Micah 6:8

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

Have you ever had a dilemma that you couldn’t sort out? I mean that you knew something was wrong, but the thought, or issue, or feeling continually eluded and escaped you. For years, I had that problem with worship services. I had a dilemma that I couldn’t explain. Not long ago, I finally put my finger on it. I hate Repitition, but love Routine. I despise Sameness, but treasure System. One of the things that constantly eludes me is the ability to make that which is Perpetually Familiar, Perpetually Fresh.

I want every Sunday to be fresh and familiar. I want to be Wowed and wooed, bigger, better, and brighter than ever before, every Sunday. In short, I want every Sunday to be the same, but different. I want the same songs to touch me differently each week. I want the same routine to bring newer and fresher blessings each time we meet. I want my life to feel an Industrial Strength Change every single service. I want the same service to make me Different, week after week.

Conversely, I don’t want the Lord’s Day to be Labor Day. By the time we get around, and everybody’s hair has been spit on, their shoes tied, their Bibles found, and their breath smelling good, the Love of the day has lost some of it’s luster. (The fact is that my wife fights this battle immensely, and intensely more than I do. More often than not, she is the one doing all the hair spitting and breath smelling.) I don’t want Worship to be Work. This is supposed to be the Best Day because it is a Rest Day, right?

The fact is that many people miss the mark when faced with this dilemma. Some have the idea that we have to preserve our Righteousness through Routine, or that our Safeth is found in a System. On the other hand there are many who feel that in order to experience all God has for us, we must be ever changing, all the time. Both are wrong. Newness is not Better, and Sameness is not Better. Better is Better. The Power of Worship isn’t found in the bulletin, but the Bible. It’s not our History, but our Honesty that must be preserved and practiced. On the other hand, it’s not how Current we are, but how Constant we are in worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth. I love the Fresh! I love the Familiar! Regardless of how hard we may try though, they are not at odds with each other. Life-Changing Worship, all the time, comes from the honest heart who willfully, and intentionally, declares the worth of God to God, day in and day out.

Many people never stop long enough, to look clear enough, and think themselves small enough to see the Presence of God in every detail of life. I believe with all of my heart, (I can’t say I practice this all the time, but it is true nonetheless.) that regardless of what’s Fresh or Familiar, the Lord’s Day won’t be the Best Day, until Every Day is the Lord’s.

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