Opus 2026-348: It Occurred to Me

Recently I was thinking about going to Sunday school and going to church and it occurred to me that I am getting the wrong terminology. The Sunday school hour is more of a prayer-Bible study time.  I don’t have a word for that.

The second hour is not church.  It is worship.  I need to get in the habit of talking about going to worship rather than church.  I might even add a modifier and call it corporate worship.  Either way it’s a good way to frame the experience and it might even be a helpful way of witnessing.  When you say “Go to church” most people have a lot of preconceived notions.  They think of a building.  If they have a liturgical background, they might think of some fancy reciting and ritual.  The term corporate worship might make them stop and think a little bit so that’s what I’m going to try for.  We’ll see how it works.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-348: Energize the Routine

Part of our worship service very week is the Apostle’s creed. The pastor regularly reminds us to only recite it if we believe it.  It covers a lot of ground.  At the same time it misses certain points.  It does not spell out the divinity of Christ.  It does not make clear the importance grace.

Note however that no other religious or philosophical group could endorse this.  The very idea of God being personal and active in creation would rule it out for the Eastern religions.  Jesus being God’s son and the personhood of the Holy Spirit would rule out Muslims.  Some groups that consider themselves churches would refuse it because it mentions the virgin birth and the resurrection.

The Nicene Creed goes into more detail but is a bit long for reciting in an hour Protestant service.  It provides a serious place to begin and gives plenty of material for discussing what we believe with others.

Recite it with joy.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-339: Monday Pulpit: The Worship Experience

What makes worship more powerful some days?  A recent Sunday was one of those days.

It made me think of a comment about the actress Sophia Loren.  I heard it years ago and for some reason it stuck in my memory, emerging on an very irregular schedule.  Whoever it was said that each of her features taken by themselves were faulty.  The example I remember was he said her nose was too big for classical ideas of beauty.  But he said when you put them all together it produces a stunning result.

Transfer that idea to a worship service.  I am sure that someone could find fault with everything that took place last Sunday.  It would vary with the individual.  Since I am so good at finding fault I make conscious choices not to look for them.  When it all came together we had a powerful time of worship.

The unmeasurable ingredient would be composition and charisma in the case of an actress.  In worship it would be the Holy Spirit stirring memories and waking up responses.  I rejoice in the desired but not always achieved excellence.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-317: Casual Observations

I was thinking about the many different identical approaches to contemporary worship.  I was wondering if I had come from outer space and was attending a church that bragged about its entertainment team, or rather ego team, whoops, I guess that should be worship team, and how they go about whatever it is they’re doing.  I would find myself watching them and making certain observations or forming certain questions.

One observation is that you don’t seem to be able to sing this kind of music with your eyes open.  It also seems to help to move your head back-and-forth.  There must be something to it because everybody seems to do it.

A question, do microphones work better when you hold them upside down and above your mouth that nose level?  I’m just asking for a friend.  I’ve noticed that this is something very common although it is not universal.  It may be that if you actually kiss the microphone as you sing and it’s on the stand that it works just as well as holding it upside down.

And how about those guitarist?  Does a guitar resonate better if you hold a head below the body and lean forward over it?  Maybe dropping sweat on the strings gives you a clear tone.

And how about the drummers?  My observation in the little bit of drumming on things that I’ve done is that the harder I hit the louder it resonates.  Is this not true when you have a whole set of bang boxes?  Why is it necessary to build a glass cage around the drummer?  If the object is to see him, you don’t need a cage.  If the only object is to hear him, then you don’t need it made out of glass.  There must be some mystical element of contemporary worship, which draws people closer to God by being able to watch someone totally out of control banging on a bunch of drums.

Is the word “just” a secret worship formula?  Is it a theological term that has missed the church for ages?  It seems to be one of the more common words used in contemporary worship when the guy with the upside down microphone is going on and on sharing the great insight he has into the mind of God.

Just some observations, just some questions, just getting it off my chest.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-280: A Statement, Not a Question

The context was a discussion of emotion in worship.  My Mid-Acts Dispensation (MAD, their acronym, not mine) friend was reflecting the opinion that most emotion in worship was not worship but hormonal.  Not being an emotional sort myself I had a general agreement.  Most of what I have seen over the years that is called “sensing the presence of God” has been generated by crowd manipulation techniques.  At the same time I believe that you can sense the presence of the Holy Spirit whether you are in corporate worship or alone with the Lord.  My reason for that is I experience both on a regular basis.

As the Lord and I were in communion this morning I kind of threw it at Him.  He laughed and pointed out when He told Moses that His name was Yahweh, meaning I AM, He did not frame it as a question.  He made a statement that He is, period, or exclamation point.

He is the Great I AM.  Our opinion does not need to be offered.  He is whether we sense Him or not.  He is if only a few admit it.  He is even if every human denies Him.  I think the technical term is “aseity”.  It has the idea that God is not dependent on anything other than Himself.

He would love to have you respond to Him but that is for your benefit, not His.  Keep in mind that He is God and we are not.  Obvious, I know, but still we need to reminded at times.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-240: Deja Vu

This morning I had a flashback from my Hawaii days.  The bugs arrived.

We used to own a condo in Hawaii and had some great vacations there.  One year we stayed six weeks.  I always felt like it took at least a week to get adjusted and after that you could really enjoy.

One of my rituals was beach worship.  I never set an alarm but I would wake up around 4:00 AM, make a pot of coffee, gather my guitar, Bible and lawn chair and head for the beach.  I would then sit there playing hymns I had memorized and eventually doing some reading as the day decided to join me.  It was a glorious time.

I knew it was time to head back to the condo when the flies arrived.  It was about the same time every day.  It was like they had set an alarm.  One minute I was in glory, the next in a cloud.

That happened to me today.  Suddenly the bugs were everywhere.  After a few waves of the hand I realized my morning on the porch was over.  That is okay.  God is everywhere and He was already waiting for when I got to my recliner.

Embrace your environment.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-222: Dark Thoughts: A Pagan Morning

I have often quoted the words of Paul about how even those who do not know the God of the Bible through His revealed word know Him from His creation.

Romans 1:18-20 (KJV) 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

While it is true I find it usually a blithe declaration that I seldom embrace literally.

This morning, on the porch, I got a great taste of God’s glory.  I found that I had not looked at the written word yet because the horizon had such promise.  At the moment it has an appearance I have not seen before.  Picture a scene showing a volcano erupting and hot, glowing lava flowing down the mountain side.  Now turn it over.  That is the sky this morning.  It is a sea of red and gray with highlights of glowing orange and it is all flowing to pass over my head.

Truly I can see the glory of God in the creation.  I feel like a pagan waking up to an awareness that those Jews in Israel may know something I don’t.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-206: Scale of Music

Our church just bought new hymnals. That is not the empty gesture that it would be in some churches. We use our hymnals. In fact our pastor will not approve anything that is not in the hymnal. The emphasis on the traditional hymns of the church was one of the reasons I decided to make this my church.

It was time for new hymnals. There has been a lot of excellent creative work done in the area of music in the last 50 years. Currently it seems to be more an exercise in ego rather than worship but there are still gems in the weeds. If you go back to the early days of Maranatha music you have a lot of worthy music. The new hymnal that was chosen includes a lot of the great work done in the 1980’s and forward. It is refreshing to be able to access them. At the same time the choice made came from a Baptist publishing house so it lacks a lot of the songs I was nurtured on like “He Abides” and “Called unto Holiness”. You can’t have everything. I am glad to get half a loaf.

Years ago I took a class that involved how to lead singing in a church setting. We learned about the downbeat and the difference between 3/4 and 4/4 time. It was one of the most valuable classes I ever took. Too bad “worship leaders” today didn’t take a course like that. If they had they might understand their role as helping people to participate in worship rather than admire the runs of the lead guitarist.

One of the other things that was taught was categories of church music. At the time we had three types of songs available. First were hymns. Those were songs that emphasized the attributes and actions of God. You may have noticed songs that will have a verse for each person of the trinity. A classic example is “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Hymns use His, Him, He.

A second category was called “gospel songs”. This was different to the modern term which seems to have been narrowed down to black gospel. Gospel songs emphasized the personal elements. Think of “In the Garden” or “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” There are a lot of “I’s”, me, mine.

The third category would have been choruses. Later generations would call this praise music. They tended to be peppy and short. Theology was shallow and enthusiasm was expected.

Today I would add a category of “Contemporary”. To me these would be songs generally boring and repetitive with a total dependence on the accompaniment to give you something to remember. When I have been forced to attend a contemporary service I have a hard time knowing when we move from one song to the next. An added quality of these songs is that you have to sing them standing up. I think this is to keep you from falling asleep, but I concede that may just be my prejudice speaking. Also it is more important to sway with the beat than sing the words.

I will not live long enough to find out if any of the contemporary genre will survive for future generations. I don’t know what I will do if the celestial choir insists on using them.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-184: A Living Definition

On Palm Sunday we joined in the celebration of communion at our church.  It was the culmination of a great time of worship and, in keeping with its title, was a time of great community.  I had several pictures that stood out.

At our church we go forward and kneel at the altar railing.  It takes three or four repetitions of the ritual to serve everyone.  In one group a man and his wife went forward and knelt together but their children did not want to be left out.  The kids came up and squeezed between them and instead of sending the kids back to their seats, they embraced them.  They were not old enough to partake but were old enough to be part of bonding.  I loved the picture.

Another good sign was the many who joined in union that I did not know.  There were a number who looked familiar but I didn’t have their names down yet.  When you always sit in the same part of the sanctuary you miss a lot of names.  In addition there were a good number that I don’t even remembering having seen before.

I hope that everyone sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit as I did and that the spirit of unity will continue to bring us together.

That is why we call it communion 

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-165: Side Effects of Worship

In theory worship is designed to lift up and praise God.  That is a fine goal but it does not tell the whole story.  There are also a lot of benefits that accrue to the worshipers.

I find that a time of corporate worship develops a greater sense of being a part of the body of Christ.  It is like a mortar that flows through the joints between believers.  It cannot be measured but it can be recognized.

The individual benefits are also multiple.  Worship can improve your clarity of mind and focus.  The experience makers it easier for God to speak to us because we’re listening.  I find that if I don’t know I am being spoken to I miss a lot.  You may have had the experience in which someone is talking to you and you think they are just on their phone, or vise versa.  In that case you don’t miss a lot but you didn’t have a chance for anything because your mind was somewhere else.  When you walk in and open your Bible or hymnal you open the door to communication.   It gives the Holy Spirit a chance

I find it contributes to emotional stability and strength in multiple areas of my life.  There is something about the presence of other believers and the instruments of praise that reach down into our soul and put things into perspective.  That calmness prepares us to deal with life more effectually.

If we listen and apply ourselves it gives us increased knowledge and understanding.  What is not to like in that.

There is also the chance that if you do not know Jesus, salvation may become a reality in your life.  It might even begin a revival in your church and ultimately in the country.

Worship.  If I were writing in Greek that would be in the imperative.  Do it alone on your front porch.  Do it driving in traffic.  Do it in a building set aside for that purpose.  It will be worth your while. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-125: Figs and Remnants

I continue to be frustrated with preaching and teaching that is superficial and eisegetical.  I try to listen but it is almost impossible.  I have found something that helps.  Over the rest of the week I revisit the text that was the supposed source of the sermon or lesson and do the thinking that I expect from the speaker.

This past week we went through Jeremiah 24.  As we read I saw something that the Pastor was ignoring.  I asked about it and was patted on the head.  I am growing used to the head pats so I took it with a straight face and courteous manner.  I felt like it was an important point but it was either above or below his radar.

The chapter begins with God showing Jeremiah two bags of figs and they are described this way,

Jeremiah 24:2 (KJV) One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

Obviously the two types of figs were going to be treated differently.  It was assumed that the good figs were the faithful of Judah and the naughty were the rebellious and disobedient.  The thing that I felt was interesting came later,

Jeremiah 24:5 (KJV) Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

Notice that the good figs are being carried away to captivity . Later it says the bad figs stay behind.  That seemed like the opposite of what I would have expected.

Make what you will of it but to me it pointed out that if things start to fall apart around you it is not necessarily a mark of God’s disfavor if you are in the group that is deported.  God can care for His people in any situation and His plan is often not what we would expect.

Keep trusting and living in righteousness.  Things are not always what we think.

And keep reading and thinking.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-123: The Thousand Paragraphs

One of the reasons that church attendance has declined is that preachers and teachers have abandoned studying the word and instead go to what I call the Thousand Paragraphs.  I first thought in these terms when looking for a church to get involved in after our move to Texas.  I visited a small church in town and was generally impressed.  The worship was a healthy mix of traditional hymns and more contemporary songs.  There was a good spirit.  People were friendly. The sermon was adequate.  But…

I got the impression during the sermon that if I returned the next week I would hear the same sermon.  The words would be different.  The text would be different.  In spite of that it would be the same “turn or burn” message.  I had the feeling that the pastor had a thousand paragraphs, memorized and readily available, and he could call them up in any order.  They would fit together and seem coherent.  They would fit almost any passage of scripture that he chose, not because they were the result of study and prayer but because they were so flexible.

I have heard a lot of that type of preaching.  Often it takes the form of reading a long passage and then going to your thousand paragraphs, never to return.  In a sense the gospel is presented.  An invitation is given and because the goal is evangelism it is considered a success.

I did not return to the church.  It wasn’t because of the preaching.  I have given up on that.  It was the strong Calvinistic theology presented.  I can take it when it is not pushed but when it gets too heavy it is better for me to leave.

I wish them well. It may be that the thousand paragraphs will be enough.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-111: Ego Trip

Have you ever had scenarios that you feel like God prepared specifically for you?  It was that way a bit this morning.  It was a warm morning after a cold spell.  Later in the week it’ll get colder again.  That morning was about 64° and a perfect morning for sitting on the porch.  I got out just enough before sunrise to see the spread of pink and gray breaking up the blue sky.  It became a very nice sunrise.  The birds started chirping predicting that the sun was coming.  I had forgotten about that.  It’s been so long since I’ve been out here at this time of day.

And I got to thinking, as I thanked the Lord for His artwork, about how you had to be sitting in this specific spot to see the spread of clouds, the outline of the oak trees, the hills in the distance and having this specific ensemble of birds.  Did God prepare the morning just for me?  I seriously doubt it on one side yet on the other, knowing the mentality of God, it’s very possible.

How could He prepare this morning for me and prepare it also for other people who might be worshiping Him at this time?  The thought came to me that there are some mornings when it is really special because there are some mornings when there aren’t that many people in the audience.  Some mornings I may be up when most are still asleep.  I noticed those that are up are busy driving to work or inside the house preparing to go to work.  It’s very possible that some days I get a better sunrise simply because there’s less competition.

Or it could just be that God is so spectacular, so talented and so infinite that it is no problem setting up all the physics to meet the aesthetic requirements of His people.  I am filled with joy at either prospect.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-014: Uncharted Revelation: Reboot

One of the greatest and most useful tools when working with a computer is to reboot.  I don’t know how many times I’ve had issues with the software.  Things just wouldn’t work right.  Nothing seemed to go the way it was supposed to.  Eventually, I would get to the point where I would turn it off and turn it back on again.  It was amazing how many problems disappeared when you simply went back to the beginning.

Another way of talking about that is renewing the default settings.  That takes you back to where you were before you started monkeying with it and personalizing things.  It gets rid of the conflicts that come up when we want to be in charge.

I noticed this in Revelation 2 when it was talking about the church in Ephesus.  The church had a lot of good things going for it.  In spite of that, Jesus looked at them and said, “We got a problem.”  What was the big problem?  Didn’t they have good programs?  Weren’t they maintaining their standards?  Hadn’t they just won the Sunday school attendance contest?  Yes, He had one thing against them…

They had left their first love.

Jesus doesn’t go into explaining what He means by that, but we can go back and figure that out simply by visiting the preschool class in your Sunday School.  In between singing about Father Abraham and climbing Sunshine Mountain or whatever new contemporary nonsense they sing, you hear “Jesus loves me this I know….”  You might even hear the chorus, “Oh how I love Jesus.:”

So what is the most obvious first love that we tend to get away from?  Loving Jesus.  Those simple moments of just enjoying being in His presence.  That should be a large part of our worship.  We should be able to sit quietly and bask in the presence of the One who died on the cross for us.

You know that 15 minutes before the first person steps into the pulpit?  In many churches, the pianist goes to work.  Sometimes in our church, the pianist uses this as an opportunity to play some of the great music that never gets sung.  One church I was in, the pianist would spend a couple hours picking, selecting, practicing, working at setting the mood of worship.  Might I suggest you take advantage of that time and allow Jesus to get close to you, to sit down on the seat next to you, maybe to put His arm around you.  He might even whisper something in your ear.  The offertory is another good time to do this.

Most love relationships deteriorate from being ignored.  Say hello to your first love.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-384: Will We Care?

Sitting out and enjoying the morning, my thoughts always turn to God and His glory.  I was moving into a time of thanksgiving and, of course, started with Jesus and His willingness to sacrifice for my salvation.  I then found myself caught up in the concept of the trinity and what that means.  How do we understand something so incomprehensible?  It is a mystery.

I found myself thinking when we get to heaven we’ll understand this.  Then I said to myself, “I’m not so sure.”  I’m not sure that it will even occur to me to try and understand the trinity.  Think about how there are times we are so overcome with beauty and complexity that we forget about how unusual it is.

Years ago, I worked one summer in Sequoia National Park.  I remember one morning when I was up on top of one of the buildings putting on a layer of sealant.  It was a very boring and mundane task.  The smell of petroleum products overpowered everything else.  Suddenly, for a reason, I can’t explain, I straightened up and looked around me and was overwhelmed by the majesty of the giant sequoias that were everywhere I looked.  In the midst of such splendor, I was focusing on the tar I was putting on the roof.  I will concede it was my job and I was doing my job.  That’s part of my excuse.  The other excuse is that sometimes things are so glorious and we get so used to them that we forget the miracle that we live in.

Think about the glory of Christmas and that first day when the decorations are up and the music is playing.  I often want to dance.  After a few days, I take it for granted.  Think about being surrounded by my grandchildren on a day where we’re gathered to celebrate.  When I first walk in the door, I’m hugging and chasing and we’re all laughing and screaming.  After a while, it’s a matter of do I need another ice cube in my glass.

So stop and look around.  Consider the miracles that are all around you.  I look at the oak trees that are silhouette against the gray sky, and how the sun is trying to break through the clouds in the distance.  I think of the miracle of being on this hill in Texas.  I could go on and on, but you have your own glorious surroundings.

Stop. Contemplate. Be thankful. Rejoice.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-342: Cloud Joy

As I write, I am on my Texas porch for the first time in four sunrises.  The last four I spent enjoying the sunrise on the porch in Reno.  I enjoyed every one of those four mornings.  It was absolutely glorious because my friends have a porch which is situated so that they can look across a wash designed for flood control and are high enough to look over the houses on the other side.  In the distance you have the mountains between them and California.  It is an awe inspiring view.  I enjoyed every minute of it.

Now that I’m back on my porch I noticed one big difference.  Clouds.  In Reno when I was there  were only clouds one morning and they were high and wispy.  Here there are brief breaks in the display above me, but for the general pattern I don’t see the sun or the blue.  It’s all shades of gray and white as it races across the canopy.

I think I missed my clouds.  There will come a time when the sky of Texas is as cloud free for long periods of time as it was in Reno.  I will live with it because in many ways it will give me a vaster vista.  But I enjoy my clouds.  It reminds me of the variety of expressions that God has given us in His creation.  It reminds me of the joyful variety in life.

It’s good to be home.  I enjoyed the fellowship.  Being an introvert, I also enjoy the isolation.  It’s called having the best of both worlds.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-311: A Moment of Song

Stop what you’re doing.  Clear your throat.  Join me in a line of a song addressed toward the Lord God Almighty,

“How sweet it is to be loved by You.”

That’s all.  That will remind you and bless the heart of God.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-286: Two Forms of Prayer

“Pray for me.”  How often have you heard those words?  I would imagine fairly frequently if you were in a church that claims to believe in prayer and the power of prayer.  I’ve even heard it from people who don’t particularly believe anything but have a superstitious conviction that Christians have a hotline to the supernatural.  One of the lessons I learned from a teacher years ago was that often people look at us as surrogates to God.  Rather than belive and trust Him, they come to us and ask us to pray for them.  While I might respond that I will pray for them, I don’t think they understand that my prayers will not necessarily be what they are asking for.  I might mention healing in association with their name, but more so I would ask for their salvation and God‘s hand upon the spiritual walk.

I think of prayer in my own life is having two different formats.  The first one is the standard, evangelical, prayer list.  This is what you usually get in the pastoral prayer on Sunday morning or after a time of sharing prayer requests.  It’s like a shopping list style of prayer.  Personally, I don’t see any evidence for that in the scripture.  If you look at the Lords Prayer that Jesus gave us as an example, there is very little of the kind of requests that we get at a prayer meeting.  I will still do it.  I have a prayer map that I try to go through every day.  I have it organized in such a way that I hope I don’t forget anything that I have committed to praying for.  At the same time it’s kind of hard to know what the real needs are and what God wants to see happen.  Well, I will pray for healing, or a job, or a family situation but on those I will generally tack on the words of Jesus, “Not my will, but they will be done.”  About the only thing that I can pray for with a conviction that God is speaking through me is salvation.

The second form of prayer is more along the lines of what I think Jesus did, when He would sneak off in the morning to be by Himself and pray.  There was probably some supplication.  He probably lifted up each one of His disciples.  But I think the main focus of His prayer was listening to His father, and just sensing His presence.  That’s what I tend to do in the mornings and when I’m out on the porch.  I will start with a few well worn scriptures and meditating on them such as Genesis 1:1.  Or, I will think about the conversation God had with Moses when He told him that His name was Yahweh.  My thoughts already passed from that point, but they are always trying to listen to what God might be saying to me at that time.  I think there are a lot of similarities between what I consider prayer in which some people would consider Christian meditation.

If God could get tired, I think He would get tired of the endless lists we give Him.  It’s like every day is Christmas and we want to give him a reminder of all the things that we want for life to be good.  As I said, I do it as one of those things I do in submission to the leaders of the church and people who walk with Jesus.  That doesn’t mean that I considered it the most accurate form of prayer but I’m willing to give it a shot.

When I pray my prayer map and come to the end, I feel I have checked the box.  When I finally leave the porch and heading to begin next portion of my day, I feel like I have made a foundation and absorbed the attitude of God and being in the presence of the Almighty.  I think that’s more in keeping with what God wants in our prayer time but that could be just me.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-260: Dark thoughts: Sometimes Impossible

I am out on the front porch enjoying God’s creation in the Texas morning.  As I write, the first indications of orange and pink are spreading themselves across the horizon.  I am rejoicing in being able to be in the presence of God outside, staring at the sky, enjoying what He has provided.  At the same time I’m aware that all are not in my situation.

Yesterday I was talking to my son-in-law.  He has to be at work every morning at 6 o’clock.  He has two young children at home.  He’s about 30 minutes from his job.  I think it’s probably a little unrealistic to expect him to be getting up and spending quality time with the Lord in the morning.  He agrees with me.  It’s always good when people agree with you.  It’s good to know that they are also right.

So I accept that there are some cases where you just can’t do this early in the morning.  At the same time for those of you who have the flexibility I remind you that often it’s not a matter of can you, it’s a matter of will you.  I remember when I first made the commitment myself back when I was still working.  I started rising at 5 o’clock, which is still my rough target now in retirement.  But I did so in order to make it through rush-hour traffic.  I would get close to where I worked, go to Panera’s and order coffee, and sit down with my Bible for a time of personal worship.  It certainly didn’t match watching the sun come up over Texas hill country, but it met the need.  On Saturdays I would get up and spend the time in my big recliner as I did my laundry.

You may be locked in a situation that makes this very difficult.  God will see you through.  Grab what time you can.  For those who are simply not there yet I urge you to find a way to spend that time, focusing on the things of the Lord.  No guilt.  It really pays off.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-251: Membership Dues

In the book of Galatians Paul takes a stand against the new believers being circumcised.  He goes so far as to say that if they get circumcised, it will come between them and their faith in Christ.  It seems to us that he’s over reacting.  Today in America I think I saw the statistics that 70% of the men were circumcised.  It’s not an addition to the faith or an act of belief, it’s simply a medical procedure.

Automatic rejection by God because of circumcision was ridiculous.  Paul was circumcised.  Every Jewish member of the early church was circumcised.  It was a part of their culture.  It was what marked them as part of the nation of Israel.  It was like membership dues or an initiation ceremony.  It’s something you did.  The eight day old baby was not making a statement of faith.  His parents were initiating him into the covenant.

The Judaizers are attempting to make Jews out of the Gentile Christians.  They probably believed in Jesus themselves.  They saw that they had been circumcised and the Jesus has been circumcised and felt like what was good enough for Jesus was good enough for these Galatian Christians since they were looking back to the old covenant, instead of trusting in the new one.

We have to make that decision in our own lives.  When we come to Jesus, we enter into a new life, we are made new creatures.  Jesus called it being born again.  There may be some rituals from our past which are totally harmless and which we continue without thought.  You may have pancakes on Sunday mornings.  There are others that make statements about who we were, and who we no longer are.

Without getting caught up in the law, or in your own personal works as atonement, we need to consciously adjust our behavior to the glory of God.  It won’t change Him.  It won’t save us.  But it will help us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

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