"INTIMACY IN OUR WORSHIP"

As we begin today I want to let you all know that the following writing is to be my communion thoughts around The Lord's Table this coming Lord's day. Feel free to use it and pass on to others.
As we come together each Lord's Day to worship, it should not be a time to look for something in that service to make "ME" feel good. It is, according to scripture, a time to give and look to the needs of others and not ourselves. The Lord's Table is a time of intimacy to draw close and worship as God so well deserves. In the New testament the word for worship is a beautiful word when understood in its meaning. And I will get to that in a moment.
For those of you who are sports fans, if you were offered free tickets to your favorite team's next game, how excited would you be? As some of you think about the idea right now your mouth is watering already. Suppose those tickets were right down on the front row. Now you are more excited, right. You could reach out and give a "High Five" to your favorite player after he makes that winning point. Two players clash in a thunder of trying to reach that goal and you feel their sweat splash on you. You can go home and brag a bit, or a lot, about how intimate it was for you at that particular game. You could relive that moment and that day and share it with everyone who was willing to listen to you, even some who could care less. That is intimacy. You could not brag so much if you were in the nose bleed section with a pair of binoculars. But because you were close and intimate, you have something to talk about and something important to tell.
Worship, in the original Greek (Proskuneo), means to bow towards and kiss. To bow towards and kiss. When we worship here in this setting on any given Lord's Day, do we not want to worship in that truest sense? Do we not want to bow before the One who gave Himself for us and took on Himself the wrath of God that each one of us deserve? I know I do.
Jesus told us in His Word, as together He and His Disciples celebrated the Passover, "Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom" (Matthew 26). This is intimacy in our worship because He is here today is His Kingdom, The Church, as we worship. This is each one of us individually and all of us corporately sitting right there up front and sharing in something greater than any sporting event you could ever witness. As we partake each Lord's Day, let's do it with the attitude of bowing before God and Christ, and doing all we can to show our love to Him, and our togetherness as His family. He deserves our worship, and we need to remember Him and what He has done for us.
God bless until our next time........

"HOW ARE WE TO LIVE?"

As each new week comes our way, we all have the blessed opportunity to start over, to live better, to begin afresh. Whether you had a weekend to relax and simply get away from the regular work schedule, or you left that worship service and the church family after being encouraged through praising God and hearing HIS Word, your life continues on. The question I put before you today is "How Are We To Live?" As we learn more through our life and experiences and understand people and see the needs around us, as Christians or not, are we not responsible to one another in some way? Or do we just do what "I" think is right in "my" own eyes?

Anyone with half a brain would say no to that. If that were the case, think of the chaos we would have to deal with each day. God has spoken on this matter and some of the most basic "laws" we have today have been given to prevent just such chaos from taking place. One of those basics is that when we become God's child we no longer live as we did before. We have a new way of life, thinking and purpose. Paul the apostle mentions this fact in many areas of his writings and we will mention three here.

"If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord" (Romans 14:8).

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again" (2 Corinthians 5:15).

"BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

and do not give the devil an opportunity.

He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma" (Ephesians 4:26-5:2).

When you became a child of God by HIS terms, Christ became Lord of your life. HE is the reason you live and do all it is you do and for HIS glory. So to answer the question "How Are We To Live?" the best answer is to live as God teaches in HIS Word. Paul told Timothy, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth"(2 Timothy 2:15).
God Bless until our next time.

"ARE WE GROWING NEW WOOD?"

Christian growth; do we think of it as often as we should? Probably not, though we should. From the day we became a child of God, we were in a growing state that should never cease until our death. Too often, however, it seems to stop and become stagnant. When does growth stop? It would be well for us to say that it never stops as long as God gives us life, but too often growth does stop and decay sets in. But why?

When Longfellow was well along in his years, his head was as white as snow, but his cheeks were said to be as red as a rose. One of his long time admirers asked him how it was that he was able to stay so vigorous and still write so beautifully. Longfellow was said to point to a nearby apple tree that was in full bloom, and replied:

"That apple tree is very old, but I never saw prettier blossoms upon it than those it now bears. The tree grows a little new wood every year, and I suppose it is out of that new wood that those blossoms come. Like the apple tree, I try to grow a little new wood every year."

It seems to me that what Longfellow said about his continuing to grow should be the attitude of every child of God. It is only when we stop growing a little new wood that death and decay begins to set in (spiritually). "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Yet how different is that one who does not grow new wood so as to produce the necessary blossoms for new fruit. Hebrews 5 and 6 speak to us concerning this matter. "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of God's Word...It is impossible to restore again to repentance... who have tasted the heavenly gift...if they commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God...and hold Him up to contempt" (Hebrews 5:12; 6:4,6). I know that what was just said refers to the individual child of God, but the same can be said of the congregation of the Lord's people. What happens when the congregation fails to "grow new wood?" As Revelation 3:1 tells us, "I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead."

In Psalm 1:3 and 4, David graphically describes the difference between continued growth and failure to continue in growth. "He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season...he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff (the dead stocks of grain) which the wind drives away." Are you ready to grow new wood for the cause of Christ and future generations? Our children and grandchildren need the best example of good fruit and we should not expect the world or anything but God's truth to get that job done. Grow some new wood and produce something good for the cause of Christ.

God bless until our next time together.

WHAT REALLY MATTERS?

I remember as a young boy being dragged to church. At least that is how my young mind perceived it. Maybe some of you reading this can relate. If you are like me, you look back on it now and realize it was only the tough love of a parent or two that saw beyond my wants to what really was best for me and my siblings. Because someone cared enough to do the best thing, the right thing, I now have a passion for the only thing in all of eternity that really matters.

I have had jobs in my life that paid very well with the best of benefits. I have had relationships that have been too wonderful for words. I have seen a good bit of the world from my time spent in the U.S. Navy. I have experienced many things, some I will never forget and others I sure would like to. I have buried people I dearly loved. I have been there as some have taken their first breath on this planet and celebrated with the parents on that joyous occasion.

I have seen some folks leave this planet not ready to meet their maker and shed tears for their loss. I have also watched as some dear fellow saints have been faithful to the Word of God and departed this earth only to enter the joys of heaven.

I have disappointed many people in my life. And I have been disappointed by people as well. Though broken, discouraged, shattered, hurt, disappointed and sinful, oh yes, sinful; I thank my God that I am healed and alive and encouraged and put back together because of someones concern and love for those who fail.

Look at your life right now. Are you well off? Are you in need of physical things to make you happy? Do you have friends who care? Is your health good or are you ailing from something? Are you young or are you getting to the point of those young folks seeing the wrinkles come through? Maybe you have been hurt or are the one who has hurt others and those relationships are stressed.

I believe we as humans spend too much time looking over our shoulder at what happened, wishing I had done it differently, when we should be looking forward at what is yet possible. To bring it to a point, in all the things in our lives that take place, good or not so good, WHAT REALLY MATTERS? When it comes right down to the bottom line of life, what is it that counts in the END?

It is not whether or not your child wins that next sporting event. It is not how much or how little money you made last year or this year. It is not the price of gas for your vehicle or the type of vehicle you drive. What really matters is your relationship with the One we will all face at the end of our lives. "Were you obedient to His Word and His Son, Jesus Christ?"

Whatever is on your mind as you read this devotion today, let me encourage you, do not let it consume you to the point of missing out on "WHAT REALLY MATTERS!" Listen to God in His Word as He has already spoken and become His child and remain faithful to Him as life approaches its end.

God Bless.......