Author / Chad

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Posts by Chad

Dad of two, husband of one.
by Chad

Knowledge Without Wisdom is Worthless and… Well, It’s Rather Dumb.

Hmm… Seems like history is stuck on repeat.

First off, it’s been a few minutes since I posted anything… 2,072,641 minutes, actually. Sorry for the delay.

“What any religious tradition describes as God’s will is no concern of this Congress.”

Jerry Nadler – D – New York

What happens when any nation turns from God, or worse yet, runs from Him all the while denying His very existence and love for all?

My friend, welcome to 2021 where the government of the United States of America is actively and feverishly doing all it can to push the citizens away from God and remove Him from every aspect of the once great Government it was.

In my 40+ years of life, I would not have believed I would ever find myself living in a country that denies even the basics of knowledge and wisdom.

Yet here we are where we’re expected to believe “scientists” and “doctors” on all subjects including climate change and virology, yet the political forces want to pick and choose which “science” is acceptable.

How can you not believe in climate change? Oh, and science now says gender doesn’t exist.

Look, I really don’t much care how you want to dress or act so long as you don’t expect me to look at you like you’re normal when you’re so desperately trying not to be normal. To each their own, but your own denying the basic science of gender should not require others to accept your “science” as anything scientific. It’s not.

The same generation that wants to accept the adult baby who actually spends his days in diapers and sleeps in an adult sized crib is the same generation that wants to replace science and facts with make-believe and feelings, and force it on the world.

Understand this, that I don’t hate you or wish you ill will in any way. You do you.

I do ask that you refrain from spewing your hatred and desire for ill will to come my way just because I don’t accept your behavior as normal or befitting of an adult… or even a child.

Let’s be honest. You can pass any law you can come up with, believe any falsehood, and wish it to be sooooooo badly that you hurt inside, but it has absolutely zero effect on actual truth and facts.

Do you want to make a law that actually has merit? You’re in luck, because those are already laws!

The United States of America, despite what rewritten history you may have been taught, was founded on the belief that we’re all created equal. To that end, I am expected to recognize and honor you as a person. You in turn are expected to recognize and honor me as a person as well.

If you want to pass laws to try and make me accept your viewpoint as a requirement, then would it not be equal for laws to be passed that require you to accept my viewpoint, however different from yours, as a requirement as well?

I wonder how many would be willing to compromise toward actual equality if it required accepting my beliefs on God in order to lawfully practice their own beliefs in their gods.

But what does God’s Word have to say about it?

“Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.
Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.”

Romans 1:22-32 – NLT

#WhereIsGod #Wisdom #Jesus #FollowHim #ChristianInAmerica

by Chad

Unworthy Made Worthy

There is a subtle danger that lurks about plaguing those who have found Truth in God’s Word and those blinded by religion alike. I know because I have been both. I lived for many years knowing a lot about God, but serving my own religion rather than actually following Christ. For the past several years, I have been working to follow the Holy Spirit in every area of my life. Let’s just say, I’m a work in progress.

But even a life such as mine that is trying to follow God and not a religious substitute faces a spiritual disease that is often overlooked if not actually embraced. Some people even celebrate it as an accomplishment, failing to realize the true nature and destruction they are willfully inviting into their hearts and thinking… Self-Righteousness.

I hesitated to use its name, Self-Righteousness, because the very mention of it sends those afflicted by it into immediate denial, deflection, and comparison. Ironically, those are the very symptoms of the disease.

Jesus told a parable in Luke 18:9-14, and in true Jesus fashion, he illustrates the disease perfectly.

“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:10-14

How often we go about our days thinking we’re “all good” in our hearts much like the Pharisee. We found truth and God, and we began studying His Word, praying, tithing, and everything else that comes with living for Christ, but at some point if we’re not careful, we forget that it’s only by the mercy and grace of God that we are justified, saved, forgiven, and even able to draw our next breath.

Let us not lose sight of the fact that our righteousness, that is Self-Righteousness, is the equivalent of used tampons, Isaiah’s simile in modern English, not my own. Self-righteousness is filthy, disgusting, and worthless, and it brings about a life that is equally filthy… disgusting… worthless. When we puff ourselves up on our Self-Righteousness, we stop relying on God for our thinking, wisdom, actions, and basically everything else we need. The Self-Righteous thinker prides themselves on their knowledge of God, their self-righteous lifestyle, and accomplishments of avoiding immoral behaviors.

But those living in the righteousness of God are like the tax collector in the story, who rely on the mercy and grace of God to justify them. They remember that Christ died for us while we were yet unworthy sinners. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.” Romans 5:8-9

God’s mercy and grace is not a license to continue living in sin, and we should fully trust and believe that His grace is sufficient. The sacrifice that Jesus made for our lives completely paid for our sins, and it is that knowledge that should remind us that it is His righteousness that saves us, not our own.

The arrogance of the self-righteous takes away from the amazing grace of Jesus dying on the cross, our Father in Heaven sending His Son on that mission, and the unfathomable beauty and worth of the Holy Spirit living inside of us!

When I look at the things I accomplished on my own, even proclaiming them to be in the name of God, I realize they were selfish and disgusting in comparison to the amazing and powerful things that God accomplishes through and in me when I fully rely on Him, knowing all the while that it is God alone who deserves all of the GLORY and HONOR for all things good!

Our prayer should be…

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner that You alone have redeemed and made righteous! I love You and thank You! Use me in whatever capacity You will, and may my lips always sing of Your praise as my heart holds dear Your righteousness in my life. Jesus, I thank you for your love and sacrifice that has bought me. Holy Spirit, what do YOU want to do today? Let’s do that!”

by Chad

Facing Anxiety

God always speaks exactly what we need to hear. Some days He speaks louder than others. Are you dealing with anxiety? We all have, myself included.
 
Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (v.31 “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? What about the bills?”) will be repeatedly provided to you.”
 
Yes, most translations say these things “will be added” to you, and a quick study of the phrase reveals that it is translated from the Greek word prostithemi meaning to repeat: add again. It also means to give more, increase, lay unto, proceed further, place additionally, lay beside, or annex.
 
What does this mean? God’s provisioning for our needs isn’t a one and done kind of provision. When we live a life of constant pursuit of God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, He will REPEATEDLY take care of our needs.
 
Following God isn’t like winning the lottery and taking the lump sum. Following God is a constant seeking Him, and then He provides for our needs that we have in order to continue seeking after Him. It’s a flow. Seek God -> God provides so that we can -> seek God -> God provides so that we can -> seek God…  We’re not kept in a constant state of need. We’re kept in a constant state of provision! When we understand that, our anxiety melts away.
Think about your car. When you have a destination in mind, you start the car, put it in gear, and then push down on the gas pedal. Fuel goes into the engine and the car goes where you steer it to go. As long as the car keeps going where you are steering it, you keep giving it the gas. What if the car suddenly decided it was tired of driving on the narrow road? What if your car decided that the unpaved open fields on either side of the narrow path you are steering in down look far more freeing? Would you keep giving it the gas to go careening through the ditch, across open fields and into the forest, or would you get off the gas and hit the brakes?
 
Don’t let greed or jealousy or anything else get your eyes off of the destination God has for you! If we get our eyes off the road God has us on and ignore His will, should we expect God to continue giving us the provisions we need to head off into danger? When we stop pursuing Him, we disconnect from His provision.
 
The first step to getting back into the flow of God’s provision is seeking FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. What is it that God is calling you to do for His Kingdom? What areas of your life are you holding on to and not submitting to His righteousness and authority? YOU have to do something about it. Jesus said YOU seek first the Kingdom of God. YOU seek first His righteousness. If you’re sitting in the middle of the field, you have to submit to God’s will and let Him guide you back onto the road. God doesn’t force us into submission, we have to do that on our own. It doesn’t say that God will first take care of your needs, and then lead you to His Kingdom and His righteousness. No. First you must seek His Kingdom and His righteousness, that is submitting to His will. Then He can and will provide for your needs as you continue to submit to His will.
Following God is a constant state of provision!
by Chad

Living in the Darkness

If you find it difficult to love someone when they stab you in the back, offend you, lie about you, curse you, hate you, or worse… then consider 1 John 1:7-11. You may already be in the darkness apart from God.

PLEASE HEAR ME ON THIS!!!

If we are in the light as He is in the light, then we will see others as Christ sees them AND us!

Often times we think that hating someone will lead us down a dark path, but that’s mixing up the cause and the effect. Hating someone is actually the result of our life being in darkness. John wrote chapter 1 as a warning sign that hating a brother is evidence of us living in darkness.

Yes, this truth hurts. We’ve all been guilty of hating someone even though we may not actually want to call it hate.  If we truly are Christians, then we will love those who offend us just as Christ loved those who stood at the foot of the cross mocking him, cursing him, and hating him while he plead for God to forgive them.

Do you plead for those who hurt you that God will forgive them? Do you desire to do good to those who hurt you? Do you truly want them to get blessings from God instead of getting what they deserve? If you’re like me, the truth stings. The action of loving our neighbor as ourselves means that we pray for them just like we pray for ourselves. We truly don’t deserve the forgiveness, blessings, and life that God gives us, yet the love of God is so GREAT that He forgives us, gives us life, and provides for our needs. It’s good that we don’t receive what we deserve. Can you see that, pray that, and be used to accomplish that in the lives of those who have hurt you?

John is warning us that hatred is a sign that WE are in darkness. There is NO darkness in God. If we are in darkness, we are not in God. 

There are no extenuating circumstances of justifiably hating someone for what they have done to you. Christ loves us so much that while we were still sinners, He died for us. We are called to be in that same light as He was and love those who are still even now offending us. When we are in the light as Christ is in the light, we will see those who offend us, those who hurt us, those who even hate us as Christ sees them: not as enemies, but as people loved so deeply by God that Jesus died for them. Don’t wait for them to repent and apologize. Love them NOW.

We know that our battle is not with those who have offended us. Our battle is spiritual and we are at war with the evil spirits that fuel hatred, jealousy, enmity, strife, and a host of other sinful behaviors that cause people to offend each other. In the light, we can see to fight the enemy that binds up people that are precious to God.

In the Light we CAN and WILL LOVE EVERYONE as Christ LOVES US, and we will fight for their freedom as hard as we fight for our own!

by Chad

Am I Following My Beliefs or God’s Truth?

Recently T.D. Jakes has come under a bit more scrutiny than usual as his statements in an interview with the Huffington Post sparked both support and outrage.

Many supporters of his statements interpret them as welcoming to the LGBT population, and some even view them as accepting and embracing–a view which sparked the outrage of those opposed to his statements.

But is there a larger issue being overlooked and overshadowed by the LGBT context of the statements?

If we consider his statement, “LGBT’s of different types and sorts have to find a place of worship that reflects what your views are and what you believe like anyone else,” and for just a moment ignore the LGBT part, this statement is still very concerning. We have a society full of people wandering from church to church, denomination to denomination, looking for affirmation of their own beliefs, right or wrong. They’re like a bunch of immature children who would rather argue about the basic principles of God and ignore the ones they don’t like because it requires sacrifice or change on their part. They want God’s blessings and protection without submitting fully to His will. This epidemic isn’t limited to the LGBT population. Far from it! This perverted form of religion that places the individual’s understanding and will above God’s Truth and will permeates American society, and does so almost completely ignored.

Hebrews 5:12 through 6:6 shows that mature Christians (real ones) are “those who have had their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” People looking for a church that “reflects what [their] views are…” aren’t looking for God’s views. There is only one Truth. There is only one Way. There is only one Life, and that is in Jesus Christ.

Jakes’ statements seem to encourage people to follow their own understandings and seek support for their own beliefs, but God’s Word tells us to follow His Holy Spirit because the ways that seem right to a man lead to death. Man can twist scripture around to support their own beliefs, but the Holy Spirit can’t be twisted or misinterpreted. That’s what Hebrews is showing us.

True Christians are those who are seeking God’s will in every aspect of their lives. God’s will supersedes their own wants, desires and needs. Good is good. Evil is evil. There are no gray areas. There is only one Truth. To that end, Paul shows us the marks of the True Christian…

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  Romans 12:9-21 ESV

Christianity is not a set of beliefs. Christianity is the action of following Jesus Christ.

This post isn’t written to bash T.D. Jakes, I don’t know him personally, and only God can truly know what is in his heart. This post hopefully sheds light on a problem that we have all been touched by at some point, and we must all be carefully intentional as we follow God’s Spirit and not our own.

by Chad

Life in the Wilderness

James packs so much wisdom and truth into just the first four verses of his letter that it’s easy to overlook the answer to joy, perfection, completeness and everything that God has for us.

Let’s take a few moments to really explicate these three verses of Scripture.

James 1:2 is a familiar scripture that is quoted by many, but truly understood by few. I wasn’t able to understand how someone is to find joy in the midst of trials and bad circumstances until I understood how God uses trials and circumstances that make us uncomfortable, often VERY uncomfortable, with life and where we are to motivate us.

When Israel left their life of bondage in Egypt, God led them across the Red Sea, stopped those who pursued them, led them across the wilderness to the Promised Land. The same God that did all of that told them that they would possess the Promised Land presently occupied by giants, armies, and fortified cities. But even though God had shown His faithfulness and power through miracles and providing for them time and time again, fear stopped the Israelites from following God into the Promised Land. Moses told the Israelites, “Do not be in dread or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.” They knew of God and had even witnessed His power over their enemies numerous times, yet they still allowed their own fear and unbelief to supersede their faith in God. They were not ready mentally or spiritually to walk into the promises God had for them.

Is this starting to sound familiar??

God swore in His wrath that they would not enter his rest in the Promised Land, and it took 40 years of wandering around in the wilderness for the old to literally pass away and the new to come into adulthood. God provided for the Israelites while they were being transformed from doubters into believers, but he provided just enough to sustain them. They ate the same food everyday for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks in between for 40 years. That’s 14,600 days or 43,800 meals. I’m pretty sure that they were so sick of manna, they ate it out of necessity. Munchies and late light snacks probably didn’t exist. Bleh.

They also ran out of water more than once, yet God still provided enough to keep them going around in circles for the duration of their transformation.

What does this have to do with building our faith? God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness, but just enough to sustain them. He didn’t provide so much that they would be comfortable and content with life in the wilderness. He kept them alive, but allowed the trials and their want to continually irritate them and serve as motivation to get out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land.

Did you bring me this far only to abandon me and allow me to be destroyed??

Don’t miss this! God is operating in our lives just like He did with the Israelites. We may find ourselves wandering around in the wilderness, angry and discouraged, griping about our situations, lacks, needs, wants, and everything else that we are dissatisfied with, and telling God, “I see that you are providing for my needs, but come on!!! You, the God who owns everything, are giving me just enough to get by, and barely enough at that! What gives?!?! Did you bring me this far only to abandon me and allow me to be destroyed??” I put that in quotes because I’m sure I’ve said that more than once.

I thank God here and now for His grace, mercy and patience with me!

God doesn’t want us to stay in the wilderness. IT’S A WILDERNESS, PEOPLE!!! No one is meant to live in the wilderness, especially when God has ALREADY prepared the Promised Land for us! If God were to satisfy all of our desires in the wilderness, we’d overlook the fact that we’re STILL IN THE WILDERNESS, surrounded by sand dunes, snakes, and death all around us, while just over the hillside lies the land of rest and plenty. Why move out of the wilderness when it’s so comfortable to just stay in it?

James 1:2-3 says to, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” I now see that the trials I go through are motivation for me to exercise my faith by putting it into action and follow God out of this wilderness.

So trials produce motivation, motivation produces exercise, and the exercising of my faith produces steadfastness. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines steadfastness as a fixedness in place or a firmness of mind or purpose. These trials exercise my faith in God so that it is solid in my mind and my purpose.

Now let’s apply that rock solid faith in God to verse 4. “And let steadfastness [your rock solid faith in God, His ability, and His Will for your life] have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (Chad’s Amplified Version)

Knowing this, we should all get excited when we face trials in the wilderness, because we realize that the trials are preparing us mentally and spiritually to walk into the Promises of God.

Finally, in Hebrews 3:7-19 we are again reminded of the story of the Israelites in the wilderness and warned not once, but twice, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness…” Instead of hardening our hearts, we must listen to the Holy Spirit and rejoice in the trials being careful that we do not develop an evil, unbelieving heart that will lead us away from the living God. Unbelief is the opposite of faith, and to those who do not have a firm, unmovable faith in God, he says, “They shall not enter my rest.”

Have faith in God, living your life through the trials knowing that he is leading you to the Promised Land. And if you’re going through a trial right now, thank God for this opportunity to walk with Him and grow your faith!

[Original image by Andrew Shiva used under the Creative Commons License. Some scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

by Chad

Meat and Potatoes

I spent a few minutes studying the Bible this morning asking the Holy Spirit to clear the junk out of my mind and allow me to hear what He wanted me to hear, and I came across a few treasures. They’re treasures that lead to even greater wealths of knowledge in God.

So allow me to execute one of these treasures right here and now.

Hebrews 3:12-15 warns each of us to be careful and diligent to prevent any one of us from falling victim to an evil, unbelieving heart that will lead us to fall away from the Living God. We are instructed in verse 13 to exhort (strongly encourage or urge someone to do something) each other EVERY DAY. This is to keep us from hardening our hearts by the deceitfulness of sin. The Holy Spirit is saying, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

This is my exhortation for you and myself today.

Stop focusing on the basics of Christianity to the point of wasting time! Why do so many people, myself included, spend years just studying and playing around with the elementary teachings of Christ? Hebrews 5:12 – 6:12 address this very issue. (Read it) For many of us it is far past time to move on from basic Christianity and on to answering the call that God has placed on our lives! The message of salvation, repentance from dead works, faith in God, how to live, healing, prayer, etc… All of these have been clearly written about in God’s Word. The author of Hebrews (likely Paul) calls these things the “elementary doctrine of Christ.” Learn it quickly and move on to the meat and potatoes that God has for you.

If you’re wondering what God has in store for the mature, you’ll find it in verse 14. It is the very embodiment of living a Spirit filled life. Those who recognize that the Holy Spirit is living in them and follow him accordingly are the ones who “have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

So what does all of this mean? God’s Word is showing us that spiritual maturity goes beyond basic knowledge of the Bible and into a life where the Holy Spirit, not just the Bible, becomes our guide. God’s Word is the starting point for our spiritual growth. It is full of the milk that we need to begin growing, but we can’t stop there. God’s Word leads us to the Holy Spirit and teaches us to live and follow the Spirit. Use the Bible and the Holy Spirit to train your powers of discernment constantly to distinguish good from evil. Like it or not, if you want to grow strong in your faith and abilities in God, you have to move on from the milk of just reading the Bible and on to the solid food of conversations with the Holy Spirit.

Meat and potatoes.

by Chad

Where is Your Joy?

Hey, Christian! Remember the day you told God you would follow Him and do whatever He tells you to do?

Are you?

Do you live each day with His joy filling your heart, or are you so busy with your own excuses for not following His Spirit that you’re missing out on the joy He has for you?

It’s easy for us to fall into a rut and lose sight of the life God has for us. It’s also easy to turn it all around and get back to where you’re supposed to be WITH Him.

If that’s you, stop what you’re doing right now, get alone and away from any distractions for just a few moments (even if it’s just in your head with your eyes closed) and ask Him with the full expectation of Him answering you, “What do You want me to do?” Give the Holy Spirit the ability to lead you through the day, and LISTEN to Him.

Trust God. Believe that He is working on your behalf even when you don’t see the changes coming. He is Good, and that is the biggest understatement in the universe.

God is awesome in that when we follow Him, He goes before us and stands behind us all at the same time. He can because He’s God.

by Chad

I Started Over.

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“I started over”.

These words were said by my 4 year old son yesterday as he was getting dressed.  He had successfully donned his socks, jeans, and was attempting to put his undershirt on.  In the process he had accidentally turned his shirt inside out.  He stood there and meticulously worked to get  it corrected.  He didn’t get frustrated.  He didn’t whine.  He didn’t make a big deal about it.  He just worked to fix the problem. And when he was unable to, he asked for help.

“I started over.”

What if when we, as adults, are presented with a problem or an obstacle started over?  It seems simple enough.  Now I understand that sometimes completely starting over isn’t an option, but we can stop what we’re doing and  take a look at our situation and re-evaluate.  Maybe we can start over by looking at our obstacle from another angle. …

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by Chad

Worship… You’re Doing It Wrong

Before you read this you need to know that this isn’t a rant about music styles, volume, instruments or no instruments, hymns or modern music, haze or clean air. We serve a God who is infinitely creative, and I believe that He greatly enjoys watching the creativity and diversity of His people when they worship. Worship is to be an expression from our hearts to God, so whatever creative way God has inspired you to worship Him, go for it.

With that out of the way, there is a problem that impedes worship in countless churches and gatherings, and it has been nagging at me for quite some time. To identify the problem we must ask one simple question…

Who is benefiting from your worship?

I grew up in a Pentecostal church (stay with me my Baptist, CoC, and non-Pentecostal friends… Stay with me), and worship was almost always the big deal in service. I love to worship God. I’ve worshipped God from the pews. I’ve worshiped God from the stage. I’ve worshipped God in my car, and countless other environments. Worshipping God is one of life’s most precious abilities. Paul and Silas even did it in prison while chained up.

Worshipping God can be exciting, make you feel amazing, and be one of the most happy, emotional, and inspirational experiences of your life. In fact, worshipping God can feel so good that one can easily begin worshipping God because it feels good in stead of worshipping God because He is God, and this can kill your worship.

God’s Word says in John 4:24 that we are to, “worship in Spirit and in truth.” Imagine if you had a friend who brought you a gift. They gave you the gift with true joy and excitement just for giving you the gift. When you ask them why they gave you the gift, they tell you they just want to thank you for being you. They gave you the gift just because they think you’re awesome.

Now imagine another friend who gives you a similar gift, but this friend is giving you their gift because you have something better than their gift and they want you to give them what you have. Suddenly this gift giving looks and feels a lot more like a bribe.

Webster defines a bribery as to “persuade (someone) to act in one’s favor, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement.” Is that what we are doing when we worship God? Are we singing His praises hoping to get something from Him in return?

I challenge myself and you to this… Worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Whether in your church services, your car, your home, you job, or wherever you are, worship God for the simple reason that HE IS GOD! If He never gives us another blessing, answers another prayer, or even seems to look in our direction, He is still worthy and deserving of ALL of our praise because HE ALONE IS GOD.

Praise on, Praisers!