In Ezekiel 44, God is showing the prophet a vision of the new temple. In the midst of the vision, God begins to give Ezekiel some guidelines for the priests. Speaking of the priests, God says in verses 17-18:

“When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.”

The temple in Ezekiel’s vision, much like the Tabernacle of Moses & the temple that Solomon built, had an outer court & an inner court. The outer court was where the priests ministered to the people and the inner court was where the priests ministered to God. In the passage of Scripture we just read, God states pretty clearly his requirements regarding entrance into the inner court: No Entry For Sweaty People.

Though initially this sounds quite odd, there is a profound truth waiting to be discovered by you and me which will bring much needed freedom to us as worshippers.

Shame. Regret. Pain. Frustration. Depression. Failure. These are just a few of the things that burden our spirits. These are just a few of the things that we bind to ourselves that make us sweat. They are burdens we are not meant to carry, but we too often clothe ourselves with them. If allowed to take root, these are the things that turn into enemy  strongholds in our lives. They can even progress to where we begin to find our identity in them; wrapping them around us, not able to imagine life without them bound to us. They are heavy burdens that the Lord does not intend for us to carry, yet often in a sense of false humility we begin to think that they are the cross the Lord has given us to bear. In a twisted form of pride, we often ask the Lord to help us deal with them, but don’t really believe He wants to remove them. So we’re left standing at the threshold of His Presence, a sweaty people, in desperate need of something that we have a hard time believing the Lord wants to give us…relief.

Have you been in that position before? Maybe you’re there now. I’m in that place right now. I’m beginning to see that I’m carrying things that the Lord doesn’t want me to carry. And it’s heavy and it makes me sweat because I’m trying so hard to find a way to deal with it. When I come to the gates of the Inner Court, the very same place that God showed Ezekiel, I’m not ready to worship because of one simple fact; my eyes are on the wrong person.

When we enter into the Presence of our King, our eyes must be set on Him. When we begin to see Him for who He is, we cannot help but worship, we cannot help but declare His goodness, His beauty & His glory. Our perspective changes when we behold Him. The burdens that we carry can be taken away when Jesus intrigues us more than them. True worship begins and ends with the fixation of our eyes. This is why sweaty people aren’t permitted to minister in the Inner Court; sweaty people have their eyes on themselves. Sweaty people focus more on the things they have bound to themselves rather than lifting their eyes off of themselves, leaving them wide open and vulnerable to the Presence of God.

The Lord wants to fascinate us, but we have to look at Him to be fascinated. The Lord wants to bring us a sense of holy wonderment, but we have to give Him our attention. The Lord wants us to be obsessed…with Him. We are changed by what we give the most attention to. The Inner Court is a place of obsession and fascination and wonderment. In that kind of spiritual atmosphere, there’s no room for shame or regret or pain or frustration or depression or failure. Before entering into the Inner Court to minister before God, He wants to lift all those burdens off and cool us down with His refreshing breeze.

I have to say that I struggle with this. But I know that Jesus wants to bring me relief from the things that I’ve bound to myself. He wants to shower me, give me a new set of clothes and bring me into the Inner Court where I’ll never be sweaty again. Then and only then will freedom come to worship. Freedom for a people who have been given relief.

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I used to live in an apartment close to downtown Fort Wayne. My roommate and I would frequently hold Bible studies with our friends in our small living room. One of our favorite things to do after the study was to engage in a rousing game of Bible Trivia. So in the spirit of random Biblical facts, I’d like to pose a question: Who was the first person mentioned in Scripture that was said to be filled with the Holy Spirit? It’s an interesting question that has an even more interesting answer. The man’s name is Bezalel.

Most of us have probably never heard a sermon preached about Bezalel; in fact most of us probably don’t even recognize his name. He wasn’t a great prophet or a mighty judge. He wasn’t a grand king or one of David’s Mighty Men. He wasn’t a High Priest or one of the Patriarch of our faith. Bezalel was an artist.

Israel had crossed the Red Sea and they were camped at the base of Mount Sinai. The glory of the Lord was resting on the mountain and Moses had just finished the climb in order to hear what the Lord has to say. At some point in that 40-day period, the Lord told Moses that He had a building project for Israel; they were to construct the Tabernacle. The Lord explained in great detail what the Tabernacle was supposed to be like; its dimensions, its colors, its furnishings, building materials and so on. This was not going to be a one-week project!

Then, in Exodus 31, God said:

“See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-  to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,  to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.

Bezalel was the foreman in charge of making sure all the details of the Tabernacle & its furnishings were done just how God told them. Everything from the stitching on the curtain separating the Holy Place & the Holiest of Holies, the mirrors on the inside of the Bronze Basin, the buds & petals on the Candlestick, the sculpting of the Cherubim that covered the Ark of the Covenant and everything in between.

Obviously God wanted the Tabernacle to accommodate the functionality of the Old Testament Law, but why did He want all the intricacies in the design? The Tabernacle itself was a prophecy. All the details of the different elements that were constructed pointed to the Messiah; His life, His character, His work, His death & His Resurrection This shows us the highest calling & purpose that artists have: to create art that reveals the life, character, work, death & resurrection of Jesus.

God is an artist. He paints the most beautiful sunsets; He forms & shapes the highest mountains; He composes the melodies that His Creation sings. And for what purpose?  To show us the attributes of Himself!

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. – Psalm 19:1-4

We are made to experience to art. We are wired so that when we hear music, look at a painting, watch a play or gaze at a sculpture, the deepest parts of our souls are touched. Art can communicate ideas to our hearts that would have never made it through by way of our minds.  A picture really is worth a thousand words. It is God’s will & plan to use art to communicate to His people about Himself.

There was a time when the Church was leading the way in producing creative, God-inspired art. The artists weren’t copying ideas from the outside world; they were inventing fresh expressions of their faith; they were operating in the creative nature of their Creator. But it seems like times have changed. Generally speaking, we as the Church seem to be stagnant in our pursuit of sharing in the creative nature of our Creator. If anything, it seems that we’re copying the creative styles of those outside the Church.

If we’re supposed to be made in the image of God, who is so creative that He makes every snowflake different, then why is the Church so artistically stagnant?

This is a call to all artists; to all musicians, painters, sculptors, carpenters, graphic designers, movie makers, dancers, banner makers, play writers, authors, poets and the like. This is a call to all the Bezalel’s! God is calling you to the highest calling an artist can have: revealing the life, the character, the work, the death & the Resurrection of Jesus through your art. Whatever measure of talent & gifting you have, use it for this one purpose. Let’s flood our local churches with original, Spirit-filled songs, dances, movies, poems, hymns, furniture, plays and paintings. Let’s flood our churches with art that reveals Jesus.

Let’s go back to Mount Sinai. When God first told Moses to build the Tabernacle, He said: Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. – Exodus 25:9.

God showed Moses a blueprint for the Tabernacle, but according to the book of Hebrews, the blueprint was not on earth.

When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. – Hebrews 9:11.

God had Moses build an earthly tabernacle that was only a shadow of the true Heavenly Tabernacle. Is it possible for us to experience glimpses of Heaven today just like Israel did with the Tabernacle? Could it be that God wants to send Heavenly art to earth through you and me today? Could the melodies of Heaven be brought to our churches through our own musicians? Could images of Heaven be brought to our sanctuaries through our own painters & carpenters?

The most creative, innovative and Christ-revealing art will be found in the Church again; and it will come through ordinary people like you and me. The good news is you don’t have to be a Rembrandt or Michelangelo to have God use you. It’s not your name or your sphere of influence that sets you apart for this task; it’s the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that filled Bezalel is the same Spirit that God pours out on us. And it’s this Spirit-inspired art that will be a testimony to the world that we have an all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing and all-creative God. This is the artist’s role and purpose in the local Church. Let’s make room for the Bezalel’s and allow them the freedom to bring a glimpse of Heaven to Earth.

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I am also in a season of discernment, which almost always comes with transition. I’ve been thinking and praying a lot about God’s ultimate purpose for my life. I’ve always lived with a strong sense of destiny. I know that I am created for a purpose that I’m uniquely prepared for in giftings, talents, personality, experience & passions. I have something inside that drives me towards accomplishing that which I was created for. There have been seasons in my life where I thought I knew what that purpose was. But I’ve never felt the intense longing I do now to hear from God about it. I’m ready for the hard right hand turn.

We have many Biblical examples of people who knew their purpose. To me the greatest example, besides Jesus, was John the Baptist. John may have been obscure, living in the desert with weird clothing and a weird diet, but he was famous. Mark 1 says “the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him”; John the Baptist was a household name.

John was amazing. He knew he had a call from God to be the “voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord’” and he was doing it. Thousands upon thousands of people were flocking to him to be baptized and to look for spiritual guidance. He had many disciples who helped him in his work. He even deflected the speculations from people that he was the Messiah. This is all great, but there’s something else in John’s life that I believe provoked Jesus to call him the greatest man to be born of a woman.

In John 3, some of John’s disciples came to him to complain that Jesus had started baptizing people and everybody was now going over to him. If you think about it, they had legitimate concern. They had been ministering in a national spotlight to thousands of people. They had a huge following and were being greatly used by God. The blessing of God was all over their ministry but now someone was taking away their people. Someone was threatening the life of their ministry. But read what John says in John 3:27-30.

To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less. “

If John would have reacted differently to the word from his disciples and tried to re-gather his followers, then he would have used his ministry to keep people away from Jesus. Think about it. If John continued his ministry, he would have become an obstacle to the very One he was meant to draw people to. But John knew that his job was to prepare the way, not lead the way. John did what many others have failed to do; he finished his race without stumbling right before the finish line. He could do that because he knew his purpose. And at the point where it was most crucial, he said that Jesus must become greater, and he must become less.

In 1 Peter 2 we read that God is building living stones, His people, together to become a spiritual house. We all fit together in a certain formation and only when we’re correctly assembled will the Church be what she’s called to be. To put it in the words of Paul, if you’re a foot trying to act as a hand the whole body is affected adversely.

How much healthier would the Church be if even a quarter of us were functioning in the purpose we were created for? There will come a day when the Church will be all she was created to be – a bride without spot or wrinkle, shining light in the darkest times.

Now is the time. God is calling us to connect to the rest of His body & operate in the purpose He created us for. God is calling all of us to fit in.

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The conference was 3 days long with the majority of the sessions dedicated to extended times of worship. It was wonderful to be with so many people who were passionately pressing into God. I had many wonderful moments in God’s Presence during the main sessions, but nothing like what happened in a lounge area in between sessions.

Bethany was taking a nap before dinner and I decided to find a comfy place to read and relax. I sat down at a high table with a Dr. Pepper and a new book and started reading.  After just a few minutes, all of the sudden I was overwhelmed by God’s Presence. It’s nearly impossible to describe, but the weight of His Presence completely overtook me to the point where I dropped my book on the table, unable to move or think, let alone read.

After a couple minutes I started asking God if He had something to tell me or something He wanted to show me. There’s always the possibility that I could have missed it, but I didn’t feel like God had something specific in mind. It was like God entered the room just to say, “Hi, I’m here.”

The Presence of God is an interesting thing to think about. In one sense we know that God is everywhere all the time. But at the same time we read all throughout Scripture of certain places & times when God’s Presence is manifested in different ways; like Mount Sinai, the Burning Bush, the Ark of the Covenant, the Pillar of Fire, etc…

Psalm 89:15 says:

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.

The experience I had with God in the lounge was wonderful and I am so grateful that God would suddenly enter into my awareness in a special way, even when I wasn’t prepared for it. I hope to experience those moments more and more. But just like the Psalmist says, I want to learn to live my whole life not only in awareness, but in pursuit of God’s Presence.

When Israel was wandering in the desert, Exodus 13:21 says:

By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.

God answered Moses’ prayer in Exodus 33 when he prayed: “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”

The only way the Israelites knew when and where to move was when God’s Presence moved. They didn’t follow their own plans; they followed His Presence. That’s where I want to be, but I’m not there yet. Too often I find myself on auto-pilot; going through my day, unaware that I’m “seated with Christ in the Heavenlies”.  I often think, say or do things that I wouldn’t have if I had remembered that I’m in the Presence of the King.

Elizabeth Browning once said: “Earth is crammed with heaven.  Every bush is aflame with the fire of God, but only those who see take off their shoes.  The rest just pick the berries.”

I pray that as I grow, I can walk closer to the light of His Presence. Not only do I want to be ready for God’s Presence to enter into my awareness, I want to learn to come to Him, where He’s at, and say, “Hi, I’m here.”

On a personal note, I’m in the middle of a major transition in my life. Please visit my Red Sea blog to stay up to date.

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I felt really good as I was finishing my first lap. Sometimes I really have to convince myself to push through and finish well, but it was a beautiful day outside and I was really enjoying the podcast I was listening to so there was no “breakthrough” necessary. Just as I was starting my second lap, a complete & random thought entered my mind. It was something like: “If you want to catch the phone call from the shop, you should stop your run.” It caught me off guard because I wasn’t thinking about the car and I wanted to continue my run. I’ve been learning over the last few years that one of the ways God communicates with me is through complete & random thoughts; often the opposite of what I want to do. I continued running for about 10-15 seconds until I decided to listen, stop my run & go to my phone.

I casually walked back to my car and saw that I had 1 missed call. As I was opening my phone to see who it was from, my phone vibrated to let me know that someone had just left me a message. It was the car shop. I had literally missed their call by 10-15 seconds.

I have always found it interesting that even though God had given the Israelites the Law, he continually exhorted them to listen to His voice. One example is Exodus 15:26 which says:

He (God) said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”

Ever since the beginning of time, God has spoken to people. Actually, from the first page to the last, the Bible is jam packed with instances of God speaking directly to ordinary people like you and me.

Consider Hebrews 3:15:

As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”

And John 10:27

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Part of the wonderment of God is that He loves to communicate with His people. Not only has He given us His Word, but He continually speaks to lead, guide & protect us. I know many times I don’t take time to listen. In prayer, I’m eager to speak, but slow to be quiet and just sit before God.

I would imagine that when we were kids, the majority of us believed that our God speaks to us. It seemed natural at that age that an all-knowing & all-loving God who cared about us would take the time to tell us things. But for many of us, we grew up only to intellectually & theologically reason away the idea. We’ve shaped our paradigm based off experiences, lack of experiences, religious fanaticisms & abuses. If any of us have lost that child-like wonder, I think it’s time to take it back.

So I missed the call from the car shop by 10-15 seconds. No big deal; I just called them right back. Some might argue that since it really was of no consequence, it was probably just a random thought or a weird coincidence. After all, why would God direct me to be at my phone so I could take a call about my car? Simple really. If I learn my lesson and am able to listen for God when it doesn’t matter that much, I’ll be prepared for when it does. God doesn’t usually have us skip grades; we can’t make it to college unless we start in Kindergarten. There will be times in my life when success, my future, my health and maybe even my life will be dependant on whether or not I listen for God’s voice. I want to learn to listen even if I don’t understand why or deem the content important.

I want to show God that I love Him and honor Him by listening for His voice. Of course I’ll make mistakes along the way. We learn best by making mistakes. If God has something to say to me, then I want to position myself to hear it.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks – Hebrews 12:25

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Responsive readings were read. Hymns were sung. A passage from the Old Testament was read followed by one from the Epistles. Then it came time for the Gospel reading. The Pastor who was preaching that evening came up to read the account of the disciples encountering Jesus on the Road to Emmaus in Luke 24. As he began to share the account, the room of 700+ people became whisper-quiet. He spoke the Word of God with an authentic intensity & with passion. My heart was so moved by the way this Pastor spoke the Word. It was gripping my spirit. And it had grabbed the complete attention of the whole room.

There was one other thing about him speaking this Scripture that made a huge impact on me and I hope to never forget. He wasn’t reading the 20+ verses of Scripture to the congregation; he was reciting them from memory. In fact, every time this Pastor preaches, he memorizes the Gospel lesson for that day. This wasn’t something he did to impress a large group of Pastors and leaders – this was his normal practice.

For me, this was the highlight of the whole evening; even more than the songs I got to lead. Even though my only response was listening, there was something very worshipful about hearing the Scriptures “read”. I think God was honored by the love and respect that was shown to the Word that evening.

One of the accessories God told Moses to make for the Tabernacle was a golden lamp stand. When finished, it was to be placed in the Holy Place. The Holy Place was an enclosed section of the Tabernacle where only priests could enter. This was not the place where animal sacrifices or offerings were made. Everything in the Holy Place, the incense, the table of the Presence and the lamp stand, were not used to minister to the people, but to God Himself.

Besides being created for everyday worship, the Tabernacle was also designed to show us a prophetic picture of Jesus. Psalm 119:105 says:

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

We also know from John 1 that the Word of God is not a book, but the Word is a person; Jesus Christ Himself. I believe that the lamp stand is a beautiful prophetic picture of the Word of God – Jesus.

In Leviticus 24, God gives these instructions:

The LORD said to Moses,  “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually.  Outside the curtain of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. The lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD must be tended continually.

Part of the worship that happened in the Holy Place was the continuous burning of the lamps on the lamp stand. Just as the lamp gave light to the Holy Place so the priests could worship, the Word Himself must be given our utmost attention when we worship. Without Him, we worship in the dark.

It seems like our world is shaking; politically, economically and spiritually in some places. At the same time, some people in the Church are abandoning the Word because they think it’s out-dated, irrelevant & offensive to the 21st century social structure. God says in Hebrews 12 that everything that can be shaken will be shaken. If we want to be unshakable, then we must be anchored to the Word. If we say we stand for Jesus, then we must stand for His Word. If we claim Jesus is our foundation, then we must build our lives on the Word of God. We can’t separate the two because they are one in the same.

Because so many have dishonored the Word, I believe God is deeply touched when we honor it. Singing isn’t the only way we can worship when we’re at church. Whether we’re reading it or just listening to someone read it (or recite it!), we have the opportunity to worship when the Word is presented. Let’s honor God by esteeming His Word and letting Him burn bright in our churches.

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One day, while I was in the middle of mowing our half-acre lot with a $125 push mower (not even a walk-behind mind you), I convinced myself that it was worth the investment to buy a riding mower. Practically everyone on our street & in our neighborhood had one and I reasoned it would save me tons of time & bellyaching. Bethany was even onboard with the purchase, which was a miracle in itself.

A few weeks later, I was mowing the lawn again with my push mower with a new found excitement knowing that this might be one of the last times I had to suffer through this horrible chore. I still remember where I was when the revelation hit me. I was about half way through mowing the back yard when I realized that mowing the lawn was the only thing in my life that I didn’t enjoy. I loved my job, my house, my wife, my car, even my in-laws! In a deeper way I realized how many blessings God had given me. And here I was reasoning that I could spend my way out of the only annoying thing in my life at that time. I suddenly realized that I didn’t need a bigger, better, faster lawnmower, I needed to have something in my life that I hated to do. And I needed to find joy in doing it.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says:

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Would it be possible to turn my tedious chore into a way to glorify God? Could mowing my lawn become an act of worship?

After I finished mowing, I went inside and told Bethany that I wasn’t going to buy a riding lawn mower. I knew that if I didn’t tell her right away, I would probably talk myself out of my decision.

There’s something about us that hates inconvenience. For some reason, we think that we’re entitled to constant convenience. But most of the time, the Christian walk is anything but convenient. We’re called to love those who hate us; to pray for those who persecute us; to give money generously; to turn the other cheek; to be patient in sufferings; to endure hardship; to not complain; to be satisfied with little or plenty; to give up control and bow our knee to the Lordship of Jesus. Do I need to go on? The Christian life is extremely inconvenient to our flesh. But it’s how we embrace these “inconveniences” that helps starve our flesh and feed our spirit. Worshipping in the midst of hardship & inconvenience deeply touches the heart of God. If we are going to grow and continue to be conformed to the image of Jesus, we must learn to do everything for the glory of God.

Instead of always trying to get rid of the things we hate to do, maybe we should embrace them as an opportunity to allow God to change us through doing them.

It’s been a year since I made my big decision and I’m still mowing with my push mower. Honestly, I’ve made a little progress in my attitude, but not as much as I would have hoped. I’m still in the middle of learning this lesson.

Bethany and I hope someday to be able to move out to the country and have several acres of land. Hopefully I’ll learn my lesson by then. The thought of push mowing several acres of lawn makes me shudder; but probably makes God smile.

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It took a while before my neighbor surrendered the controller so I could play. But when he finally handed it over to me, I began to try to figure what each button did – the “A” button and the “B” button.

Fast forward 20 years. Video games have come a long way! The era of the two-button controller has ended. Now some of the controllers have more buttons, knobs & joysticks than my car. (I just realized that I sound like I’m getting old… “Back when I was your age…”) I don’t play video games that often anymore except for the occasional game of Mario Kart with my brothers-in-law. When we do sit down to play, something in me misses the simplicity of the two-button era.

I have always been stuck by the events of Isaiah 6. Speaking of his own experience, Isaiah says:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

There’s also a scene in Revelation 4 where John sees the throne of God. Surrounding the throne are 4 living creatures who are worshipping. Verse 8 says:
Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”

When I sit back, close my eyes and imagine these two scenes, I see the seraphs and the living creatures as having the best view of God. They’re close to Him, enjoying Him. They’re overcome with joy and awe as they experience His glory. They’re caught up in the fullness of His Presence. And as they’re experiencing much more of God than we can presently comprehend, they endlessly worship using a simple phrase: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty”.

I grew up in a church tradition that generally looked down upon lyrically simplistic worship. It was, and still is, said by critics in my church body that the new worship songs don’t have enough “spiritual meat” to them thus they shouldn’t be used for worship. I love the lyrically rich hymns. As a songwriter myself, I greatly appreciate the time, energy & skill that goes into crafting deep & profound poetry. But I also love simplicity. Like the seraphs & the living creatures, I love to concentrate on a single attribute of God when I worship. It strengthens my appreciation, understanding & awe of God’s character, which then draws me to worship Him even more.

But so often I find myself barreling through line after line or verse after verse of a song.  Many times I don’t allow myself to linger long enough to make the lyrics my own worship to God. Of course I’m not saying it’s wrong to use hymns or lyrically rich songs in worship, I just find something special and beneficial in simplicity.

“Spiritual meat” is not found in the complexity of the lyrics but in the content of them. Like the phrase “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty” or even “Jesus loves me”, the lyrics are simplistic but the content is anything but. Allowing ourselves to linger a bit when we worship opens up greater understanding into Who we’re singing to. If the seraphs and the living creatures can endlessly find fresh depth in a simple phrase of worship, many treasures await us as we dig deeper into the most foundational truths of God.

So often what initially seems simplistic turns out to be more deep and profound than we ever could have imagined. Maybe that’s what makes simplicity beautiful.

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After those brief moments of awe, I remembered that I was wearing my sunglasses. I immediately took them and was amazed. What seemed like the most colorful & vibrant view I had ever seen paled in comparison to what it looked like now. The colors were richer, the sun was brighter & the whole landscape looked more alive. Same scene. Same view. Just no sunglasses.

Exodus 33 & 34 tell us that when Moses met with God, his face radiated the glory of Lord so much so that when he came down to tell the Israelites what He had said, they were afraid because Moses’ face was shining so brightly. Moses ended up putting a veil over his face when he met with the people, but always took it off when meeting with God.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:13-18:

We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Moses could reflect the Lord’s radiance only because he saw the Lord’s radiance. We too can only reflect what we see. The brighter we see it, the brighter the reflection. Like Moses, the more glory we see, the more glory we radiate.

I believe all of us wear many pairs of sunglasses; each stacked on top of the last. When we look at God we see beauty, brilliance, majesty, glory and so much more. But all that we see is just a small portion of how beautiful He really is. When I look back over my life, I can point to a handful of times when one of may pair of sunglasses was removed. I was looking at the same God, but suddenly He became clearer, more beautiful & more glorious to me. He never changed; I did. Maybe this is part of what Paul meant in the passage we read earlier when he said that we “are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory”. As we grow, we see more and more of the glory of God. Or we take more and more pairs of sunglasses off.

This is one of the reasons worship is so important. We spend so much of our time looking at ourselves. But worship is when we take our eyes off of ourselves and look at God. The more we worship, the more pairs of sunglasses fall off and we see more and more of who He is. And the more pairs of sunglasses that fall off the more we worship because when we catch glimpses of God’s beauty & glory we can’t help but be amazed. What a wonderful cycle!

Do you want to see your friends, family & neighbors come to Jesus? Do you have a heart for God’s mission? Do you want to be used as a witness in your community? Do you want to be a “city on a hill” and a “lamp on a stand”? Allow God to draw you into deeper times of worship. Allow Him to remove another pair of sunglasses. The more glory we see, the more glory we reflect. The clearer we see Him, the clearer others will see Him in us.

Though on this side of heaven we will probably always “see through a glass dimly”, there’s much more of God’s brilliance that He will allow us to see.  Ask Him to take off another pair of your sunglasses; God loves to show us more of His glory.

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The woman written of in the gospels who anointed our Savior was just an ordinary woman. However, her expression of love is legendary.

When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” Luke 7:37-38

This scene painted in Luke 7:37-38 (see also Matthew 26:1-16, Mark 14:1-12 & John 12:1-11) awakens a feeling in me, best described as “gently radical.”

During this time in history women kept their hair pinned up. Paul even goes so far to say in one Epistle that a woman’s glory is her hair. Yet, humbly she departed from the culturally accepted thing, took her hair down and used “her glory” to serve Him tenderly.

The radical offering of pouring out a year’s worth of wages onto the feet of the object of her affection is riveting. Recently, I heard a speaker discuss this passage. He stated that the average annual wage today in his area of the United Sates is about $50,000 — he asked the audience to imagine the idea of $50,000 being spent in just a few minutes blessing the Lord. Seems absolutely extreme doesn’t it? Yet, His forgiveness compelled her heart to pour out such an amazing gift! Resonating with me, that great forgiveness begets deep gratitude.

I find it irresistible that she preaches without out saying a word — preaching with tender kisses and extravagant fragrance! Over the years as I am brought back to these passages about the woman (or possibly — women) anointing Jesus I have always focused on how she ministered to me and how she ministered to the people who witnessed the event, and Jesus’ response to her and those around them. Until recently I never really considered how these moments had also ministered to the Lord.

“Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Him, objected, Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.” John 12:1:3-7.

This passage finally “clicked” for me. While Christ is hanging on the cross taking in His last breaths — He is inhaling the scent of the expensive perfume that Mary anointed Him with. In those last breaths what He smells is the fragrance of her love, sacrifice and devotion.

As I take in the aroma of this picture of love, it struck me in a whole new way again… how true it is, that we love because He first loved us. This love of hers is only made possible because of His love, sacrifice, and devotion for her and all of His children. Including you and me. My heart longs to be the kind of woman who uses all that I have to serve Christ. I am grateful that in Christ this is a possible dream.

In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, He brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life…“ 2Corinthians2:14-15 (Message)

May the air around you fill with the fragrance of love and life everywhere you go.

Please feel free to leave a comment below to start some conversations