So “why Catalyst,” you ask?
Posted by Rod Hamilton
There are plenty of things I could have called this blog, and some would be quite clever. But I have found over the last 7-8 years that if I could categorize “worship” as anything other than worship, I would call it a catalyst for change. Worshiping God is serious stuff, and to do so demands a lot from us in our lives. It demands a life truly set apart. It demands daily walking with our God. It demands a level of forgiveness that the world cannot understand. It demands a sincere level of humility that doesn’t take credit for any of the good things that we do, but bears the burden of accountability for our words and deeds.
One definition of the word “catalyst” is: a person or thing that precipitates an event or change. Speaking from life experience, aside from the initial giving of myself to Christ, nothing else precipitated change in my life like the act of worship has and continues to do. In fact, through the Worship Ministry at Valley View, I have seen many lives changed by the simple act of a person’s giving his/her time and talent back to the One Who gave it in the first place. This is the stuff that precipitates radical change.
I encourage you to check in from time to time at this blog and see what’s going on at Valley View. I also encourage you to visit our church if you aren’t currently plugged in somewhere else. If you are a Valley View person and know that God has gifted you in worship, I encourage you to get involved in the worship ministry and I challenge you to view your involvement not as a new activity, but as a link to God in a way that will change your life.
Posted by Rod Hamilton on Mar 04, 2010
The Lord Reigns – “The Lord reigns, let the people shout”
Psalm 35:27 “May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.”
Psalm 71:23 “My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you - whom you have redeemed.”
A recurring theme in these devotionals is the joy that believers should have, and that joy because of our great salvation through Jesus Christ. When you consider the multitudes of souls that have perished to a very literal and eternal hell, to know that God refers to us as His “children” should bring us an overwhelming sense of joy. “In love, He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.” (Eph 1:5)
I think, in light of our position in Christ, we ought to be so undone because of what He has done for us that a shout might often be the only way to keep from exploding!
Desert Song – “This is my prayer in the desert, when all that is in me feels dry. This is my prayer in my hunger and need, my God is the God who provides.”
Psalm 54:4 “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.”
You know we all have deserts. As we are in constant battle against our flesh, warring against a strong enemy who literally seeks to devour us, living life becomes a grueling task from time to time. It is at precisely these times that we recognize that only by God’s power can we stand. The interesting thought is that it is always only by the grace of God that we can stand, but trials have a way of pointing us to the sole source of our strength, God. And rest assured, these struggles are not for nothing. They are used by God to shape us, to mold us and to make us what He wants us to be. “…We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Romans 5:3-5)
Jesus Saves – “It is done will shout the cross”
John 19:30 “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
One of the most captivating and compelling lines in the entire Bible; “it is finished.” Have you thought about that lately? Have you ever given much thought to exactly what the “it” was that Jesus was referring to? It would seem very simple to think He meant that “life” for Him was finished here, or that His “work” here was finished, or the “battle” was finished. However, to take limit our view to those views is to only understand part of the point. Yes, it meant those things, but so much more.
When Jesus said “it is finished,” it can be easily taken to mean that you and I are no longer under the curse of the law (Gal 3:13), “it is finished.” It means that you and I are no longer slaves to our sinful nature anymore, “it is finished.” It meant that, most importantly to the believer, a sacrifice had been made for once and for all (Hebrews 10:10) and He secured our eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12)
The Power of the Cross – “This the power of the cross, Christ became sin for us, took the blame, bore the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross.”
Deuteronomy 21:23 “…anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.”
As Christ died on the cross to break us free from the curse of the law, He Himself became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). This is the power of the cross. It did not have the power to kill Jesus, nor did any of the soldiers, leaders or citizens of the time. This was a willful act on the part of a merciful God to redeem mankind.
The cross, once the ugliest and cruelest of devices used for torture and death by the Roman Empire and others, now stands as the most profound reminder of God’s mercy to us. And how fitting that is: God made the disgusting cross to be a beautiful icon for a beautiful faith which is freely given to the most vile and repugnant sinners imaginable.
This is the power of the cross!
Posted by Rod Hamilton on Feb 24, 2010
In the Sanctuary – “We lift our hands in the sanctuary…”
Psalm 63:4 “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.”
The lifting up or raising of hands is an international sign of surrender. When we worship God, we do so not only as a means to extol His virtues but also to declare that we have surrendered our lives into His hands, for His work, and this work is for a lifetime.
“We clap our hands in the sanctuary…”
Psalm 47:1 “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.”
Clapping hands is Biblical, that’s the best reason to support why we do it in the sanctuary. However, if you read and understand Psalm 47 in context, this song was written of the Sons of Korah. (see Korah’s rebellion in Numbers 16) Because of Korah’s rebellion against Moses and Aaron, God caused the ground to open up and swallow “all of the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods.” (v32) Though God, in His sovereignty, could have also taken out the entire lineage of Korah too, He didn’t. Korah’s heirs (the Sons of Korah) went on to be worship leaders in the Tabernacle, placed in charge by King David.(1 Chr. 6:22, 31-32) Don’t miss the picture here; Korah’s Sons (heirs) were saved from the wrath of God – literally from being swallowed up by “Sheoul” (Numbers 16:33) – just as you and I were. It is by the sovereign grace of God that we have been saved, and that is a reason to clap your hands in the Sanctuary!
He’s Worthy– “I bless the God of my salvation, He’s worthy, worthy. The God I serve is great and mighty; He is for me who can be against me?”
Romans 8:28-31 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
If God has indeed predestined you, called you, justified you and is glorifying you, can there be any reason for fearing any enemy which might come against you? He is mighty: mighty enough to save you, mighty enough to defend you and mighty enough to keep you exactly as He wants you and where He wants you. Yes, there might be physical pain in the offering from time to time, but it is all working together for the good as we persevere, to make us “mature and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:4) God is worthy whether times seem great or whether times seem terrible; He’s at work in us all the time. He’s worthy!
Made Me Glad – “I will bless the Lord forever…”
Psalm 103:2 “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Why wouldn’t we want to bless a God like that forever?! He displayed that kind of blessing for His people by receiving us into His Kingdom and adopting us as His own.
Our Great God – “Let every creature in the sea and every flying bird, let every mountain, every field and valley of the earth, let all the moons and all the stars in all the universe sing praises to the living God Who rules them by His word.”
Psalm 148:1-13
“Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.
He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away.
Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,
you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,
kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth,
young men and maidens, old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.”
Colossians tells us, of Jesus, “by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through Him and for Him.” (Col. 1:16) It’s all His, not by proclamation, but by design! God made everything and it all points right back to Him - to a mighty God, a sovereign Creator.
And this weekend, we get to join along with all of creation, worshipping the One Who made us.
How awesome is that?
Posted by Rod Hamilton on Feb 18, 2010
A couple of years ago I had it in mind to write devotionals for the songs we sing on Sunday mornings at Valley View. Finally, after much procrastination, I have begun writing each week for the songs that are on our playlist for that week. I’ll post them here as well. My hope is that some of this writing will enhance our thoughts and understanding about the songs we sing, and by doing so, enhance our desire to participate in corporate worship as we sing these songs. So, without further delay, here is the devotional for Sunday, February 21, 2010.
No Other Name – “No other name that’s higher…”
Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
When we sing about the name of Jesus, we are uttering the name above all names (Phil 2:9), the only name that can bring salvation, and in the eternal scheme of things, the only name that offers hope. This name, Jesus, is the hope of the nations (Matt. 12:21), the name to which every knee will bow and tongue confess (Phil. 2:10-11) and the name of the One Who will judge the living and the dead. (1 Tim. 4:1)
Counting on God – “I’m in a fight not physical, I’m in a war but not with this world…”
Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
We, of our own strength, are completely incapable to stand against the enemy. We must count on God! He is a refuge, a strong tower that we can run to and be safe. (Ps. 18:10)
“And the miracle of Christ in me is the mystery that sets me free”
This should be the testimony of everyone all the time. The transforming power of the Holy Spirit in our lives is not only something to sing about, it is the very mark of a believer and the greatest evidence of God’s power to the witnessing unbeliever. This transformation is truly a miracle and a mystery.
Jesus Messiah – “He became sin Who knew no sin that we might be called His righteousness.”
This song is its own devotional. What could possibly be added for emphasis here? Read about the “ministry of reconciliation” in 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
From John MacArthur: “He (God) treated Him (Jesus) as though He had committed every sin ever committed by every person who would ever believe, though, in fact, He committed none of them. Hanging on the cross He was holy, harmless, undefiled. Hanging on the cross He was a spotless Lamb. He was never for a split second a sinner. He is Holy God on the cross. But God is treating Him – I’ll put it more practically – as if He lived my life. God punished Jesus for my sin, turns right around and treats me as if I lived His life. That’s the great doctrine of substitution, and on that doctrine turned the whole reformation of the church. That is the heart of the Gospel. And what you get is complete forgiveness, covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. When He looks at the cross He sees you, when He looks at you He sees Christ.”
Fountain of Life – “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins, and sinners caught beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.”
John 4:14 (CEV) “But no one who drinks the water I give will ever be thirsty again. The water I give is like a flowing fountain that gives eternal life.”
This great promise from Jesus is something that we, the redeemed, can trust forever. Christ provides us with life-giving water (Rev. 21:6), and in a spiritual sense, once we have tasted of it, we will never thirst again.
“Guilty I fall, forgiven I rise…”
Acts 3:18 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord…”
As we fall to our knees in earnest repentance the God of all mercy showers us with grace and forgiveness. When we rise from that position of humility we can know that we have been forgiven of all our sin (1 John 1:9) and have been purified.
Our Great God – “Eternal God, unchanging mysterious and unknown”
1 Timothy 1:17 “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”
Isn’t it good to know that God never changes? We should each find comfort and stability in that thought. Because He never changes we know that our adoption by Him is permanent and that the gift of salvation He has given us is irrevocable. (Rom. 11:29) Though His ways and His thoughts are higher than ours (Is. 55:9) and we can never know what God knows, He has given us the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) through the Holy Spirit so that we are able to understand spiritual things, and thereby understand what God has freely given us. (Eph. 2:8)
“Lord, we are weak and frail, helpless in the storm”
Mark 4:39-41 “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
The disciples were absolutely terrified in the midst of the storm that was wreaking havoc on their boat on the Sea of Galilee. Their terror came from a lack of faith, but their shouts to the Savior came as prayer. Jesus answered their cries and calmed the storm.
“Our cold and ruthless enemy his pleasure is our harm. Rise up, oh Lord, and he will flee before our Sovereign God.”
Psalm 68:1 “May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him.”
Before Christ we were literally enemies of God. (James 4:4) Since we have been reconciled to God through faith in Christ, we are now friends of God. (James 2:23) What better friend to have with you in battle than the One Who is already victorious over our enemy? When we do battle we do not do battle as the world does, we actually have divine power to demolish strongholds. (2 Cor. 10:4) This does not mean that we go looking for a fight with the devil, but the Lord will rebuke our enemy when the battle rages. (Jude 1:9)
We know that when we fight, we fight from victory and not for victory. The battle is the Lord’s and there’s no defeat!
Posted by Rod Hamilton on Feb 04, 2010
It seems that many people who have “come to Christ” have done so by taking on Jesus as the fix-all for life’s problems. Alcoholism, addictions of every kind, marital strife, financial struggles and other things were catalysts for a walk down the aisle to the altar, but what’s often accepted in this type of decision is a hope for a promising future in Christ yet no true repentance or “taking up the cross.” What I see happening so often is that, having taken such an easy theology about our Great Savior, many fall away at the first sign of trouble. Jesus was pretty clear in His parable of the sower in Matthew 13 that this would be the case. These types of decisions for Christ, as Jesus explained in Luke 8, would invariably fall away, as seed that had been planted on the rock. “Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.” (Luke 8:13)
I think that when left with a theology of “easy-believism,” a person will almost always negate the grace of God by building up a religion in order to stay in God’s good grace. Obviously, anyone who takes just a cursory reading of the New Testament should understand that faith is a gift from God and is not based in any way on what we have done or will do nor is it given to us based on anything that the Father knows we’ll do in the future. However, having a deficiency in understanding, the rocky ground guy will strive, as man always has, to please God by works and not by faith. The Bible is clear that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) but the rocky ground guy continues trying. But why does he continue trying even if it’s obvious that the efforts are in vain? Because man has, by his own power, always done religion that way. And the end result of such practices? Eventually, by clinging to bad theology and never surrendering to the rewarding work of becoming disciplined in study, meditation and prayer, the rocky ground guy, realizing he can never live up to the expectations, throws his hands up in futility and “gives up” on God.
Our religion is based solely upon our faith in Jesus Christ. We are justified the moment we believe. But grace, by design, baffles the unregenerate man. In the flesh, grace does not and cannot make sense. It is only by the Spirit of God that we can truly believe and develop an understanding of the things of God. Martin Luther said that “justification is the doctrine by which the church stands or falls.” At no time in history has this proven to be more true than today.
Posted by Rod Hamilton on Feb 03, 2010
It seems that the longer I live - and it is becoming longer everyday - that I learn more about how to “train up” my children. A good lesson was taught to me last year by a man whom I respect very much, when he mentioned, in passing, The Heidelberg Catechism. It was a certain thing that he said that caught my attention; it was this: “...and that’s how Christians taught their children 500 years ago.” Out of sheer admiration for this man and his faith, I decided to explore exactly what that meant. For starters, I’ve come up through pretty contemporary Christian channels via the Church Growth Movement (CGM), and seriously, a catechism was something that I knew some Catholics used with their kids but it was not at all anything I understood Protestants to use. And to say the least, the CGM has left far behind many of the great practices and principles of The Reformation. Wow, how that partial sentence has changed the lives of my family and me!
A couple of months ago my wife began teaching our five year old daughter “The Catechism for Girls and Boys,” and just what she has learned, and what we all have learned, is astounding. When you study a Protestant Catechism, the first thing you learn is that this whole faith thing ain’t really about us! It’s about a mighty God Who created us with some expectations, and a Catechism teaches those expectations and formalizes a system of theology not just for the young, but for the old as well. Now, can a girl of 5 years old fully understand all that she is reciting? No, but that’s not really the issue. What is developing is a lens, and as she enters into an age of critical thinking, she will read and understand her Bible through that lens. Why is that important? In a world so inundated with different doctrines, where so often all doctrines are accepted as equal, she will grow to recognize heresy and poor teaching when she reads it and hears it.
Proverbs 22:6 exhorts us to “train up a child in the way that he should go” with an understanding that “when he is old he will not depart from it.” It is of premium importance that we (particularly fathers) plant solid doctrine in our homes by employing solid biblical practices in the area of teaching and understanding our Bibles as well as using other tried and true methods to reinforce those things. The Catechism for Girls and Boys is the best tool I have found.
Here are the first ten questions/answers. They become more challenging as you work through them. Trust me; if you are interested in teaching your child this way, he or she is highly capable of learning this way.
1.Q. Who made you?
A. God made me (Gn 1:26, 27; 2:7; Ec 12:1; Acts 17:24-29).
2.Q. What else did God make?
A. God made all things (Gn 1, esp. verses 1, 31; Acts 14:15; Rm 11:36; Col 1:16).
3.Q. Why did God make you and all things?
A. For his own glory (Ps 19:1; Jer 9:23, 24; Rv 4:11; 4:15).
4.Q. How can you glorify God?
A. By loving him and doing what he commands (Ec 12:13; Mk 12:29-31; In 15:8-10; 1 Cor 10:31).
5.Q. Why ought you to glorify God?
A. Because he made me and takes care of me (Rm 11:36; Rv 4:11; cf. Dan 4:39).
6.Q. Are there more gods than one?
A. There is only one God (Deut 6:4; Jer 10:10; Mk 12:29; Acts 17:22-31).
7.Q. In how many persons does this one God exist?
A. In three persons (Mt 3:16, 17; Jn 5:23; 10:30; 14:9, 10; 15:26; 16:13-15; 1 In 5:20, 2 In 9; Rv 1:4, 5).
8.Q. Who are they?
A. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14; 1 Pet 1:2; Jude 20, 21).
9.Q. Who is God?
A. God is a Spirit, and does not have a body like men (Jn 4:24; 2 Cor 3:17; 1 Tim 1:17).
10.Q. Where is God?
A. God is everywhere (Ps 139:7-12; Jer 23:23,24; Acts 17:27,28).
Posted by Rod Hamilton on Oct 12, 2009
I bought a few great books a week or so ago from one of my favorite sources, Monergism.com. While I’m currently reading a couple of them, I wanted to go ahead and recommend this one right now: “Minority Report” by Carl Trueman.
Trueman is a professor and Dean of Faculty at Westminster Theological Seminary. The book, as the subtitle reads, addresses “unpopular thoughts on everything from ancient Christianity to zen-Calivinism.” It’s a thought provoking, vocabulary developing read. I particularly appreciate Trueman’s thoughts on postmodernism as it relates to church and on the necessity of church history and doctrine, despite the current railings against each of these.
Here’s an excerpt that, I believe, does a great job of identifying a poor attempt on the part of some to cater to a style that has no substance:
“Now, when one approaches the major texts of postmodern evangelicalism and asks what they are saying, the answer is exciting: they claim they are opening up radical new directions for theology; but when one approaches the same texts and asks what they are doing, the answer is somewhat more prosaic. Far from pointing to new ways of doing theology, these texts are on the whole appropriating an admittedly new idiom, that of postmodernism, in order to accomplish a very traditional and time-honored task: they are articulating a doctrinally minimal, anti-metaphysical “mere Christianity.” Like pouting teenagers in pre-torn designer jeans and Che Guevera tee-shirts, they look angry and radical but are really as culturally conformist and conservative as a tall latte from Starbuck’s.”
That is an amazing passage to me, but it won’t strike everyone that way. If postmodernism is simply a matter of personal taste and attire, we’re going to find ourselves bending to the constantly shifting sands of culture, even as it sifts right through our fingers. I appreciate good writing by smart people, but I appreciate so much more the perfect word of God written through men who were inspired by God’s Spirit - perfect and infallible. Isaiah 55:10-11 says “"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
I’m am so very grateful to God that despite my best efforts to sing and speak to bring glory to Him, it is His word that will always be that which does the work!
Posted by Rod Hamilton on Sep 21, 2009
I have been reading, off and on, a fairly quick read by John MacArthur called Twelve Ordinary Men. This book is a must read for anyone desiring to know more not only about the 12 disciples, but also about God’s call in our ordinary lives. Check it out!
Posted by Rod Hamilton on Jul 29, 2009
I make it a point to read books that are known to be good books; books by theologians and thinkers who are known to be good theologians and good thinkers. I don’t take too many risks on books, mostly because I don’t have much time to invest in experimental concepts, but also because I’m fairly boring. If I’m going to go out and spend a lot of money on food, I’ll typically go to a restaurant that is known to be worth the bucks. I feed myself the same spiritually, I guess you could say.
So what I just finished “eating” this morning is a book by A.W. Tozer called The Knowledge of the Holy. It’s a great book that deals primarily in the areas of the character of God and our typically low view of God. I highly recommend this book.
