Living a Lifestyle of Worship

It's been a couple of years since I've done one of those Lifeway "read & fill in the blank" style Bible Studies, so I decided to go retro and do another one.  After looking around for a while, I settled on one called "Abiding in Christ," which is a study of John 15:1-17.  Not only does the title really seem to hit me where I am, but it's based off of Andrew Murray's writings called, "The True Vine." Last year I was introduced to Andrew Murray's writings by doing his 31-Day Devotional called, "Waiting on God."  I thought it was rather profound, so when I saw his name attached to this Bible Study I knew it was for me.  Week 1 is officially up and I have begun Week 2 - already I can notice a difference in my life as I view my day through the lens of Abiding in Christ.

Of course, there are myriad applications to the current state of my life right now, but what has struck me most and seems to be on my heart right now is the concept of pruning the branch that bears fruit to bear more fruit (v.2).  Murray points out that while many Christians bear some fruit, they are much like the church of Laodicea - not only lukewarm [in fruit bearing], but content to be so.  As a Worship Pastor and a Christian speaker, I've devoted my life to leading people to worship God with their lives - 24/7/365 (hence the title for this blog).  I've received encouragement from many people who tell me that they see Jesus in me, and I've always tried to live for Him.  I am by no means saying that I have it all together - like everyone else, I am a miserable sinner in need of God's forgiveness and grace.  But suffice it to say, however, that I've never really considered myself to be lukewarm since I truly started to live for Him back in college.

As I read that statement the other day, though, I was stuck by how Murray qualified it:  he pointed out that the standard most of use to measure our "lukewarmess" is other people.  OUCH!  Toes stepped on - hit by a ton of bricks - Holy Spirit slap in the face...all of the above.  I can't believe I've never made that connection before!  I don't measure my service to Christ (or my knowledge of Scripture, or how much I pray, etc.) against anyone else (for instance, I'm not less of a Worship Pastor because I'm not like Chris Tomlin); and I don't look at someone else's sin and say, "Well, at least I'm not as bad as that guy."  Neither do I allow myself to float along w/out trying to use my life to make a difference for Christ.  But paired with the idea of being lukewarm, however, and I am guilty as charged!  It seems that for a long time I have measured my degree of "hot/cold/lukewarm" using others as the standard by which I measure.  I have compared their outward fruits with my own to determine that I'm not really lukewarm because God is using me to do X, Y, and Z.  In truth, though, the true measure of lukewarm comes only from God, and I daresay that it is different for everyone, depending on their own gifts and calling.  Murray has forced me to consider that perhaps the fruit I've been bearing is really only lukewarm compared to what He [the Vinedresser] wants for me...and that I've been content for some time to bear that lukewarm fruit, thinking I was hot.

John 15:2 tells us that God's pruning takes place so that we will bear more fruit.  ONLY HE sets the standard for what amount of fruit each vine should produce.  And does the Vinedresser decide that a vine has produced all the fruit that it needs to?  Does He ever stop pruning it?  I don't know.  What I do know right now is - well, perhaps "know" is too strong of a word just yet.  What I think I know right now is that somehow I have become lukewarm and not bearing the fruit that He desires for me.  Even as involved in Christian Ministry as I have been, and with the fruit of ministry that I've seen, I think that I grew content in what God was doing through me.  Of course, I always wanted God to do more...but I was totally OK if He didn't because I believed that what He was already doing through me was all right.  I'm really thinking that my "bearing fruit standards" have been skewed for quite some time, and that this pruning process I'm enduring is going to run MUCH deeper than I thought...

...snip away, Lord.  Snip away...

What about you?  If you're reading this and are a Christ-follower too, then I challenge you to scrutinize your own standard for bearing fruit.  Do you measure your degree of "hot/cold/lukewarm" against the fruits of other people like I did?  Or do you allow God to set the standard?  Are you content with how He is using you?  Do you welcome His pruning?  Will you open yourself to His pruning?