God's Orchestra

Romans 6:13, "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness."


Offer the parts of your body to God as instruments for righteousness . . . I really like the imagery expressed by the apostle Paul here.  I like imagining God up in Heaven conducting an enormous orchestra.  The music of millions of horns, woodwinds, drums etc. all blending together to make the most beautiful music you could ever imagine.  I like imagining my hands, feet, mouth, mind, etc being used as instruments in God's orchestra. He takes the parts of my body and fits them into his orchestra as instruments--each one making sweet-sounding music, but each one undistinguishable amongst the magnificent surge of music coming from the great orchestra of God.  His symphony tells the tells the marvelous redemption story.

May my instruments be used by him today.

dirty dishes

Few things upset me like pouring a glass of water into a cup that looks clean only to find the inside of the cup was dirty.  You get the little floaties, or you see something crusted to the inside of the cup.  Well, it is comforting to know that Jesus hates this type of thing as well.  In Matthew 21-24 Jesus rails against the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. He calls the snakes, blind fools, and hypocrites.  He calls them out on their lack of justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  He even compares them to a cup that is clean on the outside, but inside is filthy with greed and self-indulgence on the inside. . . .

Throughout the book of Matthew, Jesus has consistently reached out to the non-religious people--white collar thieves and prostitutes, blue collar laborers and lepers.  Jesus seems to want to meet people where they are.  If where they are is neck deep in sin, then Jesus offers them a better way.  If, however, they are neck deep in sin and pretending to be Godly, then Jesus seems to have very little patience for them--especially if they are in a role of spiritual leadership.

We all need to stop playing games.  Be who you are.  If you are a dirty cup--fine.  Stay in the sink to be cleaned.  If you are a clean dish--fine. Get it in the cupboard to be used. But don't be the cup that is pretending to be one thing when they are really the other--nobody likes drinking out of a cup they think is clean only to find out it's dirty.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation . . . but why?

Psalm 51:12, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit." This is a verse that I have had memorized for a long time.  I would always think of it when I was feeling discouraged or disappointed about my faith.  The hope was that my joy would return so that I wouldn't be down in the dumps, because being down in the dumps is a drag.  I would much prefer to be happy.

But this morning I read Psalm 51:13 as well.  It says, "Then I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will return to you."  It sounds to me like the Psalmist wants his joy to return, not so he can he can have personal happiness in his soul, but so that he can better share the gospel.

If I am not careful my faith can become very self-centered.  It's all about me feeling good, so that I can feel good.  These verses remind me that my ultimate purpose is not to make myself feel good, but to help others connect to God.  Both perspectives require restored joy, but for very different purposes.

the road to rome

I just finished Acts and started on Romans--talk about a change in gears, I am dealing with a little whiplash.  But I was struck by how Paul opens up his letter to the Romans by telling them how he has always longed to be with them.  Having just finished the book of Acts, and seeing that he finally makes it to Rome is neat. God gave Paul the desires of his heart, but you have to wonder if Paul saw it that way as he sat in jail and trials for years in the process of getting to Rome.

Back in Acts 21:11-14, Paul is warned that if he continues to Jerusalem he will be arrested.  Paul hears their warning and boldly says, "I am ready to not only be imprisoned but even die . . . let the will of the Lord be done."  The rest of the book is about Paul going from one trial to the next until it ends with him in  Rome.  The last verse of Acts is 28:31, (he lived in Rome) "proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance."  


Paul always wanted to be with the Romans, and God made a way for him to finish out his life in Rome sharing the gospel with all boldness and without hindrance.  The only catch is, he had to go through years of jail and trials before he got there.

I enjoy seeing how God worked everything out in Paul's life.  It gives me some comfort that God is working things out in my life as well.

I am challenged by how Paul served God regardless of the circumstance--being in jail or free, shipwrecked on an island or standing before a judge, in Rome or in Jerusalem.  May I do the same.

I'm clean

Leviticus 13:40
"When a man has lost his hair and is bald, he is clean."
Good to know.

This is only one of countless rules, regulations, etc. that is listed in Leviticus.  I am honest enough to admit that pushing my way through the book of Leviticus is a chore.  If it does nothing else, it makes me long for and appreciate the stories and instruction that fill the rest of the Bible.  And maybe that is partly the purpose of Leviticus--to drowned us in rules until we scream "enough already! there has got to be a better way!" Because I believe there is . . .

that all may become what I am

In Acts 25-27 Paul continues to stand trial, this time before King Agrippa.  Chapter 26 is Paul telling his story of conversion to Christianity at Agrippa's request.  At the end of his story, King Agrippa says to Paul, "'Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?' Paul replied, "'Short time or long--I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.'"  
I love Paul's response.  He is polite, but honest--passionate but not pushy.
If you have something wonderful, naturally you want everyone to have it.
I loose sight of that at times, and I need Paul to remind me.

more than words . . . I hope

Matthew 18-20 is loaded with good stuff, but I will pick just one nugget to highlight.  One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Matthew 20:28, "even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
If anyone ever deserved to be served it would be Jesus.  The king chooses to give it all up to serve those in his kingdom.  He steps down from his throne and puts on poor mens clothes.  He has no home in which to sleep, and spends his days serving those around him.
If a life defined by serving others was good enough for Jesus, then it is good enough for me.
While this sounds good and I like to say it . . . to live a life of serving others is humbling, inconvenient, uncomfortable, difficult, painful, and the list could go on and on.  Jesus' life ended when he sacrificed his life in the greatest act of service imaginable.  His death paid the ransom that freed our souls.
May I do more today than merely talk about a life of service . . .