Beauty
God is so sovereign he can take what was intended for evil and purpose it for good (Genesis 50:20). God is so good that he gives beauty for ashes, gladness for mourning, and praise in weakness (Isaiah 61:3). God is so kind that he makes ‘…everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).”
Father, make us attentive to your goodness and beauty around us today. In Christ’s name, amen.
Amen,
AB
Our desires reveal something about who we are, and who we are becoming. That is why I have always been fascinated by the request of the Psalmist: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple (Psalm 27:4).” The Psalmist knows there is a place where beauty is not mixed with pain and suffering - and that is the dwelling place of God.
There is a day coming when the dwelling place of God will be with man (Revelation 21:3). We shall see him as he is, and be transformed by his beauty (1 John 3:2).
Lord, hasten the day of your return - let us see you as you are. In Christ’s name, amen.
Amen,
AB
Apathy is easy.
It requires no work, no effort, no surrender.
Only indifference.
But wonder is cultivated by the heart that burns within from encountering Christ (Luke 24:32).
It grows as we taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8).
It is awakened as the morning when we are satisfied with the steadfast love of God (Psalm 90:14).
Treasuring Christ anchors us in the immovable character of God, rather than our circumstances (Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17).
Spirit, awaken our hearts to see, know, delight, and obey Jesus. In Your power, and in the name of Christ we pray, amen.
Treasuring,
AB
Last week I wrote about dealing with blank faces. How outward expressions are not always an indication of an internal reality. And how worship leaders may be tempted to try and elicit a response from those gathered corporately. As I was writing that post, I was reminded of this quote from one of my favorite authors:
Maybe like me, when you think entertainment the first thing that comes to mind is high production value. A very attractional church model: the band is good-looking, the lights, loops, and lasers rival what could be seen at a mainstream concert, and the music is highly produced, and executed flawlessly. This is a service that is more concerned with playing than participation. And to some extent, this model does represent a form of entertainment over leading in worship. But to define ‘entertainment’ this narrowly would be unfair. Because at the core, entertainment is more concerned about passive engagement than high production value.
Regardless of the production value, we entertain rather than lead worship when we are not concerned about engaging our hearts and minds to behold and respond to God. We entertain when we get up and sing, rather than lead people to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice. We entertain rather than lead when we are more concerned about being in our own private worship moment with God, instead of inviting the congregation to engage through song and Scripture. We entertain rather than lead when we choose songs and keys because they sound good, not when they serve the people well. We entertain rather than lead when we are only concerned for smashing a service, rather than deeply forming the people of God. We entertain rather than lead when we do not understand what it is to lead God’s people in corporate worship.
People will default to entertainment because worship is costly. People will default to entertainment because they do not understand that true worship is the right response of our whole lives to God’s revelation of Himself. People will default to entertainment because they have not been led, truly led, by worship leaders who desire to provide the words and environment to respond to the beauty of God as revealed in His Son, His character, His Word, His creation, and His people.
If we want to be worship leaders who lead people in worship rather than provide them entertainment, we must first be worshipers before we are worship leaders. We must be led by the Holy Spirit, to behold Jesus, and to live our whole lives in worshipful response to Him.
‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.’ PS 27:1-3
No enemy is a match for the nearness of the saving, stronghold that is Christ. The threats may be real, the circumstance may not change, the darkness may be oppressive but ‘…in Your light do we see light (Ps 36:9).’ His light shifts my perspective and reorients my desires…
‘One thing I have asked of the Lord, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will lift me high upon a rock.’ PS 27:4-5
Oh, to have the same heart cry as the Psalmist - an awareness of reality, and a fixation on the beauty of the Savior.
Let it be so, Lord. Amen.
Desiring,
AB
There is more taking place on a Sunday morning than we can truly grasp. In the lives of the people with whom we gather, there is joy and sorrow, sin and brokenness, faith and doubt, striving and rest. Spiritually speaking we stand in the very presence of God with Jesus as our Mediator as He inhabits our praises (1 Tim 2:5, Rom 8:34, Ps 22:3). Our praise never stands alone but is joined in the song of heaven and earth, the saints that have gone before, and those that will come after us in God’s story (Ps 19:1, Rev 4:8, Is 6:3, Ps 145:4).
What a privilege as worship leaders to lift eyes to that greater reality. What a privilege to give voice to the people of God to declare the beauty and majesty of God. And to not only to give voice but to put on display the beauty and majesty of God through all we do… well-balanced sound, beautiful harmonies, practiced musicians who are well-rehearsed, lyrics displayed clearly, intentionally-crafted liturgy, a welcoming environment… There is no part of our gathering that is devoid of opportunity to display God’s beauty.
So let’s work hard, practice well, and be intentional in all we do, while still recognising the thing that will most clearly display to our people the beauty of God in our gathering is whether or not you and I have been captured by the beauty of God.
Be captured,
AB