Tag: Providence Reformed Church

Forgiveness is a fairly complex topic in Scripture. In truth, forgiveness is often wrongly taught and improperly applied. That false teaching or poor application leads us into some terribly difficult emotional situations.

To forgive someone is to release them of a debt they owe to you. In emotional life, it is to let go of the emotional debt that someone owes you for wronging you in some way. Forgiveness is a release accompanied by a restoration of sorts.

The problem is that many people apply this concept in very dangerous, foolish, or unbiblical ways. People see the commands of Jesus  that we forgive as the Lord has forgiven us, but then we actually apply a supposed forgiveness that has absolutely no genuine resemblance to the forgiveness that Christ granted us.

This topic is big, and is worthy of an entire book. In fact, one of the most helpful Christian books I have read is the book Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns. And one of the beautifully biblical lessons that Brauns shows us is that the way that God forgave us is not and has never been unconditional.

What do I mean? Imagine that you are dreadfully wronged in a serious way. Someone commits an actual crime against you. You paint the picture for yourself. What is required of you, as a follower of God, as concerns the command to forgive? Must you immediately and unconditionally grant forgiveness? Are you not allowed to press charges or testify in court? What is the biblical teaching?

If you are given to much modern handling of this topic, you probably have heard someone say that you must immediately, unconditionally forgive. I have heard people give counsel to Christians that they should walk up to the criminal who hurt them and, without preamble, declare to the unrepentant wrongdoer, “I just want you to know that I forgive you.” But this is terribly unbiblical.

Why would I call this unbiblical? That is not how God forgave any of us. The Lord did not forgive any who are genuine Christians today apart from the two-sided coin of faith and repentance. When we try to help people toward salvation, we always tell them that they must believe the truth of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and offer of grace. We also call on them to turn from self-rule, confess their sin to God, ask Christ for mercy, and commit themselves to his lordship. This is how we are forgiven, and it is not unconditional.

You see, the problem with the word unconditional is that it applies to our Christian lives in a particular way. God offers forgiveness to all who will come to Christ without condition. Anyone who believes in Jesus and repents is saved. This salvation is not based on any sort of prerequisite spiritual activity, religious dues being paid, or social status being met, thus it is unconditional in that way. But the Lord does not forgive unconditionally if you are considering that word to mean that forgiveness is applied to a person regardless of whether or not we trust in Christ and turn from sin. We are saved by grace alone through a repenting faith alone. But we are not saved if we do not believe in Jesus or in any way repent.

Look at one text that is often used to suggest that we just forgive others regardless of their thoughts or actions. But see how it actually teaches the opposite.

Luke 17:3-4 – 3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Notice that Jesus does command forgiveness. But what else does he require? We forgive when our brother says, “I repent.” That includes a lot of data. That is a person owning their sin, agreeing it is wrong, and committing to turn from it. Now, Jesus is illustrating in the extreme—7 times in a day. But Jesus is making the point that we offer forgiveness to any repentant brother without limit.

What is unconditional about forgiveness is the offer of forgiveness. We should be willing, as Christians, to say without qualification, “If you will repent of this sin, I will eagerly and willingly forgive you.” When a person comes to us, says they were wrong, and asks for forgiveness, we should be quick to forgive rather than to desire to apply more pressure or exact further suffering from them.

Go back to the imagined crime committed against you from the earlier illustration. Please note that I am not saying that forgiveness will restore your relationship with the criminal to exactly where it was before. But forgiveness means that, as far as you are concerned, you will release them from the emotional debt that they owe to you for wronging you. It could be that what they have done has made it so that you two  cannot wisely relate to each other in the same way that you did in the past. But, for your part, you will not hold onto anger against them, you will not try to hurt them back for how they hurt you , and you will not use this situation against them in the future. Interestingly, this may not have any bearing whatsoever on whether or not, in a criminal situation, that you testify in court and see them sent to jail. But you will not hate or try to hurt them in the process. If the crime was monetary, forgiveness does not mean you have to give them access to your checking account. What it means is that you do not hold yourself  as superior to them or pretend they must pay a further emotional penance to you.

This all gets complicated, and so many questions arise. But we would be wise to at least stop using the term unconditional as it applies to Christian forgiveness. Instead, let us try to be biblical. Christ is the source of how God forgives us. He sought to forgive us. He bore the penalty himself for our sin against God. He called us to himself. But forgiveness was not transacted apart from faith and repentance. And even though God is the one who gave us the heart and ability to repent, he did not forgive unconditionally.

When King Jehoshaphat allied himself with King Ahab to take on an enemy, we get a bit of insight as to the lengths men will go to in order to convince themselves that God is on their side. Consider this scene.

2 Chronicles 18:4-7 – 4 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” 5 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” 6 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” 7 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”

Jehoshaphat asks the King of Israel about enquiring of the Lord as to whether or not God will grant them military success. The King of Israel produces more than four hundred men claiming to be prophets of the Lord. They all say the same thing. This sounds like certain victory.

But stop and think. Jehoshaphat then asks the King of Israel if there is not even one more prophet of the Lord to ask. Why would he do that? The text does not say. But, it catches my attention. What was it about the original four hundred prophets that make Jehoshaphat want to hear from one more? Something about these men must have showed the King of Judah that they were not speaking a faithful message from God.

Now, if you follow the story to its completion, you will find that Micaiah comes and, as a true prophet of God, reveals to the kings that God will not give them victory in the battle. But the kings go on and fight anyway, leading to the death of Ahab, the King of Israel.

I think that there is a life lesson for believers right here. It is so easy for us to grow a closed mind and a dislike for those who deliver to us messages that we do not enjoy. I’m not here talking about future prophecy. Instead, I am simply thinking of those who rightly or wrongly handle the word of God. If we are honest, we can very often tell when we are being fed a line from people who want to work their way into our good graces without actually telling us the truth. The kings had four hundred men who told them exactly what they wanted to hear and claimed it to be from God. But even then, they knew deep down that there was something wrong with that message. It was the one dissenting voice that spoke the truth.

May we not fall prey to the desire to hear things our way. Instead, may we submit, not to persuasive voices saying what we like, but to the true, inspired word of God. May we submit ourselves totally to Scripture so as not to allow ourselves to be misled by those who would play on our desires.

When you see people make comments about what kind of person Jesus is, it is often interesting how inaccurate they are. People have in their minds a picture of who Jesus is, but so many have not allowed the word of God to actually paint that picture. Instead, people believe they understand Jesus based on their own imagining, on poorly painted murals, on Hollywood films, on TV depictions of religious people, or on moralistic misunderstanding.

Let me show you one thing that Jesus says about himself that the world basically ignores.

Luke 12:51-53 – 51 “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

One of the pictures that the world has of Jesus is of a wimpy, uber-tolerant, sappy character who just wants everyone to be happy in whatever way comes to their minds. The world’s picture of Jesus is that of someone who would never cause human conflict or create division based on theology or behavior. But that picture is utterly false.

Look at what Jesus said. He knew that his arrival on earth and his mission and identity would cause strong division. Jesus knew that his teaching and his claims about himself would divide even families, making enemies of parents and children, brothers and sisters. The Savior knew that his work would not make everybody on earth get along. Jesus knew he would not make us an undiscerningly tolerant people. Jesus would actually make things difficult.

How is this the case? Jesus made absolute claims about himself and his ministry. Jesus came to be the one and only way for a person to be forgiven by God. Jesus came to be the Lord of our lives, not just an addition for those who like his ways. Jesus came to claim ownership of us and of the universe. And for all who refuse Jesus and refuse his ways, there will be a separation from the Lord and from those who sincerely are wanting to follow the Lord.

If that all seems hard to imagine, just consider any normal part of human life. When people see contradictory things as true, there must be some sort of conflict. There is no just getting along. Imagine that you park your car and get ready to walk into a store. Then, imagine that a stranger walks up and decides to claim your car as her own. Will there not be conflict? The car cannot be both yours and the stranger’s. One of you has right of ownership. The other is a thief. We cannot just be tolerant of that claim. The truth of ownership must be established, and at least one of the two of you must ultimately be shown to be wrong.

Similarly, Jesus says he is our only way to God. Jesus presented a clear set of teachings about how children of God live. If a person has a picture of Jesus that denies the teaching of Jesus, that is a problem. If a person presents a picture of Jesus that denies his claim to be the only source of our salvation by grace through faith, that person is dividing against Jesus and his ways.

The funny thing is, our world and our culture has a faulty view of tolerance. Tolerance means that we do not attempt to attack and subdue others who believe differently from us. However, tolerance does not mean that we have any obligation to agree with the views of others or accept their views as valid alternative truths. No, Jesus did not come for that reason. He came knowing that his exclusive claims would cause division. And if we miss that truth,, we are probably missing Jesus.

It is sad to think about how many arguments have happened in churches over the end times. When will Jesus return? What will the order of events be? What is literal and what is figurative in the prophecies? Often, we get so caught up in arguing our position that we forget how the fact of the future return of Christ should effect our lives today.

Luke12:42-48 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

In this passage from Luke, the Savior has been counseling his disciples toward obedience. Of course, in the discussion, the return of Jesus and what the world will be like at that point is in the minds of the disciples. But notice what Jesus offers us for a thought. He wants us to consider that, when he returns, whenever that is, he should find us faithful.

Looking at that paragraph, we see that Jesus wants our consideration of his return to drive us toward obedience. The Lord wants us to know that he will come back, and that it would be better for us if he finds us faithful. There is no room in the life of a Christian to assume that today could not be the day when we meet our Lord. And so, this day should find us behaving in a way that is fitting a servant of the Lord.

Just ask yourself, “If I were to know that I would meet Jesus today, what would I do differently?” How would your obedience to the small commands of God change in the light of soon meeting the Savior? How important would your quiet time become? How significant would your study be? How much would you want to share the gospel? How sweetly would you want to treat your family?

On the other hand, if you knew you would meet Jesus today, think about what would not matter to you at all. Would you worry about who seems to have slighted you? Would you worry about how others on earth view you? Would you care about whether or not you were given a position of honor or a title? Would you worry about whether or not you got your way in an argument?

It does us good if we allow ourselves to view the return of Christ as Jesus paints the picture. He does not tell us to argue about pre or post tribulation raptures. He does not tell us to fight about a view of the millennium. He does not call us to try to fuss about the role of Israel in the final days. What he does call us to do is to realize that he will return, that we will stand before him, that we might meet him today, and that this all should move us to faithful obedience.  

Why does God have the right to tell me what to do? Why does he have the right to say to me how I should live or how I should view the world? Years ago, those would have seemed to be ridiculous questions. But, in our modern culture, some ask them.

David offers us an answer for what gives God the right to do with us whatever he pleases in Psalm 95.

Psalm 95:3-5

3 For the Lord is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

5 The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

What catches my attention there is the claim that God has over the seas themselves. Why? Why does God own the oceans? The text in verse 5 says, “The sea is his, for he made it.” God owns the seas because God is the Creator.

Consider what that means. God created the world out of nothing. It is fully God’s idea. The planets, stars, and all the rest of the universe only exist because God chose to speak them into existence. The earth has material because God gave it material from his will. The world you and I walk on is full of resources because God placed them there.

I often like to illustrate the significance of this point to young ones by asking them about a picture they draw. I will ask them, “If you draw your own picture from your own mind on your own paper with your own art supplies, what then can you do with that picture?” They will usually let me know that, if they made their own picture from their own stuff, the picture is theirs; they can do with that picture whatever they want. Children grasp that, if they make their own art, they have the right of the owner of the art to handle that art as most pleases them.

That, of course is a miniature answer to the question of what gives God the right to tell us what to do. He made us. He created the world. And, according to Genesis 1:27, he created humanity too. We are his pictures, his works of art (c.f. Eph. 2:10). God has every right to tell us how he wants us to behave to accomplish his will and display his glory. God fashioned us for a purpose, and, as our Maker, he has every right to do with us anything he pleases.

But, in case that seems bleak, let us also remember that God has chosen to offer us the opportunity to be ultimately and eternally joyful. God has issued a command to the world that all people should come to him for salvation. God has also designed us so that, when we are forgiven by God, ,we can live to his glory. And God, who created us for his glory, will give us the greatest possible joy and fulfillment when we are actually doing what he designed us for. So the fact that God is our Creator and Owner has the benefit of being the only true path to our soul satisfaction.

What Gives God the right to tell you what to do? He made you and thus has the right of ownership over you. This is good news, as the one who made you is also the greatest, most loving, and most powerful one in existence. God is good. God invites us to be in his family and to find joy in him forever. He knows how to satisfy our souls, because he designed our souls to be satisfied in him. So may we stop fighting against our design and our Designer, and may we find our joy in the glory of our God.

Reading in Luke a dialogue between Jesus and some people opposing him, I see two very interesting truths about the way that the Savior responds. In the first, I see that Jesus had no room for the snowflake and safe-space mentality of our culture. I also see, in a second point, a glorious call from the Savior for us to be more gracious than we often are.

Luke 11:45-46 – 45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

In verse 45, a group tells Jesus that his words are hurting their feelings. They feel like he might possibly be saying that they have been or have done wrong. So they put up their hands and try to make Jesus back off so they do not feel further insult.

Jesus, in verse 46, presses on. The Savior was not giving them a safe space to sit in their sin without the conflict of being challenged by the word of God. Jesus did not pretend that these men who claimed the right to expound the law of God could hide from accountability. Jesus was not into providing a safe space for those who claim to know the word of God but who refused to handle it properly.

Now, none of us should use this truth to be extra insulting to others. We are never called to meanness. We are not supposed to revel in making others look bad. But we are certainly not to allow people who claim to have the truth to oppose the Lord without response. Jesus knew they were insulted by his claim that they were wrong. Jesus claimed it anyway.

Then, in verse 46, we see what Jesus actually said to these men. The Savior condemned these men for loading people up with burdens that they would not themselves help the people to bear. This is sweet and gracious on Jesus’ part. The Savior shows that it should be our goal in the Christian life to help others to live rightly, but not simply by loading them up with rules. Instead, to please the Lord, we must be people who live our lives together, helping each other along the way.

The truth is, there are believers who are really good at pointing fingers at each other. Some of us thrive on showing people everywhere they are wrong. But not nearly so many of us are good at helping people to actually walk under the burdens we place on their shoulders. But Christ is here telling us that a mountain of demands with no help in the walk is not pleasing to the Lord.

This is not to say that we ignore the word of God or refuse to tell other believers of changes they should make. We must. But we also must, with love and grace, join them in the task of growth. We motivate them, not with mountains of guilt and burdens, but with grace, friendship, hope, and the glory of God.

Consider, for example, how often you have had a pastor slam you with guilt over your lack of evangelistic zeal. From the pulpit, the man whose job is religious, swats you for not doing enough to get to know your neighbors for evangelistic purposes. Now, ask yourself if you have ever really been motivated by that kind of guilt toward lasting change? I would guess not.

Should you be evangelistic? Of course. Should you share the gospel with your neighbors? Of course. But is a burden of guilt atop all the other burdens you bear as a Christian going to make that happen? No way.

We need to learn to work together to relieve these burdens. We need to help each other along the way. We need to lend a hand to each other more than we need to curse each other for not doing enough. We also need to understand that different people are already bearing different burdens in their lives and these same people have a different capacity for different kinds of work.

What I think is beautiful here is that Jesus strongly speaks against us laying weight after weight on each other’s shoulders without offering a hand. Yes, I want you to share the gospel. But with that, I should be saying to you, “How can I jump in with you to help?”  

What should we pray for our nation? How should we feel toward our nation? This is and will remain for years to come a difficult question for many.

There is so much to be grateful for as a citizen of the U.S. We have been given, at least until now, the freedom to worship the Lord without hindrance. The government does not attempt to establish for us a state church or a required set of doctrines we must adhere to. This is good. Many men and women have sacrificed their lives and given of themselves to protect the freedoms we have in our nation and to protect other nations around the world from the attacks of others. So, in very many ways, we are children of a rich heritage.

Proverbs 14:34 – Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

The proverb reminds us, however, that what defines a nation is not necessarily its freedom or its past. Instead, what makes a nation great or what makes it a reproach is simply this: righteousness. If a nation can be defined as clinging to God’s righteousness, it is a nation that will be exalted. If it is a nation that embraces sin, it is reproached by the Lord.

With all of the great things that our nation has to offer, we still must ask ourselves the question as to which category in the above proverb our nation falls into. I do not believe that this is always going to be the same for all people across this great land. Nor do I think that this question would be answered the same way all throughout our history. But, for now, where you live, is our nation a nation of righteousness or a nation that embraces sin? What is valued by the people? What is promoted and embraced by the government? What do you see as the direction of the local leadership? What do you see in our national government?

No, I’m not going to go political here. Nor am I going to start sin-listing. What I am going to do is simply say, without qualification, our nation needs repentance. We, as a nation, embrace thoughts and activities that the Lord forbids. We as a people are given to the celebration of things that the Lord tells us we should turn from. We as a nation need grace from God in order to avoid his reproach and his judgment.

So, dear friends, let us add to our prayers today a cry that the Lord have mercy on our people and our land. We should not, however, simply ask for God to ignore our sin. Instead, we should ask him to help us, as a people, to see his kingdom come and his will be done right where we live. We should ask him to help our nation change her policies toward righteousness as defined by Scripture. No, we do not wish to establish a national religion—such has never changed human hearts. But we want to be a people defined as a nation embracing righteousness for the blessing of the Lord.

What things are to be present in the church? What has God commanded us to do? What has God told us is of utmost importance?

It’s funny, but if you compare Scripture to what many of us do, you will find that we are not always on the same page. Many of us fill our lives and our churches with activities so that we have no time for stillness. Many of our churches are so full of things that just have to be done that our workers are actually giving up time in worship, in silence, in study, or in meditation for the sake of the activities we feel are required to keep our churches growing.

Without going on a big rant about this topic, let me simply point us to a passage that I read in my daily reading that speaks to the concept.

Luke 10:38-42 – 38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Mary and Martha were sisters who loved the Lord Jesus. They both wanted to honor him ,and in this instance, they both tried to honor him in different ways. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet. Her desire was to worship and learn from Jesus. Martha was busy. She had work to do. She had things that just needed to be done.

Martha, frustrated at her sister’s stillness, called on Jesus to tell her to get up and start working. But Jesus responded in a way that surprised Martha. Jesus said that Mary had chosen what was better, and he would not take it from her. Mary had done what pleased Jesus far more than had Martha, even though Martha was working harder and accomplishing more.

I wonder, are you too busy for worship? Are you so busy trying to change the world for the Lord that you are failing to sit still in his presence? Are you too busy trying to make your church grow to actually focus your own life on the worship of the Savior? Jesus is not glorified if we develop big churches that are so rushed, so programmed, so intent on success that we forget to magnify the Savior in our own lives. God commands worship. God delights in his people focusing on his glory and enjoying his majesty. And if we miss this, we miss what church is about regardless of how big we grow or how big our impact is on our communities.

Of course the Lord is not telling us here to be lazy. This passage is not supposed to make us go monastic. But the Lord wants us to remember that he is not honored if we shape our lives and ministries so that we are too busy to worship. 

Some Bible stories have been told, and even mis-told, so that it is hard to learn from them what is true or what the biblical point is. One such story is the account of David dancing before the Lord. I have heard false facts and false applications from this passage, and we want to do better. God has something for us to learn, and we will not get it if we are focused on something God is not trying to tell us.

If you recall, the ark of the covenant was being moved into the city of Jerusalem. David had experienced a tragedy when Uzzah died during the move because of the people’s failure to obey the commands of God about how to move the ark. That disobedience put Uzzah in a dangerous place, he touched the ark, and he died.

Once the people began again to move the ark, this time in the way God told them to, there was a tremendous celebration. David and the people were overjoyed that God was finally allowing the ark to return to Jerusalem, as they knew this pointed to the favor of God.

2 Samuel 6:14 – And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.

1 Chronicles 15:27 David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod. 

Now, think of what you have heard about the scene as the ark was moved. David danced before the Lord with all his might. And how was he dressed? If you have heard the story told  before, you have probably heard it at least hinted at that David was undressed, naked as he danced. But such is not at all what the Scripture says.

Where did people get this false idea?

2 Samuel 16:20-22 – 20 And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” 21 And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will make merry before the Lord. 22 I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.”

David’s wife was ashamed of how David was acting and how he was dressed. David dressed down, like a commoner, so as to celebrate and dance for joy. David’s wife, King Saul’s daughter, did not think David was being kingly enough. She thought that a king should not lower himself to celebrate like the common people, even in celebration of the kindness of God.

So, let’s fix a couple of wrong statements. First, David was not naked. He did not dance unclothed. He danced in linen. He danced looking like a commoner and not a  king. But he was not at all inappropriately garbed. He was not immodest.

Second, the dancing David did was as part of a joy-filled celebration. It was like a national holiday. David danced over the return of the ark in a way that might remind us of a city having a parade when their football team wins the Super Bowl. The people shout, dance, and basically go nuts with happiness. But, what David did was not a part of a formal and orderly worship service. Neither is dancing like David part of the biblical command for regular, weekly, New testament worship.

When David said to his wife that he was willing to be even more contemptable or undignified, he was not suggesting that being undignified , silly, or chaotic should mark Christian worship. He was telling his wife that he was willing to celebrate the victory of the Lord just like the common people no matter how much it bugged her to see him go nuts with happiness.

It is wise for us not to let ourselves go too far with a passage like David’s dancing. We need to see that he was dressed and he was celebrating a great happening with all his heart. But he was not giving us a model for New Testament worship that calls us to lack reverence or dignity when we serve the Lord. May we think clearly and interpret faithfully when we are inspired by biblical stories. And may we not allow ourselves to believe false things from the Scriptures just because they sound fascinating.