4 Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered — how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.
6 We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.
7 And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Forms vs. Essence
A friend of mine, who is a pastor, communicated this warning or admonition in a message:
In 1 Samuel 4, the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines for battle. In the initial engagement, the Israelites were defeated suffering the loss of about four thousand men on the battlefield. As God's chosen nation, they were perplexed asking:
They quickly come to the conclusion that God was not present with them so they decide on a remedy.
The ark of the covenant of the Lord had the most prominent place in the Israelite ritual order. God had provided them instructions regarding its construction and placement in the temple. The ark often preceded Israel into difficult circumstances symbolizing the presence of God with them. The ark is even referenced again in the book of The Revelation. So, the Israelites take the ark with them for the second battle engagement with the Philistines. The outcome?
The Israelites had placed their trust in the ark. They relied on the form and not the essence. The significance of the ark at this time was the presence of God. Without God's presence, it was simply a form. In Paul's message to the people of Athens on Mars Hill (Acts 17), he shares this truth:
The people of Israel had counted on the rituals missing that their lifestyle had belied a true relationship with God. There was sin in Israel that needed to be dealt with. Through Samuel, God had communicated to Eli, the high priest, that judgment would come. Because of the sin, their fellowship with God was broken and he had withdrawn his presence, his blessing, from their lives.
When forms of our religion take the place of the essence of our relationship, we miss God. Jesus himself communicated to the religious leaders of his day that they had made this mistake (John 5:39-40):
Don't get overly caught up in the forms of your religion or worship. Focus on the essence of your faith ... your worship. In God, we live, and move, and have our being.
We need to be careful not to pass along the forms of worship, but rather the essence of worship.
In 1 Samuel 4, the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines for battle. In the initial engagement, the Israelites were defeated suffering the loss of about four thousand men on the battlefield. As God's chosen nation, they were perplexed asking:
Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? (1 Samuel 4:3)
They quickly come to the conclusion that God was not present with them so they decide on a remedy.
Let us take to ourselves ... the ark of the covenant of the Lord that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies. (4:3)
The ark of the covenant of the Lord had the most prominent place in the Israelite ritual order. God had provided them instructions regarding its construction and placement in the temple. The ark often preceded Israel into difficult circumstances symbolizing the presence of God with them. The ark is even referenced again in the book of The Revelation. So, the Israelites take the ark with them for the second battle engagement with the Philistines. The outcome?
... Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent, and the slaughter was very great; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. (4:10)
The Israelites had placed their trust in the ark. They relied on the form and not the essence. The significance of the ark at this time was the presence of God. Without God's presence, it was simply a form. In Paul's message to the people of Athens on Mars Hill (Acts 17), he shares this truth:
"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for "'In him we live and move and have our being ...'"
The people of Israel had counted on the rituals missing that their lifestyle had belied a true relationship with God. There was sin in Israel that needed to be dealt with. Through Samuel, God had communicated to Eli, the high priest, that judgment would come. Because of the sin, their fellowship with God was broken and he had withdrawn his presence, his blessing, from their lives.
When forms of our religion take the place of the essence of our relationship, we miss God. Jesus himself communicated to the religious leaders of his day that they had made this mistake (John 5:39-40):
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.
Don't get overly caught up in the forms of your religion or worship. Focus on the essence of your faith ... your worship. In God, we live, and move, and have our being.
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