All of us worship. When I bowed down to my comforts and my wants, I worshipped them. When I fell in love with the crushes I had in high school they became fixations. I acted strangely on their behalf.
What we worship determines how we worship. Who we worship determines who we become.
We are created to worship God and many things have taken His place. When we come to worship God we discover how great He is and we become who we were meant to be.
We cannot expect that worshiping created things will give us satisfaction because created things do not judge fairly or righteously. We will be judged for the things we worship. If I think about it, why would worshipping a created thing be a good thing for me? If it is the judge in the end, then will the potato chip I crave or even the man or woman that I fear be able to determine my life or death in the end? God is a righteous judge and the only one worthy of my worship.
"Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
tremble before him all the earth.
Say among the nations 'the LORD reigns.'
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the nations with equity."
Psalm 96:7-10
1.22.2016
1.21.2016
God's Consolation
"Unless the LORD had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
When I said, 'My foot is slipping,'
your love, O LORD, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul."
Psalm 94:17-19
Going through troubles? Feeling like you're slipping? Do you feel like you can't even tell where your fears are coming from? God has given us a consolation that will bring joy to our souls.
At the end of the day, Jesus came, he died and he rose again. He is coming and he will make the wrong things right. This is God's ultimate consolation and receiving the comfort of the good news today will bring joy to our souls.
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
When I said, 'My foot is slipping,'
your love, O LORD, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul."
Psalm 94:17-19
Going through troubles? Feeling like you're slipping? Do you feel like you can't even tell where your fears are coming from? God has given us a consolation that will bring joy to our souls.
At the end of the day, Jesus came, he died and he rose again. He is coming and he will make the wrong things right. This is God's ultimate consolation and receiving the comfort of the good news today will bring joy to our souls.
1.18.2016
"I'm not a mistake" - Creed
A few stand-out scenes and parallels to life from the movie, "Creed":
The movie is powerful because (beyond even the cross-racial aspect of the relationship) it is so rare to see a genuine bond form between a young man and an older man in our culture. Young Creed's willingness and eagerness to learn from Rocky is intriguing in this movie because of his willingness to love. He not only wants to learn and receive training and skill from Rocky, but he cares about Rock. He moves into Rock's apartment. He helps Rock at his restaurant. He respects Rocky. He partners with Rocky and when Rock wants to give up he forces Rocky to go through chemotherapy and "fight" to stay alive. The way Rocky is willing to just give up on life when he is diagnosed with cancer is really believable. "Everything for me is in the past, kid", he tells his protege Adonis Creed.
At the end of the final fight Rocky asks Creed why he has to go on into the 12th round, what he has to prove, and the kid says "that I'm not a mistake." This is the way that so many young men feel. We feel we have to prove it to our Dads, present or absent, and to the world that we deserve to be here. We feel we have to prove our worth with our accomplishments and actions.
Thankfully our Father God has already said we are good enough. We are approved, not because of our accomplishments, or our intellect or our good deeds, but because of God's love.
If we believe in Jesus: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:16-17
The movie is powerful because (beyond even the cross-racial aspect of the relationship) it is so rare to see a genuine bond form between a young man and an older man in our culture. Young Creed's willingness and eagerness to learn from Rocky is intriguing in this movie because of his willingness to love. He not only wants to learn and receive training and skill from Rocky, but he cares about Rock. He moves into Rock's apartment. He helps Rock at his restaurant. He respects Rocky. He partners with Rocky and when Rock wants to give up he forces Rocky to go through chemotherapy and "fight" to stay alive. The way Rocky is willing to just give up on life when he is diagnosed with cancer is really believable. "Everything for me is in the past, kid", he tells his protege Adonis Creed.
At the end of the final fight Rocky asks Creed why he has to go on into the 12th round, what he has to prove, and the kid says "that I'm not a mistake." This is the way that so many young men feel. We feel we have to prove it to our Dads, present or absent, and to the world that we deserve to be here. We feel we have to prove our worth with our accomplishments and actions.
Thankfully our Father God has already said we are good enough. We are approved, not because of our accomplishments, or our intellect or our good deeds, but because of God's love.
If we believe in Jesus: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:16-17
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