Oh That Men Would Praise the Lord

I am overwhelmed with the call to worship that comes from the throne room of God. We see it over and over again, a cry for the men created in the image of God to rise up in worship and enter into intimate fellowship with the Father.

Psalm 107:8–9 (KJV): "⁸ Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ⁹ For he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness."

I really can't imagine what the Father must go through when He looks at mankind, knowing His heart's desire for us. Not unlike that day in the Garden of Eden, He is in search of those who will walk in intimate fellowship with Him. And where will He find them? Who will rise to the call and walk with Him?

John 4:23–24 (NKJV) - "²³ But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. ²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

True worship is not using God for what you can get out of Him, but the relationship does come with the promise of good gifts in abundance. True worship is not about the worshiper, no, it is not about you, and it is not about me; it is about the Father. For the Father it is all about us, but from our side it must be all about Him.

As a dad, there is nothing that warmed my heart more than to have one of my kids breeze into the room, climb up on my lap, put a grand hug on my neck and tell me, with no other motive, how much they loved me. That still warms my heart. Not to reduce God to my level, but, if I find such great joy in this simple expression of love, how much more the Father?

When that same child is walking in obedience and conformity to the "house rules" and pouring out the kind of love we're talking about, I look for ways to bless and increase them. I listen for clues to their heart's desire and try and make them come true. I don't do it because of their actions, I do because of my love for them, but their actions of cooperation and obedience put them in a place of increased favor. That favor brings blessing with it, and God tells us that He operates the same way. Look again at the Word:

Psalm 107:8–9 (KJV): "⁸ Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ⁹ For he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness."

Look at how the Father responds to our love. He fills to overflowing the one who has been exhaustively chasing after and diligently seeking Him. And what does He fill them with? Goodness! Study that out and you'll be amazed. Let it suffice to say here that those who make the Father the object of their affection and settle for nothing less that the reality of His manifest presence where they can snuggle up to Him, kiss His face and hug His neck will be abundantly rewarded. His presence would be enough, because it is Him we seek, but He then pours out His favor and blessing. It's a love relationship and it's mutually beneficial.

Please don't misunderstand, I don't love God to get blessings, I get blessing because I love God. If I never received another thing in exchange for my devotion, I would still worship Him. He is my loving Father, how could I not?

Psalm 37:4 4 - "Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."

As a worshiper, you will go about your day, simply living life in Him, and He will be listening to your heart. As the thoughts and dreams bubble up inside you, He will take notice, and He will bring it to reality for you.

Psalm 91:14–16 (NKJV) - ¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. ¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. ¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

Will you rise in loving worship and pour yourself into His heart? You will find Him eagerly awaiting your arrival.

The Lines Are Open ... Or Are They?

As I travel and hear the heart of pastors across teh countryside, I am always sensitive to the things that weigh heavy on their hearts. I have learned, both by my own experience and by interaction with others, that the situation is rarely as it is perceived. I have found this especially true in our era of electronic communication.

Most of us, when we find that there is tension developing, if we are honest, will realize that we hear through a filter of bias. The bias in audio recording is critical to getting the outcome we desire from a recording. As a sound technician you learn that your bias is effected by everything in the environment you are hearing. Birds, temperature, humidity, the amount of direct sunlight, background noise, and everything else you can or can't imagine affects your input. By constantly monitoring and adjusting your bias you can get the optimum results. It is a great picture of our relationships with one another.

Think about those with whom you have a relationship. When you hear something about them, immediately your bias filter kicks in and you decide whether or not you believe everything you are hearing. If you are kindly affectioned toward them, you bias filter will add grace and favor to the things you hear. If you have issues with them your bias filter will tend to amplify the things that reinforce your opinion and diminish the things that don't agree with your feelings about them. The problem with the bias in either case is that we do not hear with accuracy what is being said.

How often did we hear Jesus say, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." It seems like a silly statement, doesn't it. Everyone there had ears. They could all hear what He was saying. There must have been more to the statement. Jesus was addressing the fact that our biases often ruin our ability to effectively communicate with one another and with God. He was implying, if not saying outright, "Turn off the bias filter and let the message get through in its purest form, then you will understand what it is I am saying." It applies wiht Him, how much more wiht the people we interact with on a daily basis.

Sometimes our bias so skews things that it is as if we are speaking two different languages. Turn off the bias and see what comes out. 1 Cor. 13:4-8, you know, the love passage, gives a couple of key elements to overcoming our biases. "Love thinks no evil, ... Love isn't keeping score to see if it wins, ...love always believes the best, ... Love is full of hope and always expects the best in every situation, ... love never quits, never runs out, and is never the victim." Love will cancel out the bias, if we will cooperate, and we will be able to see relationships grow, even in the midst of adversity.

Let's turn off the bias, see the Kingdom advance, and make the Father proud of His kids.

The Heart of Missions

This week we had the pleasure of visiting with Jack and Audrey Hicks, missionaries and mentors to those in ministry.  We enjoyed the services in their home church, Freedom Worship Center, and then went on to have a time of fellowship and sharing.

The Hicks' have served as pastors, missionaries, and mentors.  As you sit and visit with them they quickly make their passion evident; they love people.  Such is the heart of those who have been in the presence of the Father, who have found what God calls important, who share the values that mark out the reality of the Kingdom of God.  They willingly set their own lives, careers, dreams, and fortunes at risk in order to see the will of God done in the earth.

Be it on the streets of Columbia or in the neighborhoods of their rural Pennsylvania community, Jack and Audrey are living to make the Name of God great among men by leading others into a personal, powerful relationship with Jesus Christ.  Seeing people born again is not enough, Jack and Audrey are committed to seeing those they interact with walk out the life of the Kingdom here on earth.

Life is filled with choices.  Jack and Audrey have chosen to live in fellowship and active agreement with God and His will for their life.  They are changing the world, sometimes one life at a time.  Whether here or abroad, the positive influence of these children of the living God are the kind of people we can all be proud to know, support, and emulate.

Christopher Laurie Moved to Heaven

Please pray for the family of Christopher Laurie, son of Pastor Greg Laurie. Christopher died in an auto accident leaving a pregnant wife, Brittany, and beautiful little girl, Stella. Oh that the Father would be their comfort and strength.

2008 has been a very tough year for us and for those who are our friends in ministry. I have lost so many friends and family that I don't want to go to one more funeral or memorial service this year.

How does one justify the losses of those who are righteous, those who are innocent, those with so much life to look forward to, and those who are taken from us far too soon? Teh reality is, you cannot. A beautiful, vibrant, and dedicated young woman taken on a country road in the dark of night, why? A darling and precious little girl taken in the middle of the night, how could this happen? A dear friend lost to us at the tender age of sixty-something, how could he go so young? Babies lost, friends passing, loved ones ... how can we make sense of it all? The reality is, you cannot. We have such a fragile existence, and it can so quickly gone, but we do not always keep the reality in perspective.

Two things stand out as I pray over such events, asking God for the insight and wisdom to deal with these tragedies. First, life happens. So much of what goes on is not a product of God's actions or the devil's diabolic plots. It is just life. We make bad decisions, take bad actions, and leave so much open to failure, all because we just didn't think or listen or obey like we should. Additionally, we have a real enemy who is out to steal from us, to kill us, and to wipe all memory of us out of existence. If we give him an opening, he'll exploit it. Don't let this be true of you.

Together we press on and get through the hard times, thank God. This is what the family of God is for, why we meet together, pledge ourselves to one another, and stand in intercession for our brothers and sisters. We need each other.

Check Out Pittsburgh East

We had a great first time visit at Pittsburgh East Community Church.

Pittsburgh East was founded in 1976 as a Bible study by Pastor Lee Kichner. It has grown into a wonderful and dynamic fellowship that is changing the face of Pittsburgh.

Today's service was typical of what you will find at Pittsburgh East. The worship was amazing, the word was powerful, and the congregation made us feel right at home. The church shows the power of vision and what can be accomplished when people work together in agreement.

The way they have designed the Children's Ministry area is really creative and reflects a connection to the local community. The whole wing is done in a Main Street theme with a Post Office, hardware store, candy store, community center and "Savings and Trust." The Children's Auditorium is done in a movie theater theme outside and stage theater theme inside. The outside is decked with posters that are parody's of popular movies in Gospel remakes. It was quite impressive and professional in every respect.

At Pittsburgh East you will find an alive and vital ministry to young people who have outgrown "The Underground" and are impacting their community. Though the congregation is large, they maintain a close knit community through "xcel" Groups which meet inside and outside the church building. Couples with young children find the freedom to be part of xcel through the ministry of xcel.central at the church. Childcare is provided during their xcel group meeting. The strength and vitality of this congregation says what they are doing is working!

Check out their web site, and, if you are in the area, stop in.
http://www.pittsburgheast.com/flash/index.html