Offensive Worship

Are you surrounded by enemies, struggles and fears on all sides? Lift up your weapon (voice) to the Lord! He is enthroned on the praises of His people.

The walls of Jericho crumbling beneath the weight of praise was no fluke. It is a model we'd be wise to follow. In fact, the same strategy was used several other times in history as God sent his worshippers to the front lines of battle. Suicide right? You'd think so, but no. The singers sang and the musicians played, and God used their worship as a vessel to destroy Israel's enemies right in front of them.

The next time you feel the weight of the world becoming almost too much to bear, lay down your worries.  Lay down your fears. Lay down your plans. Lift up your voice to the Lord and watch Him rescue you.

The Greatest (& Riskiest) Gift of All Time

Grace - unmerited mercy and approval ; a virtue coming from God

The economic and societal system that we live under in the modern age is one that prides itself in self-advancement. "Do whatever you can to climb the ladder of success. I had to work hard for everything I have. I earned it." These declarations are applauded, hence a self-made-man is held in reverence. Obviously working hard, diligence, and vision are all good things when stewarded correctly. But in God's kingdom, the things that matter the most, we cannot earn. In fact, the harder we try to earn our own salvation, righteousness, and grace, the more imprisoned we will become. 

Jesus fulfilled the law completely. Therefore, how could we ever expect to further fulfill it by following the rules it established? Did Jesus not do a good enough job? By holding the law up as something that still needs to be followed to live a righteous life, we are deeming the work of Christ incomplete, and taking the role of savior onto our own shoulders. No wonder we are so weighed down by our sins and shortcomings. We were never meant to carry them, and if we choose, they will crush us. 

We must learn to receive gracefully, to inherit the goodness of God in Christ Jesus. We must renounce the lie that something is not fully ours unless we earn it. That sounds good to our flesh, even humble, but it is really just a form of pride and arrogance. We are walking, talking, living beings and we have done nothing to earn our own lives. We didn't earn our DNA. We didn't earn our place of birth in this world, our gender, our heart, our spirit, our mind. All of these priceless gifts were lavished upon us by our Heavenly Father. It's time we take Him at His word and believe we are "the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus."

Just as we received life at conception, we must also receive the new life that Christ is offering us through his death on the cross, and triumph over the grave. It is in this grace alone that we are actually made free: free from our sin, free from pride, free from striving, free from the curse of the law. 

If we fully receive Christ, we fully receive the life He offers.