A lot can be discerned about the state of a person's heart by what they worship and what they put their energy in. Scripture says that their are two possibilities for humans to worship. Quite bluntly, we either worship creation or the Creator. Needless to say, the latter is always to be preferred; however, overcoming the former is a difficult but necessary part of accomplishing in accomplishing the task of putting the Creator first.
Faith deals with jus this thing. When we come to God in faith, we are consciously changing our focus of worship. Our previous, fleshly focus is transformed and sanctified by the blood of Christ Jesus and transfixed on the Holy Lord Almighty.
For this reason, a great potentially convicting daily practice for us to engage in is a "worship check". A simple moment of self-assessment and awareness is a great way for us to see where our hearts are at and in what way we may need to refocus.
Sin, in its most literal sense, is about missing the mark. The etymology of sin comes from archery. To sin is to aim and hit something other than what we should. So, when we focus on that which is not God and less-than God, we are in fact sinning. This is a harsh but true reality. And the road of destruction is a moving sidewalk that leads us astray a single step at a time. Let us then take care to keep ourselves worshiping God and not His creation!
Showing posts with label focus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label focus. Show all posts
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Harmony Achieved Through Christ
Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor in the sixteenth century A.D. was fascinated with clocks and had a collection of them. When he stepped down from the throne in 1556, he had been spending almost all of his time in Spain, in his mansion. He had six particular clocks in his home and he was fixated on getting them each to run simultaneously, and to chime in harmony. However, no matter how hard he tried, he was unsuccessful in achieving the harmony he had sought. At his retirement, he equated his six dissonant clocks to the six disparate nations of the Empire, concluding that it was utterly impossible to get harmony out of such discord.
In the modern world, achieving harmonious synchronicity has become a relatively easy endeavor thanks to a standard time being set, Greenwich Mean Time. In essence, it is the common standard that clocks are set to that creates harmony. Similarly, although Christians may often disagree about certain things and may even argue over what being a Christian entails, we should never forget that, like setting our clocks to the standard time, what brings harmony is each of us separately and jointly aligning with the perfect standard of Christ.
Harmony is a musical term that refers to the simultaneous sounding of various intervallic frequencies that create consonance or aural pleasure. In this, it is important to assert that harmony requires difference; harmony cannot happen unless there are different notes ringing out simultaneously. This is a beautiful metaphor for the Church, that our differences are what makes complex harmony possible.
As Paul confirms in his first letter to the church in Corinth, "For the body does not consist of one member, but many (1 Cor. 12:14)." Paul is talking about spiritual gifts, exhorting the Corinthians that God has blessed people with differences by His will and for His purposes. And that these differences should not be ignored but celebrated for it is by His design that one should be gifted in teaching and another in service, or one in prophecy while another in wisdom. We need only to remember that Christ alone is what fosters harmony, for we are all equally supported and sustained by His Spirit (1 Cor. 1-11).
Dissension and dissonance arises when believers neglect their root and connection in the blood of Christ. When believers focus on their common inheritance that is made secure by Christ Jesus, we will not overvalue our own understandings and we will not think of ourselves higher than we ought (Rom 12:3-8). Only in fixing our gaze on Christ can we overcome our selfishness and proclivities toward dissonance and reach holy harmony that God has intended for His children. Let us then fix our eyes upon Jesus who leads us, His choir, in a holy song of praise to the Father!
In the modern world, achieving harmonious synchronicity has become a relatively easy endeavor thanks to a standard time being set, Greenwich Mean Time. In essence, it is the common standard that clocks are set to that creates harmony. Similarly, although Christians may often disagree about certain things and may even argue over what being a Christian entails, we should never forget that, like setting our clocks to the standard time, what brings harmony is each of us separately and jointly aligning with the perfect standard of Christ.
Harmony is a musical term that refers to the simultaneous sounding of various intervallic frequencies that create consonance or aural pleasure. In this, it is important to assert that harmony requires difference; harmony cannot happen unless there are different notes ringing out simultaneously. This is a beautiful metaphor for the Church, that our differences are what makes complex harmony possible.
As Paul confirms in his first letter to the church in Corinth, "For the body does not consist of one member, but many (1 Cor. 12:14)." Paul is talking about spiritual gifts, exhorting the Corinthians that God has blessed people with differences by His will and for His purposes. And that these differences should not be ignored but celebrated for it is by His design that one should be gifted in teaching and another in service, or one in prophecy while another in wisdom. We need only to remember that Christ alone is what fosters harmony, for we are all equally supported and sustained by His Spirit (1 Cor. 1-11).
Dissension and dissonance arises when believers neglect their root and connection in the blood of Christ. When believers focus on their common inheritance that is made secure by Christ Jesus, we will not overvalue our own understandings and we will not think of ourselves higher than we ought (Rom 12:3-8). Only in fixing our gaze on Christ can we overcome our selfishness and proclivities toward dissonance and reach holy harmony that God has intended for His children. Let us then fix our eyes upon Jesus who leads us, His choir, in a holy song of praise to the Father!
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