Leviticus Wordled

Our church is reading through the entire Bible in chronological order this year in an effort to gain fresh perspective on the entire redemptive plan of God as it unfolds in scripture. As we finish up Leviticus I find myself surprised at the portrait of God I find there.

I had always been told that the Old Testament God of the Law was harsh, cold, wrathful, demanding, and not much fun at all. That is not the picture I get from Leviticus at all. I find there a God not much different than the One of the New Testament -- full of grace, ready to show mercy and compassion on anyone who truly wants to know Him. He is compassionate, generous, genuinely concerned for the health and well-being of His people. He is caring and compassionate towards the poor, the widow, the helpless, the stranger.

I find a God who loves celebration, encourages rest and restoration, and has a plan to bring about renewal. I find a God interested in freeing slaves, redeeming and rescuing those in bondage, and revealing Himself to any who will sincerely and humbly seek Him. I guess what I really find in Leviticus is... Jesus.

For grin and giggles I decided to Wordle the entire book of Leviticus. I had a hunch what the main key words would be but I wanted to see it for myself. I wasn't disappointed.

The biggest word in Leviticus is LORD, which is the translation of the Hebrew YHWH, the personal covenant Name of God. I AM. The God Who Is, Who Was, and Who Always Will Be. Eternal. Unchanging. Ever present.

Next is Offering. This is both a verb and a noun. It suggests that we acknowledge God as the source of everything we have and that we worship Him by giving it back into His hands to use for His glory. It speaks of sacrifice. We declare His worth to us by what we are willing to give up in order to gain Him.

Third is priest, one who represents God to the people and the people to God. The mediator. The go-between. It implies that there is tension and conflict on the relationship with God but that He is willing to do whatever it takes to restore that relationship.

There are others: holy, unclean, people, blood, sin, altar. These are all words you would expect to find in the Gospel. We just don't expect to find the gospel in Leviticus. It never ceases to amaze me that Jesus is everywhere in scripture if we take the time to look for Him.

"You want me to do WHAT, God?!"

Continuing through Genesis the past few mornings... came across this yesterday:
"And God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations... You shall be circumcised... it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.' " (Gen. 17:9, 11)

Because of the differences in cultures, customs, and worldview, we don't get the whole circumcision thing. Paul gives us a lot of insight on what was really going on there in Romans 2 & 4: "Circumcision is a matter of the heart, not outward and physical." (2:28-29), and it was given as a sign and a seal that God had already counted Abraham's faith as righteousness and set him apart as holy (4:10-12)

A few words help me understand this seemingly strange requirement of God to Abraham:

• Permanent - There's no undoing circumcision. No going back. You are all in. And it would remain a constant reminder of the unique covenant relationship God's people enjoyed.
• Personal - It was a 1:1 ratio. Every man had to bear his own part in the ongoing, unfolding redemptive narrative of God's plan. You couldn't be circumcised for someone else! "So then each of us will give an account of himself to God." (Rom. 14:12)
• Painful - Remember, Abraham and his men were adults at this time. Like Henry Blackaby says in Experiencing God, "Obedience is costly." The question is "Is it worth the cost?" That's why we call it worship; we are declaring what something is worth by what we are willing to sacrifice (see Gen. 22:12)
• Possession - God wants to set His people apart as His unique and holy treasure. "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9) Shepherds mark their flocks by cutting a notch or making a unique mark on their sheep so they will be easily identifiable as belonging to their master, even from a distance.

What sets me apart? Can anyone tell a difference? Do they see that I belong to Christ, or do I blend in with the surroundings as indistinguishable? A matter of the heart indeed!

Best of 2013

Well this is a little late but the holiday season was a busy one this year so.... Here is a sum up of my personal best for 2013:

Best Music:
Overall this was a pretty dry year for great music but there are a few highlights that deserve mentioning for me:

• Best album: "All Sons & Daughters - Live"- Where have these guys been hiding?! One of the best worship records of all time. Terrific songwriting, never cliched or predictable. The musicianship is top notch. Personal favorite: "Called Me Higher."

• Best song: "Anchor" by Hillsong United & "Promises" by Sanctus Real. While neither of these songs break any significant artistic ground, they cam e along at a time in my life when I needed to be reminded of the faithfulness of God in the worst of circumstances. These won;t win any awards for creativity but they comforted my soul when I really needed it.

• Best overplayed radio pop song: "Wake Me Up" by Avicii. Love this song! 

Best movie I saw:

"Catching Fire" While the first Hunger Games movie was decent, this second part totally surpassed all expectations I had. It was one of the best book-to-movie adaptations I have seen in some time. I know there were better movies but I could only afford to see so many. The rest are Redbox fodder for 2014. :-)

Best Superhero movie:

The big surprise this year for me was "The Wolverine." Finally, it felt like the Wolverine I knew and loved from the comics. Though I was disappointed in "Iron Man 3" in the theaters, I began to like it much more on Blu Ray after seeing a few more times. "Thor 2" was fun like a roller coaster, but still nowhere near the movie Avengers was. And "Man of Steel" was a step in the right direction for the Superman franchise but ultimately was kind of flat emotionally. Lots of cool explosions and massive destruction but if I'm not emotionally invested in the characters, so what? "The Wolverine" not only delivered on all the essentials - story, character, action, emotional depth -- it serves as a promising indicator for the whole X-Men movie franchise. Excited to see what they do with "Days of Future Passed."

Best TV show I watched:

Toss up between "Duck Dynasty" and "The Walking Dead." Two vastly different shows but wouldn't miss an episode of either. The only connection the two shows have is that in a real zombie apocalypse, I would want the Duck Dynasty guys on my team.

Best books I read:
I read a LOT of books this year and learned a lot from some brilliant, godly mentors. I can't narrow it down to one but here are a few that impacted me the most:

• Because We Love Him: Embracing a Life of Holiness by Clyde Cranford. An older, hard-to-find book given to me by a former pastor. This is definitely worth seeking out. A dry read for the casual reader but if you are a serious seeker of what it means to live a life of holiness, this book is worth the work.

• Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in Everything by Steve DeWitt. One of my favorite books ever. A new classic. Helped me greatly to develop the discipline of letting the ordinary everyday beauty of things like nature, food, music, art, and other people draw me up into worship of the One who made it all.

• The Utter Relief of Holiness by John Eldredge. What year would be complete without a book from John Eldredge? This one is a relatively short read. Cuts to the chase on how pursuing holiness in Christ breaks the chains that bind us and sets us free from a host of addictions that plague our souls.

• Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart by J.D. Greear. Fantastic little book about assurance of salvation. Found it very helpful in counseling and discipling.

• Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung. God lead me to this book a few months back when I kind of had a mini-meltdown. I had exhausted myself emotionally, physically, and spiritually and was not obeying the principle of Sabbath. I accidentally stumbled onto this book through Crossway's website and ordered it. So helpful! A must read for every pastor.

That's all I can really think of right now. I am tired and most likely no one will read this anyways. :-) Looking forward to what God is going to do in 2014!

Ought we not to walk in the fear of our God?

Been reading in Nehemiah lately. Yesterday I read this and God has been working me over with it...

So I said, "The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?" (Neh. 5:9, ESV)

"The thing which you are doing is not good."
What thing? Well, for the people Nehemiah was addressing it was something called usury -- exploiting the neediness of the poor for your own personal financial gain. During a difficult financial time when the people of God should be caring for one another all the more, some of the wealthy Jews were lending money to their poorer brothers at exorbitant interest rates. It was extortion, it was oppression, and it was outright wrong. But what made it especially abhorrent was that they were doing it to their own kinsmen.
So what is "that thing which you are doing"? What for you is that ting that you know is wrong but you do it anyway? What are you willing to wrong another person for, even if it is a fellow Christ follower, even though you know it is wrong?
At the core of it is always selfishness and pride. The essence of sin is rejecting God and elevating the self as god in His place.

"Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God...?"
What does "the fear of God" mean? Some have said respect, reverence, or awe of who God is. That is certainly a part of it. But the scriptures use a word that goes beyond mere reverence for God's authority or holiness. That word is very specific and chosen by the Holy Spirit to convey exactly what it means -- fear. Not abject terror. Not as in the fear of something evil that means you harm and you cannot escape it. Imbedded in the minds of the Israelites was the understanding that they would one day stand before this God and give an account of their life to the One who gave it to them and required them to live it in holiness for His glory. In appealing to their Jewish understanding of the scriptures, the writer of Hebrews reminded his readers that "it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." (Heb. 9:27) It's at the core of Jesus' parable of the talents. God has entrusted something precious to us. He means for us to make it count for His kingdom. And one day we will stand before Him and give an account of what we did with what He entrusted to us. There will be rewards for the faithful. And there will be punishment for those who hated Him and distrusted His heart, His intentions toward them. It's exactly what Jesus meant when He said, "I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!" (Luke 12:4-5)
Let's face it. We always make sure we do what's expected of us when we know someone in authority is going to come and hold us accountable for it. Homework gets done. chores get done, work gets done. Ought we, then, to live our lives as if we really believe we will stand face-to-face with our God and give an account? Even for the believer, whose sin has been covered by the blood and will not have to appear before the Great White Throne of judgement, must give an account for the way he has lived as a follower of Jesus. (1 Cor. 3:12-15)
But there is yet another important reason to walk in the fear of our God...

"...because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?" (NASB)
Israel was supposed to be the people of the One True God. They alone had a relationship with God. He had singled them out through His covenant. He would be their God and they would be His people so that the nations would know Him through them! That was the whole purpose of setting them apart, to eventually bring all the nations to Himself. Israel alone represented the character and nature of God to the Gentile nations around them and His glory was tied up in their lives. When Nehemiah said these words, they were only just emerging from a 70 year exile from Babylon because of their failure to do exactly this.
It is no different for the Church. As Christ followers, God has strategically placed each of us, and each of His churches, in neighborhoods, cities, communities, families, schools, workplaces and relationships where those who don't know Him can get to know Him through us. The way we live is supposed to reveal Jesus to everyone around us. When we choose to do "that thing" -- whatever it is -- that indulges the self and rebels against God and defies His Word, it brings shame, disgrace, and reproach on the name of Jesus and His character. How many have turned away from the gospel because they saw the lives of those who claimed to represent it and concluded that it had no power, it made no difference, so it must not be true?
Then there are the enemies of the gospel who seek to tear it down, destroy it, erase it from the public eye, eradicate any vestige of it, and silence it forever. Will we prove them right? Will we continue to hand them fodder for the cannons they have aimed at Christ and His bride? "You will be My witnesses," said Jesus. The question is, are we witnesses for the prosecution, or for the defense of the gospel?

The stakes are high. Hell is hot. Time is short. Eternity is long. God is holy.
That thing which we are doing is not good. Ought we not to rather walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? God help us! Revive your church! Awaken your bride! Shake your people and may the church be found faithful when you return for her!

Dim Bulbs, Walking Dead, and the Word Made Flesh

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. (John 1:4, NASB)

I have a confession. Even though I am a pastor and I love Jesus, I like the show The Walking Dead. I know, I know... guts, gore, and some cussing. How could a Christian find anything redeeming about a show like that -- especially a pastor, for crying out loud! Even my wife doubts my salvation for watching it.

It's hard to put a finger on. I don't "enjoy" it the way some people enjoy a TV show. It's not funny, it's not heartwarming, it's not escapist entertainment by anyone's definition. But there is something about it that is compelling. There is something in it that smacks of real life. Not dark, edgy, gritty, zombie-apocalypse reality. I mean real life, right now, where we all live. Underneath all that is a truth struggling to be seen and heard and recognized... and embraced. 

There was one scene early on in season 2 that stands out as particularly compelling. The little band of survivors are on the move in rural Georgia, desperately trying to survive against all odds, clinging to some semblance of hope and humanity. Exhausted and despondent, they stumble across a small church in the country. They exchange silent glances, a glimmer of hope for safety and sanctuary passes between them. They enter the church.  What they find there is forever stamped in my mind.
Sitting in the pews, silently facing the front of the church are a meager handful of zombies. Living dead. Going through the motions of a life they no longer possess. Empty shells, devoid of anything that made them human.  An empty pulpit and a replica of Christ hanging on the cross stare silently back at them, as if to say, "There is no hope here, either. Christianity holds no answers. Nothing here can save you or help you or change you."

I remember seeing that and thinking half-sarcastically, "I've been to that church before!" It would be funnier if it were not such a sad and sobering truth. (I am not speaking about my home church here, just some churches I have been to in the past.) Many have come to churches hope and healing and... life! Only to find it filled with the walking dead -- members who long ago gave up any hope that the gospel can make any real difference in the world. So they come. And sit. And stare. And go lifelessly through the motions of church without ever connecting with the only One who can give them life. And we as leaders have allowed this to happen. Somehow we have failed on a massive scale in this country to connect people to their source of life.

God said it this way through the prophet Jeremiah:

"An appalling and horrible thing

Has happened in the land:

The prophets prophesy falsely,

And the priests rule on their own authority;

And My people love it so!

But what will you do at the end of it?" (Jeremiah 5:30-31, NASB)

As Christmas draws nearer, my heart is drawn to one of the greatest passages about the incarnation of a Savior in all of scripture: John 1. The Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. In Him was Light, and that Light was the life of men! I read that this morning and immediately thought of the lamp on my desk at work. It doesn't work anymore because the bulb burned out and I haven't replaced it yet. The dead bulb is sitting on my desk.

When the scripture says "In Him was light, and this light was the life of men," it's like that dead bulb. It was created to give light. It contains the filament and the wiring, the potential for light. But it takes being connected to electricity. It needs a power source to realize that potential it was created for. Unless it is connected it will sit, unlit and unused, never knowing why it's there or what its purpose is.

I imagine myself as a light bulb trying to figure out why I am here. I can tell I was created for something. The stuff inside me is there for a reason and I have an unmet longing to be what I was designed to be. I would try my best to figure it out. But I would probably end up missing the point altogether and spend my life trying to be a paperweight or a door stop or decoration somewhere, unlit, unloved, and unfulfilled. And because I am fragile and designed for a very specific purpose, trying to live life on my own would end with me broken on the floor somewhere, feeling fit only for the trash can.

But I heard a rumor somewhere that there was a place I could go and they would tell me who I am supposed to be and how life is supposed to work. More than that, that they would connect me to a power source and I would actually light up! I would surge with electricity and be absolutely brilliant. And that the light I could cast would dispel darkness and make vision possible and illuminate the world around me so people could see the truth about where they were and what was gong on.

That's what people come to church for, if they come at all. And our job as the church is to connect dim bulbs to their source of power so they can be what they were made to be, for the glory of God and the good of the whole world. Our job is to connect people to Jesus. Because in Him is the light, and this life is the light of men.

Jeremiah was saying that there are reasons so many can come into churches and fail to connect with Christ:

• The prophets prophecy falsely. The ones who stand to proclaim "Thus says the Lord" say things that the Bible does not say. They either lie by not telling us what God's Word really says, or they lie by telling us it says something it does not say. Either way, we will never connect with Jesus if we do not know His heart. And we will never know His heart if the ones He has entrusted to speak for Him are liars. Like the empty pulpit fro the aforementioned scene, there is too often no one there to open the Word and simply tell people what God said.
• The priests rule in their own authority. Rather than obeying God and submitting to the authority of His Word, many pastors and church leaders run the church according to their best thinking, their market research, their strategies and focus groups and consultants. They gather together in conferences, they read each others blogs, and buy each others books, but when it comes to leading the church they spend more time following each others' tweets than on their face before God. They rely on their own wisdom and cleverness, or worse, the wisdom and cleverness of someone else, and make decisions without any prayer other than, "Bless what I have already decided to do without really asking You, Lord."
• My people love it so. This is the saddest part. We like it this way. We don't really want God showing up to church, revealing His glory, making His demands on our time and money. We want a church that pushes all our buttons, scratches all our itches, offers every program under the sun for every demographic in our community. It's a consumer mind set. we pick a church like we pick a car or TV or a smart phone. Does it do what I want? Does it have all my favorite apps? Will it give me everything I want but cost me as little as possible? I fear that the modern North American church model has more to do with the Great American Dream than the Great Commission. And even less with the Great Commandment.

"But what will be the end of it?" asks God. How will this play out? A handful of zombies gathered to stare at an empty pulpit and an image of Jesus who has been defeated by a cross. Walking Dead.

O God, stir our hearts! Wake us up! revive your church, Jesus! Help us to sync our hearts with Yours and to make it our passion to connect people to Your Light, the life of all people everywhere. Forgive us for making church a place of death and despair, when you mean it to be a place of life and hope. Cause Your Bride to be beautiful again.  In the precious, powerful, light-bringing, life-giving name of Jesus, I cry out to you! Amen.

The Day Jesus Came to Church

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The Day Jesus Came to Church

Mark 1:21-34

Jerry Davison

Mark 1:33 is one of my favorite verses in all of scripture. In one short, simple sentence, Mark captures the profound effect that the presence of Jesus can make when He "enters the house."

So why don't the majority of churches in North America & Western Europe experience this phenomenon? Why doesn't "the whole city gather at the door" of our meetings? To answer that question, we have to understand why this particular town had gathered at this particular door...

Jesus was there!

Back in verse 21, Jesus "entered the synagogue." The first thing that happened is that Jesus showed up to church! Unless we are gathering specifically and intentionally to meet with God, then church is a waste of time. If Jesus is not there, don't bother coming. Yet how many so-called “Christian” churches do not experience – nor would they welcome – the present, active intervention of Christ Himself?
In our current church culture, we have become so good at "doing church" -- with all its programs and strategies, carefully marketed to specific demographic subsets -- we have no need for God to show up at all. I fear that most churches don't even miss Him! A gathering of believers exists for one reason only: to encounter the living presence of a Holy God in corporate worship. In other words, to experience His glory.  As Matt Chandler says, "Church is a lousy hobby." If we are not meeting with God, let's lock the door and turn off the lights and go home. But let's don't pretend we are actually a church if Jesus is not there.

The Word is the Ultimate Authority

In verse 22, Mark says that the people there were "amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching as one having authority, not as the scribes." The root word of authority is author. Who knows more about a book than the one who wrote it? Who has the final say about the plot, the characters, the setting, and the ending? Who is the authority? The author! Standing before them was The Author of THE Story. The Word Made Flesh was teaching His own Word to them. No wonder it carried such weight! As oppose to the scribes, whose job it was to meticulously copy the text, paying careful attention to every line, letter, and punctuation. Could it be that they could not see the Word for the words? They were merely copiers of a manuscript; Jesus was the Author, the source, the very Word Himself.
If our churches are to attract the whole city to gather at our door, Jesus must be there, and His Word must be the Ultimate Authority over every area of our lives. It must be taught without our own thoughts and opinions mixed into it. It must be allowed to speak with its full voice and take us to the mat with its full weight, every single Sunday. Only the inspired scriptures have the power to teach, reprove, correct, train us in righteous, and equip us for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16)

True Spiritual Need is Exposed, Confronted, and Dealt With

Inevitably, the unapologetic preaching of the authoritative Word of God will flush out the Enemy's hidden activities. In verse 23, a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit cried out, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are-the Holy One of God!" Ironically, the demon recognized Jesus when the religious leaders did not! Jesus then rebukes the demon and casts him out of the man. This simple confession from a demon should be the foundation of all our repentance – “I know Who You are -- and I understand what that means!” What else do the scriptures mean when it says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”? (Ps. 111:10, Prov. 1:7 and 9:10)
Now, am I suggesting that we have demon-possessed people attending our churches today? I don’t know; maybe we do! We may even have a few as pastors from what I have seen in some churches! But the principle here is that when Jesus shows up at church, and His Word is preached with full authority, then the true spiritual nature of our deepest needs is exposed, confronted and corrected. Our struggle is not against mere flesh and blood, Paul says. It is spiritual in nature, not merely physical, mental, or emotional, and therefore requires a spiritual solution. (Eph. 6:12-18)

Our churches are filled with people who live under the oppression of dark spiritual forces who constantly discourage, deceive, diminish, distract, and seek to destroy any work of God in them or through them. We have to stop relying on the wisdom of the world’s best thinking, stop applying merely superficial approaches to deep spiritual problems. This is so important that God mentioned it twice to the prophet Jeremiah in 6:14 and 8:11: “They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when all is war.” Felt needs preaching and programs will not cut it. We will have to recognize that we have a very real Enemy and stand ready to do battle in spiritual warfare, through prayer, the Word of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

God is Glorified

When Jesus’ presence is in a church, God’s Word is preached unapologetically and authoritatively, and people start getting set free and lives start changing, word is bound to get out. Verse 28 says that “His fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region…” Notice it was Jesus’ fame, not the synagogue’s. We must be more interested in building His Kingdom than drawing a crowd. We never want to make the mistake of the citizens of Babel in Genesis 11 and try to “make a name for ourselves” at the expense of God’s glory. When a church is more interested in God’s glory than its own, it’s time to order more chairs!

Homes and Families are Transformed

From the church, it moves into the home and the family.  In verse 29, Mark tells us, “Immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.” Now follow this progression: The glorious presence of Christ is manifested at the church meeting, His Word is boldly preached with authority, it exposes the true spiritual nature of our deepest need and satisfies it, lives are radically changed, word gets out and begins impacting the surrounding community… then the presence of Jesus moves from the church house into OUR house. Once Jesus entered the synagogue, He then moves into the homes of His followers and begins healing and changing their families! It is important to note, it was the men of the house who brought Him in!

One significant phrase to notice in this story is in verse 30. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick and feverish, “and immediately they spoke to Jesus about her.” Once Jesus moves into our homes and families, prayer takes hold and Jesus’ power is released and activated in response. “And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.” (v. 31) The sure sign of a life that has been touched and healed and changed by Jesus is joyful, willing, service to Him and to His followers. No one asked her to serve them. Jesus didn’t demand it: “You’re healed! Now go fix me a sandwich!” No! The text is clear, her grateful, voluntary response to His healing touch was to place herself at His disposal, and to lovingly serve those who follow Him.

People Bring Others to Jesus

What happens next? “They began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.” (v. 32) The people began inviting their family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, classmates… ANYONE! People began bringing others to Jesus. No clever church marketing. No expensive mailers or billboards. No gimmicks or circus antics to attract those who want to be entertained. The people were the invitation. “Come and see what Jesus did for me! He can do it for you to!” When Jesus is in the house and His Word is clearly preached, lives get changed and word spreads, and the church members themselves begin bringing the lost, the broken, the desperate to Jesus without a marketing strategy or intensive witnessing program. But listen… this is key… Evangelism was NOT the primary focus; it was God’s glory! When God is honored and worshipped authentically, people cannot help but hear about Jesus. Evangelism isn’t a program or an emphasis; it is the inevitable overflow of God’s manifest presence in a community of faith!

The Whole City is Impacted

Which brings us full circle back to Mark 1:33: “And the whole city had gathered at the door.” Not to build our church, or draw a crowd, or make a name for ourselves, but because Jesus is there, His Word is boldly and uncompromisingly proclaimed, lives were transformed by His power, and His name was glorified! Forget the latest trend in church planting. Forget the strategies, the marketing, the conferences that tout the latest model. If we want to see a city changed by the power of God, Mark 1: 21-32 tells us how.

Error: Audio/Video Synchronization issues!

     The other night at our small group Bible study, we were watching the video teaching segment for the series we are doing. We were streaming the video over a network to a TV. The teaching began and everyone was genuinely interested to hear what the speaker had to say. It soon became clear, however, that there was a problem. The sound and the picture were not matching up. We would hear the words first, then several awkward seconds later the guy in the video would move his mouth. At first it was kind of comical but as the teaching went on, it became a distraction. The it became downright annoying. I found myself wanting to just stop the video, even though I really wanted to hear what he was saying.
     Ironically, the topic the teacher was speaking on was the role of the church in displaying the glory of God. As we all struggled to keep up with what he was saying without being driven to distraction by the out-of-sync video, the Holy Spirit said something to me and I wrote it down in my notes:

"When what people hear us say doesn't match what they see in our lives, it distracts from the message we are trying to deliver."

 In other words, if the audio is out of sync with the video, people can completely miss the point! And what is the point? The glory of God! We want people to see who God really is by the way that we live. The Holy Spirit is always working in the lives of God's people "conforming them to the image of Christ," so that we will reflect His character and nature to people who so desperately need to know He is real.
     Tragically, few people get to see that image of Christ reflected in us because our lives get out of sync with our words. This is not a new problem, either. It dates back thousands of years. Listen to what God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah to His people Israel:

"Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered!'-that you may do all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," declares the LORD. (Jer. 5:8-11, NASB)

What was happening here? The people were coming into the temple, saying all the right words, singing all the songs, "amen-ing" the preacher in all the right places. But there was no life change. What they were saying didn't match up with what they were doing. The audio was out-of-sync with the video. And it was diminishing the glory that God intended the pagan nations around them to see through their holy lives. Ezekiel said it "profaned the name of God among the nations" for His people to live out-of-sync with the Word of God (Eze. 36:16-21)
     To much of the world watching this jumble, they have found the gospel message difficult to follow, distracting to watch, and have either become annoyed and frustrated by it, or have lost interest altogether. The name and glory of God is diminished when His people live out-of-sync with the Word they claim to believe. Churches go through the motions of services and programs every week, devoid of the power or presence of God, and then wonder why people are leaving in droves.
     But how can we expect His power or presence on Sunday morning when we don't give it much thought Monday thru Saturday? We worship on Sunday morning out of the relationship with God we have cultivated the rest of the week. What we bring to the table is what we have prepared in the kitchen. You can't bring a stale, half-eaten peanut butter sandwich to the table and expect it to magically become steak and lobster. Similarly, we can't live our lives all week focused on ourselves and then expect God to show up and do amazing things in our midst just because we have a band and lights and video screens and a dynamic, well-educated speaker.
     God help us! Please help us to repent. Help me to repent. Jeremiah warned:

But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;

They have turned aside and departed.

'They do not say in their heart,

"Let us now fear the LORD our God,

Who gives rain in its season,

Both the autumn rain and the spring rain,

Who keeps for us

The appointed weeks of the harvest."

'Your iniquities have turned these away,

And your sins have withheld good from you.

'For wicked men are found among My people,

They watch like fowlers lying in wait;

They set a trap,

They catch men.

Like a cage full of birds,

So their houses are full of deceit;

Therefore they have become great and rich.

'They are fat, they are sleek,

They also excel in deeds of wickedness;

They do not plead the cause,

The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;

And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

'Shall I not punish these people?' declares the LORD,

'On a nation such as this

Shall I not avenge Myself?' (Jer. 5:23-29, NASB, emphasis mine)