Falling for empty words

This is something I would call a "feel-good picture". How nice it looks, and as Christians we assume because it talks about worship and God it's gotta be biblical, right?

Lies.

The man who this quote is from is Plutarch, a Greek historian, biographer and essayist who is considered a Middle Platonist. I'll let you do the research yourself about this man, but I do want to point out one part of what he believes, "The gods of popular religions are merely different names for one and the same divine Being and the powers that serve them". I'm sorry, but this is not someone from whom I would like to take advice.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when God's Word is added to, taken away from, or simply just used out of context. There is nothing that infuriates me more. This is why I believe it is so very important to know God's Word! We should be studying it every day. Not because it is the right thing to do, but so that we can know what it says!

Back to the picture. It tells us that we have to be thankful and cheerful in order for our worship to not just be acceptable to God, but to be most acceptable. What a big, stupid lie! If you are familiar with the Bible at all, you will see the life of Paul, who experienced more trouble in his time as a Christian than nearly any American Christian will ever have to experience (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). He was broken down, wounded, and hanging on the last thread of His life. He worshiped God in this state and he was not always cheerful (adj. noticeably happy and optimistic), but I can guarantee you that God did not reject His worship on that premise, or say, "Meh. It's alright." Now, I do think that having a thankful heart in worship is biblical, as well as being joyful, but I do not believe that the words "most acceptable to God" are Biblical.

"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; 

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus"

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Paul knew the worship that God desired.

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

Romans 12:1

As did David, who saw sacrifice as a part of the act of worship.

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; 

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." 

Psalm 51:17

A broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart. I believe this is more often the state in which we should be if we are to please God in our worship. We must remember that as sinners, we are not even welcomed into the presence of God. He is an Almighty God. We CANNOT belittle His Majesty. To be humbled in the presence of the Lord, to recognize our weaknesses and to confess our sins before Him is a proper response to His Greatness. This is what true worship is: committing our lives to His service because it is the fitting response to what He has done through His Son, making a way for us to enter into His presence once again. Despite what this nice picture may say, we cannot EARN our salvation, or the right to worship the Creator. We are only acceptable because of what Christ did on the cross. Nothing we do can help with that. He only accepts us, wholly, because He sees us through the blood of Christ. He desires us to see ourselves that way as well, and when we do, our worship will be quite pleasing to God.

Don't fall for every feel-good quote or phrase that's placed on a nice picture. Question it. Every time. Against the Bible. Even if it's a piece of Scripture. Read it in context and be sure it is being used properly. Especially as we watch many churches fall into the pit of the "prosperity gospel" (that doing Christian things will increase our blessing on earth, specifically financially). 

When we say things (or read things) that make ourselves feel good, and put God's name on it so it sounds Christian-like, we are only fooling ourselves. Study the Bible, so that when you come across the lies, you will know. 

"Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances.

But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;

 abstain from every form of evil."

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

Jenna's Journal

Lessons from the Corinthians--Part 1

Over the last month I have spent my time each morning reading through the books of 1 & 2 Corinthians. Each day has brought a new lesson to consider throughout the day. As I finished my devotional study through these books, I decided to share some of the key thing that God has shown me. Through these lessons, I hope to shed light, and some context, onto verses that are over-used, as well as point out a few new gems.

The power of God is held in the cross--not in people

"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

1 Corinthians 1:17-18

It's true that the same power that rose Christ from the dead also works in us (Colossians 1:29). However, when it comes to the Gospel, and leading others to a growing relationship with Christ, the cross is the only power we need.

     Context: There was danger of division in the Corinthian's church because people were drawn to different styles of preaching and teaching. And although the preacher's were united in their message, there were quarrels (arguments) breaking out between believers as to which preacher was better. 

They were comparing the teacher and forgetting about the message. 

From the Commentators

"Don't let your appreciation for any teacher, preacher or author (worship leader, artist, or mentor) lead you into pride." ... "The persuasive power is the the story, not the storyteller"

We need to be talking about Jesus--not our great pastors.

Fire is the ultimate test of our ministry--not popularity

"For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work."

1 Corinthians 3:11-13

Whether you work in full-time ministry or not, if you are following Jesus Christ, you are ministering through your life to those around you. The message we bring and even the encouragement we give, should be based on the Word of God, not a re-teaching of someone else from a self-help book. We can glean a lot of wisdom from others, but we must be sure that that wisdom lines up with the foundation, with Jesus Christ, or it will not with stand the fire. 

     Context: Paul has been driving home the power of God above the words of men. The Corinthians were getting too caught up in being the best followers of specific teachers, that their life message was starting to confuse people and push them away from the message that Jesus had brought.

They were trying to keep up with the latest, rather than pursuing Christ whole-heartedly.

From the Commentators

"Paul's words challenge our methods of discipleship...Do we use Bible-based teaching or merely adaptations of worldly wisdom?"

We need to build our ministry off of Christ--not worldly wisdom.

We must honor the weak--not the honorable

"On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. 

But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 

so that there may be no division in the body, 

but that the members may have the same care for one another." 

1 Corinthians 12:22-25

As the body of Christ, it is our job to care for each other. If all we ever do is honor those who are already on a pedestal, we are only hurting the body. We must seek to honor those that are building up the body behind the scenes. 

     Context: This passage is sandwiched within Paul's discussion on spiritual gifts. He's telling the Corinthians that each member of the body possesses a different gift for a reason, to take care of each other. Paul makes it clear that those members with gifts that are not extraordinary are necessary to the body and will be shown favor, but those with extraordinary gifts do not need to be honored.

They needed to be better at looking out for the weaker members of the body.

From the Commentators

"Believers are in the world together--there is no such thing as private or individualistic Christianity. we need to get involved in the lives of others and not just enjoy our own relationship with God."

We need to give honor where honor is not due.

"So, my dear brothers and sister, be strong and immovable. 

Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, 

for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless."

1 Corinthians 15:58, NLT

There is only so much that I can put in a blog before I lose the attention of my readers, but that's okay. I encourage you that if you feel stuck, and are longing to get into the Bible, start reading in 1 Corinthians, just a chapter a day. There is lots to learn from the Corinthians! What treasures can you find in God's Word as you read? 

And keep watch for Lessons from the Corinthians--Part 2

Jenna's Journal.

The Christian Walk: Is it even Biblical anymore?

I hear contemporary worship songs today sing about how God is “a friend of mine”, as if we had a panel of gods to choose from and how neat we are to have picked this God. This line, and others like it, have always irked me in the wrong way. I recently discovered the Biblical truth as to why this has been bothering me.

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.”

John 15:13-17

According to these verses, we are HIS friends…under one condition, “if you do what I command you”. Followers of Christ should desire nothing more in their lives than to obey His commands and be obedient to His voice. However, I feel that this is less and less the case among Christians today. We have become so wrapped up in ourselves and what we need to “do” to look like a Christian, that we have forgotten about the real heart of our Salvation: God’s Love. 1 John 4:7-21 sums it up well. Here’s a snapshot of what John urges of his brothers and sisters:

“10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit.”

1 John 4:10-13

John MacArthur, a respected author and commentator, said this about verse 12, “Nobody can see God’s love since it is invisible and Jesus is no longer in the world to manifest the love of God. The church is the only remaining demonstration of God’s love in this age” (emphasis mine). How are we doing, church, at demonstrating God’s love to those around us? Does our love reflect that which Christ demonstrated for us: selflessness, humility, compassion, and grace? The most common form of love discussed in the Bible is agape love. (Side Note: the term eros, the Greek word for romantic or sexual love, never once appears in the New Testament) MacArthur gets to the heart of the Greek word agape to define it as this: “Love is, above all, sacrificial. It is sacrifice of self for the sake of others, even for others who may care nothing at all for us and who may even hate us. It is not a feeling but a determined act of will, which always results in acts of self-giving.” (emphasis mine). So basically, love, as Jesus demonstrated and taught for His followers, is something we must be determined to do, whether we like it or not. This very same love is what we are commanded to do all throughout the New Testament by Jesus and his disciples.

I wonder if you caught this in the John passage…

“14 You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.

17 These things I command you, that you love one another.”

Christ first loved and demonstrated His love towards us. We did not love Him before He loved us. In fact, we HATED Him. We cared NOTHING for Him. We ran from Him the opposite direction. Yet, Christ’s love was this “determined act of will” that defines agape love. He did not give up on us, and that is a beautiful example of the way we need to be towards others, especially those who are in Christ.

“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Galatians 6:10

Another thing I find from this passage in John 15 is that Jesus tells us, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (v. 16). He chose you. For something specific that only you can accomplish. He sought us out so that we could bear fruit for His Name. Not so that we could be “blessed” on earth. No, so that we could do good work for Him! For a better understanding of bearing fruit in all parts of our lives, check out this excellent message by Lecrae.

Our view of the Christian walk has been completely warped. We spend too much time talking about what is right and wrong. We get hung up on politics, education systems, and other people’s public sin, as if it is a surprise to us that there is sin in this world. The reality is, this is a fallen world, and Satan is the prince of this world until Christ comes back. But praise be to God that He has, through the sacrifice of His Son, purchased this world, placed us here to bring glory to His name, and provided His Spirit to guide and direct us. We have nothing to fear if we are in Christ.

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God…By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

1 John 4:15, 17-18

Fear is when we know there will be punishment. As God’s chosen, we do not have to fear, because He has called us as His friends, he has reached out to save us from this punishment. Therefore, we have the opportunity to suffer with Him, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3: 10-11). We can count it as a privilege to follow Christ’s example. And one of these ways is through love.

Let’s remind ourselves once again the love which God has demonstrated for us. Let’s stop falling prey to the eloquent words of empty truths. Let’s stop letting our feelings drive what we do and say, but make every effort to act with a determined will, especially to those who hate us. Let’s start holding the messages we hear, and the words we worship God with, against His Word of Truth. Let’s start asking for wisdom, knowledge and understanding like Daniel when he was faced with certain death (Daniel 2:21).

Let’s actually open up our Bibles and start reading the account and example of Christ. Let’s glean from the apostles of old who have given us more than enough advice on godly living. Let’s stop being lazy in our faith and start bearing fruit for His Name--because we know He deserves it. And let’s stop acting like we are someone worthy of God’s Love and forgiveness, because we are not; yet He has chosen to show it to us, so let’s worship Him for the perfection of His love that He has given to us. Let’s remember that we are the church, “the only remaining demonstration of God’s love in this age”, and let’s start ACTING like it, not just talking about it.

Jenna’s Journal.