Genuine Worship

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“And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world,

he says. ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” Hebrews 1:6 (NIV)

As I researched this month’s topic, I discovered this verse. It tells me two important messages.

“. . . when God brings his firstborn into the world . . .” The author says, ‘when’  God brings Jesus back to this world. He states with certainty that God will send His Son back to earth.

“’Let all God’s angels worship him.’” The angels will worship the Lord. William Barclay in The Letter to the Hebrews tells us the writer is explaining that Jesus is superior to the angels.

In our world today, believers in God know that all those around us are on the same plane when we think about our goodness or sinfulness –we are all sinners saved by grace.

How should we react to Jesus when He comes again? Paul writes that we should humble ourselves and worship the Lord. (Philippians 2:10) What had made this verse come alive for me is this: Paul tells us that ALL people-those in heaven, those who have already entered and the angels, those on earth (both those who have lived for Him as well as those who have not,) and those who have, by their own behavior, been sent to Hades.

Several years ago, the believers of God seemed to be in love with the idea of guardian angels. People used them to decorate their homes. I had a business relationship with some people who had 100 angelic dolls and ceramic pieces in their home. They took advantage of my situation. I had to ask God to intervene in my thinking about them.

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Adoration

  “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod 

Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one

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who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star

 in the east and have come to worship him.’ On coming to the house,

they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.

 Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold incense and myrrh”

 Matthew 2:1-2, 11 (NIV)

We usually read this passage when we think about Jesus’ birth. Today, let’s think about the three Magi.

The three wise men came to Bethlehem in search of the babe that had been born King of the Jews. They had studied the scrolls that told of this child who was like none other. They journeyed a great distance to visit this child.

They came so they could worship Him. They had no other agenda but to honor and adore this child about whom they had read in prophecy. They also searched the heavens as they looked for a sign of the baby’s birth.

You know the story; the travelers got lost and found their way to the court of Herod, the king of Israel. Herod and all Jerusalem became alarmed. He asked the Magi to return to his court after they found this child and tell him where they found him. Herod’s words told them that he wanted to worship the baby as well.

I see the worship the Magi did was true worship. The bowed down before the Christ Child. They bestowed gifts to Him. These gifts were precious in that time.

On the other hand, Herod told a big lie. He said that he wanted to worship the child. We read that his intent was to slay the babe. His soldiers wreaked havoc among the families in Bethlehem. The soldiers struck terror in the hearts of all who had had children under the age of two.

In our 21st Century, we need to examine how we worship God. Do we approach God with humility? Do we ask for His forgiveness? Then do we try to repent (turn away from our sinful habits?)

I remember a well-known person who, when he ‘apologized’ to our nation, turned the statement into a finger pointing speech to those who held different political beliefs. As I saw it, he really didn't say that he was sorry for that particular transgression. When we confess our sins before God, we have to come clean before Him. We can’t get out of it by saying it’s someone else’s fault or they made us do it. God knows and see all that we do. 

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Faith in the Process-A Discipline (RJD May 2013)

Originally written 5/19/1997                 

                  

Frederich Buechner in, Now and Then, says “listen to your life.” Three days ago, this reading caught my heart. It did again this morning.

My life has good times: it has trying times. The good times are when I am in God’s house physically or in God’s house spiritually. By physically, I mean in physical attendance. I don’t like to miss. By spiritually, I mean when I am in tune with God, connected through devotional readings and those personal worship times.

The trying times are when I have to deal with those who seem at odds with all things they can’t control. They seem to think they are right no matter how much other circumstances point out they are not.

The best time for me is when I feel God’s presence in my surroundings. The most trying time for me is when I hear words, phrases, and tones of voice that I perceive as hurtful and have the ability to sting my soul.

My problem is that I have not learned how not to react to the hurtful words. I do desire to get beyond this stage of my problem.

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Update: I still don’t like to miss worshiping with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Even after 16 years, I sometimes struggle with knowing how to react to hurtful words. I am still learning how to deal with these issues; I believe I will always be in His classroom. This very week, I was able to be with brothers and sisters in Christ for times of worship and prayer through the week.

Had I written this today, I would cut out the wordiness.

Linking up to : beneaththesurface-dawn.blogspot.coml

Joni and Ken by Ken and Joni Eareckson Tada*

A love that grew deeper through added adversity

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Joni Eareckson sat in church one Sunday. She became distracted from the service. Although she had bowed her head for prayer, she hadn't participated in it. She couldn't concentrate on the guest speaker.

Up five or six pews sat a man for whom Joni wound up praying. He moved his head slightly. She could see his tight jaw and his tanned neck. She got the idea that he might be bored like she was. She prayed for him in each area of his life. A few weeks later at one of her speaking engagements, she met him. His name was Ken Tada. 

They dated for fifteen months. One day Ken accompanied the Eareckson family to a lake. On that trip, Ken proposed. Joni said, “Yes.” They had some questions-dealing with quadriplegia, with her fame, his teaching career, her global traveling. But she loved him and he loved her.

Several years later, Joni developed intense pain in her torso. Ken felt overwhelmed. He started planning his weekends as a time of rest for himself. Joni then realized she had a lump in her breast. Mammogram and biopsy, mastectomy, recovery, and chemotherapy followed.

Shortly after her Cancer diagnosis, Ken had this thought torment him: This could be a death sentence. I could lose her.1 (p. 136) He couldn't shake that thought. He told one of Joni’s caregivers that he would take over more of her care.

Ken had attended a men’s fishing retreat in Montana for a few years. While on one of these, he heard God speak to him “Joni is the most precious gift I have given you. You take care of her .2(p.132)

As Joni finished chemotherapy, she developed a symptom of another illness. This syndrome, due to her quadriplegia, made it more serious than most. This caused Ken to help her in a most unusual way. During his caring for her, she actually Ken minister to her in a very special way.

I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone who has read Joni’s other books, anyone who works in home healthcare, and anyone who deals with quadriplegia in their family or among their friends.

Each chapter begins with either an inspirational quote or a passage from the Bible. Reading this book makes me more aware of the issues involved in caring for a disabled family member.

I received this book through BookSneeze® free of charge.  All they asked was that I give an impartial review.

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* written with Larry Libby

1.)          Page 136

2.)          Page 132

Jesus, our Hope

 

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus,

who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become

a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 6:19-20 (NIV)

“We have this HOPE. . .” The writer of Hebrews says in four words something we can cling to. We have HOPE. It gets us through the difficult times of serious illness of our loved ones, financially tough times, personal doubt, difficult relational problems, and times of deep questioning.

“ . .as an anchor for the soul . . .” An anchor on a boat keeps that vessel in place when its occupants chose to stop at a certain spot. When my husband had a boat, the anchor he used looked homemade. But it did the job well. In the ancient world, the anchor was a symbol of hope.¹

“. . . firm and secure.” Those who believe in Jesus Christ also have an anchor. We have the Holy Spirit. This third person of the Godhead, sent to us by Christ Himself, assisting us by interceding for us when we have troublesome circumstances, giving us what we need in order to conquer our fears and hearing our deepest pleas. The Holy Spirit keeps us focused as we go through our days.

“It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. . .” In the Temple there is an area called ‘the Holy of Holies’, located behind the altar. The only person who can enter this area is a chosen high priest—and then only once a year, the Day of Atonement. The high point of a priest’s years of serving the Lord came should he be chosen to enter this very sacred place.

“. . . where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.” Our Lord Jesus was our forerunner.² One of the meanings of the Greek word for forerunner is likened to a scout entering an unknown area and making it safe for those who follow. “Jesus went into the presence of God to make it safe for us.”³

We do have this hope in response to all we, as individuals and nations, hear and see. We have Jesus.

1. Barclay, William, the Letter to the Hebrews (Revised Edition 1962) Westminster Press page 62

2. Ibid. page 63

3. Ibid. page 63

Graphic from: www.notsoplainjane.com


A link for your enjoyment :On Christ the Solid Rock

Still Dealing with Heart Heaviness

(Written Monday April 22, 2013)

3 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

 2 Timothy 3:1-9 (NIV)¹

This passage reminds me that we will not through our earthly lives without seeing some of these behaviors in our world. A lot of them, we have already seen.

I read somewhere last week that the 8-year-old boy who died in Boston last Monday had a sister who was injured in the bombing. She lost a leg.  Since then, I read where she wanted to be a dancer when she grew up. Today, I discover the fact that she is in first grade.

We have to believe that God will help her and her parents through these issues. I have to believe that God will take care of this innocent little girl and her parents.

When my husband turned on the television this afternoon, the funeral of one of the two women who died was being shown. I couldn’t watch. But, there again, I have to trust God. I have to believe these victims and their families will receive justice.

Father: Please, please help us all as we deal with terrible tragedies that we will face before we will see You. We love You and believe in You. We have this hope that You will give us peace. We will give You praise and glory. In the name of Jesus, I pray. AMEN.

1.Scripture from Bible Gateway. 

“The Hope of Glory”

“I have become its (the church’s)¹ servant by the commission 

God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness 

God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— “I have become its (the church’s)¹ servant by the commission

the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations,

 but is now disclosed to the saints.  To them God has chosen to make

 known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is

Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Colossians 1:25-27 (NIV)

The apostle Paul reminds the Colossian believers that God authorized him to take on the duty to present His message to the world.

Paul’s task was to present God’s complete word to the people. The Lord had kept certain parts of the Word hidden from His children. God chose to reveal the mystery to those closest to Jesus (the disciples) and the one of His choosing (Paul). Our heavenly Father designated these men to proclaim to the Gentiles—those who are not Hebrew—the wonderful message of Christ in them, the anticipated outcome of the bliss of heaven.

Because of God’s decision to use Paul in such a mighty way, we can know the Father as our friend and comforter. We can look forward to the day we see God face to face as we enter our eternal home.

 1.) I derived this thought from the context of the verse.

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