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Shalom in Ferguson? According to Strong’s Dictionary, shalom goes beyond “peace” to encompass “completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.” What chance do you think Ferguson has in the near future for any of those?
But let me suggest Ferguson is merely a metaphor for America, or even the world. Stress...
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image by Hubble at forwallpaper.com
Our perception of God drives our connection with him. View him as legalistic, and rules and fear of failing will consume us. View him as gracious, and we may take advantage and miss obedience. View him as distant, and we never discover intimacy. That principle of perception motivated a search lasting several years, attempting to determine how he can be personal and immediate and simultaneously present in every cubic centimeter of the universe. Was he just a spirit? A force? An expanded body that combined the physical and spiritual?
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image by Iowa State
Last week’s post attracted a lot of interest, but the topic has another level. Then, we explored why we worship—it’s the best antidote to self-centeredness. Some of my most glorious worship occurs in the mountains. Immersed in the beauty of the world that God created, away from the overpowering touch of man, my ego shrinks as I get lost in God’s transcendence. Those magnificent Sierra vistas shout out the grandeur of God.
But worship exceeds that half hour of singing at church, the hour plus of the “worship service.” Worship is life. Yet here is where we can easily miss a key aspect of worship
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Albert
I made a new friend last Saturday. Albert. Yeah, that’s his pic above. A squirrel. During a friend’s retirement party, standing under a tree, talking to another old friend, he gently mouthed, “Squirrel.” I slowly turned, about one foot from my face was who I later learned was Albert. Apparently he wanted some of the food so freely available, and I held a finger up for him to sniff. He promptly yet gently bit it, almost as if to say, “No, squirrel food. Please.” Quite used to humans, he never flinched when I reached down for my phone to snap some pics of him. He seemed to pose.
But another brief conversation with the wife of another old friend (get over all the “olds,” this WAS a retirement celebration) sparked this post. She mused, “Why does God need worship? Is his ego so fragile it needs stroking?”
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photograph by taringa.net
Surveys repeat the findings: people are intrigued with Jesus, but not so much with either his followers or his church. They view us as judgmental, legalistic, reactionary: that we want to impose our morality on them.
That’s not unlike the 60s, an often inflexible church unwilling to adapt to a changing world. I understand that—the era experienced an explosion of sexual immorality and drug use and overall moral relativism. The church continued medieval hymns as rock and roll took over the culture.
Yet in that milieu, the Jesus Movement erupted...
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Pic by forum.androidcentral.com
In a lifetime of following Jesus, with a plethora of peaks and valleys, of feasts and feathers, I’ve learned that managing expectations determines the level of faith frustration or satisfaction. Unrealistic hopes, when birthed, tend to result in disappointment with God—a jaded been there, done that experience.
Here’s that lesson learned.
Only when riding east to work
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Image by Tim Riter
God shows up in unexpected times and places, if we look for the signs. Here’s one.
Each fall I journey to the Sierras. The trout are hungry, getting ready for winter, and bite gladly, unaware of the hidden hook. The cottonwood and aspen trees are changing colors, which is rare in most parts of CA. The people are scarce, even more rare in CA!
Last week’s trip featured
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Thoughts take intriguing turns. A Facebook friend and fellow writer, Steve Hutson, posted an article that critiqued much of modern worship. The resulting discussion motivated me to further explore worship, which takes last week’s Unconventional post in a related direction. If we are to follow Jesus, that we worship and how we worship will drive the depth of our faith.
At its core, worship celebrates the reality that God has more innate worth than anything we can find in heaven or earth. Our English word comes from “worthyship,” so in worship by definition we focus on him. Get that well, it forms the foundation of all that will follow.
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