Truth, and interesting word and topic.  My hope for this blog is that it becomes a dialog on truth.  Truth as it relates to life and truth as it relates to faith, Christianity and the church.  With reason and logical argumentation what role does truth play in our faith journey’s.  What role does truth play in our culture, in our churches, in our daily lives?  How do we determine what truth is?  Is truth even important?  Maybe, we have lost our grasp on the importance of truth.

     I often wander how many believers are able to logically and confidently defend the faith they so desperately cling to.  How blind are we?  How blind should we be?  Should our faith be something we can articulate?  These questions and many others I hope to deal with, with your input and dialog.  Come along on a discussion about our faith.

     You know, I see this as being a very prevelant issue in our churches today.  Debates rage over what color the sanctuary carpet should be or who should be in charge of picking it, while the world is clawing at the doors waiting for someone to open them with genuine love and authentic relationship.

            If you sit in the back of your sanctuary and gaze forward at the tapestry in front of you, you might observe a few things, hymnals, music stands, drums, guitars, pianos, organs, chorus books, microphones and microphone stands.  The church today has majored on the singing aspect of worship, and has minored or pushed aside, slide under the carpet many other acts of worship.  Rarely, do we hear or are we taught that the very act of attending the service with a right heart is an act of worship; offering, an act of worship, prayer, an act of worship, the Lord’s Supper or Communion, foot washing, baptism, and having a great attitude when exiting the parking lot, all are acts of worship on display each and every Sunday morning in our churches.  However, worship can not and must not stop upon exiting our church parking lots on Sunday.  As believers we must carry our desire to worship God into every aspect of our lives.  Can we really worship God in “every” aspect of our lives though?  What about everyday mundane things like eating and drinking?  In the scriptures the apostle Paul says that “whether he eats or drinks, he does it all to the glory of God.”  How can I strive to make my breakfast, lunch and dinner an act of worship, something that glorifies God?

            Romans 12:1 teaches us how to make everything in life an act of worship, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.(NIV)”  Making our entire lives about worship, even the mundane things, is about sacrifice.  When we set aside our personal preferences (hymns or praise band; guitar or piano) we reap an act of worship.  When we give of our time, money and resources, with the right heart, we reap acts of worship.  When we deny our personal agenda’s and selfish motives, we sing to our Creator.  Adjusting our thoughts and attitudes so that they are centered on Christ Jesus, are all acts of worship.  When we understand worship this way, it puts the singing aspect of worship into its proper place in a life that is centered on worship.

          Making every part of our lives about worship is not easy, because being a living sacrifice is hard!  It is hard to say that it is not about me, it is hard to set aside the things that we want, to bury a negative attitude or respond in a biblical manner to a heated situation.  It is hard to dispose of the remnants of that old sin nature.  Paul talked very much about these struggles in his letters throughout the New Testament.  He said that he had to “beat his body” and “make it his slave.”  He spoke of this lifestyle as an endurance race, one that we should run as if running for the Lord and not for men.  He expressed the struggle of not allowing the things of this world to master or rule over him.  Paul’s daily worship of the Lord in his every day activities was a battle for him to keep Christ in the center.  This is what we must strive for.  This is where we have to be.  I have got to get to this place, where every thought, every meal, hobby, free moment, vacation, work day, every single action and step that I take is reigned in and surrendered to the One who gave His very life so that I could live a life that glorifies the Father.  Through this striving we begin to live out the charge of the Great Commission to reach others for Christ.  When this happens in our congregations, when we strive for this life of total worship together, the unity we so desperately desire is found in selfless acts that strengthen our families, communities and churches.  Let us together, daily, offer ourselves as living sacrifices so that we may reap acts of worship and make a difference in this world for Christ.