The first overused Christian word I want to look at is "Worship". We use this one all the time. Our signs and bulletins are filled with announcements about the "Worship Service". We have lists of the "Worship Songs" we will be singing in that "Worship Service". And these songs will be presented by the "Worship Team".

Is it wrong to use any of these phrases? Absolutely not. But it may benefit us to dig into God's Word a little bit and see what the significance of the word "Worship" really is. That way, when we use it, we will hopefully recognize the significance of what we are saying.

The Word most commonly used in the New Testament (Strong's # 4352 for those of you with a Strong's Concordance and some spare time) carries the meaning: "To Kiss, adore, fall prostrate before". It carries with it the idea of an ancient oriental greeting. If the two parties greeting each other were considered equals, they would kiss each other on the lips. If there was a slight difference in rank, the kisses would be delivered on the cheeks. If it was a greeting between a superior and someone of inferior rank, the inferior party would fall to his knees and prostrate himself before the greater one. The superior/inferior greeting is the one this word describes. What is implied here is extreme humility, realizing how great God is and how small you are. Is that what we think of when we say we are getting ready to worship? John the Baptist had this kind of worship in mind when he said these words in John 3:30 - "He must become greater, I must become less"

There are also several stories of people engaging in worship in the gospels. We can learn a lot about what true worship is by examining these stories. Since I don't want this blog post to turn into a theology textbook, I will simply give you the references and summarize the stories. You can check them out for yourself later on if you so desire:

1. Mark 14:1-9: The story of the woman who washes Jesus' feet with expensive perfume (actually, this perfume would have been worth about a year's wages in that day). This shows us that true worship must involve sacrifice

2. Matthew 15:21-28: A Canaanite woman begs Jesus to heal her. She is so persistent that Jesus heals her immediately and comments on her great faith. True worship must believe God.

3. Luke 17:11-19: Jesus heals ten lepers, but only one returns to thank Him. True worship must be Thankful.

4. Matthew 14:22-33: Jesus walks on the water. His disciples are so in awe of this that they make the statement, "Truly you are the Son of God". True worship must be in awe of God.

Much more could be said on this subject but I'd like to sum it up this way. Real worship is not simply something that we do by singing songs or showing up to church. Worship can take place in these ways, but it is so much more than these things. Worship is our response to what God had done for us. It is recognizing who we are and who God is, then praising Him because He cares for us! It's not something that we can compartmentalize, it's a lifestyle. Everything we do can be worship! Even mundane things like going to work, doing laundry, or washing the dishes.

I think Paul said it best in His epistle to the Romans. One of my favorite verses in that book goes like this: 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."

As believers, we sometimes have a tendency to throw around religious words and phrases without really grasping their significance. We know what to say and when to say it, but we don't always take the time to meditate on the meaning. If you don't believe me, think about all the church suppers you have attended. How many times have you heard this phrase in your lifetime: "Please bless this food to our bodies"? Or how about all those prayer meetings lifting up the sick and injured among us by asking the Lord to "Give the doctors wisdom"? And who can forget that classic supplication to the Lord on behalf of so many journeying brothers and sisters: "Lord, give them traveling mercies".

As the late musician Rich Mullins put it in one of his songs: "Save me from trendy religion, that makes cheap cliches out of timeless truths".

Don't worry, if you've ever used some of these phrases this series of blog posts is not designed to attack you. I have used my share of religious jargon in my life so far. The point of these blog posts is to get us thinking about some of the stuff we say as Christians and make sure that we know the significance of what we are saying.

There is always a danger of turning real, vibrant faith into ritualistic religion. It can happen so easily. Hopefully, this series of word studies on commonly used "Christianese" will serve to help us remember the awesome truth behind some of the phrases we use. In the process we might find out that some of our favorite cliches are not biblical, and that others are based on some pretty amazing truths! Will you join me as I search out the treasure in the midst of the commonplace?

P.S. - This will be an ongoing series. In the meantime I'll still post on other topics, but every once in a while, I'll add to this study. As a preview, my next post will be about the word "worship", a very commonly used word in Christian circles. But what does it actually mean?

My coffee maker is a jerk! Or at least, that's how I felt this morning when it didn't work correctly and I lobbed it into a sink full of dirty dishes, further inflaming my temper. This little episode served to remind me that I still have a long way to go in becoming conformed to the image of Christ. My anger is something I have struggled with for years, and I was under the impression that I had pretty much overcome it. This morning was quite the wake up call (no pun intended, for once). It startled me to think that I could so quickly fall back into an old, sinful habit. I'm thankful for it though, because it reminds me that without constant submission to Jesus, my flesh will take over. I would appreciate your prayers as I seek to allow Jesus, not my flesh, to color my life today.

Ever prayed a prayer like this?

"Lord, please fill me with your spirit and use me for your glory today!"

That's a wonderful prayer and a great desire! Problem is, usually when I pray this, there is still way too much me left in me. I want the Lord to fill me with Himself, yet I'm not willing to get out of the way! It's like offering my half full coffee mug to a waitress and asking her to fill it with orange juice. Only half the mug can hold orange juice and the resulting mixture probably won't encourage me to get my daily dose of vitamin C!

If I really want the Lord to fill me, I have to empty myself of my own stuff. My desires. My "needs". My pet sins. I have to get out of the way so there is room for the Lord. That's no easy task! But it's the only way I can truly be a vessel God can use.

The song "Empty Me" by Chris Sligh reminded me of this today. These words are probably a better prayer if I really desire God to fill me up with Himself:

"Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And every foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord, empty me of me so I can be filled with you!"

Apparently, we now know the date of the end of the world! That's right folks, the clock is ticking and on December 21, 2012 the world as we know it will cease to exist! You can even see a preview of the chaos and destruction we are in for by seeing the movie 2012, in theaters this November! Better start stocking those emergency bunkers!

Seriously though, what is all this buzz about the end of the world and how should we as believers respond to it? Is there a way to know when the end is coming? If so, what should we do about it? Let's take a couple of minutes to explore these questions.

THE BUZZ: Basically, the idea of the world ending in 2012 comes from the belief that the Mayan Long Count Calendar ends on this date. The ancient Mayans used this calendar as a continuous record of days, which resets itself about every 5000 years. According to their legend, in the first age the gods created living beings, were disappointed in them, and destroyed them. Similar events happened in the second and third age, with the gods once again wiping out their disappointing creations. The fourth age (which we are supposedly in) is the age of modern man. According to the Calendar this age ends on December 21,2012. Some believe that on this date some great spiritual awakening will take place, others that a huge cataclysmic even will change the face of the planet. That's it, in a nutshell.

Should we put any stock in this theory? Well, let's see how some other doomsday and future events prophecies have fared through the ages:

- Jehovah's Witnesses Predict Battle of Armageddon: According to the January 1892 edition of their publication "Zion's Watchtower", the date when that battle was supposed to end was October 1874. I guess my history teacher must have skipped that one when we were studying historical battles.

- "88 Reasons Why the Rapture will Happen in 1888" by Edgar C. Whisenant: He originally sold 4.5 million copies of this book. His sales began to drop, however when he came out with follow up books in 89, 93, and 94.

- Nostradamus Predicts 9/11: "The year 1999, seventh month, from the sky will come a great king of terror: to bring back to life the great King of the Mongols, before and after Mars to reign good luck". It doesn't take a math professor to figure out that "the year 1999, seventh month" does not come out to be September 11, 2001. But hey, what's a few years when you are predicting the future!

Here is what Jesus had to say about predicting the end of the world - Quotes from Matthew 24:

Vs. 4"Take heed that no one deceives you": in other words, study it for yourself, does it make sense?

Vs. 36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, but my Father only": Nobody knows when it will all end except for God!

Vs. 44 "Therefore you also be ready, for the son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect": It's gonna be a surprise!

As Christians, I believe we are called to live balanced lives. We should not ignore the fact that Christ could come at any moment, but we should also not start putting dates on his return! Living for Jesus frees us up from any fear and hype about the end of the world because we know that one way or another, we will end up with Him!

Will the world end in 2012? I don't know. But I do know that I have this day to live for the Lord, and by His grace, I'm gonna use it!