What are you wearing today!

The more I look at Christian stuff the more I find just how people are divided over the issues of our one faith. For example, "our salvation is secure and there is nothing we can do to lose it" against "Our salvation isn't secure and there is something we can do to lose it!" Or, "The will be a rapture and then a tribulation" against "there will not be a rapture or a tribulation" (And every variation you can think of!)

Yesterday I heard a guy preaching that I had heard people raving about before. This was a guy who, while we were going to conferences and buying tapes that others weren't interested in, he was invited over to join with several church missions. We missed it some how! This guy now lives in California but was famous for coming from Argentina. When I heard him last night I was surprised that he was preaching division. Within his own thinking he was preaching against wrong doctrine, but the result was that he was stirring up the people who agreed with him to be anti those who didn't! Where in the bible does it say we should cause division based solely on teaching!

Anyway, that isn't what I was saying, all of that is introduction (and getting it off of my chest!) Recently I heard a guy saying that we are not called to be the bride of Christ, (I didn't follow his understanding but go with me for a while!) He said we are not told to put on a bridal gown, we are told to put on armour. He said we are called to a battle and we are called to fight, that isn't the role or clothing of a bride! He was basically saying "what we are about" is warfare!

Today I heard a guy saying that he spent years in spiritual warfare and he has come to the conclusion that that isn't what we are about! He said we are about worship. He made the point that you can either look at the devil or look at God. He said if you can still hear the devil's voice then you are not in the close place with God because the devil isn't allowed there. He pointed out that David was not allowed to build a temple because he was a man of war. He pointed out that God has defeated the devil and we are never called to defeat him, because he is already defeated. Time and again we are told to stand and resist him. Which has to include resisting the temptation to be all about the devil and not all about worshipping God.

He gave testimonies that during his 20 years involved in spiritual warfare he would come home and find his house had been broken into. 5 times in one month one time, everything taken, even irreplaceable things. He said that standing to fight the devil is effectively saying, "Bring it on!"

We are called to be a people of praise and worship. Worship is the greatest weapon we have, but "weapon" is a side effect of our worship. We don't worship to defeat the devil we worship because we love God, a side effect of that is that the devil gets no joy out of it and goes elsewhere!

I like the idea of the "irreducible minimum!" and in many ways worship is the irreducible minimum of what we are about. Everything comes out of that. In our culture the word "love" is so meaningless we love our cars, we love TV programs and celebrities we've never met, if w then say we love God, what value has it? We are told to love God with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our strength, that is worship. Our discipleship, ministry, givings, witness and good works all stem from a heart of worship. Under the law these things were a matter of duty. If we are doing things because we should then we are under "law" and therefore not under grace. If we start to worship and have a true love for God that we only want to worship (give worth to) Him then all of these things will follow.

I could tell you how wonderful someone is. I could go on and on about it. But I can't worship them unless I am actually with them. Think about it. Think about someone who's praises you would really love to sing to others. Someone you think of as worthy of telling people about how good they are. Now imagine trying to worship them while they aren't there! A bit of a pointless exercise.

We need to come into His presence and ironically we do that by worshipping.

Imagine saying, "I can't kill anyone because that is against God's will for me!" how noble we sound. Yet what is it worth if we are not willing to come into His presence and worship him? Even most unbelievers resist killing people!

So what are you wearing today? The clothes of warfare? The clothes of the unbeliever? Or the clothes of the bride ready to worship her husband?