True Worship

What is the meaning of the worship service? Is it to entertain the masses or to worship God?

The Jews in Jesus' day took worship very seriously (those that truly worshiped at the temple) and so should we (it is the same God that we worship). How did Jesus react to those who came to the temple with wrong motives (like the money changers)? He ran them out (Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:15, John 2:15)! The reason that Jesus is standing at the door and knocking (Revelation 3:20) is because the church is not letting Him in. Those that will say that this is an individual sinner's invitation need to be reminded that this verse is in the letter to the Church in Laodicea (the lukewarm church) that was neither hot nor cold for Christ.

In regard to the "unchurched" (a term that I detest as this term seems to suggest that people who go to church are all saved and those people who don't go to church are not saved....as if church membership equalled salvation)....have we fallen so far as to think that we must entertain our guests at worship? Must we work so hard to keep them in the congregation? What we need to do is exactly what the apostle Paul did. Speak the truth in love! It is the preaching of the gospel that compels us to come to Christ! Not some ungodly form of entertainment within the sanctuary!

Have we as Christians become "the world" or are we different? If we are different, then our worship should not be "worldly"! The gospel is "good news"...not entertainment! It is also the power of God that brings salvation to those who hear and accept it (Romans 1:15-17).

As for the music that is played in church, I am against any singing about Santa Claus or any secular song being played within the walls of the church. This includes patriotic songs. Are we worshipping the God of the universe, the One who created all things or are we worshipping our country? All we need is the gospel and any music that is played within the church walls should be honoring the One who created all things, not music that honors the "created things"!

As the prophet Isaiah said, "Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?" (Isaiah 2:22)

Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike patriotic songs, I just don't think they belong in church.

Faith

If we only believe in what we can see, then we can no longer believe in the wind. "Ah," you say, "but I can feel the wind, so I know that it exists." But if we can believe in that which we can feel without seeing it, then we are in danger of requiring an emotional response as a condition of believing in anything.

Our "vision" can be overvalued because things that are appealing to our eyes may attract and pull us in regardless of its truth and deceive us.

Our "emotions" are overrated because things that make us feel good can control us and carry us away while our logical minds are tossed aside when something presses our emotional buttons.

So, how can we have faith in what we cannot see or feel? How can we have faith and believe in God, Whom we cannot see but can, on occasion feel?

God is Spirit (John 4:23-24) and cannot be seen physically, (John 1:18) but He can be seen in us and through us, if we truly belong to Him (1 John 4:11-13).

Is our faith superficial where "seeing is believing" or does our faith go far beyond the visual, beyond our common sense and intellect?

Is our faith emotional where I have to feel something in order to believe that God is working in me or does our faith exist regardless of circumstance and emotion?

The best definitions of faith that I've seen are "firm belief in something for which there is no proof" and simply "complete trust." So, faith is believing in what you do not and cannot see or feel, knowing beyond any doubt that it is true and having complete confidence in what you have faith in (Hebrews 11:6).

Faith demands no proof, nothing that you can see, feel or touch. Faith only demands our belief. So why believe in God? Because He has given us the proof of His creation all around us to see, feel and enjoy and it is that which should tell us that God exists (Romans 1:18-20). How can one look at the stars at night and not believe in God? How can one see nature; the clouds, the sun, the trees or the mountains and not believe in God? It is because we refuse to believe in anything greater than ourselves (Romans 1:21-23).

What makes us believe that there is nothing greater than ourselves? Why do we only have faith in ourselves and other human beings? Do we not fail? Don't other people often fail us too? How can we have "complete trust" is something that fails? That is where God comes in.

Although we fail, God does not. Yes, He allows suffering, pain and heartache, but these things are because of us, not Him. God created a perfect world, but it is mankind that wanted to be like God (Genesis 3:6-24) and so God punished us. We disobeyed and were punished and now we have consequences to live with such as pain, misery, hard work, sorrow and death.

We suffer because there is a broken relationship between mankind and God. This is where faith comes in. Although mankind severed the relationship with God, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to this world to show us how to live and how to treat each other. Most importantly, Jesus came, sinless, to pay the price of our disobedience by becoming our substitute, our ransom, to satisfy God's wrath against mankind's disobedience (Romans 5:7-9). Jesus suffered and died in our place, but if that were all, our faith would be misplaced. Not only did He suffer and die, He was resurrected from death! Why is this important? Because without the resurrection, we would have a dead God and a dead faith. But this is not the case. No, we have a living God and a living faith and that faith can carry you through the good and the bad times in your life, but only if you repent of your sinful lifestyle, turn away from it and place your faith in Jesus Christ. Can you do that or do you need more proof?

Watch a sunrise, or a sunset and tell me that there's no God. Even if you can do that, can you honestly believe that life has no purpose? Can you believe that we are all here by random chance? Can you believe that nothing made everything and that everything came from nothing? If you can believe the news, can believe in evolution or bigfoot or politician promises, that Elvis is still alive, then tell me who has the wildest beliefs? I'll go with God and with putting my faith in something beyond myself that has the power to save and comfort my soul.

Purified Water

While looking into a soda machine, I noticed all of the sodas and the purified drinking water as choices.

Which would I choose? One of the many drinks that had the flavors that are enticing but are harmful to me or would I choose the purified drinking water that is good for me, but is clear, pure and tasteless?

While looking over the drinks, the drinks that I really wanted; the ones that appealed to me the most were the sugary, carbonated, caffeinated drinks. These were the drinks that have the flavor that I was drawn to.

On the other hand, I noticed the purified drinking water and was reminded of how God is pure, clean and for my benefit. We need water to survive, but don't always desire it until we are hot, thirsty and desperate.

Being neither hot nor desperate, I chose the soda.

This is human nature. The nature of the flesh. I need water, but since my need was not great or desperate, I chose what I don't need...what is not beneficial to me...what my flesh longed for.

I realized how much we choose what we want over what we need every day. I realized that I too was a slave to my passions as I chose the soda over the water. I realized how much our needs go unfulfilled while our wants get top priority.

God is pure, but we don't desire what is pure. Not until our need is great, our throats are parched or our situation is desperate. God offers His water freely, but we reject it. Why? What does God say in His Word?

Isaiah 55:1-3:

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. 3 Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.

We desire and seek what is not beneficial, but what we need is free. It is satisfaction to our souls, but we don't desire it.

When will we seek that which satisfies, which gives us life? God is the purified water. All we need to do is to go to Him and drink and He will give us the Living Water. As Jesus said in John 7:37-38:

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

Seek Jesus and live. Choose the water.

What does it mean "to believe"?

I hear many people say that they "believe" in Jesus Christ, but do they believe in Him the way that leads to salvation?

Is it possible to believe in something or someone without knowing what or Who that something or someone truly is?

I believe so.

Let's start by defining the word "believe." Merriam-webster.com defines it as "(A) : to have a firm religious faith and/or (B) : to accept something as true, genuine, or real ".

When people say that they "believe in Jesus Christ", they are saying that they have a firm religious faith in Him or that they accept that He is true, genuine, or real. The question I have is this..."according to the Bible, does this type of faith lead to eternal salvation?"

The simple answer is "yes." BUT, the proof of what you say that you believe is how you live your life.

If no one ever sees Christ in you, in the works that you do, how can you have truly believed in Him or have you only acknowledged Him?

(John 14:12)
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.

So, if you truly believe in Jesus, you will do as He did and if you do as He did, people will see Him in you.

Believing is all that is required for eternal salvation. Not works, so that none may boast, but believing. Yes, you will do works if you believe, but works are not the requirement, but the proof of your belief.

(Ephesians 2:8-10)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [a]that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Just believe and then live out your belief.

(Acts 16:31)
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

How do you believe?

(Romans 10:9)
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

So, it is with your heart that you believe and with your mouth you confess and speak what your heart believes that saves you.

(Romans 10:10)
for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Got it?

Do you believe?

What is wrong with the modern Church?

Do you enjoy going to church? Is church supposed to be "fun"? Are we supposed to be entertained? I guess the question really should be "how do you view God?" If you view God as "your buddy", then maybe you want to go hang out with "your buddy" and "have fun." IF, however, you view God with the awe and reverence that He deserves, then it's a serious matter. Do you engage in chit-chat in Sunday school (assuming that you even have Sunday school at your church) about last night's football game or are you engaged in conversations about the Lord Jesus Christ? I ask these polar opposite questions just to raise a point...that the modern Church has lost it's way. If you listen to pastors in many churches, what are they preaching about? Are they talking about declining attendance and church doors closing? That sounds more like a worrying about losing their job than anything else. There's one solution to the problem of the Church...PREACH THE GOSPEL!

Jesus promised that the Church would not fail (Matthew 16:18). Paul wrote in Romans 10:14-16 that the gospel must be HEARD to be BELIEVED and that no one can BELIEVE if no one PREACHES. BUT, he also states that they must be SENT and what does the modern Church desire? For people to COME TO THEM. So, the question that needs to be asked is "are we preaching the gospel as commanded by Christ in the Bible?" Read Matthew 28:19-20 to see what Jesus commanded His followers to do:

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The command is to "GO" and the modern church "STAYS"...we are told to "make disciples" and the modern church wants to "make converts or members"...we are told to "teach them to obey" and the modern church tries to "entertain" the congregation.

So, what can be done to fix the Church? Simple. Preach the gospel, make disciples, teach them to obey the Lord Jesus Christ and to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (Corinthians 2:1-3) . Forget about entertaining the congregation, forget about contemporary Christian music, forget about putting your sermons online or a live feed to the web. Forget about everything except the Lord Jesus Christ! Seek God while He may be found (Acts 17:26-28). Then, and only then will we have revival.