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Each of You Has...

1 Corinthians 14:26

What then shall we say, brothers and sisters?  When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. 

My family meets with a group of Jesus followers each week in our home who try to incorporate the above verses in their living out who Jesus has called them to be.  In fact, just this past week, one of the men actually brought a hymn (song) to the gathering.  He walked in as I was getting my guitar ready and handed me the chord chart to a song I’d never played before.  While he does have a very good voice, he’s not a trained musician.  So, he led out on the song vocally while I just played it on the guitar.  We all continued to sing a few more songs together.  After that, one of the ladies shared from Isaiah 58. Then one of the men shared some thoughts on the passage.  And then others shared.  I thought it was a beautiful example of the church living out the blessed reality of “each of you has.” 

And in so doing, the church was built up.  This kind of environment carries an expectation of participation.  Whether a person has been following Jesus for 10 years or 10 minutes, God has something to say TO and THROUGH each one of us.  And when we operate in that blessed reality, not only is the church (the group) built up, but we are built up individually as well.  As a result, I believe that our serving (works) outside the gathering have the potential to be all that more meaningful - because it comes from a place of waiting, hearing, and responding in the Lord's strength and authority. 

In this type of environment, the gifts of the Spirit flow orderly, yet freely.  Someone might share some scripture and offer some thoughts on it.  Someone might receive a word from God in the form of knowledge, instruction, or prophecy and then share that with the group.  Someone might lead out on a song and the rest of the group joins in.  Someone might lead out in prayer.  This is the Body in motion, expressing life.

Imagine what would happen if you took a new believer and immersed them in this type of environment.  After a short while, they wouldn't know any different.  They would begin to live out the reality that they are a priest... a temple of the Holy Spirit… through whom the Lord can speak.  They would begin to function, participate, and be built up. 

On the other hand, if we, even with the best of intentions, attempt to suppress or control this type of environment, I believe the opposite will happen. The people would become malnourished, apathetic, insecure, and even afraid to pray out loud, to share, to teach, to sing out, for fear that they may not do it as well as the paid professional.

In fact, I purposely did not play my guitar in our home gatherings for the first half a year or so.  I knew that if I (a professional music minister) pulled out my guitar right away, that I could potentially cause others to NOT lead out (worship lead).  So for the first several months when we had “a time of worship,” there were no instruments other than our voices.  Most of the time we just went into a time of thanks by praising God verbally for who He is, what He’s doing, and what He’s going to do.  Sometimes, someone might lead out and begin to sing a song.  Then the others would join in.  Yes, there were occasional moments of silence.  But that’s ok!  There are worse things than experiencing an uncomfortable silence. 

So go, and live in the blessed reality that “each of you has.”

Light in the Darkness

A few years ago, my wife and I made the strategic decision to participate in Halloween.  Big deal, right?  Let me set some context.  You see, there are some within the Christian culture that believe that Christians should not participate in Halloween.  After all, this holiday has some pretty dark/demonic roots.  I don’t disagree with that.  There are some downright spooky costumes and decorations out there.  As a result, many Christians choose to opt out of Halloween and instead participate in “harvest parties” and such – which are void of any demonic ties.  And I’ve enjoyed some of those parties!  And I won’t talk down to or disrespect anyone who chooses to do that.

But the conclusion my wife and I came to a few years ago was this:  October 31 is the one night of the year when the entire neighborhood is out in the streets, socializing, having fun, and going door-to-door no less.  What kind of followers of Jesus would we be if we, in our attempt to avoid the evils of the world, turned off the lights, locked the door, and essentially protested the holiday?  What kind of statement would we be making to the neighborhood we believe we’ve been called to? 

 

I will say that we are careful not to celebrate the holiday on its terms (and inadvertently giving evil a foothold in our home), rather we engage it on OUR terms.  We don’t decorate our house with creepy stuff.  We don’t let our kids wear spooky costumes.  We spend time with our children, educating them about those things. We also spend an equal amount of time educating them on why we choose to engage our neighborhood.  We don’t fear this holiday, no matter how dark or evil the roots may be.  Nor do we fear any powers of darkness that may be present that evening.  Those powers are submissive to the one who lives in me/us.  And like I said, we're careful to do this on OUR terms.  

    

On Halloween (which our family has nicknamed “Ween” – since there’s nothing hallowed about it), we don’t just pass out candy… we also pass out free hot dogs to whoever wants them.  Last year, I passed out about 150 dogs, and it wasn’t nearly enough.  So this year, I’m planning for more.  I don’t make a lot of money – which has affected how we give, and what we give to.  But this is one of the things we choose to give to. 

 

It has been received so well, that I’ve actually gotten repeat “customers” who’ve driven in from another area, just to stop at my house.  And what’s cool is that we’re not the only family on our block that does this kind of stuff.  One of our neighbors throws a party and hands out cookies and popcorn and such.   Our other neighbor on the corner has handed out full-sized candy bars and glass bottles of Coke!  We officially have the coolest block in town... I know that because I’ve had people tell me so.

It has really been a lot of fun.  We’ve met a lot of people, and strengthened some existing relationships… by simply being present.  I’ve even had an opportunity to talk with some young men who were planning to “beat down” another young man in our neighborhood one Halloween.  They had some hot dogs, and thankfully, cooler heads prevailed.

      

So maybe think about how you might make the most of this incredibly relational opportunity to be salt and light on a very dark night.    

Crazy!

I’m so thankful for my friend Rob who shared the book “The Pursuit of God” by A.W. Tozer with me.  As I was reading the text below, I just kept saying OUT LOUD, “This is crazy!  This is crazy!” – Crazy because of how DEAD ON it is.  Crazy because of the journey God has had me on for the last 4 ½ yrs or so.  Crazy because over the years, there have been times when I’ve tried to explain this thing... tried to write it out and make it clear… tried to share it with those closest to me… with sometimes little to no success.

A pilgrim starts to wonder whether or not he’s losing his mind.  But occasionally, he’ll encounter people like Art Katz, Leonard Ravenhill, A.W. Tozer, and other less-known pilgrims who speak life into a weary soul.  Crazy indeed!

Here is the portion of text I was referring to:

In the midst of this great chill there are some, I rejoice to acknowledge, who will not be content with shallow logic.  They will admit the force of the argument, and then turn away with tears to hunt some lonely place and pray, ‘O God, show me thy glory.’  They want to taste, to touch with their hearts, to see with their inner eyes the wonder that is God.

I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God.  The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate.  The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire.  Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth.  Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people.  He waits to be wanted.  Too bad that with many of us He waits so long, so very long, in vain.

Every age has its own characteristics.  Right now we are in an age of religious complexity.  The simplicity which is Christ is rarely found among us.  In its stead are programs, methods, organizations, and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart.  The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and the servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all.

If we would find God amid all the religious externals we must first determine to find Him, and then proceed in the way of simplicity.  Now as always God discovers Himself to ‘babes’ and hides Himself in thick darkness from the wise and the prudent.  We must simplify our approach to Him.  We must strip down to essentials (and they will be found to be blessedly few).  We must put away all effort to impress, and come with the guileless candor of childhood.  If we do this, without doubt God will quickly respond.

When religion has said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself.  The evil habit of seeking God-and effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation.  In the ‘and’ lies our great woe.  If we omit the ‘and’, we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing.

A.W. Tozer (emphasis mine)

Once you’ve tasted, touched, sensed, seen the Glory of God, you are ruined for anything less.  There is no and.  There is only God.  Will we resist when we are presented with an and?  Will we resist the urge to put our hands all over God’s perfect work?  Will we resist the perpetual mending of the veil which has blinded us from divine reality?  Awaken, prophets of the Lord…

Amen

Love this book!

And God spoke all these words

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt,  out of the land of slavery.

  

You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,  but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

(Exodus 20:1-17 NIV)

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