The Work of the Cross

A Special Easter Worship Rants.... "The Work of the Cross"

I have to thank my pastor, John Muratori, for inspiring this Worship Rant on Easter. His sermon was spot on today as always and another good one. You'll be able to check it out on the link at www.calvarylife.us once it's posted.

So, do you ever hear people refer to the work of the cross, or the work that Christ did so that we could have a restored relationship with God. His work on the cross led to the forgiveness of our sins. I always used to just think that His death and resurrection was the work. While that is part of it, I now see there is more to it than that.

Ephesians 4:7-10 states "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. (Now this expression, 'He ascended,' what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)" (NASB)

These verses tell us that Christ conquered satan, death and sin for us and therefore everything that can conquer us, Christ has the victory over it. When Christ died on that Friday, he just didn't do nothing for three days and then was raised, He had work to do for us in the spiritual realm in order to complete the work of the cross, so that we might have eternal life when we enter into a saving relationship with Him.

Christ has defeated sin, satan and evil. In Revelation 1:17-18, Christ says that He is "the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades." If you are holding the keys to something, you have the power and authority to unlock it.

These keys are the keys to unlock the chains of bondage, addiction, slavery, sin and eternal separation from God that governs us if we are not His children. These keys unlock gates so that the gates of hell will not prevail over us (Matthew 16:18-19) These keys give the Church power! Christ was the only one that could retrieve these keys of life and were part of the work on the cross, part of our gift of free life that Christ died for. He died so that we might live and have not only an eternal life, but one that is abundant and powerful when living according to His plans.

There is so much more that Christ's sacrificial death and work on the cross has given us including freedom, power over evil, power and authority to bind and loose, power in numbers as the "Church" and power to have victory over the enemy.

So I know from now on, I will be thinking of the Work on the Cross very differently and not just Jesus dying on the cross, being buried in the tomb and raising three days later. I now see it was much deeper, much more miraculous and much more work on Christ's part and much more meaningful to me now in my attempt to live by God's design and plans.

Easter takes on a whole new and vibrant meaning for me now and it only took just about 40 years for me to see the work of the cross in this light, never to late right?

All the best, until next time, Christ the Lord is risen today, allelujah.

Tim

Consecrated

Jeremiah 1:4-10

“Now the Word of the Lord came to me saying, before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations. Then I said, Alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth. But the Lord said to me, do not say I am a youth, because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord. Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, behold I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

A friend of mine was doing her devotions and posted Jeremiah 1:5 on Facebook recently. As soon as I read it, I was reminded of a sermon by my Pastor at my church from a while back. I started thinking about it more and thought I would share what’s on my mind.

When I read this, the first thing that jumped out to me was that God knew me before I was born. He created me so he knows me and knows how He’s created me. God has wired me a certain way for His purposes and knows how best I can serve Him in the Kingdom. Jeremiah 1:5 says that not only did He know me before He created me in the womb but that He also consecrated me. This word, consecrated, sticks out to me. Consecrated by definition according to Webster’s is as follows:

1) to induct (a person) into a permanent office with a religious rite; especially to ordain to the office of bishop.

2) to make or declare sacred; especially to devote irrevocably to the worship of God by a solemn ceremony…to devote to a purpose.

If I have been consecrated by God, it must be for a purpose. Do I know what that purpose is? If I don’t, I think it scares me that I am living my life and not living it according to the plans that God has created me for. Maybe that’s why things seem so hard and difficult at times, because I am trying to do things my way. I’m trying to do things in a way that I have not been created for or wired for. If I would just submit to God’s will and ways; and realize the Master knows what is best for me; and seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, maybe, just maybe I’d be living a more worshipful life. Hmmmm, interesting.

If I make excuses or try to go against what God has for me, I’m not enabled, equipped or prepared for the battles I encounter. We can see from the passage above that God says Jeremiah will go where He has commanded and that he will speak what God commands him to speak. Why should I think that would be any different for me. It isn’t. I just need to let God rule in my life and follow His plans for me and not my own. It is comforting to know that God has prepared a way for me, He knows me and He has stretched out His hand and touched my mouth so to speak. Basically He’s anointed and given me an office that He wants me to fulfill in the kingdom. He’s consecrated me and given me the power and authority to pluck up and break down, to destroy and to overthrow and to build and to plant, all for His glory and kingdom.

The second thing I thought of when I was reading Jeremiah 1:4-10 is that if God knows me, He has consecrated me, and has set me up in an office of service to His kingdom, then He’s got a plan and a job for me to do. If I’m not doing it, if I’m not seeking Him first and all His righteousness, then I am sinning. Do I really want to be going against God’s plans that He has for me. No way. I get charged up and excited knowing God knows what is best for me and that it is part of the Great Adventure (to quote a Steven Curtis Chapman song) of life that we live. It is not a mere life of just taking it one day at a time, but living a full, a Holy Spirit filled, life that has a purpose. The purpose of glorifying God and doing my part in His kingdom all while being appropriately equipped for serving my Lord in the way He created me to serve.

We as believers have been consecrated and given a position to serve and live for Him. I repent that I have not always lived everyday with this in mind, but strive to dig deeper in my relationship with my Savior, and try to worship Him more and more every day. I pray that we all realize our consecration and the access to worshiping God that it provides.

I hope this has been a blessing to you as you read it. Thanks Catie for kick starting this off with your devotion!!!!!

Until next time…

Tim

Hello all. Now it's time for a light look at worship. Check out the following two links. I promise, the next WorshipRant blog will be more serious and meaningful.....

How to Worship...

http://www.youtube.com/user/fairwoodchurch#p/a/u/0/3K4fveLQZZQ

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer

http://vimeo.com/11501569

Until next time...

Christian Buzz Words -- D --

Devotion

What is devotion? We often hear that we are “doing our devotions” or we do devotions with our kids. We hear things like, “in your devotional life or when you’re doing your devotions…” But what does this mean, what is a devotion and how does it apply to a worship lifestyle?

According to Webster’s dictionary, devotion is religious fervor, an act of prayer or private worship usually used in the plural as in devotions. Devotion is a religious exercise or practice other than the regular corporate worship of a congregation.

Another definition is the fact or state of being ardently dedicated and loyal. So being devoted is being loyal or very dedicated to something or someone. When we are not fully devoted to God, we run the risk of being devoted to false idols. This can be our jobs, our recreation, the television, food, sex, the computer, or a host of many other things.

A devotion in the Biblical sense therefore is to set apart not only time for study of The Word, but setting apart our actions, our thoughts, our practices and our lifestyle for God. In our devotion time, we should not only be studying the Word, praying, and seeking God’s direction and face, but we should also be striving to live a devoted or set apart life for Him, a life of loyalty to our great and marvelous God.

A good Biblical picture of devotion is described in 2 Kings 20:3. Here Isaiah is speaking with Hezekiah and we see by his words, he is describing a life of devotion to God. Isaiah is and telling Hezekiah that the Lord tells us to “set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.” Hezekiah is going to die soon and needs to set his house in order. I read this verse and know that some day, I too, will die and I want to choose to set my house, my spiritual inner house, if you will, in order. To do this is to live a life of devotion to God.

Isaiah goes on in verse 3 speaking to God. “Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” Upon hearing this, Hezekiah wept. Isaiah is describing and recounting to God his life of devotion.

We see Isaiah’s life is not just a Sunday church going lifestyle or a quick Bible reading before bed, but a journey of devotion and relationship with God. Isaiah says he walked before God in truth and with a whole heart and did what was right in God’s sight. This is biblical devotion, wholly serving and living for God when no one is watching, except God.

Another example of godly devotion is what David says in 1 Chronicles 28:9. Here David is instructing his son, Solomon. He instructs Solomon and us, to know God, and serve Him with a whole heart. Devotion involves the whole heart and not just a part of it. Not only does it include the whole heart, but the willing mind. Our hearts and minds need to be set on God for devotion to honest. This is heart felt worship as opposed to when we say we devote ourselves to something. That secular devotion often becomes false worship. Only God is worthy and deserving of our whole and mindful devotion.

We cannot fake this devotion, as the second half of verse 9 says that the LORD searches all hearts and understands every intent of our thoughts. If we seek Him, He will let us find Him, but if we forsake Him, He will reject us forever. This alone is enough to make me serious in my devotion to my God, my Savior, my creator and my LORD.

As we live our lives and strive to daily worship God, let us do what 1 Corinthians 7:35 prompts, to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord. Don’t give God second place or third place or the leftovers. Devotion is giving God the first part of your day, the first part of your finances, the first thoughts, cares, concerns and ideas that daily come across our mind.

Keep doing your devotions, keep doing devotions with your kids, keep doing the devotions in the morning, at night, at your lunch break, when ever you can and wherever you can. The difference now is that when you do your devotions, devote or set apart that time to God and God alone. Know that the time you spend in the Word and in prayer is special, it’s relational and it’s intimate with God. These devotions are a way we are telling God that we are serious in our walk, our journey and our relationship with God. Devotions are part of worship.

Devotions are a way we can fervently worship God and be wholly submissive to His plans for our lives while dedicating ourselves and trusting Him to guide us daily in all that we do.

Christian Buzz Words --C--

I often hear the word Covenant used in sermons, theological discussions and in a context of our relationship with God. But what is a covenant and what is a covenant in the Biblical sense?

Webster’s Dictionary defines covenant as the following when used as a noun. Covenant is usually a formal, solemn and binding agreement. It is a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties, especially for the performance of some action.

The Greek work used in the New Testament for Covenant is diatheke (διαθηκη). When translated, diatheke is usually a legal term representing a formal and legally binding declaration of benefits given to one party by another, without any conditions or strings attached. Diatheke is the ordinary translation of the Hebrew word berith (ברית), which also refers to legal pledges and can have the character of an agreement. The interesting thing with the Hebrew definition of berith is that it can also have the implication of a one-sided promise or grant. How many times in our lives and relationship with God is the relationship one sided, we often disobey God, don’t follow His best plans for us and often don’t seek Him on a daily basis. It is interesting that God knew we’d be this way and still chose to enter into a covenant with us even if, at times, it was going to be one sided.

If we take Webster’s definition and apply it to our relationship with God, we see at its basic level that covenant is a serious agreement between God and us. A covenant relationship with God is formal, solemn and binding in the sense that God sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. Jesus, who never sinned, took all of our sin, once and for all upon himself. He died on the cross in our place so we could be a part of the covenant. The agreement is binding since Jesus’ death and resurrection sealed the agreement and the requirements of our relationship with God. We no longer have to do anything works related to earn our salvation. We no longer have to wonder if we’ve lived a good enough life. All we have to do is accept and agree that without Christ’s death, we would be separated from God. Our portion of the covenant is dependent on having faith in Christ as our Savior and living a life of worship to God.

The second part of Webster’s definition is interesting too. It says that a covenant is an agreement or promise usually under seal between two or more parties especially for the performance of some action. I realize that Webster’s Dictionary is not the Gospel, but I do find it interesting that there is a direct parallel to our relationship with God and the definition of a covenant. In the book of Acts, in the New Testament, we see the “Church” being sealed with the Holy Spirit. He seals our lives as believers when He comes to live in us when we accept Christ as our Savior. The Holy Spirit is our helper, He is our conscience, He is our guide and He is the one who convicts us when we are not living in a daily worship lifestyle relationship with God. By definition, a covenant has two or more parties involved. Just from our initial study, we see the Biblical covenant involves God the Father, Jesus, The Holy Spirit and us. We already mentioned that a covenant is sealed for the performance of some action. What might that be in a biblical covenantal case? I would suggest that the performance of action is to worship God, to have everlasting life with him, and to be an active part of the ministry that God has called us to each day of our lives. We are enabled to participate in this aspect of the covenant by daily yielding to the Holy Spirit as He guides and directs our steps.

We can be actively living a covenantal relationship with God or we can miss the benefits of this relationship when we choose not to be a part of it. When we choose not to be actively involved in the covenant, trouble usually results, as we are not daily yielding to the Holy Spirit and receiving God’s best for our lives.

In the Bible we see the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. We often see in the Old Testament how Israel and others did not always follow through with their part of the relationship. In the New Covenant, if we are honest with ourselves and with God, we often do not hold up to our end of the relationship either. This is where the Hebrew definition of covenant is all too applicable in our daily lives.

Are you in a two-sided covenantal relationship with God today? I like how God is emphatically putting the stake in the sand and declaring and promising His part of His covenant in Jeremiah 32:31-34:

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know the LORD, for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

In our daily walks, let us be thankful for the covenant God has given us, let us be thankful that even though we often make it one sided, it is God who chooses to never walk away from us. Lord, I thank You that Your covenant is formal, solemn and binding and that there are no strings attached in our relationship with You. It gives me greater reason to worship You knowing that even when I fall away and the covenant becomes one sided, You are still there, eager and waiting for me to return.

(you may want to start playing some worship music here and begin worshipping……….)

Christian Buzz Words --B--

Blessings, Bless You, God Bless You, these are all phrases that we may often use in our everyday lives. What exactly is a blessing and what does it mean to bless someone or more importantly for God to bless us? Hopefully during this short little devotion, we'll start to dig a little deeper at what a blessing is and what it means to bless or be blessed.

Webster's dictionary defines a blessing as the following: 1)the act or words of one that blesses, 2)a thing conducive to happiness or welfare, 3)grace said at a meal.

Just merely looking at Webster's dictionary for the definition of blessing, doesn't really go deep enough so we need to look at the definition of "bless". Again, going to Webster's dictionary, we see the word "bless" defined a little better. There are multiple definitions but we start to see a little better picture of what it means to "bless" if we take a couple of these definitions and then go to the Bible to dig deeper.

One definition of the word "bless" means to praise, glorify, speak well of or approve. Another definition is to confer prosperity or happiness upon.

I have not done an exhaustive search or study on the word "bless" nor have I looked at the Hebrew or Greek origins, but a quick look in the concordance in the back of my Bible shows me that the word "bless" first appears in Genesis 2:3, and God is the one doing the blessing, this is important as it originates with Him.

The context of this verse is just after the days of creation, where God has just finished resting on day 7. "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." Genesis 2:3, NASB.

This is important because not only is God showing favor, conferring happiness on what He has just created, and is pleased, but He is sealing it as only He can. So when we hear that God is blessing us or we want to bless someone, I think we are sealing something in a way that is only as God can do. As a result, when we are blessing someone or verbally telling someone that we bless them, we should mean it and realizing the weight that comes with a Godly Blessing.

The second time I can find the word "bless" used is in Genesis 12:2. Here God is administering the call to Abram, later called Abraham. God says, "...and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 12:2-3, NASB.

Wow, these two verses need a lot of unpacking, more than I will get into here, but on the surface we can see that God is bestowing favor on Abram for being obedient to the call, sealing again, his calling to ministry, and doing something that only God can do.

Finally we see the word "bless" being used in a form of worship. Genesis 14:20 says "...and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand." The context here is after God has delivered Lot by Abram. Melchizedek (king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, Genesis 14:18) is blessing Abram and acknowledging and worshipping God for what He has done and worshipping God because they are acknowledging God's greatness and power in delivering Lot back to Abram. As a side note, a study of Melchizekek is very interesting as he is a historical person, king of Jerusalem (Psalm 76:2) who typified Christ (Psalm 110:4). Another study for another day....stay tuned...

Back to blessing..... So we've seen that a blessing, being blessed and to bless is a Godly seal and something that can only be truly done if God is involved. So when we bless God as part of our worship or vocabulary, when we sing that we are blessing the Lord, we are sealing our favor back to God, we are telling Him that we are grateful for all He has conferred upon us and we know it comes from Him.

As a final thought, to bless is not just to make someone happy or to give thanks, but to do so with God's involvement, We are invoking His power, His love and seek to give worship back to Him knowing and recognizing that without Him, we are lost, with Him, all things are possible.

So as you think about this devotion, I pray that you will be Blessed with God's intimacy in your relationship with Him, knowing that the walk He wants to take with you is sealed with His approval, His blessing and His best plans for you.

Until next time....

Tim

Christian Buzz Words -- A --

Hi all. Well it's been almost a year since I last updated this blog. Wow how time flies by. I've been meaning to do a mini series for some time and I'm finally getting around to it. Hopefully I will stay with this and update this blog more often, so stay tuned. I'll try to update this at least once a month, maybe more often.

I feel like we often through words around in Christianity that we either don't understand their meaning or don't understand their weight and how these meanings can help enhance our walk with God. My goal is to write a bit about some of these words, so that the next time you hear them or use them, they'll mean a little more in your worship of God and possibly cause you to worship in a fresh and new way.

The first word I'd like to look at is Alleluia. We often sing this word at church or in our personal worship times. We use this word when praising God. If you already know what Alleluia means, great, if not, keep reading and I hope this is a help for you.

Alleluia comes from the greek word "allelouia." The greek format comes from the hebrew word Hallelujah which is actually two Hebrew words, Hallelu and Yah. Hallelu means a joyous praise or to boast in God madly. It's not just a simple praise. Yah is a shortened form of God's proper name in Hebrew - YHWH, or Yahweh or Jehovah in English. So when you put the two Hebrew words together you get Praise Yah or what is often transliterated as Praise ye the Lord or Praise Yah you people.

Hallelujah is first seen in the old testament in Psalm 104:35, where King David is worshipping God and praising Him for overcoming the wicked. Something definitely to be thankful for.

This word is also seen in the New Testament in Revelation chapter 19, verses 1, 3, 4 and 6. The form of the word used is Alleluia, which comes from the greek form of the word for Hallelujah. The septuagent (which is the oldest Greek translation of the original Hebrew text) translates Yah as Kurios in Greek which is the Lord. It is used in the context of expressing joy over the destruction of Babylon. So again, we see this word used for a "big praise" occasion just like King David did in Psalm 104. This is where we get "Praise the Lord" from.

My pastor once preached on the law of first mention, which basically means when you see a word used in the Bible for the first time, that occurrence is very important and sets the tone and is consistent with the other uses of the word throughout scripture. We can see this principle by Hallelujah's first use in Psalm 104 and in Revelation 19, as well as the other uses throughout scripture. It's always used in great praise of God and not used lightly.

Whether you use Alleluia or Hallelujah, both are heavy words of Praise and, I believe, should be used when we are greatly praising God for the victory over sin, the enemy and for the grace He's given us. So the next time you say or sing Hallelujah or Alleluia, say it with great heart felt worship and adoration for all God has done for us and the victory we've already received in Jesus Christ.

God bless, until next time....

Tim