Tag: Worship

Hierarchy In God

August 21, 2015 Published by

“If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”
~ 2 Timothy 2:21

A wise leader would normally avoid ‘Oh Yes’ men—people who unquestioningly follow his instructions without any form of resistance or challenge. The reason for this is simple: no human is perfect; no human knows it all; no human has the infinite breath of experience and capabilities to execute flawlessly in every circumstance.

A wise leader, therefore, would hierarchise his followers on the basis of multiple qualities such as, loyalty, character, and competence.

But…,

What if the Leader were All-Knowing, All-Powerful, and Ever-Present? What if the Leader were flawless in knowledge and judgement, and infinitely talented and competent enough to do all things? What would be His ultimate requirement in a follower?

Then, the character and competence of the follower would become completely irrelevant to the Leader’s agenda. After all, the Leader knows everything, is beyond mistakes, and can do all things.

In this case, the only thing that would matter to the Leader would be the ability of the follower to pose zero resistance or challenge to His will; in other words, the follower’s absolute and unquestioning loyalty—a blank slate on which the Leader could write or erase anything at will.

Right…?

Now, dear consecrated one, please ponder this carefully…

As far as God goes, your morality, reputation, and competence are worthless filthy rags. What matters to Him—and thus determines your position in His supreme hierarchy— is this:

A purified heart—that is, an undivided allegiance to Jesus Christ; a wholehearted devotion and submission to God.

And that, my beloved, is the most esteemed virtue among the consecrated ones: it is the ultimate value in our culture.

Pure Gratitude

June 16, 2014 Published by

You already have a story.
Essentially, it’s neither big, small, insignificant, nor phenomenal; just unique—it’s simply yours.
Eventually, it becomes whatever you make of it.

Your story is a gift from God.
It’s more than a tale of His acts in your life; it’s a gift.
And it’s the seed of your glory.

Yes, your glory is the offspring of your story.
Satan cannot defeat you till he can disconnect you from your story; till he can get you to forget.
So you must never forget your story.

Your story is the seed of your glory.
And to unleash that glory, it must be planted and nurtured —that is, told and retold; continuously celebrated.
Therefore, long after the world has tired of hearing your story, keep telling it.

Your real story is embarrassing; it is uncomely.
Because it lays bare your flaws, fears, insecurities, failures, aspirations; those things you’d rather keep to yourself.
It is the tale of your shame, scorn, and humiliations from others.

But, see: Your disadvantages in life are His opportunities; His doorways into your life; His relevance to you.
For as the Master said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”
And if Moses could speak well, his brother Aaron would have had no ministry.

So, tell your story anyway.
Tell it in all of it’s uncomeliness.
Learn to glory in the shame, the scorn, and the embarrassment of your story.

Jacob remembered his past crookedness and wretchedness.
“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.”
~ Genesis 32:9,10

David remembered the despicable societal status of his past.
So David said to Michal, “ It was before the LORD, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the LORD. And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight.”
~ 2 Samuel 6:21,22

What do you remember?

Good for Simon; the respectable leper.
However, let the former prostitute, celebrate her shame and humiliation.
For she is the Master’s trophy of love.

Good for the impeccable Pharisee, with a flawless legal record.
The despised Publican, however, must gloat in his scorn.
For He is the evidence of the Master’s mercies.

Good for the spotless virgin with a sheltered and privileged childhood.
Let the formerly abused drug addict, however, glory in her own shame.
For your are the undeniable proof of the Master’s victory.

Pure gratitude is inexpressible with words.
For whenever you really remember, and whenever you wholeheartedly tell your story, the fountains burst.
Therefore let the tears flow; that, is the language of pure gratitude.

When you remember, humility flourishes within you.
And all judgement of others vanish from your heart.
For humility resides in the hearts of the grateful.

When you remember, your love for Him is reinvigorated.
You love more, because you have been forgiven more.
Because you have been greatly helped.

And when you remember, the yoke of men over you is broken.
For the awareness dawns on you that He only has brought you this far.
That to Him only belongs the glory.

Some people can do without you, Lord Jesus.
How they manage to pull off such phenomenal feat is beyond me.
Good for them; but, my LORD, I can’t ever make it without you.

So, thank you LORD!!!

Now He smiles at me and whispers: “Because you remembered, the best is yet to come”!