"The Stones Will Cry Out"

If you are like me you have been following the events in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami this past week.  Over the past few years our world has experienced many major natural disasters.  During such times it makes a person wonder just what is going on in our world that such terrible things are happening.

Some may believe that our earth is deteriorating and that the end is coming soon.  It makes sense.  Just how much can this planet take?  Some might look at those who are affected and claim that God is using nature to punish them.  Some look to the book of Revelations and see that our earth is falling apart and that we might be close to the coming of Christ.  Again, it could make sense - and wouldn't it been wonderful to know that Christ would return in our lifetime!?  But I find myself in the book of Luke.

Luke 19:28-44 tells of Jesus' "Triumphal Entry" into Jerusalem just prior to his crucifixion.  I was reading this and something popped out to me that I had never paid much attention to.  As Christ was riding the donkey into Jerusalem, the people were laying down their cloaks for him to pass over and they were joyously praising him.  Of course the Pharisees didn't like this and told Jesus to make the people quiet down.  Here, in Luke 19:40, Jesus says, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

Now think for a moment what it would be like if the stones actually cried out.  Think about the power that would take place if stones cried out.  Stones don't have voices, as we do, so their praise would be through movement and movement of rock can be devastating to civilization. 

Psalm 148 also speaks of all creation praising God.  Psalm 148:7-9 (NLT), "Praise the Lord from the earth you large sea animals and all the oceans, lightning and hail, snow and mist, and stormy winds that obey him, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars."  Again, think about just how nature would praise it's Creator.

Now don't get me wrong, I know that we live in an imperfect world and disasters do happen.  But just dwell for a moment on Jesus' own words - "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."  Now take a moment and think about your worship.

• Is worship a part of your DAILY routine?

• When you worship corporately are you more concerned with how you will be perceived by those around you for your all-out worship or are you more concerned with giving God everything you have?

• How do you enter worship?  Are you more concerned with what YOU get out of it or what you GIVE GOD during worship?

Those worshiping Christ during his triumphal entry did not care how they looked.  They didn't care about others trying to quiet them down.  Those people were there to worship the King of Kings!  They worshiped so much that they drowned out nature's worship.  Can you say that?  Maybe, we are not worshiping enough.  God deserves to be worshiped and if we aren't doing it maybe, just maybe, nature has taken over giving God the proper praise that he deserves.