The Widow’s Mite | itsawonderfilledlife

Posts Tagged ‘The Widow’s Mite’

Genuine Worship

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged 2 Samuel 6, England, genuine, John 4:23-24, King David dancing, Mark 12, Matt Redman, Psalm 29:2, Psalm 66:4, Psalm 95:6, Psalm 99:5, The Heart of Worship, The Widow's Mite, Worship on April 23, 2012| 2 Comments »

What is genuine worship, and how can we achieve it in our church? That was the final question to discuss at our church retreat this past weekend.

As our small group, among other small groups, discussed these questions I found myself needing to ponder more than to respond. So, I came home, and searched for what the Bible says about worship:

Psalms 29:2 “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.”

Psalms 95:6 “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!”

Psalms 99:5 “Exalt the LORD our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!”

Psalms 66:4 “All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.”

John 4:23-24 “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”

Mark 12 tells the story of the offerings being made at the temple. The wealthy gave large amounts, but a poor widow only gave two small coins. Jesus response to seeing this was “truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Her act of worship was one of faithfulness, and of sacrifice.

King David is remembered in 2 Samuel 6 for his leaping and dancing, animal sacrifices, and celebrating (possibly even naked) as the ark was brought into Jerusalem. When he was confronted by Michal, daughter of Saul, for his embarrassing public acts as a monarch, he said, “it was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” (2 Samuel 6:21-22) His act of worship had nothing to do with special clothes, it had nothing to do with “tradition”, it had nothing to do with what others thought. His act of worship was for and before his Lord. He humbled himself, as King of Jerusalem, to acknowledge and worship the king who put him on the throne.

Worship is such a foundational part of my Christian life. It is not just a Sunday thing. It is not just a music thing. It is not just a corporate thing.

For me, worship is similar to how C. S. Lewis described his reason for prayer, “I ~~pray~~ worship because I can’t help myself. I ~~pray~~ worship because I’m helpless. I ~~pray~~ worship because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God- it changes me.” I do not believe God needs my worship, but He does require it of me, and I fade when I do not acknowledge and worship my Creator and Redeemer.

Alexander MacLaren said, “fruitful and acceptable worship begins before it begins.” I believe that for us to worship, corporately, and for it to be genuine, our worship of God must enter our churches with us. Corporate, church worship is not entertainment, it is the joining of individual worshipers in a common place, to worship a common God. For it to be genuine, corporately, it must be genuine, individually.

There is the true story of a church in England whose pastor believed that they had lost their way in worship, and “the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.” So, this (brave) pastor asked the worship leadership to take a break. He then taught about worship, genuine worship. He taught them that they are not simply consumers of worship, but that they are the creators, the producers of it. Then he (Mike Pilavachi) asked, “when you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”

Then, he waited,
and waited,
and waited.

It got quiet.
It got awkward.
It got uncomfortable.

But, eventually, a most beautiful thing occurred …

spontaneous,
heartfelt,
sincere,

genuine worship.

In the form of prayers,
and scripture,
and a cappella singing,

the people began to BRING worship to the service, and it was genuine.

While this church was learning about worship, their worship leader, went home to the quiet of his bedroom, where he quickly, easily wrote a song of worship to his Lord. Like David dancing in the streets, this songwriter was simply sharing his worship to God, and God alone. It did get shared, and has probably been sung in the streets, as individual worshipers came to understand that genuine worship begins with a heart of worship.

“When the music fades,
all is stripped away, and I simply come
Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart…
I’m coming back to the heart of worship,
and it’s all about You, Jesus”
Matt Redman

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Christmas is Coming …

Posted in christmas, life, WONDER, tagged christmas, Christmas is Coming, Giving, God Bless You, The Poor, The Widow's Mite on November 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

With the start of the Christmas season being underway, here in North America, it is difficult to not think about all that fills the season. For the next few weeks, my blog posts will be directed towards this festive season.

My hubby has introduced me to so much Christmas sub-culture that I was unaware of before. And, since meeting him, when I think of Christmas the first thing that pops into my head is the following poem he taught me:

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat

Please put a penny in the old man’s hat

If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do

If you haven’t got a ha’penny, then God bless you!

This little ditty is known as a poem, and a Christmas Carol, but more frequently as a nursery rhyme. The author’s name is unknown. In the late nineteenth century, the music for the song was composed by Edith Nesbit Bland. It’s simple rhyme scheme makes it easy to remember, and it’s message is one which is timeless, and so it has been easily handed down for well over one hundred years.

The language of the poem takes me to the time of Ebeneezer Scrooge, perhaps during the Industrial Revolution (late eighteenth to mid. nineteenth century), when child labor and beggars or every age were a norm. I have in my mind a picture of a weathered old man saying this rhyme with a Cockney English accent, while holding out his tattered hat to passers-by.

The words of this well quoted verse remind us of the approach of the season that is indicated, not just by the calendar, but also the girth of the geese. They are fattening up for the seasonal feasts. I wonder, though, if perhaps the unknown writer was thinking more about our girths? And how fat with wealth we are? Because the following line states, “please put a penny in the old man’s hat.”

This poem was written before social services, before old age pension, before any state run social assistance. The old who never had money to put aside when they were younger and working were either taken in by family, or lived on the streets. Today, there are still people on the streets, or one pension cheque away from it. And we should never be so gullible as to think that the helps we have today will always be here for us (or our children). In this time of economic woes in countries near and far, the future is not easy to forecast for any of us.

So, give to those who are in need! You and I have plenty! We have been given much!

And, as the next verse states, it doesn’t have to be a large amount. Give, not from your great wealth, but from your heart and with an attitude of gifting. Much like the the story of the gift of the widow at the temple. She gave her two last coins, which were really almost useless, but they were all she had. You do not have to give a large amount (of course … she only had two coins, and she gave both … she could have given one, and kept one … just sayin’).

And then the last verse ends the plea for help, with “If you haven’t got a ha’penny, then God bless you!”

Speak to untouchable, unclean, ‘unbeautiful’ people. Greet older people with a smile, hold a door for them, say ‘God Bless you’ to them. You might make their day, their holiday season one of hope.

God bless you, as you enter into this season.

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