Words on Worship

Have you ever read the book of Exodus?  You will discover in chapters 25-30 just how detailed the God we worship really is.  God was extremely detailed in how He wanted his people to worship him.  And although, because of Jesus, we now live under grace and under the New Covenant, God still has required a detailed account of how we are to worship him. A starting point is Romans 12:1 where we are told to present our bodies a living sacrifice.  We are to live holy and acceptable in His sight.   Always remember, the God of the Old Testament and the God of...

I just finished reading Exodus chapter 28.  This chapter is all about God's amazingly detailed plans for the priestly garments that God intended for Aaron and Aaron's sons to wear.  I am always blown away by just how incredibly detailed God is.  And in this chapter, God states that the garments He has detailed will give Aaron dignity and honor in his role.  Now, as my friend Lance Witt points out in his book Replenish, in our culture, dignity and honor does not come in the form of tunics or robes, but rather "true spiritual dignity comes from a healthy soul and a life marked...

Yesterday we celebrated Mother's Day.  There is nothing like the bond between mother and child.  And the love a mom has for her children is so deep that only God could fully explain it.  But as children of our moms, and we all are, the Bible warns us not to "neglect our mother's instruction." In fact, the writer of Proverbs warns us over and over to carefully follow the lead of our mothers. Henry Beecher once said, "The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom." And Proverbs says "what we learn from them will crown us with grace and be a chain of honor...

As many of us are moving about preparing for some big summer activities and doing some much needed spring cleaning, I wanted to draw your attention to the need for some soul cleaning, as well.  In Psalm 51, we find King David crying out to God in repentance over his affair with Bathsheba. The Message version of the Bible phrases the lament of David like this: "Give me grace, O God!  Scrub away my guilt and soak out my sins in your laundry." What a beautiful picture of what repentance is, and what the sweet forgiveness of God does for us.  It cleans us up!  God's...

"How is it with your soul?"  That's a question the old Wesleyans would ask each other when they got together.  It's an intriguing question that probes beyond the surface and gets to the heart of the matter quickly.  It is a question that starts from the inside and works its way out.  Our soul is, by far, the most precious possession we have.   So, just as we need to tend to our bodies and get physical exercise, so we need to tend to the health of our souls if we want to be spiritually strong. Begin by drawing near to the only one who...