How do I worship?

Revelation 4:9-11
Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, ¹⁰the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
"You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being."

Revelation 5:7-14
He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. ⁸And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹And they sang a new song:
"You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
¹⁰You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth."

¹¹Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. ¹²In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"

¹³Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!" ¹⁴The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.

I recently read this quote from John R.W. Stott's book, The Cross of Christ (pg. 110).

"There is so much shallowness and levity among us. Prophets and psalmists would probably say of us that 'there is no fear of God before their eyes.' In public worship our habit is to slouch or squat; we do not kneel nowadays, let alone prostrate ourselves in humility before God. It is ore characteristic of us to clap our hands with joy than to blush with shame or tears. We saunter up to God to claim His patronage and friendship; it does not ocur to us that He might send us away."

Father, teach me to worship You in Your worthiness, not in my confidence. Humble me and teach me to know You and the awesomeness of Your presence. Remove from me my pride, self-confidence and casualness in worship. Help me see You for who You are. Amen.

He who overcomes...

Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:11
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Revelation 2:17
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

Revelation 2:26-28
To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
'He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery'— just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.

Revelation 3:5
He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.

Revelation 3:12
Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.

Revelation 3:21
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

What does it look like to overcome?
According to Revelation 2-3, overcoming is faith in Christ and hope in what is to come giving birth to self control and discipline to resist temptation, sin, worldliness and compromise. Overcoming is remembering our first love and remaining in this love even in the midst of persecution and trial. Overcoming is boldly acknowledging Christ's name in our world so that He might acknowledge our name before the Father. Overcoming is about clothing ourselves with Christ's righteousness, his character; with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Col. 3:12) so that we my be clothed in white for eternity.
What does overcoming look like for you today?

Father - give me strength to overcome temptation. Help me overcome in the battles in my mind and heart. Let my thoughts honor You and guide me to righteousness. Amen.

obey

Revelation 1:3
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Many have approached the book of Revelation with the intent to understand it or apply it to history, however that is not what God has intended nor what John has recommended. According to this, we are to receive it, obey it and proclaim it (that is, read it aloud so that other may receive and obey it too). The very nature of this blessing and advice demonstrates that the book of Revelation is not a timely, cryptic message to be deciphered, but a timeless, practical book to be obey. Those who seek to decipher and understand the apocalyptic nature of Revelation outside the context of the early church run the risks of pride, arrogance and error. But those who seek to obey and proclaim the practical commands which transcend time and context will be blessed.

Father, give me the eyes to see, the ears to hear and the heart to obey the commands written in this book. Amen.

Tough Love

Jude 22-23 (NKJV)
And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Jude 22-23 (NIV)
Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

While compassion and mercy are Christian virtues that all Christ-followers ought to pursue, there are times when these gifts and tools are not effective in turning back a brother or sister back who has strayed too close to the fire. There are certain people who, at times, will not learn until they've been burned. We can waste plenty of time, resources and emotion on these people only to watch the continue in their sin and self destruction. To these people, Jude calls us to be discerning and disciplined. To these, we wait, hating yet patiently enduring their sin until a time when we can practice mercy again. This is called tough love.
The secret to tough love must be prayerful dependence on the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can tell when a person has truly been purged and is repentant, ready to return to God's will.

Father - give me a discerning heart and mind to distinguish between those who demand compassion and those who demand patient mercy. Make me disciplined to patiently wait for your discipline to play out. Help me to hear from Your Holy Spirit and to join You in whatever work you are doing in the lives of those entrusted to my care. Amen.

Proclaiming & listening

1 Kings 22:8
"So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.”

Speaking and teaching the Word of God can be lonely, if not risky business. At times we are called to say what others do not want to hear. In these times it would be easy to listen to the taunts of others or the chorus of the world (22:13) and simply say what itching ears want to hear (2 Tim. 4:3).
Yet, regardless of the conventional wisdom, the popular opinion, or the sentiment of those to whom we speak and teach, we must proclaim the truth of God. Denying the truth is denying the truth whether we are the one needing to hear it (Ahab) or the one called to speak it (the prophets). Denying the truth of God is no more effective at avoiding the moral consequences of our behavior than denying the sun's existence is at helping us avoid sunburn. Truth must be heard and spoken, received and proclaimed.

God, give me a wise and discerning heart to know Your truth and proclaim it boldly and confidently for the benefit of all who will listen. Amen.

Father & Son

Check out this story.



Outside of the amazing inspiration that this story bears, I am forced to consider the analogy that it also bears. Isn't this a beautiful picture of how God the Father works in and through each of His children?
Marred by sin and a broken nature, God fills us with His Spirit and His gifts and does not leave us alone to figure them out... but walks behind us and guides us so that we might be part of His grand plan. How gracious is our Heavenly Father?!

presence... His small still voice

1 Kings 20:11-12
The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

Far too often we look for God in the miraculous and mighty. We expect Him to heal, move mountains, consume our enemies and prove Himself according to our prayers. But God is more interested in providing us with His presence than His power. His presence is the true treasure and sure answer to our prayers, no matter what they might be.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
We find this to be true throughout the Scriptures: God walked with Adam, visited Abraham, spoke with Moses, hovered over the ark of the covenant, filled His Holy Temple, guarded Daniel, stood with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and even gave His one and only Son to put on flesh and dwell among us. His own name bears witness to this desire of God's heart - Emmanuel, "God with us."
So when I pray, do I ask for miracles and might?... yes. But more so I will ask for His presence and be content to have Him by my side, to whisper in my ear with a small still voice.

Lord - grant me Your presence and peace. Let me know that You are near and let me hear Your small still voice. Amen.