Make Sure Your Service is True Worship

The events recorded in 2 Kings 23 recently caught my attention. It is the story of what King Josiah did during his reign.

2 Kings 22:1-2 tells us:

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem; ... He did right in the sight of the Lord and walked in all the way of his father David, nor did he turn aside to the right or to the left.

From this we know that Josiah not only loved God, but he "did right" in God's sight. May we all have that same report recorded about our lives!

Let me summarize the story of his reign...

1. Josiah ordered that the house of the Lord be repaired and restored. During that process, "the book of the law" (Deuteronomy 28) was found. The high priest sent it with one of the scribes to be read to Josiah.

2. Josiah listened to the word of the Lord concerning His covenant with the people of Israel - what they were and were not supposed to do. He realized they were doing the things that were forbidden and not doing the things they were supposed to do.

3. Josiah responds to the situation immediately with both repentance and action to correct the situation. He calls the people together, reads the book of the law to them, and publicly recommits to the conditions of the covenant; the people join him in that commitment.

4. Then Josiah sets out immediately "righting the wrongs." He removes all the places set up for worship to false gods and destroys things that have been made for or dedicated to them, including the horses and chariots dedicated to the sun god. He also got rid of at least some of the priests for these gods as well as the mediums and spiritists.

5. Then, he reinstituted the Passover celebration.

2 Kings 23:25 says this about King Josiah:

Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

Josiah kept his commitment to live by the laws of the covenant that God had made with their forefathers at Gerizim.

But here's what caught my attention ...

In the long list of all that Josiah had destroyed (2 Kings 23:4-21), we find one rather interesting item. He torn down "the altar that was at Bethel and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made."To understand this, we have to look back at 1 Kings 12.

When Jeroboam came to power it was at the cost of splitting the nation of Israel into two nations - Judah, over which Rehoboam reigned as king, and Israel, over which Jeroboam reigned. [It might be noted that the door was opened for this split because of the excessively high taxes that Rehoboam was levying against the people. Unfair tax burdens placed on the people will always cause them to look for a change in leadership!] Since Jerusalem was in Judah, Jeroboam was concerned that if the people had to go to Jerusalem to keep the feasts, they may not remain loyal to him. So, he had two gold calves built and put one in Bethel and one in Dan. He instructed the people to come to those locations and offer their sacrifices on these false altars instead of going to the temple in Jerusalem and allowing the true priests to offer their sacrifices on the true altar of God. Hence, he "made Israel sin" by providing them false altars at these locations and instituting substitute days of celebration to worship and offer sacrifices in these locations rather than at the place required by God - all under the guise of "making it better for the people."

In the midst of tearing down the Asherahs and other places of sacrifice and worship to false gods and destroying anything dedicated to them, Josiah makes sure to also tear down the false altar erected by King Jeroboam for the people to make substitute sacrifice offerings to the true God.

Here's the point ...

We must not only deal with the altars and worship of false gods, we must also deal with the false altars and false worship of the true God.

What am I saying?

Those of us who are truly born-again Christians, believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, would not go and offer a sacrifice or worship at the altar of a false god. We would not offer incense to Baal; burn our babies in the arms of an image of Molech; or even worship the sun, moon, or stars.

Yet, I began to ponder how many false altars we have set up where we are offering substitute sacrifices of worship, believing that to be service to the true God that we claim to worship and serve.

What do I mean? I'm talking about any "act of worship" that we are doing out of ritual or out or pressure instead of truly out of our heart. You know, things like ...

· those Sunday mornings when we "sing the songs" but our spirit really never enters into a communion and worship of our Lord.

· those responsibilities we take on "at the church" or "for the pastor" or some other spiritual leader or authority in our lives "because someone needs to do them" and, after all, we have to "prove" our servanthood.

· the meetings we attend (be they regular, weekly meetings or special events) not because we have the heart (or maybe even the time!) to go, but because we know "how it will look" if we don't.

· molding ourselves into a form that is just not us - not our gifting, not our call, not what God has asked us to be or do - in order to meet the expectations of leadership or to try to "fit in" and "find our place."

Let me quickly bring the balance point. I am not against Sunday morning services or the worship time within our services. I am not against taking on responsibilities within a local congregation or other ministry. I am not against meeting together. Nor am I against becoming "all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some." (1 Corinthians 9:22) All of these have their rightful place. I am for all of them – in that rightful place.

What I am trying to point out is not the action as much as the attitude or motivation behind it. In Matthew 5:27-28, Jesus "ups the ante." Sin is no longer just about our action, but now it is a matter of our heart.

"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY'; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Under the new covenant with Jesus as our sacrificial Lamb and grace and mercy abounding towards us, we no longer have to offer animal sacrifices for our sin. However, sin is also no longer judged simply by what we act out (our actions); it is now judged by our thoughts and attitudes.

When we go to a worship service out of some sense of duty or the fear of man (what they will say if we don't go) or we serve in a certain capacity or assignment for the same reason, we need to do a heart check. Are you doing this activity in true worship of our Lord - or to please (or appease) someone else.

I know there are times that all of us do things that are not the things that would be our first choice. There are times we teach a class or lead a group that is not our ultimate call or the thing at which we are most gifted, but it is part of training and service to the Lord as we grow. That is appropriate. But, the key is: “service to the Lord.”

Nor am I talking about refusing to help clean the ministry building. I've vacuumed, mopped and waxed the floors, cleaned the toilets (cleaned up from over-flowing toilets, even repaired the toilets), and more. I'm not talking about an excuse to be too holy to do anything practical.

What I am talking about is either bowing to fear of man and doing things because of "how it will look" if you say "no" or allowing ourselves to be manipulated into doing something that is not coming freely from our heart. Neither of those if proper motivation for doing anything - even if it is an act of service in some way.

We don't want to find ourselves like those Jesus rebuked in Matthew 15:7-9:

"You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'"

Let's be careful that we do what we do out of a pure heart of worship - and that we know why we do it. Some leaders have done as Jeroboam did and provided a "place" for our "service to God" that is not the place God ordained for us. There were those in Jeroboam's day who recognized the substitute and would not succumb to the "convenience." They paid the price to do what was required by God. May we be as astute and as committed to serving God whole heartedly.

May we not be like Amaziah who “did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart” (2 Chronicles 25:2). Instead, may we heed David’s admonition to his son and soon successor, Solomon, in 1 Chronicles 28:9 (emphasis added):

As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

May we seek and find Him. And may always remember Paul’s admonition to us in Colossians 3:23-24.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Regardless of what you do, make sure you are doing it for Him!

Live Life Excessively!

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10, NASB)

Yesterday as I was participating in a webcast for Destiny Gateway, the host, Jess Bielby, referenced the above verse. When he did, I immediately heard the following in my spirit:

Satan comes to steal your purpose, kill your vision, and destroy your destiny.

Though the point that was being made and the teaching for the session went a different direction, this revelation had my attention. Last night, I began delving into understanding what this statement really meant.

First, I looked up the key words in the verse in their original language, per information in a Strong’s Concordance. Then I turned to “Merriam-Webster Unabridged” online dictionary for meanings of the English words. All definitions here are from those sources.

The word “steal” comes from the Greek word “kelpto” which means “to filch.” “Filch” is not a word that most of us use on a regular basis. It means “to steal furtively” or “to pilfer.” These are more words we don’t use every day. “Furtive” means “done by stealth.” “Pilfer” means “to steal in small quantities.” So, the phrase “the thief comes only to steal” really means that the ultimate thief, Satan, comes to pilfer from us, to steal from us a little bit at a time.

Adding the nugget that was dropped into my spirit today, it is our purpose that he seeks to pilfer. “Purpose” means “something that one sets before himself as an object to be attained : an end or aim to be kept in view in any plan, measure, exertion, or operation.”

Putting the two together, the demonic forces come by stealth to steal, a little at a time, gradually, so that we do not notice, that thing that we set before ourselves as the object we are to attain. Solomon warned us that it was “the little foxes that spoil the vines.” (Song of Solomon 2:15) It’s usually not the one, big blow that gets us; it’s the constant wearing away, little by little. The enemy whittles away at our purpose, until we lose sight of it; it is no longer “kept in view.”

As enemy forces whittle away on our purpose, they begin to move in to kill our vision. The word translated as “kill” is the Greek word “thuo” which means “to immolate [slaughter for any purpose].” “Immolate” means “to offer in sacrifice (as to a deity); especially to kill as a sacrificial victim.” It also means “to sacrifice or abnegate (as oneself) usually in the interests of some cause or objective.” To “abnegate” means “to surrender or relinquish (as a right, belief, or idea).”

What I had heard in my spirit was that the enemy comes to kill our vision. “Vision” is “something seen otherwise than by the ordinary sight : an imaginary, supernatural, or prophetic sight … especially: one that conveys a revelation.” It also means, “unusual discernment or foresight.”

What we have then is that the enemy forces come to take our vision, the imagine we hold through “unusual discernment or foresight” of what is to be, and offer it as a sacrifice to Satan – and we surrender our beliefs and ideas and allow them to be killed.

Having stolen our purpose and killed our vision, the result is the destruction of our destiny. The word used for destroy is “apollumi” and means “to destroy fully, literally or figuratively.” Satan is not out to simply thwart the fullness of our destiny; he wants “to destroy [it] fully.” Since Satan, formerly known as Lucifer, failed to fulfill his destiny, he wants to destroy the destiny of as many others as possible. As the old saying goes, “misery loves company.”

The term “destiny” has become a very common one in Christian circles that walk in present truth. The webcast I mentioned as the beginning is called Destiny Gateway. I attended a church for a couple of years which is part of a ministry called Destiny Ministries. This has become a common term. But what are we really saying when we talk about our destiny?

Strictly speaking, it is “that to which any person or thing is destined.” It speaks of our final destination. One meaning offered for “destination” is the “predetermined end, object, or use.” When we allow our purpose to be stolen and our vision to be killed, we will not reach our “predetermined end.”

If you are a strict Calvinist and believe that the end of all our lives is predetermined and that we have no control over the outcome, then you will not believe what I am saying. If, however, you believe that God has given us the ability to make decisions along the way that effect the course our life takes and its eventual outcome, then ponder this new way of viewing a very familiar verse. Satan is out to steal our purpose, little by little, until he can cause us to relinquish our vision, ultimately destroying our destiny – causing us to never fulfill that which we were created to be and do.

Fortunately, the verse does not end there.

The first portion of the verse is a warning of what can happen; the second half of the verse is a promise of a better end. Let’s look at this verse again.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

After stating the enemy’s plan for our life, Jesus states part of His own purpose. Jesus came – was born as a human being, lived a sinless life, was brutally killed as a sacrifice for all of our sins, died, spent three nights in the heart of the earth, was resurrected, and now makes intercession for us at the right hand of the Father, God – that we may “have life, and have it abundantly.”

The word used here is “perissos” and it comes from a word meaning “superabundant (in quantity) or superior (in quality)” The Greek word carries the implication of being excessive. Jesus’ plan for us is that we live a quality life, one that is superabundant to the point of seeming excessive.

All too often within Christian circles we have heard people chided or spoken of in less than flattering terms if they were prosperous and seemed to be “living in excess.” Yet, Jesus said that He came to provide us with a life that was overflowing in both quantity and quality, to the point of being excessive.

All of that is available to us, if we will heed His warning and remain vigilant to guard that which is of value to us – so that the thief cannot come and steal it all away from us, little by little, killing our vision and destroying our desire to attain that which we set out to do.

Peter exhorts us to “Be sober, be vigilant; because [our] adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NKJV)

But, Praise God, we know that “… in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37) Let us guard against the thief, so that we can live in the second portion of the verse: that we may “have life, and have it abundantly.”

Live life excessively!

Selah.

Who is Laurie?

I recently read Phil Cooke’s new book Branding Faith. It wasn’t what I expected. When I saw the title, I assumed “Branding” to be an adjective. So, I assumed the book to be about faith that “leaves its mark.” Instead, Cooke used the term as a verb. His point is that we need to “brand” our faith. We need to do something that causes it to be identifiable, or, to borrow from Merriam-Webster’s definition, “to impress indelibly.”

While many may find his book to be “too secular” because it talks about marketing techniques and tactics, I found it quite interesting and personally challenging. By that, I mean that it challenged me on a personal level. After all, are we not trying to get unbelievers to “buy in to” the gospel message? Unbelievers are spiritually “dead” in their sins. Most non-believers in the western world cultures are not “spiritually minded” with the exceptions being those who are in the occult or spiritism. (Unfortunately, there are also many who call themselves Christians who are also NOT spiritually minded! That’s a different subject left for another day.)

In his book, Cooke challenged the reader to tell their own, unique story. His premise is that in “Telling Your Story” you will find your “brand” – the image you want to portray, the reputation you want to build. He then proceeded with four questions to be answered to do that. I took it as a challenge to answer those questions for my own life. That is what follows.

At first glance, this may seem a little odd for a post on my "God's Simple Truths" blog. However, I believe that answering the questions posed by Cooke is one of the "truths" about ourselves and our reason for being that we all need to answer. So, as you read through my answers, begin to ask yourself how you would answer each of these questions. That's the "simple truth" you should take away from this posting.

What’s the Point?

As a secondary question, Cooke asked “Why are you doing [what ever it is you are doing]?” He then addressed both the areas of talents and abilities with which we have been equipped as well as family backgrounds and life experiences that have shaped how we view things.

Talents and Abilities

I have a passion to teach. It doesn’t matter if it is teaching mathematics at the high school or college level, teaching graduate level probability & statistics, or teaching computer science topics to my peers in the industry in which I have worked for the past 20+ years, I love to teach! It also doesn’t matter if I am in a lecture hall full of people or teaching (tutoring, mentoring) one-on-one. I still love to teach! But what I love to teach the MOST are the principles of the Kingdom. I greatly enjoy seeing someone “get it” with a concept of mathematics, engineering, or computer science. But the reward of knowing someone just grasped a key of the Kingdom is much greater. The impact of that can be far more reaching. How much better for someone to know how to restore a “crashed life” than just being able to restore a crashed computer system!

Life Experiences

I am one who fights for the underdog. I particularly fight for those I believe have been misunderstood or “done wrong.” (My apologies to the grammar teachers, but it conveys my message!) I always want to see “right” prevail. It’s no wonder that I love the old western movies. The “good guy” always did the “right” thing, whether or not it was popular. He was often misunderstood, his actions misinterpreted, and his motives misjudged. But he still did “right” – because of who he was and his personal integrity, ethics, and character. I still like those guys! That’s the way I always want to be. In the movies, they always won in the end. Unfortunately, in history, many men and women who filled those roles during that period in the history of America or in similar situations throughout the ages in any land, did not come out as well in the natural. Countless individuals, known and unknown, have given their lives to stand for right, to fight for truth. They are the real heroes.

What “wires” me this way? As Cooke points out, it is likely my own life experiences. I have been blamed too many times for something I did not do. I have been misunderstood even more. Words have been twisted, actions misunderstood, motives behind them misinterpreted and misjudged. I guess it is no wonder that I want to come to the defense of others to whom I see the same things happening. I learned long ago that you can never defend yourself in such situations – because the person(s) accusing you have already decided your guilt and that what you say is not to be trusted or even believed. It takes an intermediate (an intercessor, an advocate) to defend you. In my life, those have been rare. I know how difficult that makes walking through the situation and how much stress and pressure it causes. That, too, adds to why I do not want to see others go through those things.

Who are you?

Next, Cooke asks “Who exactly are you?” He states the purpose of the question as being “to discover what makes you who you are.” What is your family background? What is your educational background? Where did you grow up geographically? All of these things shape us.

As for me, I’m a southern gal. :-) That’s why I like things like grits and mustard greens and cornbread. I was also raised “poor.” We never went without food or clothes, but let’s just say we were on the lower end of the “lower middle class.” I realized the only way out of poverty was education. Fortunately, academia was the one area in which I excelled. I wasn’t athletic. I was not musically talented. (I have often pitied the poor woman from whom I took piano lessons. She must have dreaded me coming. I also feel sorry for my parents for making the financial sacrifice to pay for those because they wanted so much for me to be able to play the piano. Try as I might, I never was any good at it.) Nor was I “charismatic.” As I have often said of myself, when I was growing up I wasn’t just the wall flower at a party or social event, I was part of the wall! [Those who know me now find that hard to believe. It is evidence that God is a Healer.] Education became a priority for me. However, I had to break free from the poverty mindset in which I was raised to even be able to go to college, much less on to graduate school.

Like Cooke, my “third place” (that place where we hang out besides home and work/school) was the church. It is difficult for those who did not know me then to understand how I “grew up in the church” when I did not grow up in a godly home. The answer is simple. I lived across the street from it. I could (and did) go to church whether anyone else in my family did or not. That, too, has shaped who I am – both the fact that I “grew up in the church” and the fact that I often attended it alone.

Being so involved in the church in my childhood and teen years has it benefits (the things I learned at an early age about God and about living for Him) and its drawbacks (the things that I saw). I not only lived across the street from the church, I lived next door to the parsonage. In addition, since all of my primary relationships outside of my family were church relationships, I knew a lot of ministers. Unfortunately, I knew some of them “too” well and knew too much about others. I saw the double standards and hypocrisy. I knew “ministers” who where adulterers. I knew ministers who were homosexual. I also knew one who was a child molester. I knew how anyone who dared to try to expose them and their sin turned out to be the one who was “evil” in trying to attack and “falsely accuse the man of God.”

It is no wonder that I put such a high value on personal integrity. I am one who is much more concerned about character than I am about gifting. Your gift does not impress me unless you have the character to carry it well. I may respect your position, but your position does not impress me – your lifestyle does. One of the things that my experiences have developed is a pretty accurate discernment in such matters. If your walk is inconsistent with your talk, I will see through you. I hear more loudly what your life is speaking than what your words are saying. If those are inconsistent, you lose my respect. If they are too inconsistent, you also lose my trust.

What are your gifts and talents?

Then next question Cooke asks is “What were you born to do?” That’s an easy one. Teach. Today I would add to that Train and Equip. I don’t want to just impart knowledge. I want to know that the person has learned (or “caught”) what I have taught and can apply it. To me, that is the difference between a true teacher and a lecturer. Unfortunately, many “preachers” fall into the second category.

If you had asked my mother, she would have told you how I used to line my dolls up and hold school for them before I ever started to school. (I never did ask her what I used to teach them.) When I was in the first grade (and we did not have public kindergarten, so that was my first year of school), my teacher would have me help some of my classmates who were struggling with their lessons. Apparently, I could explain it to them in a way they would understand it – or at least give them the personal, one-on-one attention they needed. (I didn’t know the word “tutor” then.) When I was in fifth grade, the school started a program where the more advanced students from the higher grades would go down to the lower grades to tutor students who needed the extra attention. (Schools didn’t have aides then like they do now. We were a free resource. And, it was good for us as well.) No wonder I got degrees (plural) in Education!

I also love math. Why? Because it’s logical, of course! (Yes, I also loved Mr. Spock. Not the doctor, the half-Vulcan.) In mathematics, the rules are well defined. (I like well defined rules!) If applied properly, the rules of mathematics always yield the correct answer. The result obtained is either right (when rules are applied properly) or wrong (when they are not). Black or white. No gray. I like that, too!

And, I love to write. Whether it is the annual newsletter to friends that I have done now for over 20 years, a technical manual (like a 300+ page manual I wrote as part of my job), or something like this blog, I love to write. I love to express my feelings by writing them. I love to share my knowledge or things I have learned by writing them. And I often function as the “chief editor” of technical writings within what ever group I work. In part that is because I am good at “cleaning up” what others have written – whether grammatically or in wordsmithing it to make sure it will be understood or interpreted correctly. One area in which I know I would be good, but have not yet had the opportunity to try, is that of “ghost writing.” That is helping someone else who either is not a good writer or doesn’t have the time to do so get their message on paper. Or, maybe I should say “in print” since paper isn’t really a necessary medium these days! Another area as yet unrealized is in writing my own books and training manuals. That, too, will come.

What makes you different?

Cooke’s last question asks “what separates you from the pack?” What makes you unique?

Again the answer seems simple. I’m me!

I’m multifaceted. Not only have I seen myself that way for years, I’ve had it put in those terms in prophetic words given to me.

You’ve already learned (if you didn’t know before) that I am a teacher, I am a mathematician and statistician, and I am a professional in IT (Information Technology, what we used to call “Computing”). I can sit in a meeting with upper level executives as a technical expert. But I am much more “at home” in my jeans and a flannel shirt than in a business suit. I can relate to people on all levels of the social spectrum. Remember, I grew up “poor.” I can talk with the guy who is living on the street and hasn’t had a bath in a couple of weeks (or longer!) and turn around and talk with an executive or professional. This ability, too, has been addressed in prophetic words. There is Kingdom purpose in being able to be at ease in any level of social environment. Also, having grown up battling cockroaches and worse, I can survive in environments in which some of my friends today could not. However, 4- and 5-star hotels are MUCH nicer and much more comfortable! :-)

From another perspective, I can cook (well!), decorate a home, or landscape a yard – and that means do the work, not just design it! I can change a tire, change the oil in the car, and even change out a radiator. (For the record, I choose NOT to do those things these days!) I can sew or limb a tree. I can do bookkeeping or accounting (yes, I did that for a living at one point in time) or teach math and statistics. I can architect and run UNIX systems or lay out your factory floor. I can teach you how to balance your checkbook and how to create and live within a budget, or I can teach you about living within the realm of Kingdom principles. I will find your inefficiencies and areas in which you are ineffective. If you will allow me, I will offer you ways to address them. :-) I am a multitasker extraordinaire, but can focus intently when necessary. Overriding it all, I am task-oriented. Need to get the job done? Call Laurie!

So, who IS Laurie?

What Cooke addresses are our natural abilities and personality. He notes that callings are a different issue and that God will often call us to do things beyond our natural capabilities. So, what I have NOT addressed here is the call on my life or all the various facets of ministry involved with fulfilling that. The call on my life supersedes, but is not inconsistent with, who I am in the natural. This is much like the way the law of aerodynamics supersedes, but is not inconsistent with, the law of gravity. It if weren’t for gravity, the plane would not land. :-) If it were not for the natural, we would not be able to live and function in this natural world. But the spiritual giftings we allow to mature in us “by reason of use” and the call God placed on our life before the foundation of the earth are beyond our natural abilities to fulfill. For those, we must tap into God’s supernatural ability being manifested through us. That topic I will leave for another day.

For now, I will end this, signing off as Laurie, teacher and champion of the person(s) wronged.

Who are you?