Shifting Up

10 deep breaths, 2 sighs, 3 oh-my-gosh-that-could-have-ruined-this-truck's-suspension potholes, numerous potholes besides, 2 passenger parents, 2 sweaty palms, 1 much needed lesson in smooth gear transition, 1 i-think-that-started-at-the-base-of-my-neck headache, 1 i-am-so-glad-i-decided-not-to-change-lanes-because-that-would-have-ended-very-badly-for-all-involved split-second decision, 1 tense body including a set of especially active knees

THESE ARE THE INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE MY FIRST 7-HOUR DRIVE FROM NKWANTA TO ACCRA!!!!!

So there you have it. I have crossed over into that great cloud of drivers who first braved their premier excursion behind the steering wheel. How noble the feeling! How uplifting the sensation! How glorious the knowledge that I have joined the ranks of the...blah blah blah. Enough of that. What I am really thinking about is my struggle to find a section of the road smooth enough to get above second gear!

I mean really, the number of potholes was such that I could not tell whether the paved ("tarred") road had potholes, or whether the dirt had been broken up with fragments of erupting concrete. For a while, the dirt road was just as smooth as any other...smooth...dirt...road. Then, we hit some nice paved road. That was like a cool glass of water after a long walk! Next came a few brief patches of broken road, but the smoothness continued shortly thereafter. The bliss was not eternal, though. The roughness of the journey started in the third hour or so, and did not seem to stop until only one hour remained. I wanted so much to go faster, but I was prevented; the road looked to be intact in many crucial places (going over hills, turning corners, overtaking other drivers), but very often it was not. So, I ended up speeding up after one eruption of concrete, only to slow down again almost immediately. I just wanted to get to where I was going!!

The same happens in my life. Once I get some idea of my next destination, I tend to loathe the journey to get there, counting it as a necessary evil rather than an opportunity to learn and mature. The moment I know a sketch of what is to come, I am wont to "kick it into hyperdrive," as it were, moving so that warning signs become a blur and distant memory. I am forced to realize at every bend that the journey is part of the total experience. I am always so eager to move from first to second to fifth gear that I lose sight of both the intermittent stages and of the part of the road directly ahead.

Do not be like me in this way, because it is not like Christ. Make the most of every opportunity, remembering that, for those who love him and are called in line with his purpose, he orchestrates everything for your good in the end. Everything includes the trips and the transitions, so look for him in them all. He will be found when you seek him with all your heart - Romans 8:28; Jeremiah 29:13. When you do start picking up speed, "don't be in such a hurry to release the clutch," in the words of my dad. Do all things well, like God does - Ephesians 5:1.

posted from Bloggeroid

I Am To _______

Can you serve a god you do not worship?

Worship is an appropriate and reverent response to the identity of its recipient, to the extent that one receives one's own sense of value and meaning from the object of worship. In other words, to worship is to ascribe ultimate worth or value to something or someone, such that its existence alone affects your sense of self. Let us be clear; to love someone is not to worship that person. Giving people awards or recognition is not the same as worship. We worship when we consider that person or thing to be more valuable than any other person or thing in our lives. Worship is reserved for the highest place of honor. We can worship anyone or anything, if we give that person or thing the highest place of honor in our lives.

What/Whom can we worship? Anything.

Some people worship their possessions.
Some people worship other people.
Some people worship angels or demons.

What/Whom should we worship? That's the question.

Worship that which/who possesses:

1. Ultimate value (hence also a greater value than you possess).
2. Value that does not depend on you.
3. Value that lasts forever.
4. The tolerance to be worshipped.
5. The innate capacity to be worshipped.


And what does worship look like? Not any 'super worship' or anything, though; just, you know, reasonable.

Romans 12:1 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Yeah, King James!)

5 keys to reasonable service:

1. You present your body
This is not about being dragged into submission to God by some pastor or overzealous family member. You must bring yourself into the presence of God and under the scrutiny of the Almighty.

2. LIVING sacrifice
Most sacrifice I hear about are...dead. You, on the other hand, are not called to give up life in order to worship God. You must undergo the refining fire of the Lord's holiness, which purifies you.

3. Living SACRIFICE
One trait of being sacrificed sticks out in my mind like a, well, sore thumb; it hurts! There is pain involved, which means that what you give up to follow our Father God have great value to you. Sacrifices are also consumed as they are offered. There can be no part of you that you hold away from the King's transforming work.

4. Holy
Set apart. This does not mean that God takes you out of the world right away, but rather that you become set aside for his special use. Hanani told it to Asa in 2 Chronicles 16:9a - For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. God's purposes, and no one else's.

5. Acceptable unto God
Not all gods, made or Maker, have the same sacrificial standards concerning offerings. Find out how to please the true God, and stay in that way. Do not deviate because of either doubt or disobedience. Narrow is the road that leads to eternal life.

These five are your reasonable service. The Greek says "την λογικην λατρειαν υμων" in the Greek, which translates to "your logical worship." The five elements, then, constitute worship to God that is logical. It stands to reason that a lack in any one or combination thereof, equals, simply, illogical worship. See how heavy worship is!!

But the Lord is gracious. He allows us to grow into proper worship, so that we might have all the more reason to praise.

You're all together lovely; altogether worthy; altogether wonderful to me. Grant that we might worship in spirit and in truth, O God!

posted from Bloggeroid

Plant, Water, and Be Grown

Acts 9:28, 31

So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

It has been said that, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." Church history has proven this time and again, Stephen, often called the first martyr, being among the more notable examples. When genuine faith and the public eye intertwine, there is something in which stirs the hearts of like belief, such that deeds of greatness and lives of greater devotedness come "out of the woodwork," so to speak. Martyrdom is a miracle to me, especially its effects. How is that the fanaticism of one person or group inspires others to increased vigilance, even when that first person or group is killed precisely on account of their staunchness? Somehow, the giving of these lives encourages the nascence of more just like it, or even more than it. What would the Church, or any group, be without new growth? I will arrive at my point presently.

Seeds are well and good. There is no hope for newness or regeneration without them. My contention (for so it has become) is with the lack of maturity. If the blood of people who have passed on spurs the church to new growth, then the blood of those who have yet to slough off these mortal coils is what should help to make thrive what growth already exists. For what it is worth, my opinion leads me to think that we saints have become preoccupied with the new, following the example of the world system. The newest gadgets hit the market, and in flow the consumers. The latest apparel is in stock, and the masses make their way into the stores. Lights, camera, action, and the congregation...I mean, theatre,...is on edge for the theatrical display put on by the preacher in the pulpit...uh, actors...on the screen. The most intimate details, confided in secret to a fellow Christian pilgrim, are leaked into the tiniest but no less public corner of the electronic world. Why? Well, no one has ever heard it, at least not quite like this. We need newer, better, faster, now-er gratification.

The way wewe are held together by the word of God as one body, after allare living makes the miracle of the Church's existence all the more wonderful, because it seems that we are allowing (or have we already allowed (maybe 'welcomed' is a better word)) the evils of the age into the joints, ligaments, and marrow of Christ's body. Only God's word keeps these carcinogens from crippling and devouring the effectiveness of his work through and for his people. If left up to the most pious of the saints, self-acclaimed or otherwise, the body would be bedridden and full of every kind of disease. Enough of the diatribe, though, I suppose. My point hastens ever closer.

The lifestyle of the saints is the water of the church. I will avoid generalizations from here to the end. I have been given a clear command.

Romans 12:1 For this reason I make request to you, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you will give your bodies as a living offering, holy, pleasing to God, which is the worship it is right for you to give him.

It is not about me being willing to die for the cause of Jesus. It is about my willingness to die to myself for the cause of Jesus. That is the meaning of living sacrifice. Like with Elijah and the prophets of Baal, the fire of God consumed the sacrifice that pleased him. In the same way, when I put my life on the altar, then I remember the other command.

Romans 12:2 And let not your behaviour be like that of this world, but be changed and made new in mind, so that by experience you may have knowledge of the good and pleasing and complete purpose of God.

"Be changed and made new in mind." My command, since it is passively participatory at this juncture (mine is to offer myself), is to let the Lord himself change me. That is the hang up. I have to give up control. I like having control. I do not like giving it up. If I would let the Lord work on me, then I would see the miracle of his good and pleasing and complete purpose. But, wretched as I am, I would rather die uncompleted than live to tell of my utter transformation into the likeness of God.

posted from Bloggeroid

SaTueSat

Why did I post on Friday instead of Saturday?  I thought yesterday was Saturday.  For that, this week is what I like to call (for the very first time) a two-and-a-half-blog-week.  Yep, all those hyphens are intentional; it is all one object.  For your information (in case you do not already know) I make two attempts to blog, each week.  Those days are Tuesday and Saturday.  I try to post the blogs in the evenings according to my (Ghana, West Africa) time.

So with that, I will say something half-blog-ish:

Make your life a prayer to God.  Since giving every ounce of our being in service to him is our reasonable act of worship, and since God's people are instructed to pray continuously, it follows that our whole lives are a prayer.  Live in love.

Ponder Suffering

In the past couple of weeks, I have come to believe that suffering is not only a possible piece of the Christian life, but an essential one.  Reflection upon John 13:16 and John 16:33, in conjunction with new insights into the Trinity, have all had the effect of a deeper understanding of Romans 8:17.  "Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them." "I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!" "it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him."  Therefore, it seems to me, to suffer and to share in the glory of Jesus are not two pieces of a whole, but rather one unified requisite.  Like the whole fruit of God's Spirit mentioned in Galatians 2, participating in the suffering of Christ and in his glory are one process.  One does not reach its fullness without the other.  Somehow, both are cause and caused interdependently.  Thus my life, being meant for complete transformation into the fullness of Jesus-likeness, is supposed to have experiences of suffering and of glory.  Both are part of the reality and process of my being made whole in God.  There is no dichotomy of choice; I should expect to share in these, if indeed I am a child of God.