Just Jesus

Some people try to sum up the book of Hebrews as simply "Jesus is better than everything else" which is true, but not as applicable as God would perhaps desire for us. I think Hebrews also decontructs empty religion and attacks our idolatry. Here's what the first four verses of Hebrews share with us:

1Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

These verses tell us that Jesus:

• Is the heir of all things
• Creator of all things
• Is the radiance of God
• Exact representation of God's nature
• Upholds the entire universe
• Purified us of sin
• Sits at the right hand of the Father, in all power

Take time to reflect on the supremecy of Christ in your own life. Is he really your Lord and Leader? Is he really #1? Do you really revolve your life around His word? Are you really transforming into his character more and more?

Be honest with God and with some close Christian friends with where you're at. Only by being honest will you be able to take captive the areas of your life where Christ doesn't rule and reign and then move on to grow closer to Him and become more like Him.

I'm praying for you.

Ryan

Father Abraham

I grew up in the church going to Sunday School and my share of VBS's. During this time in my childhood, I learned a song called 'Father Abraham'. It went like this:

Father Abraham had many sons; many sons had father Abraham
And I am one of them, and so are you
So let's all praise the Lord
(and then you'd continue to sing this verse adding in different body movements until you looked like you were having a seizure)

But the story of Abraham now has new meaning for me. This past Sunday evening at about 10:15pm I finally arrived in Springfield, Il to plant a new church called Delta (greek meaning "change"). My family and I packed up our belongings, left Michigan, and are without some minor things like health insurance, a home, or a paying job. All we're really going on is that God has called us to the city of Springfield to reach people who are far from God, disallusioned with His church, and be an instrument of change for the city.

Here's what we know about Abraham: when we first meet him, his name is Abram; he grew up in a place called Ur of the Chaldeans (a stone's throw from Babylon); his dad, Terah, worshipped false gods (Joshua 24:2) so Abram grew up that way as well; he had a lot of cash; and, he had a propencity for lying. So, he doesn't sound like the greatest guy in the world, but what we see over and over again in scripture is God taking screwed up, pagan, loser people and making them a missionary, which is exactly what he did with Abram.

Genesis 12:1 says: "Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you." God worked as a missionary by going to this pagan guy called Abram, revealing Himself to him, and brought Abram into relationship with Him. He told Abram to leave everything that he knew behind to go and build a nation for God. God asked the incredible, and got an incredible response:

Genesis 12:4: "So Abram went, as the Lord had told him." Simple obedience to the God of the Universe.

When God says go, you go. Things like houses selling, health insurance, and jobs are important things, but in light of God asking you (and me) to do something, they really aren't that important. Our obedience is the important thing.

Jesus perfectly embodies this as well. The Father sent him to seek and save those who were lost. Jesus then sent his disciples into the world to seek the lost and point them toward a saving relationship with Jesus. We also are to go into our world to seek the lost and point them to Jesus.

So this devotional isn't just about me and my family going to Springfield and build a church. This is about all of us. If you're reading this and not a Christ-follower, God may be calling you into a relationship with him just like he did with Abram. If God truly is calling you, you must respond because he will not stop pursuing you. If you're reading this and you are a Christ-follower, are you living out your calling as a missionary to your world? Are you engaging lost people with the living Gospel? Are you showing kindness and hospitality? Do you serve people? Do you take advantage of opportunities to talk about Jesus?

Abram became Abraham, founded the nation of Israel, and through his faith in God, has spiritual descendants that outnumber the stars in the sky and the grains of sand by the seashore (Hebrews 11). It is Abraham's example that I am following, and that you are also called to follow. It begins with obedience, continues through faith, and will find its fruition through changed lives of people and crowns to lay down at Jesus' feet.

Grace and peace,

Ryan

Educational Worship

First, allow me to apologize for getting a couple weeks behind. Life has been more than a little crazy with a lot of travelling, packing a house, looking for work and a new home, really big trees falling in my backyard, and the like. But one good thing is that I've been able to be inspired for a lot of good material that I'll be posting here over the next few weeks.

If there's one thing that will for certain cause division in the church, it's worship. Music is such a personal preference, and people usually carry those preferences over to the church. Sadly, it results in people valuing their personal preferences and agendas way ahead of glorifying God and allowing musicians and artists in the church to fully express their God-given creativity. My stomach turns every time I hear a church describe themselves with "contemporary worship" or "traditional worship" or having "blended worship." What the bible does mandate and encourage is to "sing a new song" (Psalm 40), praise God with every musical expression possible (Psalm 150), use different forms of music (pslams, hymns, spiritual songs; Ephesians 5), and finally, make a lot of noise while you do it (Psalm 47).

One thing that many churches, pastors, and worship pastors/directors miss when it comes to corporate musical worship is the element of education and teaching. We can learn so much through music and lyrics to songs. Because of the rhythm, the beat, and the rhyming usually involved, it just sticks with us better. Back when I was a kid in the 70's & 80's, I totally looked forward to Saturday morning cartoons because I knew that in the midst of the cartoons, I would be able to watch "Schoolhouse Rocks!". I was able to enjoy the animation, and through the music and lyrics I was able to learn about nouns, the Preamble, the solar system, and multiplying by 2's. One of my great joys as an adult was when my wife bought me the complete volume of Schoolhouse Rocks! for my birthday. Now my kids are able to be familiar with Interplanet Janet and seeing Bill become a Law.

This whole thought of Educational Worship began a few weeks ago with my 7 year old, Ellie. We had previously been doing some Bible study together as a family, and the topic of Jesus' deity and the Trinity came up (I know, I know, I'm turning my 7 & 8 years old into theologians...but I'll put my kids up against most bible college students any day). So, I expained the Trinity (like any can do that!) as best I could so their 7 & 8 year old minds could understand it. Then a day or so later, we were all in the van going somewhere and we were listening to a recording of "All Creatures of our God and King" (written by St. Francis of Assisi in 1225, yeah, 800 years ago!) and this verse came up:

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son; and praise the Spirit, three-in-one

Ellie about flipped out of her seat yelling "I've got to tell you all something! That song explains EVERYTHING about God! The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!" She was so excited, and so was I. Dawn and I just looked at each other and smiled and affirmed her learning.

We cannot afford to miss learning sound doctrine through worship music. The writers of hymns from hundreds of years ago really understood this. A lot of today's worship artists don't understand this. What I find most often in today's music is a very self-centered gospel that is designed to play on our emotions and cause us to "feel" close to God. Example:

Crucified, laid behind the stone; you lived to die, rejected and alone
Like a rose, cast upon the ground; you took the fall
And thought of me above all

This has been one of the most popular worship songs in the last 5-6 years, but the whole theme of the song is about us and not God. Jesus was not thinking of me above all; Jesus was thinking about obeying his Father's will above all. We cannot allow our feelings to dictate our relationship with God. We cannot allow the Gospel to be about us.

Be on your toes when it comes to worship. Understand the power it has to teach, and be sure to put yourself under sound doctrine in the worship you listen to and participate in. Worship isn't about warm fuzzy feelings, worship is about proclaiming the worth and glory of God, manifested through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. So let's look at worship music as a whole, not defined by what century or decade it was written, let's sing new songs, let's use every available instrument at our disposal, and let's make it LOUD!

Soli deo gloria,

Ryan