FROM RAGS TO RICHES

"Put off, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry… You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator… Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." (Excerpts from Colossians 3:5-12)

One of the most important metaphors the Bible uses for sin is that of clothing. It speaks of “putting off” anger, slander, rage, greed, sexual impurity, and so on. And then it speaks of “putting on” those characteristics that flow from life in the Spirit. One of the ways you can think about sin is to use the acronym R.A.G.S. Those characteristics we are to “put off” by and large fit into one of these four categories: R.A.G.S

          Resentment: mismanaged anger and bitterness
          Anxiety: an inability or refusal to trust God; sins of passivity and timidity
          Greed: mismanaged desire of all kinds
          Superiority: self-righteousness and contempt for others

-- John Ortberg in “The Me I Want to Be”

#5603

PLEASING WORSHIP

Paul writes, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy [because of all that Jesus has done for us through the sacrifice of Himself on the cross], to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship.”  (Romans 12:1, AMP).

It is a good thing for corporate worship to become part of the weekly routine of the Christian. However, the fact that worship becomes routine and regular tempts us to be distracted during worship and to go through the motions without putting much thought into it. Therefore, we must work as hard as we can to make sure that our hearts and minds are in our praise, that every aspect of worship is “a fragrant offering, pleasing to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:2) Let us focus entirely on the Lord as we “worship Him in spirit and truth.”  (John 4:24) 

-- Adapted from Ligonier Ministries, the teaching fellowship of R. C. Sproul

#5015

THE HEART OF WORSHIP

“Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and come into His courts. Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns.’”  (Psalm 96:8-10a NIV)

The worship to which we are called in our renewed state is far too important to be left to personal preferences, to whims, or to marketing strategies. It is the pleasing of God that is at the heart of worship. Therefore, our worship must be informed at every point by the Word of God as we seek God’s own instructions for worship that is pleasing to Him.

-- R.C. Sproul


#4754

DOING WHAT’S RIGHT

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”  (Judges 21:25)

Many times over in the Book of Judges God has shown Israel how He sees things. He urges them to live according to His ways, to do what is right in God’s eyes. But continually they instead do what is right in their eyes, according to how they see things.

It was a hot summer afternoon on the Los Angeles freeway.  I was driving along, when suddenly, in the middle lane was a pickup truck, going about 50 mph, with a makeshift swimming pool in the bed of the truck.  Three children were having the time of their lives, yelling and splashing.

The next morning in the newspaper there was a photo of the truck, wet children, and an embarrassed driver being handed a traffic citation.  The driver was quoted as saying, "It was so hot and the kids were having so much fun, I just hated to stop them."

Everybody in that truck thought they were free to do whatever they wanted -- what was right in their eyes.  Well, I know this: Freedom is not doing what we please; it's pleasing God in what we do. It’s doing what is right in God’s eyes.

-- adapted from Luci Swindoll in “Extravagant Grace”

#4617