:: To Worship Him ::

 

   It’s that time of the year once again when we make our Christmas lists for those we plan to bless.  We will try to find the right gift for the right person.  Sometimes it will be a practical gift, sometimes a whimsical gift.  I especially love getting gifts from those who have given much thought and time into their gifts.  It doesn’t have to be expensive.  Their time involved in my gift speaks much more than the cost.  It says to me that ‘I am special’ to have been considered so thoughtfully. 

 

   The same with compliments.  A compliment can be a great motivator.  Particularly if you put a little thought into the why, when, and how of delivering it.  If you are in the public workforce, be sure to comment whenever someone on your staff keeps working in the face of rejection, handles a difficult situation well, catches an error, given another employee a helping hand, sells a particular product for the first time, or gives you a lead that proves fruitful.  Most of the time, a compliment should be given in public, either at a meeting or on the company bulletin board.  If the situation is delicate, convey your praise through a personal note that the employee can share with his family.  As with all regards, praise should be given immediately after good performance to provide the greatest reinforcement.  My students invariably do better when they are praised.  We all have a need to be rewarded and noticed.

 

   “They helped every one his neighbor; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.  So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the soldering; and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.”  (Isaiah 41:6-7)

 

   How sweet it is when everyone works together, unselfishly and in harmony, building one another up and encouraging one another.  Then the atmosphere is right for success.  Failure is sure to happen when the opposite is the case.  I prefer success every day!  I like encouraging one another, spending time to show appreciation to those who deserve it.  I like encouraging those who are depressed as well.  It does wonders!  Choose the right gift for those you come in contact with on a daily basis.  Gifts are not earned but are freely given.  Remember a gift can be just a nice compliment.  It’s the love behind the gift that matters.

 

 

   Will Rogers said that we can’t all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.  I would say that likewise we all can’t be leaders.  There have to be followers as well.  In McMillen’s book None of These Diseases, he tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application blank that asked, “Are you a leader?”  Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, “No,” and returned the application, expecting the worst.  To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: “Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders.  We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower.

 

   “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”  (Psalm 23:6)

 

    It is so, so assuring that we have a God who follows us.  It is also a fact that He pursues us as well.  Even chases us.  Who also hunts, searches and tracks us down and then wins us over. This may bother the backslider or the one running from God.  Not me, for it brings assurance to me to know that goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life.  Not so with some people.  There are many people on this earth that I would not want following me.  Some people do not have my best interest in mind and because of that I have to be cautious and wise about where and when I go certain places.  Not so with the Lord.  He follows behind me cleaning up the litter that I unfortunately make.  There are so many testimonies of people being in strange places only to look back and find the Lord following them.  Case in point was Moses.  He was in the desert forty years when he looked over his shoulder and saw a bush burning.  Yes, God had followed him into the wilderness.  Even Peter was followed when he denied the Lord and went back to fishing.  One day he heard a voice, looked up and over his shoulder he saw Jesus cooking breakfast.  God had followed him through all of his failures and denials. 

 

   We must never give up hope.  God is only a breath away, following close behind us as a parent hovering over their child when they are learning to walk.  Not there to smother but to be a help to us as we navigate through the journey of our life. 

 

 

   The dilemma is how to combine loyalty to one’s own tradition with reverence for different traditions.  According to a traditional Hebrew story, Abraham was sitting outside his tent one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey, coming toward him.  Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and then invited him into his tent.  There he washed the old man’s feet and gave him food and drink.  The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or blessing.  So Abraham asked him, “Don’t you worship God?”  The traveler replied, “I worship fire only and reverence no other god.”  When he heard this, Abraham became incensed, grabbed the old man by the shoulders, and threw him out of his tent into the cold night air.  When the old man had departed, God called to his friend, Abraham, and asked where the stranger was.  Abraham replied, “I forced him out because he did not worship you.”  God answered, “I have suffered him these eighty years although he dishonors me.  Could you not endure him one night?”

 

   Tolerance!  It seems it is so much easier to speak of tolerance than it is to exercise it.  There was a story about this man, Abdul Rahman, an Afghan, whose Christian conversion almost earned him a death penalty.  In the article, the reporter wrote that Afghans are grateful to the United States for its economic support, but they remain leery of Western values and associate Christianity with fornication and drunkenness.  They seem to link Christianity with America, and link America with decadence.  When you read the newspapers and watch TV you know immediately why they believe as they do.  The story of this man only reinforces us with a reminder that the Muslim world watches everything America does, often resenting our influence. 

 

   Fighting the culture war is one of the biggest battles that the Christian Church faces.  What we see in the news and hear is almost unbelievable at times.  The Church must rise up against crime and decadence.  Tolerance to me is allowing others to worship freely, but tolerance is not putting up with gross sin in the world.  Tolerance to me draws a line in the sand at some point. When your lifestyle brings decadence into my community it is time to rally for war!  Tolerance at that point comes to an end. 

 

   “He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.”  (Proverbs 21:22) 

 

 

   One of the hardest things we experience is receiving the love God has for us.  In our works mentality, we think that we have to somehow pay for it. That worth only comes from earning it.  Worth never comes from our works.  Works does afford earthly status and valuables but it does not provide our worth.  Worth only comes from our Maker.  It is God’s desire that we receive all of His love and take our rightful place in His Kingdom.  There are no big I’s or little i’s in God’s Kingdom.  We are all born again in as equals.  This once again bothers some of the members of the Kingdom at times.  We want to take the ’status level’ into the Kingdom.  We work so hard to be recognized and deemed responsible and worthy.  In reality most of us know that, but too often we automatically revert into that ‘old’ works routine. 

 

   Max Lucado wrote this in his book A Love Worth Giving.

 

   “The next day John was there again.  John had two of his followers with him.  John saw Jesus walking by.  John said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”  The two followers heard John say this, so they followed Jesus.”  (John 1:35-37)

 

   Eli Black was a brilliant businessman best known for two events in his life: He masterminded the multimillion dollar takeover of the United Fruit conglomerate, and he jumped to his death from the 42nd floor of the Pan Am building in New York City.

 

   In the book An American Company, an executive described a business lunch he had with Eli Black.  When the waitress brought a plate of cheese and crackers as an appetizer, Black reached out and took them, placed them on the table, blocked them with his arms, and continued talking.  The executive hadn’t eaten for hours and hinted that he would like a cracker.  But Black acted as though he hadn’t heard him and went on with the business meeting.  After a while, Black placed a cracker and cheese on the tips of his fingers and continued to talk.  Several moments later, Black placed the cracker on the executive’s plate and then blocked the rest as before.  It was clear that Black was in charge, manipulating others as he pleased.  When you play “follow the leader,” check to see who is at the head of the line.  Eli Black, for all his power, ended up in suicide.  Jesus Christ, in all His humility, ended up the Savior of the world.”   (Story told in Our Daily Bread)

 

   We need to be grateful for those who have powerfully influenced our lives toward a faith in Jesus Christ.  Those that stir our faith, and teach us about Jesus should be valuable to us.  However, they are not to be our ‘all in all.’  They are only messengers, not THE MESSAGE.  We must be sure that our faith is not packaged in any preacher, pastor, teacher or evangelist.  Their work and ministry must always point us to a deeper faith in Jesus and His Word.