Prayer Life.

“Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:5-6

Commenting on these verses, Tim Keller wrote this:

"To discover the real you, look at what you spend time thinking about when no one is looking, when nothing is forcing you to think about anything in particular. At such moments, do your thoughts go toward God? You may want to be seen as a humble, unassuming person, but do you take the initiative to confess your sins before God? You wish to be perceived as a positive, cheerful person, but do you habitually thank God for everything you have and praise him for who he is? You may speak a great deal about what a “blessing” your faith is and how you “just really love the Lord,” but if you are prayerless—is that really true? If you aren’t joyful, humble, and faithful in private before God, then what you want to appear to be on the outside won’t match what you truly are....The infallible test of spiritual integrity, Jesus says, is your private prayer life."

May all of our spiritual integrity be such.

 

Crossroad

“And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace."

Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way." Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.”

Daniel 3:6, 28-30 

This is an act of idolatry, without question. It's also - for the Jews, that is - capitulating to the powers that be and giving up on certain values or principles, specifically the one that says, You shall have no other gods before me' and 'You shall not bow down to [carved images] or serve them.' For some, who already worship various idols and gods, it's just another day. There's nothing particularly abnormal about the situation.

But for Shadrach, Mishach, and Abednego? They've committed already to be faithful to the Lord their God. They stood up for their beliefs when they were being prepared for service in this new land - only certain foods, remember?

'But that was just food,' their friends might argue.

Still, it's the principle of the matter. How can they stand up for their faith when it involves food, a small thing, and not stand up when it's literal bowing down to a massive idol?

'Yeah, but this is your life! At least ol' Nebby feeds us and puts a roof over our heads and lets us practice our faith in private. And he's practically a Jew! Back with the dream thing, he said our God 'is God of gods and Lord of kings.' You're young and already so influential. You could convince him that the whole nation needs to be Jews. Just picture it: 'Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - the men who converted Babylon!' We just have to get through this tough time, and then we'll get back to being faithful to God like before.'

At least that's how I imagine the argument from their friends going.

There probably wasn't much objection when it was a little thing like food. 'You do you, guys.' But when it comes to losing their lives, I can just hear the objections rolling in, even as everyone around them bowed down to the idol. They're trying to save their lives, to protect their rights, to survive in a pagan land - I get it - but they're selling their very soul to do it.

This lesson is very real in the world today. So many people, from so many different sides, are trying to convince us to give up our principles - or at least set them aside for a while. They're trying to play to our fears and insecurities. They're even convincing influential leaders of our same conviction and sending them to drag us over to their side. And the threat is real. It's not life or death, but it's a threat no less. In so many ways (especially with the way we as Americans can tend to idolize our freedoms and rights), it almost feels worse than death in a fiery furnace.

I read about current events, election news, rampant and blatant racism. I see this or that politician or leader offered up as a functional savior, as a demigod. And I understand that my people have come to a point of heart-wrenching crisis. We can no longer hide the fact that we gradually allowed a loyalty for God and country turn into an equivocation of the two. Our idols are under attack.

So we stand at a crossroad. Will we remain faithful to our convictions? Will we live out our faith, even if that means the great risk of being ostracized, or - heaven forbid - losing our precious freedoms? Are my rights valuable? Absolutely. But are they any more important than the ones Jesus gave up as the Son of God, an equal member of the Godhead, in order to take on human flesh and die on a Roman torture device for my sake? Not even close. Perhaps in America, Christians are finally getting a taste of what Christians in the rest of the world have already lived with for two thousand years, and what Jews have faced for even longer than that.

Not bowing down and paying homage, as Daniel's friends did here, is a risk. Faithfulness to God demands it. Being set apart as one holy unto the Lord can't be accomplished any other way. But it's a risk worth taking. It's a risk that has eternal rewards. It's a risk that may even show others the way to truly live (vs 28-30).

What's the 'golden statue' in your life? What tempts you most strongly to give up your values, or at least just set them aside for a little while? Maybe it's your rights and freedoms, as I mentioned before. Maybe it's something else. For me, often, it's the opinion and approval of others. It's a fear of conflict. I'd rather avoid the conflict and make everyone happy. I'd rather do what makes others proud of me and draws attention to my own good qualities. {I'd rather not write a long-ish piece about how Americans idolize freedoms and rights.} Some of my idols are self and approval and peace. While those aren't necessarily, in and of themselves, bad things, they still lead me away from being faithful to God and pursuing holiness before Him. They still lead me to bow down to a golden statue, often of my own making, rather than before the Holy God.

So what's your golden statue?

And what's it gonna take for you to melt it down and toss it in the dumpster out back of your idol-factory heart?

Becoming

It's silly, really. Idol making. Jeremiah paints a caricature of the silliness of it. Cutting down a tree, crafting some God or other, and then bowing down to it. Hysterical. Martin Luther famously, though more starkly, commented that our hearts are idol factories. We're constantly looking for new things, false things, to worship. We're constantly crafting for ourselves new images that might somehow satisfy us more than God or be worthy of the worship we were created to pour out. But, there won't ever be something more satisfying that God. And there won't ever be something worthy of our worship besides God. So, these raw descriptions of our idolatry are silly. Terribly, disappointingly, vainly silly.

Worse than the silliness of making idols is this image: becoming like what we've made for ourselves. Not only are the idols we falsely worship mute, blind, deaf, unable to smell, or feel, or walk - but, as the Psalmist indicates here, we become so unfeeling as well. We lose our senses, our awareness of both good and bad, callous to sin and numb to grace. It is perhaps the worst position in which to find oneself. So, here we are. Sunk in sin, spiritually dead, without any hope of rescue - and praying to gods of our own making to save us. When we truly understand our position before God, it's not silly anymore. It's pitiful. You can't help but pity those you see in such a state. You can't help but pity yourself. You can't help but feel entirely, utterly destitute and hopeless. You cry out with Paul, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

Yet, even there, Jesus breaks through. "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! ... There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Amen! Jesus rescues us. More than that, Jesus gives back our senses, our awareness of who we are in Him, sins that need confession, and grace that is worthy of praise to our God Who is worthy of glory. I must die to sin every day. I must live to Christ every day. Only then do I avoid becoming like those idols - by becoming like Christ.

Settled

“The sons of Reuben and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, consisting of valiant men, men who bore shield and sword and shot with bow and were skillful in battle, were 44,760, who went to war. They made war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hand; for they cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him. They took away their cattle: their 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys; and 100,000 men. For many fell slain, because the war was of God. And they settled in their place until the exile. Now the sons of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land; from Bashan to Baal-hermon and Senir and Mount Hermon they were numerous. These were the heads of their fathers' households, even Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel, mighty men of valor, famous men, heads of their fathers' households. But they acted treacherously against the God of their fathers and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, even the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away into exile, namely the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara and to the river of Gozan, to this day.”

1 Chronicles 5:18-26

There are so many stories about the people of Israel and their ridiculous propensity to fall into sin, cry out for rescue, be rescued, only to fall into sin again. I keep reading and hoping that they'll get it right one day. Though, I suppose if someone were to read my story they'd see the same cycle and (maybe?) have the same hope. Still, it seems so odd that in this passage, for these people, a mere 5 verses was all it took for them to go from victory to destruction. What in the world happened?

"They settled into their place," "lived in the land," and "they were numerous."

An even more succinct way of putting it: they prospered.

And in their prosperity they turned to idolatry.

There's an important lesson for me in this passage. Where there is warfare, I am more prone to depend upon and cry out to the Lord. I am more inclined to have a heart oriented toward trust in God and gratitude for every moment that I 'survived.' It's war, and the struggle tests my allegiance.

But, life is not always war. There are also times of peace. There are times of prosperity. And these are the times in which I am most prone to grow comfortable, to forget the war and the One Who carried me through it. War may test my allegiances, but peace is what reveals them.

This is why the heresy of the so-called "prosperity gospel" is so dangerous. People find it very easy to cry out to God in their troubles. Even atheists, agnostics, and otherwise non-believing people tell stories of praying, of throwing up a 'Hail Mary' in their desperation. "Jesus take the wheel," they say, "but only when I'm absolutely at my very end and I can't do anything else for myself anymore." However, with the prosperity gospel, people are taught that God intends to bless and to give abundantly to His children. This much is true. But, what happens when tragedy strikes? What happens when their "seed gift" doesn't return a hundred fold as promised? What happens when the loved one that He supposedly healed gets worse or dies?

It turns out that they've been deceived into believing that blessing is the only thing God intends for His children. It turns out that, in the land of plenty, their true allegiance has been revealed - and it's not to God. It's to His blessings. It's to the good, comfortable things in life. It's allegiance to some mutated form of faith, some false god that offers no explanation for the suffering in this world and expects people to live in some fantasy world where difficulties apparently don't affect his followers. The problem is, that doesn't present the world as it actually is, as we know it to be.

Just like the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh discovered, our prosperity, if not properly understood and oriented in gratitude to God, leads us down the path of comfort to idolatry. Idolatry of what? In the passage, the people had cities. They were surrounded by the people of the land. So, we don't know for certain, but we can guess that there was probably idolatrous materialism. We are indeed told that they "played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land." There's was a very literal idolatry. But, in our prosperity we do the same thing. We turn to different idols, but idols nonetheless. Technology, opinions of others, sports, etc. We even idolize comfort itself. Our hearts, Luther's 'idol factories,' love to take good things and make them gods in our own images.

And again, just like the people here discovered, we learn something more about who God is and how He relates to people. Idolatry leads to exile, separation from God. When we refuse to give up our idols and give our worship to God, we too end up in exile. In the present, this means being separated from His presence, His protection, and even what we began idolizing in the first place - His promises of prosperity. In the ultimate sense, it means eternal separation from God in hell. Only when we surrender our lives, in wartime and in peace, trusting in Christ as our Savior and turning to Him as Lord, do we find escape and salvation. In Him alone is the right kind of prosperity - that which leads to gratitude for and worship of God. In Him alone do we find peace and rest in suffering. In Him alone do we find a way to live that actually makes sense of the world that God created for us.

So, remember in the midst of the battle that victory belongs to the Lord. Trust Him to fight for you. Take refuge in the shadow of His wings. But, don't forget in times of peace and prosperity how you got there, and Who it was that made it possible. Being settled and prosperous is a good thing. The danger lies in worshiping those good things, rather than the Giver of them.

Japan

I've been reading in Ezekiel and I came across this passage:

“Moreover, in their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you And lament over you: 'Who is like Tyre, Like her who is silent in the midst of the sea? 'When your wares went out from the seas, You satisfied many peoples; With the abundance of your wealth and your merchandise You enriched the kings of earth.”

Ezekiel 27:32-33

An earlier verse explains that it's about the destruction of the city of Tyre because of how she treated the people of Israel and, ultimately, because of her rejection of God. Here's the verse:

“Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, 'Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,' therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.”

Ezekiel 26:2-3

This past week, though, we were visiting friends in Tokyo, Japan and I don't believe it's a coincidence that I read this passage. God has been using the words of Ezekiel to bring Japan and her people to mind as I read along about the destruction and lament over Tyre. I'm thinking about how Japan also is "silent in the midst of the sea." (This is literally the quietest place I've ever been.) And how Japan also produces many wares that satisfy many peoples. And how with Japan's abundance of wealth and merchandise, she also has "enriched the kings of the earth."

Obviously, we don't interpret Scripture by reading the newspaper. We don't just replace names with the things we see around us and call that hermeneutics. But, it is amazing and wonderful to me how God uses certain Scripture passages to show us more about Himself and give us insight into the situations around us. So, today, Ezekiel is reminding me of Japan and how God is calling the Japanese to Himself. He is reminding me of the fate, not only of the Japanese people, but of all people who live their lives apart from Christ and reject God's gift of salvation through Him. Judgement is coming. At the very least, He is convicting me to pray for the people of Japan and to lament over the vast numbers of people who live and die there every day without ever believing (or maybe even hearing) about who Jesus is and what He has done for them. More than ninety-eight percent of the Japanese people would be in hell if they died today. Judgment is coming for them, just as it is for every person on this planet.

What situation in your life is God speaking into? How is He using Scripture to bring clarity and understanding? How is He teaching you to pray through His Word?

Scattered

“So they will know that I am the LORD when I scatter them among the nations and spread them among the countries. But I will spare a few of them from the sword, the famine and the pestilence that they may tell all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the LORD."”

Ezekiel 12:15-16 NASB

I know this is directly about the scattering of Israel, about the remnant of God's people and where they will go.

But as I read about the scattering of a people among the nations, with only a few spared from war and hunger and disease, I can't help thinking of all the refugees flooding out of the Middle East right now into so many countries. They are running for their lives from a radical terrorist group. Those who were previously inaccessible to us are now coming to our doors and asking for our help. The very people we would identify as living in 'closed' countries and nearly impossible to reach with the Gospel are now coming, in the face of terrible tragedy and horrific persecution, to us for safety. People with probably no previous exposure to Christians or Christianity are coming to places where Christians are concentrated in the thousands.

Maybe, in spite of the awful circumstances, this has been God's plan all along. Whether He orchestrated it all or allowed things to progress with His sovereign knowledge, thousands upon thousands of people are fleeing their predominantly Muslim countries and coming to historical centers of Christianity. Perhaps this is exactly what God intended, so that they would be exposed to Christianity in a way that would never otherwise be possible.

We could spew hatred and racism, blaming them for the problem, and treating them as the enemy - the very opposite of being Christ-like.

Or we could love them. And serve them. And share the love of Christ with them.

May we not miss the opportunity. May many Muslim people turn and become Jesus' disciples.

May those who have been scattered one day return to their homeland, this time carrying the hope - not of sanctuary in a foreign land - but of the incredible news of the Gospel and the God who saves.

My Word

My dearest boy,

Today I made you a promise that I can't guarantee that I'll keep. "I'll teach you how to shave your face. I promise." As soon as the words left my mouth I realized the carelessness of my words. So, to remedy the situation, I began to talk to you about how to shave your face as I finished shaving my own. And then I showed you how. You had already slathered conditioner all over your face trying to put on shaving cream like I had done, so I used the smooth backside of my razor to walk you through the steps of shaving, going with the grain versus against it, where to be extra careful because of your chin or other more difficult areas. I told you all the tricks I know for getting a smooth shave and avoiding irritation after shaving. Then we washed off your face and patted down your cheeks and you finished shaving for the first time.

Son, you're two years old. But today I taught you everything I could think of about shaving because the fact is, I'm not guaranteed tomorrow. I can't truly promise you that I'll teach you how to shave when you are old enough. Buddy, you're teaching me how to be more aware of what I say, of the well-intentioned promises that I make but may not be able to keep. You are teaching so much. And I just wanted to write this for you to have one day so that you know how thankful to the Lord I am for you and how precious of a gift you are to me. I love you and, though I don't always show it in the ways that I would like, I cherish every moment I have with you and pray desperately for you to grow up to be a mighty man of God, for you to serve Him with every fiber of your being, and for you to lead others in knowing Him as well.

I may sometimes make promises to you without thinking about whether I can actually keep them or not. I may sometimes even break a promise that I could have kept. But, I want you to know that I am striving to be a man of my word, to keep the promises that I make to you, even when you're two years old and want to learn how to shave your face like daddy.

I love you, son.

Daddy

Desire

"Desire fulfilled is sweet to the taste, but to turn from evil is an abomination to fools."

Proverbs 13:19

At first glance, this seems an odd contrast. Usually when these opposites come up, the connection is obvious to me. Here, not so much. As at times before, my first thought was one of wonder - what in the world does that mean?

Then, different from other times reading this same verse, the Lord answered my query. He gave new insight into its meaning and how it applies to the life of the believer compared to the unbeliever.

Desire fulfilled. It truly is sweet to the taste. There's something about finally achieving what you've been striving for that gives satisfaction and pleasure in the deep places of your heart. It feels good. Maybe previously I thought of this "fulfilling of desire" only in a positive way - as something good one pursues and accomplishes. It is possible that's the case. However, the picture of desire in this verse could also represent sin or at least the temptation to sin. Because, let's face it, when I am tempted to something "sweet," fulfilling that desire and giving into that temptation really is sweet to the taste - for a while. But it's only temporary satisfaction. Eventually I want more. It's the water that never quenches my thirst. Sin does that to us. It wrecks our hearts by convincing us that what we're after will satisfy when it doesn't. It deceives us and leads us down into death and destruction. And it is merciless in its pursuit of us.

I'm reminded of the temptation of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. “Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” They were led into temptation for something that seemed desirable. Maybe even that first bite was the sweetest, juiciest fruit they had ever tasted. But as soon as that bite was taken, it turned bitter in their mouths. They realized their nakedness. They broke the command of God and, as a result, their relationship with God. They brought the evil of sin into this world.

The same thing happens with me. Something looks or feels good. I'm tempted. I give in. And I immediately regret it. Why? Because the sin promises something it can never give - true satisfaction. That's a satisfaction that can only be found in Christ. God created us for worship. He created us for communion with Himself. Anything sinful that we are tempted to do makes us the offer of fulfilling that desire in our hearts, but in actuality only gives a cheap replica. It's luster fades away. It's sweetness turns bitter. We're left disappointed yet, like addicts, wanting more. Only when I turn, through Christ and in the power of the Spirit, to the love of the Father do I find the satisfaction I'm longing for. Only when I place God on the altar of my heart, determined to worship Him and Him alone, does that desire find its ultimate fulfillment. Only when I reject what seems desirable do I begin to find in God the true object and satisfier of my desires.

"...but to turn from evil is an abomination to fools." Herein lies the difference between believers and everyone else. For me to suggest this process of rejecting what seems desirable is foolish to the people of this world. They say, "Why deny yourself?" "The heart wants what the heart wants." "You were born this way." Of course, there is an element of truth in these statements. The devil most easily convinces us to believe lies when they're laced with truth. We were born this way, with these sin-wrecked hearts. But Jeremiah reminds us that our unredeemed hearts want only that which is sinful. They are deceitful above all else. They convince us that our desires and longings are to be pursued above any and everything else. So, of course, to suggest turning from something "desirable" that is harmful and sinful is "an abomination to fools." Fools are those who reject reproof and correction. They are those who do not seek wisdom and understanding. They are those who do not fear the Lord. Every unbeliever falls into the biblical category of "fool" and therefore turning from sin is anathema to them.

But for the believer, perhaps this is a mark of maturity. For a believer that has not yet graduated to a diet of meat, suggesting to him to turn from one sin or another, desirable though it may be, may also seem like an abomination to him. But the Holy Spirit works and moves and convicts. The Spirit reminds us of the truths of Scripture. He tells us, down inside, in deeper places than our flesh can dig, "This is wrong. This is sin. This is not how God intended it to be." And you know, in the deep places, when it's dark and quiet and no one is around, you know that He's right. You know that this or that area of your life is not in tune with how God would have it to be. The unbeliever, deaf and blind as he is, can reject these promptings. But the believer cannot resist the workings of the Spirit for long. He eventually repents of his sin and comes falling on his knees before the Father, asking for forgiveness and for the relationship to be restored.

So, the application is this: is there some sin, doggedly tempting me with its sweetness, from which I am refusing to turn? Is there some conviction I am foolishly rejecting?

Then, I must recognize it, confess it, and turn entirely away from it. And I can only do that in the strength of Christ. He is the one who comes and takes residence inside of me when I come to faith. He is the one who sent the Holy Spirit to be the constant encouragement and conviction in my heart. He is the one who died in the cross for my sins so that I could know a true relationship with the One True God who promises to satisfy every longing of my heart. Sin is only a facade. It promises but cannot deliver. God is the only true object and fulfiller of our desire. But don't take only my word for it."Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!" It's as if the Psalmist offers a challenge - try it out. See if the Lord really is as good as He says He is. The man taking refuge in the Lord is truly happy, and truly finds all his desires fulfilled.

If you believe already, repent and confess those sins that are keeping you from even deeper relationship with the Father. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Wisdom and intimacy with the Father are more important than stubbornness over sin.

If you do not yet believe, test Him. He fears no question and He fails no test. He truly satisfies any longing you could possibly have in greater ways than you could possibly imagine. Repent and believe! "You'll be more than sav'd from fire, when you - in God - find all desire."

IF

IF we confess.

There are so many aspects to highlight here, but this morning the IF stands out to me. It's so hard sometimes to confess sin, to repent, to apologize for wrong behavior, and to ask for forgiveness. My pride gets in the way. Especially when the person pointing it out is a loved one. I get defensive. I want to justify my actions. Sometimes I even begin to attack that person for hurting me (read: calling me out on my sin and wounding my pride), when it was me who was wrong in the first place.

IF you confess.

God IS faithful.

In this verse, I am the variable. IF you confess. God remains faithful, to forgive and cleanse from sin and unrighteousness. In spite of the constantly changing levels of pride and humility in my heart, in spite of my lack of willingness to admit sin, God is still faithful. This doesn't mean that there are sins that God will forgive without confession. No. God is still just and sin must still be punished and paid for. What it means is that He has given me a choice. He has offered salvation and righteousness, He has made the way clear, He is faithful to do it. All I have to do is confess. All I have to do is begin the terrible, messy process of killing the idols in my heart. And the biggest idol in my heart is a big ol' golden and jewel encrusted statue of me, myself, and I. So, I tear it down. I rip it from the roots of my heart by humbling myself to the point of admitting, of confessing, and repenting of my sin before a holy God. I do it by admitting that I can't do it without help, without God stepping in, creating in me a clean heart, and replacing that awful, gaudy, prideful idol of self with HIMself.

Then, and only then, does God forgive.

And He is SO faithful to do it! He is constant and true and love and just and merciful and gracious and abounding in blessing for those who call Him Daddy. He is the constant to my variable. He is the anchor to my storm-tossed heart. He is the hope to my hopelessness. He is the righteousness to my total unrighteousness. He is the light to my darkness. He is the salvation and life to my lost and dying soul.

IF I confess.

Captured.

I will sing of lovingkindness and justice, To You, O LORD, I will sing praises. (Psalms 101:1 NASB)

"I will sing of LOVINGKINDNESS and JUSTICE...I will SING PRAISES."

Sometimes I need to be reminded that God is indeed just and loving and worthy of praise. Worship is what I was made for and anything less than that simply does not satisfy. I don't want to live in a constant state of dissatisfaction, pursuing things that are not ultimate. Lately, I've been seeking this in social media and television and - not at all surprisingly - they have left me feeling exhausted and empty. Why? Because my heart longs to be satisfied with the Living Water. My heart was specifically designed to worship the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and when I seek that satisfaction elsewhere, it's like God is shouting into the void of my heart as Maximus did to the overflowing Coliseum:

"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!"

Of course I'm not. Because I tried to fill a God-sized hole with something lesser.

"I WILL sing..."

Other times, I need to be reminded that there is an element of intention to my worship. I was made for worship, and God intends to be worshipped, but He also gives me a choice in the matter. I can choose to worship Him. I MUST choose to worship Him, every day. When life is good and things are going smoothly, I must choose to worship the Father because otherwise I will grow comfortable and complacent. I suppose there is nothing much worse than a comfortable Christian. I must also choose to worship Him on the days when life is hard and tragic and painful. It is those times that my faith may be the most severely tested, but that is also when perseverance and character and hope are most effectively produced in me. Worship reminds me that "this hope we have as an anchor of the soul" in Christ, no matter how badly the storms may toss me about.

"TO YOU, O LORD I will sing praises."

Speaking of choices, sometimes I also need to be reminded that not only is the ACT of worship a choice but the OBJECT of worship is as well. It is the LORD GOD I am worshipping and not anything (or anyone) else. I get caught up in the things of this world so easily, in daily cares and worries, in myself - to the point that I begin giving more attention to them than I do to God. This is idolatry - there is no other word for it and it needs to stop. I need to stop and I can't stop except for the powerfully working blood of Christ poured out for me and filling me with His strength to turn away from my sin.

Jesus, capture my heart. Enthrall me with who You are to the point that I fall in love with You again each and every day, completely drawn into worship of You. Destroy the idols in my life and help me to give over each and every facet of my heart, mind, and soul to You. Bring me to worship You in good times and in bad ones. Continue to make everything except for Your worship and glory less than satisfactory so that I will long for You as the deer longs for water, and may I never leave until I have drunk my fill.