Where are you?

Tonight we read through a passage with our kids where Adam and Eve sinned and God came calling to them. I love the part where God comes calling (Genesis 3:8-9). Adam and Eve attempt to hide but of course no one can hide from God (Psalm 139:7). God knows all things (John 16:30). He knew they had sinned and eaten of the tree. He knew where they were. God shows us a remarkable and important aspect of Himself. He could have come in judgment only and squashed the beginnings of the rebellion. No! God comes calling not accusing. Where are you? What kind of a question is that? It is a question loaded with acceptance where Adam probably expected condemnation. Our all knowing all powerful God came to Adam and Eve in their rebellion and extended the call. Where are you? Implied in a call like this is an expected response. Over here hiding because I'm ashamed of what I have become. God knew what Adam had become but He came calling anyway. He came calling because that is what God does to those that He has set His love upon. He comes calling. How do we respond. Like Adam -- accusing God of giving him a wife that led him astray. Or more like Peter -- going to God walking on water when Jesus calls him. Instead of making accusations he calls out Lord save me (Matthew 14:28-30). What do we do when God comes calling? Strive to live a God focused life because God is always there calling us to step forward and meet Him.

Who's to blame?

Lindsey Lohan was big in the news a few weeks back as they sent her off to spend some time behind bars. One of the articles that caught my eye was on her father called, "Michael Lohan: I blame myself for Lindsey's demise". In our culture just about everything is justifiable and not the fault of the person that actually did it. As a matter of fact it is ok to be the cause of someone else's problems as long is it was unintentional and you can blame something else (Michael Lohan blamed stupidity and drunk driving).
Why do we do this? It goes back to the Garden of Eden. The very first man and woman shifted the blame for their actions as they stood condemned before God for their pride and rebellion against Him (Genesis 3:11-13). They went from being God's vice-regents ruling the Earth to the cursed rebels responsible for bringing the effects of sin upon creation. The blame game started because of the shame a pride filled being experiences when he sees his fallen state on display. Adam and Eve wanted to be like God and saw the evil of their rebellion in the light of our gracious God's glory. Shame is an understatement for what they must have felt.
This propensity to shame and excuse has been the all too normal response of fallen man since creation. There is an answer. That answer is found in the work of Jesus on the cross. He did not play the blame game. He did quite the opposite of Adam and Eve. He was without sin and blameless but He took our blame on Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21). Because He became the blame bearer we can stand without blame before God. The astonishing truth is that we are truly without guilt in God's presence because of Jesus. Fallen man's actions amplify our fallenness. In the midst of the deplorable state of man Jesus glory as our substitute shines even more greatly. He is truly deserving of all our love and affection.

Worthy Worship Wars

The question of worship music is one that is appropriate for consideration on this blog. When modern day Christians speak of worship they are usually referring to the music that begins a service at the church building. Often there is debate about what style of music should be used. We define services as contemporary, progressive, traditional or integrated. The goal in these labels is to help define what style of music the church service is employing in its worship. We used to think of the whole service as worship. Webster defines the worship of God like this,

“The act of paying divine honors to the Supreme Being; religious reverence and homage; adoration, or acts of reverence, paid to God, or a being viewed as God.” 

Perhaps the church body would become more healthy overall in its relationship with God if it got the idea of worship right. True worship is something that issues from the heart. It manifest itself in adoring Jesus in song, adoring Him in the giving of our offerings, adoring Him in the taking of the Lord’s supper, adoring Him in the act of baptism and adoring Him in the opening of His word. There are a multitude of additional ways that we can worship (i.e. personal evangelism, thankfulness for provision, etc.) they all have one thing in common. Worship comes from the heart. Since it comes from the heart it is the result of what our hearts are focused on. If we understand the fundamentals of worship then we can begin to better consider the mechanics of music.
Music is a framework for the words of the song. If you have music with no words there is nothing to sing. If you have words with no music you have a poem. To have a song to sing you must have both. Music can either compliment the lyrics or detract from the lyrics. But beyond the complimentary nature of music it can set the focus of our hearts. Music can be sensual. If our hearts are focused on sensual things I believe that is contrary to worship. Sensuality by its very nature focuses our hearts on the bodies of people. Music can also be transcendent and thus our hearts follow that focus to the transcendent realm of God. We can all think of times that our souls have been enraptured by a song. I have heard transcendent music coupled with man centered lyrics and it almost puts you in a place where your worship is of man. Both the lyrics and the music should move our hearts toward God. I think that Bob Kauflin in his book, Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God
 has done a lot of good work in this area, and is well worth any music leader consulting his material. Does style matter??? In Colossians 3:16 Paul encourages them to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. You could argue that these represent different styles of music. But perhaps the style issue would become a moot point if our goal in the music we sing in our church gatherings was the exultation and glory of God and not a sensual appeal to the entertainment of men. After all we are here because of God He is not here because of us.