Morning Praise

"Have you not known? Have you not heard?  Has it not been told you from the beginning?  Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?  It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants  are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them like tents to live in...Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth."  (Isaiah 40:21-22; 28). 

The God we worship is the God of the mountain covered with lightning and thunder, the One who carved commandments into stone, the One whose bright glory caused the Hebrews to cower in fear.  The God we worship is the One who breaks into holy places causing those thought to be holy to fall on their knees crying out, "Woe is me!  I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips" (Isaiah 6:5).  The God we worship is the Christ, Son of God, who shouted out revolutionary, life changing words on the mountain and who knelt to weep and care for the broken.  The God we worship is the One who went to the cross to shed His blood and die for our sakes so that we could be free from the seeds of destruction we sowed in our life.   

"There in none like You, O Lord; You are great, and your name is great in might." (Jeremiah 10:6).  "There is none like You among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like Yours.  All the nations You have made shall come and bow down before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name."  (Psalm 86:8-9).  He is indeed the God of the Universe!

In and Out

When I was pastor of the St. John Church, one of our members was a charismatic kind of guy who worked as a morning radio host of a station which was known as the country and western station.  He was one of those guys who filled up the room when he entered.  Since he was a member of the church, I started listening to his morning show whenever I was traveling to the hospital.  I got to a place where I knew all the beer drinking, my woman did me wrong songs, well enough to sing along with musician doing the singing.  I not only knew them, I sang them all throughout the day.  

One day it came to me that all I was singing were these songs about drinking and broken hearts.  There were no longer songs of praise or hymns coming from my heart.  The songs I once sang about Jesus never came from my mouth.  With this realization came the realization that what we put in has something to do with what comes out.  It was about this time that I made the conscious decision to turn the radio dial to the local Christian station.  Let no one think that what we allow into our subconscious, or into our hearts does not matter.  

An old proverb reads, "Guard your heart, for from it flows the springs of life." (Proverbs 4:23).  Another important word from the Scripture we find in one of Paul's letters." "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing , whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:8).  What we hear or read or allow to enter into our thoughts will have a bearing on the way we live.  What comes out has something to do with what we allow to go in.

The Devil on My Shoulder

For the past few weeks I have been reading a novel regarded as an American classic by an author whose writing skill is unquestionable.  It is on everyone's "should read" list so I decided it was time.  Three hundred pages into the six hundred page journey, I laid it down, closed it, and decided I could read no more.  It was a strange decision since it was a real page burner.  I could not lay it down, but then I came to a place where I had to put it aside.   

The reason may seem strange to some.  One of the primary characters, was in the book described as a monster, and the evil unleashed by this character finally became too much.  I came to a place where I felt like the devil was sitting on my shoulder.  I was so caught up in the unfolding tale that I was carrying the book with me.  I was picking it up in the morning before the Scripture.  I felt the evil depicted by this evil character was becoming a part of me.  My spiritual life was drying up and the inspiration for writing my blog was slipping away.  I realized last night at three o'clock when I woke up and grabbed the book that it had too much of a hold on me and maybe the same could be said of Satan.  So, the book is closed for the last time.  

I do not name it lest I encourage someone with curiosity to check it out.  Maybe it would not effect anyone like it has me, but I know the subtle power of Satan is using it to get a hold of a heart that I want to be controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit.  I want to do my part to make the heart He seeks to use for the good of Christ completely available to Him.  "Discipline yourself, keep alert.  Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour.  Resist him." 

The Place of the Spirit

The heart of the church is the Holy Spirit which is why I declare "The church is a spiritual community centered on Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit."  The second chapter of Acts makes it clear that it was the Holy Spirit who energized and gave life to those men and women gathered in Jerusalem transforming their fear filled and uncertain community into a spiritual power that not only touched the whole world but has continued to do so some 2000 years later.  The church is not a static community or institution though it often seems to be headed that way; instead, it is the incarnate presence of Christ in the world.    

The Spirit is the heart of that spiritual community.  The Spirit birthed the church and it has sustained it through the centuries.  Even as our body depends on a beating heart so does the church depend on the heart which gives it life and sustains it.  The church cannot function without the Holy Spirit.  Certainly, there have been times in its history when it has seemed that the work of the Spirit was forgotten by those who gave leadership to the church.  

The church may have great leaders, but none can provide the spiritual energy the spiritual community of the church needs to be the church it was created to be.  Anyone who has witnessed the Holy Spirit bursting through the structures of the institutional church knows that it is the Spirit and the Spirit alone which is needed for the life of the community we call the church.  Without that holy empowerment the church is no church at all.  It is instead a gathering of people who are only making a difference in their own minds. 

Fleshing out the Definition

A personal definition of the church is:  "The church is a spiritual community centered on Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit."  We are a part of many communities.  Young families find community on ball fields where their children chase soccer balls, run with footballs, and hit balls with sticks.  There are other communities associated with membership in civic clubs and the nine to five work world.  Some are related to family and there are even some which come about as a result of church involvement.  

What is unfortunately true is that some churches do not really meet the criteria of this personal definition.  For some members of churches the business connections or the social status is the reason for being present.  It has nothing to do with seeking a spiritual community centered on Jesus.  It is also true that today's contemporary church is often more focused on politics, gender issues, and social activism.  In such places Jesus is not the center, but someone who lives out on the fringe.  

Strangely enough there are some gatherings known as churches where the name of Jesus is not really mentioned with any regularity and when He is mentioned, it is as One who stands alongside leaders of other religious communities.  Any gathering which calls itself a church and is not centered on Jesus is little more than a pretend Christian community.  It may do many thing in service to individuals and the community, but those thing not done in the name of Jesus do not make it a spiritual community centered on Jesus, or a church.

A Definition

An old definition of the church came back to me in these recent days.  It is not one I found in a book on church growth, nor does it have the polish of a theological statement.  It was one I wrote during the days when giving leadership to the church was mine to do.  For some reason it came back to me a day or so ago.  It is simple rather than profound.  "The church is a spiritual community centered on Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit."  It served me well back then and, as I recall, it found its way to the front of the church bulletin.   

It is important to remember that the church is a spiritual community.  Obviously, it is not a building, but more importantly the definition declares that the church is not what it has become in many places.  In many places the church has lost its sense of being a spiritual community and has, instead, become a religious institution which gives lip service to service while institutional maintenance and survival is its main business.  

Like the Kingdom of God the church as a spiritual community is both here and not yet here.  It is visible and yet also lives in an invisible realm still to be seen fully.  The word "community" has always seemed to be an appropriate way to speak of the body of Christ in the world.  The place of belonging which we seek is best experienced in this spiritual community which is described in the New Testament word "koinonia."  We may be members of many communities, but none can provide for the needs of our soul as does the spiritual community in which we experience a oneness with God.

The Wrestling Match

When reading the parables of Jesus in the book of Matthew, I had no intention of getting hung up on the Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14), but I did.  Actually, I have been wresting with it all week.  This Kingdom of Heaven parable seems easy enough to figure out.  The King plans a wedding banquet for His son, but those who had a heads up on the invitation decided not to come so in their absence he invites the whoevers from the streets.  The chosen had no interest in coming, are judged as unworthy, and the least of the streets were invited.    

The wrestling match came in the final verses of the parable with a single uninvited guest showing up midst the celebration.  The King notices him because he is not wearing a wedding robe which had apparently been given to all the invited guests.  As I wrestled with his presence in the parable I kept asking "Who is he?  Why did he come?  Why did he make no attempt to hide his uninvited presence?"  None of my questions resulted in answers.  Finally, after several days of struggling with his presence in the parable, I came to a conclusion.  

It may not be the scholar's conclusion.  It may not even be the right one, but it is mine and so I will claim it.  The guy who shows up in verse 11 is a man who sings, "I did it my way." He is the man who sees himself as the exception. He is the one who does as he pleases with no regard for the consequences.  It sounds like a description of a person who has no regard for the ways of God which is what we all are expressing when we choose disobedience over obedience, sin over righteousness.  I started seeing myself as I saw him.  And I started thanking God for grace instead of separation from Him.