Worthy

This week at my church the worship songs were all about how Jesus is worthy of our praise. Whenever I hear a song like that, my mind immediately thinks, sure, God is worthy of praise, but what makes MY praise desirable to a holy God? In Isaiah it says that our sin makes even our righteousness like "filthy rags". What does God want with my filthy rags praise and worship?

 

Years ago the church I was attending had a worship choir. Every Sunday we were up there on the stage, singing along with the worship team. Some Sundays we would perform a choir piece, but regardless, every Sunday we were up there during the worship part. One Sunday a young lady was asking about being in the choir, and I encouraged her to show up for rehearsal and see if she liked it. "Oh, I don't know. I don't think I'm good enough," she told me. "It's okay," I said, "we have people with all skill levels in our choir. You don't have to be an expert singer to participate." "No, you don't understand," she told me. "I don't think I'm good enough."

Have you ever played a game with a very small child? Every kid is different, and things get different as they get older, but usually when I play a game with a really little kid, I want them to win. I want them to succeed. I don't want to beat them! I want them to experience victory! So what do I do? I throw the match. I play like a complete moron. Or I take the deck of cards and stack them so the kid always gets the good cards. Whatever it is, though, I try to give the child a victory. Why? Because I can, and I want them to know that they are a winner. I want to give them success! Did they earn it? Well, they probably played the best they could, but in the end, they couldn't beat an adult. They couldn't win without my help!

This week listening to these songs I remembered and internalized something I already knew in my mind - that our praise and our worship are worthy of God because they are placed there by God in the first place! Our personal goodness is irrelevant. It was a game we couldn't win. We had less of a chance than a toddler winning a chess match against a grand master. The deck wasn't just stacked against us - we didn't even get any cards! There was no way we could be worthy enough to reach to God. There is no way we could ever be "good enough." We were destined to fail.

Then Jesus entered the picture.

Jesus was the only person who was unstained by sin. He was the only one who could ever win the chess match, who could ever beat the house, who could ever hope to get the ball into the basket. Jesus lived a life of righteousness when none of us ever could, and then by dying on the cross, Jesus made that righteousness available to us. He won the Super Bowl, but we get to stand on the stage and receive the trophy! We weren't worthy of anything good - but Jesus made us worthy!

Our praise is worthy of a holy God because it comes from the righteousness placed in us by Him. He's stacked the deck for us! He's worthy of our praise, and we can't help it - our praise is worthy to be offered! Are you still asking yourself "But am I good enough?" Well, the answer is, NO, you're not. Or at least you weren't. But the moment you received Jesus, asked Him to be Lord of your life, His worthiness became yours. So give Him your praise!

Fire, Light, and God's Way

photo © 2007 Jalal HB | more info (via: Wylio)

Into marvelous light I'm running out of darkness, out of shame
By the cross You are the Truth, You are the Life, You are the Way
(from "Marvelous Light")

This is my prayer in the fire, in weakness or trial or pain:
There is a faith proved of more worth than gold, so refine me, Lord, through the flame
(from "Desert Song")

Tonight during worship we sang several songs (including those quoted above) that described God in terms of "light" and "fire." That's one of my favorite images of God; not only does He illuminate and bring clarity, but He also burns up the bad stuff and purifies us until there's nothing but good stuff left (or, at least we approach that goal more and more as we let Him refine us and root out the messy parts of our lives and personalities). Being purified is usually an uncomfortable process, but when it's over, the result is something much better than what existed before!

My pastor briefly mentioned during worship that we should praise God for answers to prayer even before we see them... the easy example of this is Jericho, where the people shouted victory before the walls fell down. And Pastor said that this way of thinking is totally counter to our way of thinking as human beings, which is true, but it got me thinking: if human beings have one way of seeing something, and God has another way, and they are opposite, which one is the valid way? God's way, of course! God's way is: (1) we ask, (2) we believe His statement that when we ask we will receive, and (3) we begin to celebrate the answer even though it's not here yet. It's like getting word that your Christmas present is on the way by mail. You know you're going to get what you wanted, so why not rejoice? Instead, our "natural" impulse is to wait until we have the answer in our hands before we rejoice. It's like Grandma telling you that that Christmas present is in the mail, and you choosing to be skeptical about whether she is telling you the truth or not. Looked at it that way, which is the truly "natural" attitude to have: the "human being" way, or the "God" way?

Maybe the reason we don't rejoice is because we think that we may not be asking within the parameters of God's will. To solve that problem, we have to get God's Word into our hearts. I'll be posting a short series about the Bible soon; it's so critical to living the life God wants for us that we dig into God's Word! If you don't know if what you're praying is God's will or not, check the Book (which is MUCH easier to do if you already have a good grasp of what it says in there!) and get sure. Then pray according to the Will of God, and REJOICE!

Purified for Service

In Sunday school this week the teacher was discussing the story of Isaiah's commission in Isaiah chapter 6. In a nutshell, Isaiah had a vision of the Lord in all His glory, and Isaiah immediately assumed that because of his impurity, he was going to die. An angel brought a glowing coal from the altar fire, so hot that even the angel had to hold in in tongs, and touched Isaiah's lips and purified them. God then spoke a question: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Isaiah immediately answered, "Here am I! Send me."

The thing that struck me was how quickly Isaiah went from "Woe is me! For I am lost..." to "Here am I! Send me." From fear to boldness in one single step... the purifying power of God. What is it that purifies? What is it that the sacrifice on the altar represented? The sacrifice of Jesus, the shedding of His blood. When the power of God touches us, it immediately inspires us to service!

(By the way... I can never read that story without thinking of this song...)

Clean Hands and a Pure Heart

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
     And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
     who does not lift up his soul to what is false
     and does not swear deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the Lord
     and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
     who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

-Psalm 24:3-6

If we are going to be worshippers that go to "higher places" in the Spirit, personal holiness is a key. Our salvation does not depend on our actions, but our advancement in spiritual things clearly does. How badly do you want "more of God?" Badly enough to abandon sinful habits? What about bad habits that are not sinful but that distract you from the things of God? What does "lift[ing] up his soul to what is false" mean? It seems like this passage is about being a person who can be trusted, who always tells the truth and knows it. That's awfully hard to do in this life. Have you ever told someone that something was happening where you were, even though maybe it wasn't, just to get off the phone? Ever said a check was in the mail when it wasn't yet? Ever told the officer that you didn't know you were going over the speed limit when you really did know it? I've done things like that any number of times, and I'm sure you probably have too. But this passage doesn't seem to leave any room for "white lies."

How badly do you want more of God's Presence in your life? Badly enough to tell the truth?