Daily Reflections on Ps. 89:15 (There's Nothing Like Corporate Celebration)

The Super Bowl plays for the 44th time in just a few days. It's always more fun to watch the game with a group of people, especially when half the crowd roots for one team and the other half roots for the other team. It's great fun. There's something special about the group atmosphere. There's more excitement, more fervor, more celebration, more intensity. Go to any sporting event and you'll experience an environment that elevates the passion for everyone. Announcers often talk about feeling the excitement in the air. Home field advantage is more than just knowing the dimensions of the arena. It's about the crowd and emotions of those in the stands.

The same is true about corporate worship. I love getting out my guitar and singing worship songs during my alone time with God. It is a personal time for me, but somehow it just does match the time of corporate worship at our church or better yet a huge conference with several thousand voices and full instrumentation. The full sound of everyone singing takes me to a different level. The environment stimulates my passion for God and what it means to be a part of His family. It's a taste of heaven.

The psalmist talks about how blessed are those who know that joyful sound of worship or even to the call to worship. They know that the experience is going to bring them closer to the presence of God, emotionally and spiritually. It's through corporate worship that our barriers and distractions are eliminated and we open our heart and mind to God. We feel less inhibited in our expression to God and our intimacy with Him deepens. It's really the closest thing to being in Heaven.

I've tried to picture what it will be like singing around the throne of God. I've read the descriptions in Revelation and the closest thing I can come to it is the 90,000 men I gathered with at a Promise Keepers Rally a few years back. To hear that many men singing praise to God was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. Standing on the stadium floor as the songs echoed across the stands was unbelievable.

I look forward to our worship time every Sunday morning. I can't imagine not having it. I can tolerate poor preaching, oh wait, that's me. I can endure a less inspiring message as long as there is energy in our worship, that it's a true time of celebration. I find that I'm generally more challenged and inspired when our corporate worship opens my heart to God.

Thanks God for loving me. Thanks for allowing me to be in your presence through song and praise. I don't understand why some people choose to miss the corporate celebration of praising you together. It's such an awesome place to meet with you. I can't wait for Sunday.

Daily Reflections on Zeph. 3:17 (Did You Know God Sings Over YOU?)

Praise and worship are a significant part of our expression to God. Music and song are important to us. Moses, Deborah, David, Mary among others broke out into songs of praise to God for His miraculous intervention or action in their lives. Jehoshaphat defeated a whole army with nothing more than dancing, singing, timbrels all pointed at praise to God (2 Chronicles 20).

Hebrews tells us to continually offer up the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Psalm 22 states that God is enthroned on the praises of His people. There is just something about singing praise to God that draws us close to Him, that stirs our heart toward Him. We talk about feeling His presence in worship. Expressing our praise to God through singing can often make us more aware of His presence than simply reading or praying.

But did you know that God sings over us? Did you know that His delight in us causes Him to break in song? Zephaniah 3:17 says, "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

It's only natural for a parent to sing over their child. I remember when my first born was just a baby. She used to have a "sleepy song", a song she would sing to herself when she was tired. Whenever she would be fussing, startled or upset, I simply would cuddle her and hum her "sleepy song" to her. She would always calm down. At bedtime, she used to have Teddy Ruxpin doll that sang lullaby songs to her at night that helped her go to sleep. Many restless nights, I found myself rocking her while singing those songs to her. She would inevitably relax and fall off to sleep.

Sleeptime wasn't the only time I sang to my daughter. Throughout her life growing up, I sang all sorts of songs to her. Of course there was always "Happy Birthday." But I sang songs as we played or drove in the car. I often would make up funny songs just to hear her laugh or get a reaction.

God is with you throughout each day from the time you arise until, well, until the time you arise the next day. He knows what you're facing good and bad. He knows your stresses, your joys, your successes, your failures, your delights, your dislikes, your challenges, your moods, your temptations, your passions. He delights in you. He quiets your fears with His love. He rejoices over you with singing.

The next time you're facing that impossible challenge or feeling really depressed, nervous, anxious, defeated or afraid, remember this verse and imagine God taking you into His loving arms humming a soothing melody. The next time you have that great success or wonderful joy, picture God in full smile singing a song of rejoicing with you. And don't forget, God knows the words to "Happy Birthday," in fact He inspired them. When you sit before your cake on your next birthday, listen closely, because God is singing to you.

God, it's unimaginable to think that you take such delight in me that you'd sing over me. Of all the things and people in the universe, you would pay that close attention to me. I love to sing to you, but it rarely crosses my mind that you love to sing to me. I long to hear your voice in song and I will continue to praise you.

Daily Reflections on Ezek. 10:18-19 (When God Walks Out)

If God is everywhere all the time, how come I don't always know it or sense it? Why does God seem so far away sometimes? I come to Him and I can't find Him? I call out and God doesn't answer? It's like He just disappeared from my life.

Could be. But if He has disappeared, we're the ones who squeezed Him out. That's what the Israelites did according to Ezekiel. Solomon had built this great temple to the Lord. Chronicles tells us how that once the temple was completed and dedicated to the Lord, God filled it with His "shekinah" glory. It was so overwhelming that the priest had to leave the temple. Everyone was in awe of the presence of God that filled their temple.

But in Ezekiel's day, the Israelites decided to bring other forms of worship into the temple. They erected idols to Asherah and Tamnuz (fertility gods of the non-Israelis living in the land). They apparently also had their own form of Mother Earth worship going on in the temple too. The magnificent temple, built and dedicated to God, had become a center for pagan worship. The people had brought all sorts of false gods and worldly practices into God's house.

So God, in response to the people's actions, left His own house. He withdrew His presence. Why wouldn't God stay and fight? Because He doesn't have to. He won't stay where He's not wanted. But when God leaves so does His protection and provision. God doesn't have to punish us when we reject Him or hook up with other "gods." All He has to do is withdraw His hand and leave us to our own devices. We have to face the consequences of our own choices.

The Bible says God is a jealous God. There is no room for bringing other gods, idols or items of worship into our lives. When job, kids, sports, career, cleaning house, partying, sex, marriage take His place as priority in our life, we force God into the back seat. God won't sit in the back seat. In fact, He wants to drive.

Has God's glory departed from your life? Has His presence evaporated? Then maybe it's time for a temple cleansing and rededication. That starts with a heart examine. What or who has become the central object of your worship?

God, my prayer, like King David's, is that you not remove your spirit from me. Search me and create in me a clean heart. Forgive me for defiling my temple, my body, my life. I want your presence. I want to experience your shekinah glory in my life.

Daily Reflections on Jn. 4:7-26 (Thirsty)

After a vigorous workout session, I'm always drenched with sweat. Okay, that's not a pretty picture, but the truth is the more I exert myself, the greater my perspiration. The harder I work, the harder my body has to work to cool me down and keep me from overheating. (Sounds a lot like life.) And by the time I'm done with my workout, I'm REALLY thirsty! I'm grabbing the water bottle and sucking it down. Oh man, that tastes good. I gotta replenish those lost fluids.

What I've found is that all of us are thirsty for something in life. The scene in today's passage centers around a well. And not just any well, Jacob's well. You know, the guy who God changed his name to Israel, one of the big three forefathers. There's really a lot going on here is this text. Jesus overcomes the traditional sexism and racism of His day. He also is investing in an obvious outcast, that's why she's there in the middle of the day and not in the morning with the rest of the respectable women.

This woman's thirst is obvious. She's had 5 husbands and was living with her latest boyfriend. Not a great relational track record. Why all the men in her life? Who knows? Maybe her father abandoned her as a child or sexually abused her. Maybe she struggled with self esteem. Maybe she just made some really bad choices. Maybe she was trying to cover some hidden pain. Maybe she was thirsting to be loved, by anyone. The Bible doesn't give us the reason, just the facts of her situation; 5 husbands, living with a guy, at the well in the middle of the day, alone, thirsty.

Jesus offers to quench her thirst. Not her physical thirst, but her real thirst. He offers to meet the thirst of her heart. It wasn't long until the converstation turned to spiritual issues. And ultimately Jesus went right to the heart of the matter. Traditions and religion don't heal deep wounds. Only God can do that. Rituals and programs don't cut it. When you're thirsty, I mean really thirsty, buildings, temples, monuments, and shrines aren't enough. You have to know the Messiah, the source of living water, the one who can quench the deepest of thirsts.

What's your deepest thirst? Love? Value? Appreciation? Meaning? Security? Emotional healing? Forgiveness? Purpose? Like the song says, most of us are like the woman at the well, we're looking for love in all the wrong places. WE use substitutes in an attempt to mask or satisfy our needs. Sex, drugs, alcohol, success, achievements, prestige, material things, popularity, power, work, people, the list of substitutes is endless. Jesus says in v. 14 that whoever comes to Him will get not just a drink, but a perpetual spring of living water that satisfies and wells up into eternal life with God.

Fill my cup, Lord. I lift it up to you. I'm tired of trying all the substitutes. They don't satisfy. I'm losing a lot of me just in the exertion it takes to do life. I need that spring of living water. Flow in me. Well up in me. I'm REALLY thirsty.

Daily Reflections on Ex. 32:1-20 (American Idols)

It happens all the time. We create our own idols to worship or celebrate. More often than not, the idols we create have something to do with meeting a pleasure need. Granted, life is tough and we need some relief from all the stressors and pressures and demands and deadlines.

What concerns me is that there is a tendency to create those idols even in the church. A few years ago a church I was serving moved from its meeting place of forty years to a new location just a half mile down the street. On our final Sunday in the old place we held a special service commemorating the good times and all the things God had done in and through our body at that location. We put some special momentoes in an ark, so to speak, that one of our men had specially crafted for the occasion. Our elders led the march down the street (with a police escort) to our new facility.

But some of our people couldn't let go of the old church home. In fact, 100 people were so tied to the old building that they wouldn't make the move to our new home. The irony was that most of them, instead of staying with their church family, went to other churches and a few decided not to go anywhere.

It's not the first time I've seen it. I've witnessed various forms of idol worship in churches I've served or attended. From stained glass windows, to pews, to positions of stage furniture (especially pianos, pulpits, and communion tables), to decorations, to the building itself. Sometimes the idols are persons or traditions or styles of worship (traditional, contemporary, alternative or hip hop) or the version of the Bible. The sad thing is that most people who create and worship the idol that they've created, don't even recognize it as an idol.

The Israelites created their own idol when Moses was alone on the mountain with God. The idol creators of today are really no different. The reason idols become idols or are created, appear to be because there is no real or intimate relationship with God, Himself. We create idols to satisfy our own need. We want something or someone that's tangible, someone or something we can see or touch. I'm not saying these people don't love God. I'm saying that the lack of depth in their relationship with Him demonstrates that He isn't really alive in their daily life. There's something missing.

I'm not anti tradition or ritual or church buildings. I'm anti putting any thing or person above God, Himself as the central figure of worship. The interesting thing for me in this passage of scripture is that when the Israelites created and worshiped their own idol, both God and Moses referred to them to the other as, "the people YOU brought out of Egypt." Neither wanted to claim them. Both of them burned with anger toward them. It's also interesting to me that the first command God gave Moses to write down after this incident was, "You shall have no other gods before me," and the second was don't make any graven image (idol).

God, thanks for not making me drink my melted down, burned up, ground up to a powder idol. I want you to be my central and only figure of worship. I bow down to you and no one or nothing else. I long for the same encounter and intimacy Moses had with you, to experience your presence and hear your voice, to converse freely with you.

Daily Reflections on Phil. 3:1; 4:4 (Learning to Rejoice)

"Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice." (clap, clap) "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice." (clap, clap) "Rejoice, Rejoice, Again I say rejoice. Rejoice, Rejoice, Again I say rejoice." I loved singing those words as a kid because we did it in a round. Truth is I didn't enjoy the song because of the message or because I knew what it meant to rejoice in the Lord. I enjoyed it because of the way we sung it.

As I watch the worship wars in churches, I wonder how many are focused on the way a song is sung, the style, rhythm, beat, harmony, etc. It reminds me of the old American Bandstand show with Dick Clark. He'd introduce a new song and then have two people from the audience rate the song. "It has a good beat," or "I can dance to that," were familiar answers.

Sometimes I think we miss the point of corporate worship. We're more in love with our style of worship music than we are the Savior. We rejoice in the music instead of the Lord. Paul exhorts us to rejoice in the Lord. Music is a catalyst for mood and attitude, but it doesn't change your life, only Jesus through the Holy Spirit can do that.

What would our life be like if we were plugged into Jesus like we were our ipods, mp3's, itunes, etc. What would our daily attitude be like if each day we rose from our slumber and began rejoicing in the Lord, pursuing Him, celebrating our relationship with Him. What if we went through each day plugged into Jesus, listening to Him, relying on Him, consulting Him. Paul knew how to rejoice in the Lord. No wonder he could say he had learned to be content in all circumstances and could sing praise in prison at midnight.

God, I don't want to just know about you. I want to learn to really rejoice in you; to really celebrate you in my life. I want to be able to say truly that the joy of the Lord is my strength. I want face each day rejoicing in you no matter what it brings.