have real conversations without the pretense.
And I found that He was willing to communicate directly with me. He invites me to pray. He says to come boldly to His throne of grace. He says call unto Me and I really will answer. Healing takes place when I don’t rely on someone else to connect with my Heavenly Father.
Today I will spend more then 5 minutes talking with my Creator and Savior who loves me more than anyone.
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Is it really worth it to live a life seeking God’s favor?
Yes! But it may not feel that way at first. Let me explain.
Have you noticed how far removed the principals of our parents and grand parents are from today’s reality? While I’m sure there are many reasons for this a few come to mind. The merchants of today have taught us that we constantly need to get more stuff to be happy. What they really should say is that we constantly need to get more stuff so that they can be happy–or at least wealthy if not happy.
Your parents may have told you that you should pick something that you think is worthwhile and work to achieve it or acquire it. This often required self-discipline and hard work. You delayed gratification from things that you considered less important than your dream. The process created character.
But today you are encouraged to buy on credit what you cannot afford. This creates stress because the joy of whatever trinket it was you were after is displaced by your worry of how you are going to pay for the bill that you cannot afford. But the problem is exponential because many merchants are not only convincing you that you need to buy their product now but in a few weeks they will be telling you why you need something else or worse yet why you have to upgrade to a more expensive version of what you are already making payments on.
Jesus tells us to focus on the value of His home for us.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matt. 6:19-21NIV
As I was driving the other day it dawned on me how beautiful life can be when we focus on building massive treasure in heaven.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Gal. 5:22-23 NIV
When I put my resources-my time, talents, and treasure, into creating more love, joy, peace and so on I am cultivating Holy Spirit Fruit. I am pleasing God by bearing fruit.
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15:7-8
Today I’m feel impressed to share this for someone who like me has become disillusioned by the way this world works. Do it God’s way! It’s WORTH THE WAIT! Don’t make money by manipulating people to purchase what they don’t need over and over again. Provide services and products…even ministries that fill a need! Seek to be a blessing. Look to bear fruit of a heavenly kind. Store up for yourself treasure in heaven.
I promise you that in my life every time I focus on doing what I know God wants done He miraculously supplies all of my needs.
I have begun a journey to worship that involves non-traditional ways of blessing others. It’s a sacrifice. But when I prayed a few nights ago on Periscope and a young lady shared that she was moved to tears I thought that I must be on to something. When I received prayer requests and was able to encourage others who like me are going through painful and difficult situations I thought that I must be doing a work that is worth while. So I invite you to partner with me and seek to spread the principals of heaven wherever you may be.
And if you find that your life is so busy getting things that you don’t have time to help people or to pray, than perhaps it’s time to sit down and re-evaluate what’s important. Living for heaven is WORTH THE WAIT!
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I’m honest enough to publicly admit a major shortcoming in my character. I’ve been waiting. But I think I’ve been waiting a bit too long.
I like to be very thorough when I study a subject. And if I’m attempting a project, I like to plan in detail so I am able to succeed. But I don’t like to start until I feel confident that I’m prepared. Spiritually I’ve been waiting for God to prepare me to do great things for Him. But it seems as I’ve grown older that God has been waiting for me to take action.
There has always been the idea in my head that if you pray long and hard enough God will reveal His will to you. Then, once you have your marching orders you are set. Now you can go out into battle. But what if you’ve been waiting 20 years and no marching orders have come? Does that mean God isn’t ready yet? Or does it mean God is waiting for us to take action?
Let’s consider this series of questions. What if she hadn’t touched the hem of his garment? What if his friends hadn’t lowered him down through a roof to see Jesus? What if she hadn’t had the boldness to enter the throne room of the king uninvited waiting for the approval of his extended scepter? Would her people have been saved? Would he have been healed? Would her bleeding have stopped?
It seems that God has some things that he will only give to us if we take an action first. The action is our demonstration of faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us, ” But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Asking, seeking, knocking or even reaching can be our sign of faith that pleases God. He in turn blesses our faith action with a favorable result. But what if we never took that leap of faith?
I believe that the stories of the bible reveal consequences both of taking action and of refraining. The 5 foolish virgins don’t get to go to the wedding. The servant who hid his one talent gets it taken away from him. There were two thieves at the cross with Jesus. One reached for life and got it. The other simply missed his moment. Please don’t miss your moment!
Have you ever felt like giving up? The reasons can be many but the feeling is singular…don’t want to try anymore. You just want to quit. That job, that marriage, that journey to wellness, that journey to worship, whatever it may be: You just want out!
I have good news for you. GOD RESTORES!
Ask Adam: he lost two sons by one murder but God gave him another and our whole world as descendants. Noah lost all his neighbors in a flood but God made him a savior for the whole world and the father of us all…and the animals were grateful for their ride in the ark as well. Job lost everything but when he prayed for his friends God gave him more than ever. There are so many stories but the common thread is that tomorrow comes and God is there. He heals, He mends, He RESTORES.
When we break a bone we can’t use it for a while because it takes time to heal. But GOD RESTORES so you can use it again. Your heart may be aching right now…that’s OK. You’ll feel better again. Just don’t give up on God. Remind yourself who He is. I John 4:8 says that God is love. And John 3:16 tells us that God loves us so much that He gave up his dearest relationship, His son, to die so that we could be with Him forever. So if God loves us that much He will be certain to give us what we need.
Does God prefer Manderin mantras or Hispanic Hallelujahs?But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Does God prefer Mandarin Mantras or Hispanic Hallelujahs? In other words does God accept worship from one cultural context over another? Is one location for worship superior than another? Do I need to make a pilgrimage? Do I need to renounce my African American mannerisms and song stylings in favor of something more british or better yet yiddish?
Imagine leaving the familiar vestiges of worship and going to a far far away place. In this place they don’t speak english. They don’t enjoy the same songs that you have come to know as being part of coming together in God’s presence. They read the bible in their own language. They love Jesus. But they don’t even greet each other the same way you do. They bow to each other. Now imagine that you must preach a sermon there. In fact, you must stay there for nearly a year preaching every weekend. The best english level of any church member other than the pastor is probably equivalent to a 5th or 6th graders level of understanding. Will you sense God’s presence? Will you “feel God’s Spirit moving?”
That was my challenge. I was a missionary in Korea. I was faced with a stunning realization. What I called worship wasn’t worship at all. And I had to find Jesus in a new context and realize that true worship can be found in many cultural contexts. And that one context should not proclaim itself as the end all be all.
Jesus teaches us this in his conversation with the woman at the well found in John 4. She wants to know whether salvation is of the Samaritans or of the Jews. Do we worship in the right place or do the Jews have it right. Jesus let her know that while the Jews have the honor of being the historical repository of God’s relationship with man, the time now is when God’s main concern is “Do you worship me in spirit and in truth.”
What does this mean? And how does that answer the question as to whether God prefers Mandarin Mantras or Hispanic Hallelujahs?
To worship in spirit is to worship from the inside out. In I Corinthians 2 we are told that no one knows the thoughts of another person except that person’s spirit. We are then told that God has shared his Spirit with us so that we are made aware of his thoughts. Those who worship God in spirit receive God’s presence into their heart and are made aware of God’s desires and his plans. The water that wells up inside us so that we need never thirst again is God’s Spirit overwhelming us with His love and revelation.
In addition to God’s revelation through His Spirit he also leads the true worshippers into truth. We find God’s truth in his word. That’s why the combination of prayer and bible study is so effective. We are moved by His spirit. We are instructed by His word. We learn what is true. We then live in sincerity from the inside out that which is pleasing to God and verified to be according to His ways.
So we are not champions of liturgical structure–we must have a morning hymn before scripture reading in order to have real worship. The woman at the well had real worship because Jesus met her where she was and filled her to overflowing. She then shared with those from her cultural context what he had told her–the truth. She was filled with his Spirit and in sincerity of spirit shared the truth He revealed to her. Then they listened to Him for themselves and said that they now believed as well. No longer caught up on which mountain to worship on they instead became focused on spirit and truth.
It was hard for me to worship for so many months there in Korea without the extemporaneous eruptions of “Sing” and “Well. Preach Preacha!” When I sang there was no encouragement from the saints that listened that they were feeling God’s presence through my songs. I didn’t hear as many “Amens” as I preached God’s word. But nevertheless HE WAS PRESENT BOTH IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH. And that’s all that matters.
Much of what we call worship isn’t. We have deified the ritual. If we don’t hear our favorite style of music we don’t think that God is in the building. If the presentation doesn’t give us the warm fuzzies we had when we first came to know and love the Saviour of the world then we feel something is wrong. Perhaps what is wrong is our definition of worship. Let us come to God with a sincere heart praying for the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. Let us read daily His word. Let us meet together in one another’s homes. Let us eat together and pray together and sing together. Let us live a life of worship IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.
My prayer is that we will focus less on where we are and more on being in His presence where He is!
What is better worship? I remember asking my parents if it was OK to sit up in the balcony with my friends for church. I was so excited when they finally gave in and said yes. They had always taught me to pay attention in service–they even taught me the game where you count how many times the preacher says “Jesus” to help me focus. But to sit with my friends in the back offered me escape from the boredom I was sure more than not people were feeling. Even then I wondered if there was a better way of meeting God for worship.
I stayed going to church as I grew up but started having a deeper interest in finding other ways to connect with God and others (see Worship That Nourishes)
In high school my freshman English teacher, Bruce Freeman, started a youth to youth ministry group called “The Light Company.” In the light company I learned about creating an atmosphere for fellowship. We often would use Ice Breakers (click here for an awesome list of 40 icebreakers or mixer ideas) as a way for folks to get to know each other better. Sometimes we would have something to eat. Than we would get into Bible study in small groups of 2-4 people where we would share about a Scripture. Then we would share with the larger group what we had explored in the smaller group. Everything was lead by a facilitator who often gave special insight.
He trained me to be a facilitator of small group worship. In my opinion there is nothing better. I really miss those gatherings to this day. It reminds of the description in the beginning of Acts of the early church. Let’s read about it:
The Fellowship of the Believers
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (NIV)
When you invite friends over to your house and play games don’t you develop a sense of closeness? Also, do you find that when you eat regularly with friends from work that you develop a strong bond? Well the early church had that bond. Today’s church often lacks that bond. This concerns me.
a meaningful context that isn’t informal for the sake of being cool but that is intimate for the sake of being real
The picture above is me holding my baby girl, Maia. I don’t want Maia to be turned off to Jesus by our practice of worship. I want her to find a way to connect with her Savior and with others in a meaningful context that isn’t informal for the sake of being cool but that is intimate for the sake of being real.
I don’t want my children to be bored by church. I want them to understand that Jesus isn’t boring–just our ritual of worship. So I’m on a mission to find better worship. Can you help me?
One of the great obstacles in my journey to worship is my feelings. I want to seek God’s presence. I want to study His word. I want to pray. I want to sing songs of worship to Him. But I don’t feel like it! I want to but I don’t feel like it. That’s our problem.
Our feelings come from our thoughts. According to Dr. Caroline Leaf, scientists have found that 75% to 95% of current mental, physical and emotional illnesses come from our thought life. Did you catch that? Your thoughts control so much yet we don’t have a class on thought control in school. I’ll come back to some more of Dr. Leaf’s findings in a bit but consider this. If my health and how I feel are largely due to my thoughts and my choices are often influenced by how I feel then don’t you think I should focus each day on determining my thought life as a top priority? Absolutely!
Here’s why. Dr. Leaf in her many books discusses that information comes into your brain and is then processed. When it’s processed it forms little trees in your head. So the information coming in is just that information. But how I choose to process it determines whether a pretty tree is formed or whether an ugly mass is formed. And whatever choices I make regularly forms larger trees. And so when situations arise and I have a choice to make I am more likely to respond according to the larger trees.
Let’s unpack this a bit. So let’s pretend I receive some news. My car has just thrown a rod and must be taken to the junkyard to be disposed of. Is this good news or bad news? If I say it’s bad news than I can be sad and fret over all the stuff I have to go through now that my car is gone. But if I choose for it to be good news than I look for ways to come up with money to get a new car and I can excitedly look online to see all the possible wonderful vehicles that I might choose from. One choice is depressing. Another is exhilarating. It’s up to me to choose which way I will perceive the same data that has come to me.
We as Christians have seen scriptures that hinted at this phenomenon before. Here are a few to help us get past “I don’t feel like it”:
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
When I have trials I can be sad and depressed. Or I can be excited about the fact that I’m getting stronger and better and God is trusting me with greater challenges which means I must be getting wiser and more like Him.
Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
We can lose heart because of the stuff we find ourselves going through. I never thought I’d be overweight. Never imagined my children would have problems in school. Never imagined that my wife and I (or husband and I) wouldn’t get along…you know all the things we never imagined that we find in our lives. But we are told to consider Jesus who endured “such opposition from sinners” so we won’t get tired and lose heart. Jesus focused on “the joy” set before Him and not on the suffering that came along with pursuit of the joy. Is it any wonder that he would get up a great while before day and spend lots of time with His father?
We need to spend time in the presence of our heavenly father! We need to choose to process things the way He sees them.When we make this choice consistently we form a “Forest” of positive and healthy trees in our brain. When we are faced with a challenge or crisis we will tend to respond according to the bigger trees of our mind.
If I’m serious about worship then I must bring every thought into subjection.
Philippians 4:8 tells us, “ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
These instructions are so that we will be happy and healthy. These choices to build healthy thoughts will build a healthy life and healthy feelings…and healthy worship. Worship that focuses on me–my stuff, my feelings, my problems, isn’t worship at all. Remember to worship something or someone is to say that it or he/she is valuable. Worship that focuses on the nature of God will magnify all of his positive attributes. Worship that focuses on our creator will remind us that he is Holy, all powerful, and eternal. We will remember that he made everything by His own choice. After we worship in the right way–focusing on God, He will appear bigger and our problems smaller. He will be pleased. And we will be too.
So choose to magnify God. Think about Him as often as you would your lover or your favorite toy. Think about Him and all of his wonder. Then your feelings will change. And so will your perspective on the problems you face.
It’s important to me to hear your thoughts about what I’m sharing. This is a discussion so please leave a comment below…oh yes, and don’t forget to subscribe to www.journeytoworship.org below! 🙂
Day 47: Not in the Show
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
