Three personal blessings in 2020

2020 has claimed another casualty.  The other night, I had to retire my faithful French press after it slipped off the drying rack, hit the countertop, and cracked.  I felt like playing "Taps" as I reverently laid it in the trash can.  And then swept a bunch of veggie ends on top of it.

Believe it or not, this is something of a gratefulness post, because in the midst of the 2020 pandemic, a broken French press is just about the worst thing that has happened to me and my family.  It is incredible to me when I pause to think about the innumerable and unspeakable hardships that have befallen our world: death and permanent health impairment from Covid-19, unemployment, debt, riots and looting, isolation, fear, loss.  For me, things have remained fairly consistent, and that is an incredible mercy from the Father.  Many people who I know have not had the same experience.

Each morning as I've walked the dog, my prayer time has started with simple gratitude to the Lord: "Father, thank you for the breath in my lungs today."  As I've studied the Scriptures, I've been challenged that so much hinges on the Christian's ability to pursue and maintain a spirit of thanksgiving.  Simple gratefulness is the enemy of a host of sins -- see Ephesians 5.4, where a simple spirit of thanksgiving is the antidote to "sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness... filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking"; and 1 Thessalonians 5.18, where giving thanks is connected to giving voice to (rather than "quenching") the Spirit.  It's alarming the weeds of entitlement, bitterness, and arrogance that spring up in the hard, mineral-deprived soil of ingratitude.

Here are some things that I've chosen to be intentionally grateful for over the last few months.  In truth, they were unexpected, positive "fallout" of the pandemic and quarantine experience, and I couldn't honestly ignore them.

My family.  Even through the hardships, discouragements, and uphill journeys, my greatest joy in life is being a husband and a father.  My son turned two in June, and my wife is now 7 months pregnant with our first daughter.  Working from home for the months of March through May, to be present for some amazing developmental moments in Zeke's young life, was such an unforeseen blessing.  I've on-and-off been "that dad" -- the one who is constantly taking pictures of his kid (never thought I'd be "that dad," by the way) -- and looking back at many of the shots I snapped during the spring, it's amazing to me to see all those profound but subtle changes in his face, voice, and mannerisms.  Those are precious moments for which I was able to be home, by God's grace.  Were the world experiencing more "normal" circumstances, I might have only experienced those changes more indirectly.

My church.  The people who comprise Fellowship Bible Church have found ways to stay united through it all.  Their love and support for our leadership has been such a blessing in a time where it has felt like our hands have all been collectively tied.  Through extended online church and frustrating social distancing requirements upon reopening, our people have simply gathered to fellowship and worship.  All of these circumstances have served to show that God's Great Commission purposes for His Body pervade even a scenario that ground the rest of the world to a halt.  Even the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church (Matt 16.18).  The hardships reveal who is truly invested in spiritual growth and edification, and force us to be inventive in how we continue to do what we have always done.  I'm thankful for a persevering church family, held unerringly by the One who is "able to keep you from stumbling" (Jude 24).

The internet.  As a youth pastor, I find myself criticizing more than celebrating things like the internet, social media, and video games.  However, the long period of separation from extended family, friends, and my students reminded me anew that all tools are only as good as what they're used for.  In 2020, we have witnessed both the ills and the gains of media and technology: ugly conspiracy theories going viral, racism not being exposed for the purpose of change but filmed for the sake of outrage and backlash, media outlets functioning as judge and jury for events with absolutely no clear context, memes substituting for rational arguments, conversation undermined by accusation.  But Zoom was truly a godsend for us in youth ministry, Facebook live was so beneficial for conducting online prayer times, and FaceTime became a means for me to continue direct and vital counseling.  I praise God for the common grace in these tools that have enabled us to maintain the immense priority of meeting and fellowshipping together (Heb 10.25).

These are just three things that have given me pause to celebrate in 2020.

To be honest, I've not always maintained this type of attitude.  I've been prone to anxiety and quick to complain -- even eager to complain about restrictions and mandates that have been laid down from the powers that be.  I've needed all the inconveniences of 2020 to help me realize my dependence upon things less than Christ.  It's also an indictment of my heart that I've not always been this intentionally grateful, in 2019 and years past, prior to the world being turned upside down by a virus.  As the year rolls on, it is my intent to further grow in this discipline, and in so doing allow the Lord more fertile, submissive soil in my heart in which to work.

Some personal study notes on the Book of James

The quiet time regimen that I put together for our teens recently took us through the book of James.  As I was reading, I was reminded that James is sometimes called the "Proverbs of the New Testament" because it contains lots of practical wisdom and can seem to jump from topic to topic.  However, there are also some big, connecting themes that unites the epistle into more than just a loose string of pithy truths.

James' epistle is a text dedicated to wholeheartedness in the life of the believer: the total unity of body, mind, and heart -- of faith and works -- in comprehensive worship of the Lord.  The antithesis of this is divided allegiance between God and the world (4.4), doubt (1.6), double-mindedness and instability (1.8), confusion (3.16), and lack of true saving faith (2.14).  James writes to persecuted churches, dispersed from their homes, to remind them of their calling and to warn them of how easy it would be to allow their circumstances to dictate how they act and think, and what they believe.  Most of these churches were comprised of Jewish Christians, which meant they carried a lot of cultural baggage with regard to how to properly understand and practice the Law in the light of the gospel, and so James spends a lot of time talking about how to properly apply what he calls the "Law of Liberty" -- not de-systematized freedom from religious obligation, but rather heart-felt obedience to the commands of Christ, done as a response to the free grace of salvation, not as a duty-bound means of obtaining it.

Recorded below are some observations I jotted down as I was reading.

[Jas 1.1-18]  James addresses his epistle to the Jewish believers scattered by persecution from their fellow, non-believing Jews (see Acts 8.1-3). This opening section of his letter deals primarily with believers' appropriate responses to suffering, trials, and temptations, as well as helping them to understand the sovereign hand of God in these unfortunate circumstances.  In fact, the believer is to see all trials as a means of perfecting faith, not cause to blame the Almighty for leading them astray.  From the hand of God comes the Christian's eternal security, any blessings we might receive this side of heaven, and also the trials were experience, which serve the function of helping us change our perspectives on what truly matters.  God's goodness is what gave us this existence to begin with.  The believer, facing enormous difficulty, has only to petition the Lord for wisdom, asking in faith, and God will supply.

[1.19-27]  James exhorts the believers to wait for the righteousness of God, even in persecution: man's wrath won't produce justice or settle the conflict, but God's measured wrath -- one day -- will settle all scores.  Our calling is to meekly receive the truth of the gospel, which preserves our souls beyond the experience of suffering.  In the meantime, what is required of those who would persevere toward the crown of life (1.12)?  Answer: the exercise of self-control, sacrificial service, personal integrity (1.26-27).  This type of lifestyle means putting the commands and priorities of God's Word into practice, moving beyond merely hearing and intellectually receiving its teaching, and actually exercising the faith and gifts we've received from the Holy Spirit  Someone who does not live as the Word commands is self-deceived, because he thinks he is pleasing the Lord simply by hearing but not responding.  Such might be the excuse of Christians experiencing hardships and trials, such as persecution, but this is James' call to faithfulness: true believers hear and obey God's Word by doing what it says, no matter the circumstances, because we have a joy that transcends our trials and orients us toward eternity.

[2.1-13]  Speaking to Jewish believers in dispersion, James has an audience that could easily slip back into old ways of thinking -- obeying the Law not from a place of faith, but a place of obligation, preferring certain peoples over others, especially other Jews over Gentile believers, or expecting God to change their misfortunes as a result of their obedience.  The Church is growing and expending and diversifying under persecution; there is no room for Christians within the Body to treat others with class distinctions in the way pagan communities might.  There is to be no inequality of personhood in the Church -- hence the special care for orphans, widows, and the destitute (1.27).  The Church is to vibrantly stand out against the culture by its radically different approach to serving one another, not abusing one another -- that's what the persecutors were doing to the Christians!  The entirety of the Law was captured by Jesus: to love the Lord and to love your neighbor as yourself.  This "law of liberty," and the constraints placed upon believers by the Apostles' teaching (via the Holy Spirit), are altogether the standard of holiness promoted by OT law, a standard which must be embraced in the heart in order for mercy (2.13) to truly be shown.  One cannot hope to show mercy to others if one has not first received mercy from God.

[2.14-26]  This conversation, which began with James' exhortation to be doers of the Word and not just hearers (1.22), is pressing toward this key theological understanding: obedience to the Law and obedience to the Word are the manifestation of true saving faith.  James is clearly referencing Deuteronomy 6.4-5, the Shema, which Jewish believers would have quoted and known, but which may not have inspired active, wholehearted obedience to the commandments that follow.  A faith that has no obedience is a dead and useless faith.  This was the condition of ancient Israel, and the Church was already in danger of its members following the same pattern.  Abraham and Rahab both demonstrated this principle: they believed, which justified them before God and counted (imputed) as righteousness for salvation, but that faith was also verified ("justified" or "vindicated" is the word James uses) before men by their works of obedience.  Believers must -- will -- follow this example, because they are transformed (see 2 Cor 5.17).  Faith, when it is true and saving, produces in the believer a receptive and obedient heart.  All Christians must therefore demonstrate a faith + works, Romans 12.1-2 lifestyle, which is adherence to the Law of Liberty: freedom from sin, freedom to righteousness, both in status before God and in demonstrable conduct before men.

[3.1-12]  In discussing the Christian's earthly goal (pure and undefiled religion before God -- 1.26-27), James foreshadowed a longer conversation regarding the necessity of self-control and reputation with regard to the tongue.  After discussing the critical nature of works that prove/verify the Christian's faith, he connects this idea to the topic of edifying, gospel-centered speech.  This comes with another warning: as we will be held accountable for our actions, so also we will be held accountable for our words and what they reveal of our hearts (see Matt 12.36).  This standard is high for all Christians, but it is even higher for those who are teachers -- elders, leaders, mentors, influencers in the Church.  This is because the tongue has incredible power to edify or demolish, to lead to truth or to deceive.  Furthermore, the mark of maturity is found in self-control in our speech.  How and what we communicate are representative of Christ and how we have been shaped by Him.  How we speak to others should not usurp God's place of judgment (4.11).  Wisdom is ultimately the discretion of knowing how to speak and act in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord and edifying to man (3.13).  God is not pleased by a believer who talks out of both sides of his mouth, is culturally profane, unrestrained, or immature in speech.  Speech is a defining quality, for it is out of the heart that the mouth speaks, and therefore acquits or condemns (1.26-27; 3.6; Matt 15.18).

[3.13-18]  James is not interested just in actions and works: humans can be pharisaical, boasting of our piety and wisdom but harboring selfishness, pride, and bitterness inside.  Our works should verify our faith in the "meekness of wisdom" -- that is, a humility of the heart demonstrating that truth has penetrated not just our heads, but also our hearts.  All of our speech and conduct should be windows into our hearts.  Wisdom is the right knowledge of how to speak and act in a God-honoring, man-edifying manner, and it comes from a place of internal transformation.  The sign that this genuine change has happened is found in how the individual responds to criticism, hardships, and people: are we compassionate and merciful?  Are we approachable and humble?  Are we patient and gentle?  Are we sincere?  Do we only choose to listen to people who think like we do?  Are we in the business of seeking and making peace?  These are the characteristic pursuits of a heart transformed, manifesting faith via proper speech and conduct.  The opposite will eventually be revealed for what it truly is: wanton selfishness, ambition, disorder, vile and demonic practices.  But ultimately, the harvest -- at the end of the "season" -- is what will reveal the wheat and the chaff (see 5.7-8).  True, God will judge our works (5.9), but first He judges our hearts to ensure they belong to Him.

[4.1-10]  The types of disorder, vile practice, and selfish ambition that James referenced in 3.16 are the underlying source of conflict among the believers in 4.1ff.  When we exercise the "meekness of wisdom" (3.13), we practice peacemaking selflessness; when we are motivated by self-centered arrogance, we are exercising friendship with the world, and trending down the progression of sin (see 1.14-15).  The underlying issue is the motive: the heart wants, creates idols, and craves.  This lifestyle is more becoming a child of the world than a child of God, for whom Christ paid the highest price.  Perhaps the single most important factor in our relationship to God (and to others!) is a spirit of humility, which provides the necessary platform for the selfless type of love that does not seek its own way (1 Cor 13.5).  The Christian must submit himself to God, not to his own desires.  This type of genuine humility brings great reward in God's kingdom.

[4.11-5.6]  While arrogant and judgmental behavior is unbecoming a believer in any scenario, it is especially damaging when such behavior is directed toward another Christian.  Christ has redeemed both individuals; how can you presume to act as the Lawgiver when there is only One who can adequately and justly fulfill this role?  Whether or not a brother has wronged us, our role in conflict is still subordinate to the Law and its Lawgiver; none of us is the Judge, jury, and executioner of God's Law!  James is shifting in this section to addressing presumptuous behaviors, which result from arrogance and are the enemy of the applications his epistle has been pressing.  Overconfidence in presuming on time and financial security are both attitudes with an unwarranted sense of entitlement.  Time is in the hands of the Maker and is only a gift to be used appropriately while it is here.  We aren't guaranteed more of it.  Money similarly is not a lasting commodity.  James seems to allude to Jesus' teaching on where treasures should be "laid up" (see Matt 6.16-21), reminding the persecuted believers in dispersion that the pursuit of wealth and prestige did nothing to protect them when persecution came, and would ultimately fail again if that became their aim.  Wealth should never be a means of exploitation or self-indulgence, but exclusively a means of increasing service.  Furthermore, it is the brother of "low degree" (1.9) -- the humble, poor, persecuted believer -- not the comfortably rich land-owner who is in a better position to know everlasting wealth, because he pursues a crown of life that will not perish instead of earthly comfort (1.12).

[5.7-12]  Here, James returns to his opening exhortation: believers should count it a unique opportunity for joy even when trials come.  Suffering is just the waiting process for the inevitable harvest (5.7; 3.18).  The Lord's coming is perhaps "slow" by human reckoning, but it is nevertheless imminent -- that is, it could happen at any moment.  In order to persevere, we must remember the examples of faith and endurance set by our spiritual predecessors.  They too lived through suffering and trials, keeping their eyes on the God of Heaven and the reward at the end.  Even in examples of suffering like Job's, where the suffering seemed heavy and meaningless in the moment, God still proved Himself steadfast and compassionate.  He operates the same way with his children today.  Our confident expectations should be in Him and His promises, not in our abilities or words of oath.  Our obedience is possible because He helps us, not because we swear to fulfill our end of the bargain.  Ultimately, all our boasting must be in Christ (1 Cor 1.31).  The epistle's call for the believer to remain "steadfast" under trials (1.2-4, 12) is only possible because God Himself is steadfast (see Ex 34.6-7).

[5.13-20]  As he concludes the epistle, James reminds the suffering believers of their recourses: prayer and community.  Our prayerful worship can appropriately vary in tone with our current circumstances, but the common thread is a joy surpassing the mere emotions of the moment.  In cases of serious illnesses, suffering believers may request the elders of their church family to pray for them, anointing with oil.  This act is intended to remind the believer of his/her chosen, called, and sanctified status, set apart for the Lord's own purpose.  The prayer of the Apostles and laying on of hands could work miracles of healing by the Spirit's power during the New Testament era; in our modern context, the prayer of the elders, symbolic anointing, and laying on of hands is all done to petition the Lord to act, not to indicate special apostolic power in the elders' authority.  To the contrary, this concluding section of James' letter is driving home the power of prayer, which is intended to work first toward the spiritual healing of souls and the increasing of faith, and second to entrust physical healing to the Lord.  This, of course, does not replace the necessary practical steps of seeking medical aid, nor does it rule out the possibility of the Holy Spirit to perform a spontaneous miracle of divine healing.  As a poignant reminder, James points to Elijah, who was "like us" in faith, and saw God powerfully answer his prayers.  We too serve this one true God, who can act in supernatural ways should He so choose.  Ultimately, the Church community exists for rescue: to evangelize the lost, to encourage the suffering, and to confront and restore the wayward.  James' final point is that steadfastness in all of these areas depends ultimately on prayerful reliance upon God, and that such exercise of prayer must be done completely in faith (1.6).

Genuine love in Romans 12

The diagram below is the product of many years' pondering the differences between what we typically hear about love in popular culture and what the Bible commands. I recently created it to use with my teens during our weekly Bible study, where we've been studying what it means to give one's life as a "living sacrifice," as per Romans 12.1-2. Here's the diagram, and I'll unpack it below.

As I've visualized it here, this definition of love generates from the realization that most misrepresentations we hear are not truly wrong, but rather reduced -- not completely off the mark, but improperly emphasized. For example, one common perspective on love is that it is a feeling of attraction between two people, involving commitment, warmth, and kind intent. This isn't wrong. It's just missing something. However, the typical Christian reaction against this definition of love is binary, over-emphasizing elements of choice and insisting that love is not what you feel but is rather a committed act of the will. Again, not wrong, but reductionistic -- missing something.

What I've tried to demonstrate with the above diagram is that there are multiple, vital facets to love that are interdependent. Love is not a simple see-saw between action and feeling. It is a more complex and nuanced thing. What I propose is that truly genuine, truly biblical love cannot be reduced from three distinct but closely related things: Heart, Action, and Will.

Will and Heart are challenging to differentiate from one another, and I'm reminded that only the Word of God is able to decipher such infinitesimal differences between soul and spirit (Heb 4.12). The Bible often uses the word "heart" to refer to the core, inmost being, and I'm not attempting to cut against that clear synecdoche or create confusion. However, what I'm seeking to distinguish here is the difference between our felt wants ("Heart") and understood values ("Will"). In this definition, Heart is visceral, psychological, and physiological; Will is what is felt and known at the level of beliefs that define our identity.

For example, I value my health and my body, and I know I should exercise to stay in shape, but I don't particularly feel like it. Such a breakdown results from a conflict between what I feel ("Heart") and what I value ("Will"), and ultimately results in a lack of Action, the third component of Genuine Love. Action is the distinct, external evidence of what is felt and understood within. It is the obedience of body, heart, and mind to the unity of felt wants/needs and internal values. In the exercising example I've used, the object of love is the self: if I truly value my own health and well-being, and know that maintaining them is important, I will take action despite the disconnect of my heart, and in so doing seek to bring my feelings properly in line with my values. In so doing, I express genuine love for myself by taking care of my body -- in some ways, despite what I feel.

All three of these components -- Heart, Will, and Action -- together make love genuine, full of integrity and wholeheartedness. Because Romans 12.9 teaches that our love must be “genuine,” that is the operative word that I'm using. Genuine love means Christians can't camp in any of the off-center cross-sections of Sentimentalism, Obligation, or Idealism. We must gravitate toward the middle of the diagram, where all three elements of love are represented.

Let me unpack these ideas a little more, addressing each cross-section one at a time.

Genuine love, the central element, cannot be reduced to what I've termed Sentimentalism. That's what happens when our love only involves Heart and Action, without the commitment, sacrifice, and value of our Will. In other words, because dating, romance, and friendship all inspire strong emotions, there is a natural tendency to act according to those emotions, with or without the assent of our deeper values. Furthermore, those emotions are what we truly feel, so they have a ring of legitimacy, and the actions that flow from them feel natural. Loving others because we feel strongly isn’t wrong, but the Bible communicates that the true test of love is how we treat those for whom we don't have strong feelings, or those whose actions toward us cause strong feelings opposite of affection. And what about when the person for whom we have strong affections doesn't reciprocate? What happens when the emotions that I feel are strong irritation or even hatred? Genuine love responds differently in these scenarios than mere Sentimentalism does, because the third element of Will serves to keep our Hearts and our Actions from simply following the path of least resistance. This is because love is not less than feeling something, but is so much more than merely feeling something. Therefore, truly genuine love requires dedication beyond simply what we feel ("Heart") and what we do ("Action") as a result of those feelings.

Genuine love also cannot be reduced to mere duty or Obligation.  I'm stealing this analogy from John Piper, but if I come home from work on a given night with flowers for my wife Tara, she would really appreciate that small act of thoughtful kindness. However, if I give them to her begrudgingly, and make it clear that I'm only doing it because my husbandly duty means I HAVE to show her affection, is she still likely to appreciate the gesture? This is the problem with the D.C. Talk theology of love: if love is truly just "a verb," it lacks the key component of "Heart," the emotional component that makes the Action of love truly genuine. The problem most Christians encounter, reacting to the Sentimentalism of the world, is that their duty-based love is not truly genuine either. Action alone is not proof of genuine love. Genuine love requires input from the necessary component of Heart.

Lastly, genuine love cannot be reduced to Idealism, a love that incorporates Heart and Will, but lacks Action. The greatest example of this is the "thoughts and prayers" epidemic on social media, often lambasted as a heartless, meaningless, and -- in some ways -- harmful. To many, it's an expression of false care in the face of tragedy. To be fair, expressing heartfelt sorrow to another who is hurting is an external act, and it is done in obedience to Romans 12.15, which commands us to weep alongside those who weep. But truly genuine love also incorporates 1 John 3.18, which means that our love for others goes beyond just verbal expression to include real, immediate Action. Good intentions alone do not verify Idealism as genuine love. Why? Because a necessary component of genuine love necessarily is Action.

I can anticipate some objections to this model of love. To some degree, it is impossible to hit the "bulls-eye" of genuine love, because we are sinners and we live in a fallen world. Certainly knowing the grace and love of God empowers us to rise above these limitations, but we know the challenges. To properly apply this model, we must understand that the three components of genuine love are not equally represented in each scenario -- in other words, in order to genuinely love a given individual, it might not mean 33.3% Action invested alongside 33.3% Will and 33.3% Heart. For certain family members, more exertion of Will might be necessary than for others. For people I don't really know, a greater emphasis on Action or Heart might be pertinent. Different people and different scenarios require different responses, but all three elements must be present and involved, compensating for deficiencies in any area.

Further, there is a centripetal force exerted by these three elements in that they serve to police one another. Genuine love is best expressed when all three components of Heart, Will, and Action are in perfect harmony, but there are times when I am still genuinely loving someone when I do what I know to be right even if I don't feel like it. Provided that I'm not content with the condition of my heart in that instance, but am seeking to bring my feelings in line with my actions and my values, I can still honor the Lord and serve others with that effort. Typically, the problem is that I am far too self-motivated and need to surrender one felt need/want in order to replace it with the genuine need/want on behalf of another.

In some scenarios -- say, a teenager striving to love his parents by obeying them -- the tendency might be inclined toward Duty and Obligation. However, the conscious application of Will and Action serves to incorporate the Heart even if it does not come naturally. Often, doing what we know to be the right thing even when we don't want to ultimately produces a sense of satisfaction after the fact, which goes a long way toward replicating that response in the future. A rocky marriage often becomes a pendulum of Sentimentalism, oscillating between strong feelings of affection and strong feelings of fury, because the marriage has no backbone of Will to anchor it. Striving to incorporate what each spouse knows to be right, and valuing the needs of one another over self-interest will begin to incorporate the grounding element of Will to move that marriage toward more genuine expressions of love and out of feelings-based action. Sentimentalism, Idealism, and Duty are only problematic if they become our templates for love instead of our starting points toward the real thing. They must transition if we are to love genuinely.

But what about the nature of relationships? Am I obligated to love everyone in this manner, incorporating Heart, Will, and Action in every relationship? How far should I go for the sake of people I don't know? It's important to consider our circles of influence when we think about investing -- who is within my circle of influence, and who is outside my circle of influence? Some people we have greater responsibility to love because they are in close proximity to us. However, in any given interaction, Christians should be able to evaluate the output of Action against the input of Will and the driving fuel of Heart. I should be able to slow down and ask of myself, "Am I truly loving this individual? What do my actions say? What do I feel toward him/her? How am I engaging what I know to be right and true?" Even in minute interactions with strangers, there is great potential for us to exude a genuinely loving spirit by preferring others. The crucial component, however, is theological. If I'm striving to love Jesus every day, every minute, and every hour, I am actively seeking to align my Heart, Will, and Action into serving Him. Properly understood and applied, this puts me in the proper frame of mind and spirit to invest in others at the appropriate level.

What about the extremes? What about the cases of abuse? The instances of betrayal? Romans 12 anticipates this, because it includes in its conversation about genuine love those who persecute us (Rom 12.13), and those whose actions against us might give us cause to seek vengeance (Rom 12.19). While the specific expressions of Action and types of feelings in our Hearts may vary, the values of our Will remain the same, because they are grounded in the Scripture. Certainly there is room for caution, protection, and discretion in these types of scenarios. Sometimes loving an individual who has harmed us means showing mercy, if not grace; sometimes it means using the full expression of law to assist an individual in understanding the damage he or she has caused, and preventing him or her from harming others. Either way, my Heart, Actions, and Will toward that person factor in the reality of harm done as well as the sacrificial, exemplary, and effective actions of our Savior on our behalf. In loving these individuals, we surrender the consequences to the Lord, our Vindicator and Defender, and do what we know to be right.

This is hard. How do I make change in my heart happen? Can I truly change what I feel? This by itself is the subject for an entire book. However, it is an important consideration for this topic. We'd all acknowledge that our feelings change, but we'd perhaps differ on what actually affects the change. Is it circumstances? Relationships? Godly influence? Is it simply time? While our Heart is arguably the single hardest area of love to truly impact, I'd argue that Romans 12 gives us the necessary steps. Counter-intuitively, we change not by addressing the level of feeling, but rather the level of value -- we must choose to love and uphold what is good, but hate and ostracize what (not who!) is evil (Rom 12.9). A failure to love manifests in different ways, but is ultimately related to poor values.  If we seek godly values -- begun by studying the Word (see Psalm 119.9) and removing sinful influences, replacing them with good influences (Rom 13.12) -- this gradually changes what I feel and begins the process of aligning those feelings with what I know to be biblically right and true.

The expression of genuine love is a learned experience. For the Christian, it is not a voyage of self-discovery in relation to other human beings, but rather being in receipt of Christ's genuine love for us. Remember, Paul is making this appeal to love others "by the mercies of God" (Rom 12.1). In other words, he beseeches the believers in Rome, "Because you have personally experienced and understand the incredible mercies of God toward you, you must therefore respond in love for others." As Christians who know God's grace, we are living out toward others the very things we learned from God’s mercies toward us. If we believe in the love of God, we must be wholeheartedly loving toward others. Truly genuine, truly biblical love is the proper alignment of the feelings of my Heart with the values of my Will, expressed appropriately in Action. Each of these three elements is necessary, not optional. No other lesser expression of love quite adheres to the appeal in Roman 12.

Sweet Sleep

In preparing this week's lesson for my teens, I happened to re-visit Ecclesiastes 5.10-12:

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

I was struck by the reminder that the proverbial love and pursuit of money isn't just something rich people struggle with.  Perhaps a weary catchall for do-it-yourself ambition, the "American Dream" it still something for which I believe all humanity has a taste.  Those in any culture who push their nose to the corporate grindstone to the detriment of personal lives and family, those who swallow hook-line-and-sinker promises of future wealth, and those who constantly chase after more and better all fit the Preacher's description of the man who won't be satisfied with his income.

The reality is that, no matter how much wealth we accrue, there will always be more to have, more to achieve, more to possess.  Once we have some, we can't be satisfied with that -- we need to keep going!  Acquire more!  Reach the next level!

Not only rich people succumb to this tendency.  Those of us who gaze longingly out the window at the mansions our commutes take us past fall into the category of "money lovers" also.

The truth is ironic and counter-intuitive: the only way to truly enjoy physical things is to put them in their proper place.

My career and the wealth, status, or security that it promises simply cannot be the most important things in my life.  In and of themselves, none will satisfy.  If, however, I value Christ the way I should and pursue him first and earnestly, suddenly my wealth is something I can enjoy, or my poverty something that is no longer a consuming frustration.  Easier said than done, certainly.  But Paul asserted that "godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Tim 6.6).  In other words, while the world sees gain purely in terms of dollar signs, status symbols, and otherwise tangible increments, true gain and true satisfaction come only through my deepening relationship with Jesus Christ.

If my life is a ladder of trying to achieve career-based ambitions, no amount of "stop to smell the flowers," "dance in the rain," or other enjoy-the-journey-in-process memes are going to make a difference.

We all know the Biblical adage: "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil."  I think it's relevant to note that, in other terms, the love of money is the absence of contentment.  Some see ambition as healthy forward-thinking, but when we speak specifically of financial ambition, the thin line between prospective planning and greed becomes incredibly narrow.  To be ambitious is most often to make a pursuit of wealth -- and, therefore, to think of what I currently own as not enough.

This is the very definition discontentment.  The love of money = the absence of contentment.

Furthermore, as mathematicians know, when we make comparative statements such as these, the equation works backwards and forwards:

The absence of contentment = the love of money.

Do you feel discontented with your current financial state in life?  Do you self-identify as a broke graduate student before you identify as a follower of Christ?  Do you look at the greener grass on the other side of the fence and wonder, longingly, if one day you might own that little patch of grass?  Do you tell yourself that it's not wrong to crave a little peace, and maybe one day all your financial stress will be a thing of the past?

I know these thoughts apply to me.  Therefore, I am a lover of money.  Therefore, I am not far from all kinds of evil.

Discontentment is a bigger and more pervasive problem than we as Christians like to note.  Living with discontentment doesn't mean we are simply American dreamers waiting for our due.  It means we are functional, practicing idolaters: we have placed value on something other than Jesus Christ and erroneously -- if indirectly -- believe the lie that something besides God Himself will bring satisfaction.  It means we have a shallow perspective -- certainly not an eternal perspective.  It means we have no real capacity for gratitude -- not for the blessings God liberally bestows, not for the ultimate blessing of His unfailing grace.

We desperately need to guard ourselves against this line of thinking!  To crave the sweet, secure sleep of the dedicated worker is not necessarily wrong; however, we can't make it our chief pursuit.  Instead, we must recognize that such rest is the byproduct of finding our solace, substance, and satisfaction in its only Source -- not in the careers, degrees, or possessions we pursue, but in the welcoming arms of the Savior Himself.

Financial stress got ya down?  Be patient and wait on the Lord.  He is a compassionate and understanding God who knows how to give good gifts to His children (Luke 11.13).  He cares even for the birds and the flowers (Matt 6.26, 28).  He does not abandon us in our troubles (Heb 13.5).

Just because life is hard does not invalidate these promises.  Sometimes God chooses to allow us to feel the tension of our situation so that we cling desperately to Him instead of our own wallets.

Our inability is His ability; our inadequacy His all-sufficiency.

Full belly keeping you awake at night?  Let go of your dependence on your wealth.  Give it away if you have to.  Seriously.  Jesus said that if our eyes or hands tempt us to sin, we should amputate them rather than risk the worse alternative of sinfulness (Mark 9.43).  The same principle applies to money and possessions.  Lighten the burden you're carrying or abandon it altogether: Jesus promised a far lighter load if we carry nothing but His cross (Matt 11.29).

We can truly rest only when we recognize that He is sovereign and we are not.  Whichever camp you find yourself in -- poor and craving financial stability or a wealthy insomniac or somewhere in between -- stop trying to take control back from the Almighty, either with your anxiety or your checkbook.  Stop being distracted by the world's trinkets.

We can be satisfied only when He alone is our treasure and our pursuit.

The Worship Lifestyle, Pt. 4

Part 1 -- Part 2 -- Part 3

___________________

I'm not sure if this is a new school of thought or if it's existed for some time now, but I've encountered on a number of occasions now the perspective that a god who demands worship is a god who is needy or selfish.  "If I'm going to worship a god," these individuals say, "I want to worship a god who deserves it.  Not one who just tells me to."

Though He does require of us adoring praise and worship, the God we serve needs no validation.  He is not an emotionally insecure deity -- like some Greek god, lusting after humans and self-fulfillment, all as part of an endless competition with other minor deities for supremacy.  To the contrary, God demands worship because He is worthy to receive it, and there are no other gods with which He contends.

Furthermore, when we raise our voices in praise to Him, we are not giving Him something He does not already possess.  By attributing to Him glory and honor, we are not adding to His character or refilling his "glory" tank, as though He is somehow dependent upon us.  The popular vote of the people is not what will elect Him "God" for another four years.  When we worship our God, we are merely celebrating who He is by making statements pertaining to His holiness, justice, power, and eternality.  We are making much of who He is.

One of my favorite hymns captures the idea this way:

Could we, with ink, the oceans fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above
Would drain the oceans dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky

In our worship of God, we are merely in the act of describing what He already possesses.  Furthermore, our best effort -- our life-long endeavor -- will still fall so far short of the praise God truly deserves.  Yet our practice of worship is not an exercise in futility, because we offer our lives in totality.  As believers, we are giving everything we have in response to the grace which He gave to us.  That is why, for all of eternity, we will join with the angels in constant and unending praise of our Father, Maker, Redeemer, and Friend.

The first verse of another favorite hymn begins this way:

Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing
My Great Redeemer's praise
The glories of our God and King
The triumphs of His grace

I used to think the writer of "Oh For a Thousand Tongues" was longing for a throng of fellow worshipers to join with him in praising God, and that a thousand was just an arbitrary number intended to evoke the image of a huge crowd, all worshiping together.  However, upon deeper reflection, I think what he's really wishing for is a thousand tongues all of his own with which to give the Great Redeemer praise, because the solitary instrument he does possess is simply not enough.  He sees the worship of God for what it is: an exercise in reflecting back to God His own honor, glory, and praise.  Even 999 additional tongues in the mouths of all the saints could not possibly express the sum total of God's magnificence.

We worship a God who is not "needy."

We worship a God who needs no validation.

We worship a God who is worthy of the praise and adoration we express to Him, and then some.

We worship a God whose surpassing greatness eclipses the wisest theologian's estimate, yet whose humble condescension on our behalf brought Christ the Son to an inglorious death on a cross, forsaken by man and the Father alike -- all for the sake of His creation, out of the kindness of His eternal, gracious character.

That is why we worship Him now, and it is why we will sing of Him for all eternity. 

He is rich in might, love, and power.

He breaks the power of cancelled sin.

He sets the prisoners free.

What more could we possibly give Him than all our hearts in adoring worship?  He deserves that and more.

The Worship Lifestyle, Pt. 3

When I started writing about worship, I didn't intend for the topic to cover three posts, but as I've continued studying and learning myself, there have been a number of ideas and convictions that I still felt needed to be shared. So in this post, I want to address the issue of personal preference as it pertains to worship (and hopefully do so without any more alliteration).

The statement I'm about to make is going to ruffle a few feathers, but it's the driving motivation behind this post: the exercise of personal preference stands opposed to proper worship.  To those of you still reading, I'm of course speaking in an absolute sense, because preference is not always something that is necessarily wrong or inappropriate, but as it pertains to musical styles and worship songs, I have very rarely found someone who is able to share his or her preferences on worship in a humble and unassuming manner, and where his or her desire to see a particular style of worship every Sunday morning doesn't stem from a (sometimes unintentional) sense of entitlement.  What I'm saying is that when we insist on our preference in a worship service, verbalizing or internalizing, we are effectively determining that our mode of thinking is superior and completely forgoing Paul's exhortation to humility in regard to considering one another (Phil 2.3).  So while it's not wrong to have opinions on a worship service, the exercise of them is.

Again, I'm speaking in absolutes, because this is a problem with which all of us struggle.  By being pointedly narrow, I intend to leave no loopholes for those who may feel justified in their ideas on worship (more aptly called "opinions"), so that it is impossible for any of us to avoid evaluating where we fall concerning this issue.

Christians struggle with preference partially because of familial upbringing or cultural background, partially because of negative experiences, and partially because we're just very strong-headed.  Notice that I use the plural pronoun to include myself as well: I certainly have my ideas of the way things should be, and it can get under my skin if a church or individual fails to meet those expectations.  The truly disgusting thing about this issue, however, is not simply that we cling to our own notions, but that we go so far as to disparage the preferences of other individuals or congregations -- as though their practices are somehow inherently sinful.  We have reasons for why we like things to be a certain way, and if someone doesn't share our perspective, they are invariably thinking in a different manner, or upholding different priorities, than we do.  In our human condition, we can't help but be affronted.

Over the course of leading worship for almost a decade, I've heard from all schools of thought.  I've conversed with those who despise modern hymns, either because of their instrumentation or the quality of their lyrics.  I've heard form those who despise the ancient hymns because of their archaic vocabulary or presumed lack of cultural relevance.  I've heard from those who think that singing is a moot point and should be minimized or even excluded from worship services.  As a musician, I totally understand how difficult it is to engage in worship when you simply don't like the musical style.  However, many of the conversations I've had with people on the matter of worship preference have raised red flags in my heart concerning common conceptions (there I go again) of what worship truly is.

I've discussed worship as a definition much more deeply in two earlier posts (Pt. 1 and Pt. 2), but for the purpose of this discussion, I'll keep our working definition to two major points, specific to church or public worship (as opposed to private or individual worship).

First of all, church worship is a celebration of God.  It is the bringing of our firstfruits, or the best of what we have, to the One who already owns them all and recognizing Him for it.  It's an expression of dependence, love, and awe, coming from the hearts of people who see their need fulfilled only in Christ alone.  The verse I've heard quoted in a semi-joking manner to console those who aren't the best singers is "Give a joyful noise to the Lord" (Psa 100.1).  The idea is that it is the attitude of the noise, not the quality thereof, that truly matters.  It's amusing, but it's also true: God is not honored by our excellent display of musical prowess if our hearts are far from Him.  That becomes a mask which does not reflect our internal condition, something which Joel 2.13 encourages us not to exercise.  What honors God is the joyful noise which springs from the hearts of repentant sinners -- sinners who glorify God for His mercy, love, and other eternal, indefatigable qualities, and whose worship of Him doesn't end with the song.

Second, church worship is a corporate expression.  A worship service can be tailored to the tastes of a subset of its members, but it is not (or should not be) based on pleasing individuals.  In the same way that the early church in Jerusalem was built upon commonality, equality, and was devoid of even a mention of preference, so should our modern assemblies.  Everyone shared everything back then, and everyone was enriched by contributing to the needs of the body on a daily basis (Acts 2.47).  Sadly, we can't even have "everything in common" in our modern generation even one day of the week.  Church worship is about participation and contribution.  You don't come to get -- you come to give, and ultimately, you come to give glory to God.  When that is the primary focus of a body of believers, then their church prospers and arguments over petty differences of opinion are nonexistent.  People who simply "attend" a given church, however, don't understand what church is truly about.  People who go into a worship service but refuse to sing because they are appalled by the style of music likewise don't understand what worship is truly about.  When our focus is on God alone, suddenly everything we don't care for isn't a big deal, because our perspective has been focused on what truly matters.  This is what brings unity to the Body of Christ.  At this point, when we are in one accord, true worship can take place.

So that's what worship is in a nutshell.  Now we can understand why the exercise of personal preference can be incredibly damaging: if left unchecked, it is an exertion of my petty feelings over the very real needs of others.  It assumes the superiority of my thinking over that of brothers and sisters, and subjects the worship of a holy God (for which, by the way, He laid the necessary parameters) to the ideas we have about the way it should look, sound, and feel.  Instead of being a beautiful fragrance (2 Cor 2.15), our singing and feeble attempts at ministry become an expression of our internal selfishness, which will inevitably suck out the sacrificial and joyful nature of worship and render it empty lipservice.

As it pertains to singing, if you really don't care for old time gospel songs, you don't have to attend a gospel service, but you should be able to go and participate anyway.  Even though you don't like or know the songs, you should still have the ability to go into a gospel-led service and appreciate the truth within the lyrics.  Maybe you don't try to sing every song, but you celebrate the glory of God in your heart with everyone around you, and maybe you lift your hands and pray instead.  Participation doesn't mean you go in and mouth lyrics with a stony expression, or approach an extended musical interlude with a begrudging attitude, presuming that gospel music is beneath you because it is old-fashioned or somehow sinful.  The same is true for an individual who has difficulty engaging with contemporary hymns: just because you aren't moved by anything written by Chris Tomlin or Paul Baloche doesn't mean you should refuse to celebrate a holy and risen Savior through their music either.  Songs which tend to lean toward personal experience with Jesus are still worshipful, even if they don't use words like "Thee" and "forsakest," or because words like "heaven" with too many syllables aren't truncated with apostrophes.

All that being said, I will submit that we do have to be careful about the songs we choose for worship.    There are far too many which speak of Jesus as though He were a lover.  In fact, any song that could be played on the radio and sound like a love song is the kind I want to steer well away from.  Those kinds of songs reduce the divine love which God has for us to the truncated, misnomer "love" which society encourages today.  Speaking from the perspective of a worship leader, it is extremely important and also very challenging to find songs that are theologically accurate, because there are so many songs out there that just aren't.  Carefully putting together music which not only introduce the sermon material for the day but also accurately point the congregation to the person of Christ is a deep concern of mine -- and hopefully of the worship leaders of your church body as well.  If you find yourself struggling with the lyrics to a particular song -- not because you just don't like them, but because you are genuinely concerned that they aren't biblically based -- then I would encourage you to spend some serious time in prayer and then humbly approach your worship leader with your concerns.  But be careful that your motivation is truly out of a concern for your congregation to worship in spirit and truth, and not simply out of a deep-seated desire to get your own way.

So where are we with this discussion?

To those of you who dislike a particular style of music (and that means all of us), get off your high-horse and join in anyway.  The joy of the Lord should be infectious, not conditional.  To those of you who love all kinds of music but wrestle with lyrical content, take some time to read through those songs you aren't fond of singing and unpack exactly what unsettles you about them, and then do something about it -- out of a humble and loving spirit.  Don't just stew and allow frustration to suck the joy of worshiping out of your heart.  To those of you who simply struggle with wanting your own way, even in areas that have nothing to do with music, take some time to evaluate who sits on the throne of your heart -- your desires, or a Savior whose only desire is that you worship Him with all your heart, soul, and mind, and who commanded that we love others before we even think about loving ourselves.  For everyone, let us sing heartily to the Lord no matter what style of music is being played, because our Holy Father cares little for instrumentation, chords, or beats per minute.  He cares very much, however, about the conditions of our hearts - whenever, wherever, and with whomever we lift songs to give Him praise.

The Worship Lifestyle, Pt. 2

I've had the privilege of leading music at my church for the better part of eight years.  Ever since I was an awkward teenager in our youth group who dug his mothers' vintage Fender F-70 out of the attic and began learning chords so I could play U2 songs, I've had a passion for singing about the Lord and engaging with others in worshiping Him.  One of the most difficult things I've encountered in conversations with people about what the musical side of worship should encompass is the issue of emotions and what their appropriate role should be.  This topic is something I've written about before (hence the "Pt. 2" in this blog's title), but I'd like to dig into the matter once again, not only because it is a very pressing issue in how the church worships (both privately and corporately), but also because it's something that is dear to my heart as a worshiper of Jesus Christ.

I've encountered several extremes concerning emotion's role in worship.

One is this mindset: "I don't worship God when I don't feel like it, because it would be meaningless."

A second is this: "I'm going to worship God whether I feel like it or not, because it's the right thing to do."

Another is as follows: "I worship God when I feel close to Him."

As is usually the case, all of these perspectives possesses some very real shreds of truth.  On one hand, we absolutely want to worship God when we feel like it, because that is a genuine outpouring of our dependence upon and love for Him.  On the other hand, we want to worship God even when we don't feel like it, because our emotions are unstable and we can't base worship upon them.  Additionally, we want to celebrate God when we feel close to Him, because his nearness means joy and salvation (Psalm 73.28).  However, worshiping God is never a "fake it 'til you make it" type of learning process, nor does it allow for a "follow your heart" mentality.

After leading for so long and studying a number of excellent resources (most notably, Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin and Desiring God by John Piper) in addition to the Word of God itself, the conclusion at which I've arrived is as follows: worship is 1. built upon sound theology and 2. expressed through our emotions.  It is always a two-step progression, and it is essential that the process happens in that order: our response to God should be emotional, but the foundation of our worship should never be.  In fact, Bob Kauflin says it perfectly: "Magnifying God's greatness begins with the proclamation of objective, biblical truths about God, but it ends with the expression of deep and holy affections toward God."  This is rooted in the fact that worship is all about God's character.  It's all about Jesus.  That's why worship transcends musical style, be it through ancient or modern hymns.  That's why worship is a lifestyle, and not just an action.  Worship is a celebration of who God truly is, expressed through our desire to see His truth proclaimed - both to others and to our own hearts.

It's simply all about Jesus.  Therefore, we respond whole-heartedly, emotionally, to Him.

Another way to think about it is that we worship God through our emotions and in spite of them.  This is due to the fact that while our emotions are incredibly unstable, God's character constant forever.  When we are wrestling with sorrow, anxiety, and even anger, we must worship in spite of our emotions.  If I find myself walking into a worship service while in this frame of mind, then in order for me to worship God effectively, I need to mirror the heart of Job, captured in Matt Redman's "Blessed Be Your Name:" "My heart will choose to say, 'Lord, blessed be Your name!'"  In this vein, although I am singing out of a heart which needs divine comfort, I am also magnifying the Lord's sovereignty and compassion, effectively minimizing my suffering in the wake of His provision.  It may sound like a subtle difference, but it is all the difference that is necessary.  It's a matter of perspective: instead of weeping over my pain and begging the Lord to take it away, my worship is now built upon a sound understanding that God is sovereign (Deut 10.17) and that He cares about my pain (Psa 56.8), poured out in humble expression of my desperate need.  It doesn't mean that I'm all of a sudden carefree, it just means that in esteeming God to be greater than my circumstances, I experience the Joy of the Lord which transcends pain and heartache.  Inevitably, my worship then becomes about His character, not what I am feeling.

On the other side of the coin, when we are soaring on Cloud 9 with joy, or when we experience a peace that surpasses understanding, then we worship God because of our emotions.  If I find myself here, then I must channel my celebration into magnification of God's benevolent character and esteem Him the author of my good fortune, while at the same time acknowledging that my promotion or an answered prayer ultimately takes a back seat to the gift of His Son (Psalm 13.6; Titus 2.13).  Otherwise, I begin to stray dangerously close to arrogance, independence, and even self-worship.  Once again, by celebrating the Creator because of who He is rather than simply because of what I feel, I am subtly shifting my perspective so that my worship is dependent upon His character, not what I experience or achieve.

There is a third mindset toward worship, however, that I haven't mentioned yet.  That perspective is one of indifference.  If I find myself in this position, then I have to very honestly and very carefully consider my own heart.  It's been said that the opposite of love isn't hate, because both are driven by passion: therefore, the true opposite of love must be apathy.  If we simply don't care, if we could take or leave a worship service, then we certainly can't engage in worship that magnifies a holy and righteous Creator.  John Piper writes, "The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of the feelings and emotions and affections of the heart.  Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead."  However, the problem I need to address is not my lack of emotions, but the condition of my heart.  To try to change how I feel would be to treat the symptoms and not the disease.  Either something in my understanding of God needs to change, or a sin that is callousing my heart toward Him needs to be addressed.  Only when the heart has been cleansed can emotion follow that may be used to glorify God.

In sum, worship is expressed through emotion, but is not built upon it.  In this regard, the appropriate expression of our feelings in worship should always be in response to God's character, and we should use our emotions to magnify Him above what we feel and experience.  However, worship is also very much dependent upon our feelings, because love is empty and meaningless without passion.  It can't be 100% objective in the same way that it can't be 100% subjective.  The Bible makes it very clear that God desires worshipers who celebrate Him in spirit and truth - in other words, with all of their being and with their fullest understanding of His character (John 4.23; Matt 22.37).  Jesus also proclaimed that it is out of the "abundance of the heart" that the mouth speaks, a statement which clearly implies that the only lips worthy of offering praise are those which are connected to a heart full of passionate love for God (Matt 12.34).  As Bob Kauflin states it, "What we love most will determine what we genuinely worship."  If God truly sits on the throne of our heart, if He truly encompasses our being, then we will only desire to worship Him, no matter what circumstances beset us.  Encountering His greatness should always result in the outpouring of heartfelt emotion, because He is holy, wonderful, and eternally deserving of our praise.

I'd like to conclude with a passage from Kauflin's Worship Matters as a final encouragement: "Worship is accepted not on the basis of what we have done, but on the basis of what Christ has done.  It's not uncommon for us to 'feel' accepted and loved by God when we're engaged in worship.  But if that feeling isn't rooted in the gospel, it will be an elusive sensation.  It's not enough to sing songs about God's love that produce warm feelings in our hearts.  We need to glory in the reality of Jesus Christ, beaten and bruised for our transgressions, giving up his life in our place on the cross.  There will never be a greater proof or demonstration of God's love."

Successful worship is worship that celebrates Jesus Christ as our mediator.  Successful worship is worship which glorifies God as our Holy Father, who - out of unfathomable love for us - gave such grace that He poured out all of His just wrath against sin upon His only Son.  Therefore, successful worship is dependent upon the condition of our hearts, in response to that truth.  Whenever we enter into a time of singing, prayer, or Bible study, we should always preclude entry by pausing to evaluate ourselves.  No matter what stage of life, no matter what frame of mind, we need to constantly check where our hearts are in relation to God.  If there's one thing I know about myself, it's that I am a wicked human being and my heart is incredibly deceptive (Jer 17.9).  As believers, it is our responsibility to be certain that we are loving the Lord with all of our hearts, souls, and minds.  Frequent self-evaluation is necessary to ensure that we are not behaving as the Pharisees did, whose lips were quick to spout all the right answers but whose hearts were simultaneously distant from the Messiah's (Matt 15.8-9; 23:27).

So examine your heart, because if it is far from God, then worship is impossible.

The Worship Lifestyle [Pt. 1]

As a worship leader, one of the passages which I've spent a lot of time studying is John 4, the gospel account of Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the village of Sychar. There are a lot of important components within this passage, but the most notable is Jesus' statement of what defines true worship. In verse 23, John records Jesus' words:

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

It wasn't until this morning that I finally took notice of the immediate context of Jesus' statement, which contains an often overlooked implication for modern-day believers.

There are some differing perspectives on this verse, like many passages of Scripture. Some people think that when Jesus describes true worshipers as worshiping “in spirit,” He is referring to the coming of the Holy Spirit, and that the worship of a true follower of God is confirmed or made genuine by the unique spiritual communion with the Father which the Holy Spirit makes possible. This isn't necessarily a wrong interpretation, because we do worship with the guidance of the Spirit, but that reading of this particular passage is slightly off-base. Remember, Jesus said in verse 23 that “the hour is coming, and is now here,” but the giving of the Holy Spirit would not take place until the Day of Pentecost, after His ascension to heaven. The word for “spirit” used in this passage is the Greek word “pneuma,” which is used throughout Scripture to define both “rational soul, vital principle, and mental disposition” and “God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit” (compare John 4.23 with 2 Cor 3.17, and Phil 3.3). However, the term typically used for the Holy Spirit in describing His divine office (the comforter, helper) is the word “parakletos,” literally “come beside,” which may be translated as “comforter” or “advocate” (see John 14.15-17; 14.25-26; 16.7). John 4, however, uses the primary definition of pneuma to denote the “vital principle and mental disposition” of the worshiper – in other words, the state of his or her heart.

But although the heart or spirit is crucial to this passage, it is not the immediate context.

When worship leaders discuss this passage, we talk about the appropriate approach to worship services, picking songs that are grounded in biblical truth, inspiring within the congregation attitudes of reverence, celebration, thanksgiving. And while these things are all bundled into the description of worshiping “in spirit” and certainly defining of true worship, there is another qualifier that is missing.

What Jesus is talking about deals specifically with location. The dividing issue between the Samaritans and Jews (blood heritage aside) was the place of worship: the Jews called Jerusalem the place of worship, and the Samaritans considered Mount Gerizim the sacred location. That is why the woman, abruptly changing the subject away from her adulterous lifestyle, says to Jesus, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship” (4.19-20). This, in turn, prompts Jesus' warm reply: “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (4.21-24). Jesus says that neither Gerizim nor Jerusalem would be the singular location of true worship.

So the obvious question which follows is, “Where is the appropriate place of worship for us as believers?”

MacArthur's study Bible contains the following footnote for this passage: “Jesus' point is that in light of His coming as Messiah and Savior, worshipers will be identified, not by a particular shrine or location, but by their worship of the Father through the Son. With Christ's coming, previous distinctions between true and false worshipers based on locations disappeared. True worshipers are all those everywhere who worship god through the Son, from the heart.”

Therefore, the (hopefully) obvious answer is, “Anywhere and everywhere.”

We can't consider worship just singing any more than we can consider it restricted to one particular locale: Jesus negated both Mount Gerizim and Jerusalem as the “appropriate” place of worship. He said, simply, that true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth. This implies a lack of specific location, or an all-inclusive one. What Jesus is saying is that worship is no longer tied to the physical realm, no longer solely an act of obeying the law and making sacrifices at the temple. It now primarily incorporates the spiritual realm.

In other words, worship takes place in the heart.

Unfortunately, there are people who take this idea that worship shouldn't be restricted to a church building and begin to run too far in the opposite direction. Their idea is that worship services should be socially relative and accessible to the common man, so they meet in bars, coffee houses, and libraries instead of pews and sanctuaries. This Emergent Church movement, which may begin with great intentions, suffers from the domino effect: they misinterpret one of the three pillars of true worship (spirit, truth, location – or lack thereof) and the rest begin to crumble. Because they desire less structure and more accessibility, they remove the location pillar. Because they desire to reach culture, they soften ideas of Biblical judgment and accept and encourage all walks of life within their congregation, and so the next pillar – truth in worship – begins to slide downhill. Gradually, they begin to question the comprehensive nature of the Bible and move away from belief in its infallibility. When truth in worship becomes compromised, whats left is a purely philosophical, opinion-based, emotion-driven “faith” which has divorced itself from true belief in Jesus Christ. It becomes a road to inter-spirituality through mysticism, a blending of religions and morals to suit the desires of the congregants.

In other words, that's not what I'm trying to communicate.

As a member of a church which began in a school, and a volunteer worship leader at another which rents out a bar while waiting on their permanent location, I know for a fact that true worship can take place beneath a steeple or otherwise. The point of this post is not to say that we should or shouldn't meet in a church building on Sundays to worship: the point is that worship should be our continual state, present with the body of Christ or apart.

So if worship is characterized by heart motive and truth, and is no longer dependent upon location, then our understanding of worship should be that it is not simply an activity which needs to take place in church on Sunday – or even an activity at all, for that matter. To the contrary, worship is a lifestyle, necessarily incorporating our daily thoughts and actions. Worship is proper, loving interaction with brothers and sisters in Christ. Worship is service – true and undefiled religion which cares for the orphans and widows without expecting reciprocation (Jas 1.27). In that regard, worship is very much like love. It involves action, sure, but that action is an expression of the heart. Just like faith cannot exist without the verification of works (Jas 2.26), and love is nonexistent without sacrifice, so worship is a condition of the heart which demands external expression. But the inverse is also true: works profit nothing without the foundation of faith, actions done “in love” do not always reflect the genuine sentiment of the heart, and simply going through the motions in worship does not mean we are truly celebrating the Lord.

There is one more defining characteristic of worship that I want to tease out of John 4.

Near the beginning of their conversation, Jesus had told the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks of this [well's] water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (4.13-14). Similarly, in Luke's account of the Beatitudes, Christ blessed the ones “who are hungry now, for [they] shall be satisfied” (6.21). In both passages, what Jesus was trying to teach is that satisfaction is found only in worshipping God. Therefore, genuine worship done in spirit and in truth is soul-satisfying.  When we are consumed with Him, the distractions of this empty world lose their ability to draw us away from the truth.  Therefore, worshipping the Father is predicated upon dissatisfaction with this life and longing for intimacy with Him.   It is recognition of the fact that only He is worthy of our worship, and that only He can satisfy our thirst and our hunger.  Jesus often cautioned the one who is rich in this life that he has “already received consolation” (Luke 6.24).  In other words, the one who has invested all his time and passion in worldly things has already received his earnings.  True worshipers are not fooled by the material, however.  They worship God because He alone brings satisfaction.

The sum total of our lives should be a testament of worship -- the type of living sacrifice which continuously glorifies God on a day-to-day, hour-by-hour basis (Rom. 12.1).  Worship does not take place solely in singing any more than it is restricted to a church building on a Sunday morning.  It is an active, abiding expression of love and adoration for our heavenly Father which must encompass every facet of our lives -- in spirit, truth, and any locale.  In fact, our lifestyles should be so full of worship that we are clearly identifiable as Christ-followers -- so that the expression of our faith through words is merely a confirmation of the observer's pre-existing assumption.