Daily Devotional

Some background to this verse…the commandment came after Peter got caught up in the excitement of being honored to be included in seeing Jesus transfigured and viewing Moses and Elijah talking with Him, and thought it would be good to build tabernacles, one for each of the three.

While reading this I thought about how difficult it is for pastors and worship leaders. Pastors are to be confident, but not too confident to appear arrogant; knowledgeable, but not too knowledgeable to appear cocky; funny, but not too funny lest they be accused of being an entertainer. Worship leaders are to be excellent singers but not drawing attention to themselves; be able to draw a connection of a song to the Word of God, but not talk too much; and lead a group of musicians to all work together to play and sing and lead the congregation without letting anyone know how they are doing it. Both are to do all that…and all the while pointing to Jesus, making sure everything they do and says points to Him.

That's why that has to be the desire of their heart. Because when it is, those other things become secondary. But the line is a fine line, as is it in so many areas of our lives. It's so important to keep Jesus first, front and center, so that, as we are warned in Timothy 2: 26, we can escape the snare of the devil who is just waiting to take us captive to do his will.

It reminded me of some of the lyrics of 2 songs, one from an old children's musical, and the other from our current culture. It shows me that no matter what year we live in or what age we are, we still need the encouragement to throw off our fleshly garments and point to Jesus so that others hear the voice of God saying, "This is my beloved Son… hear Him!"

You Are the Star in My Life (from Positive ID)
Standing on a lighted stage
I'm asked to take a bow
If ever I could swell with pride
I'm sure it would be now
But in the corner of my eye
I see you standing near
I step out of the spotlight
You should be standing here

You are the star in my life, O Lord
You are the main attraction
You are the main event
You are the star in my life, O Lord
You are the main attraction
And I just play a part
The loud applause I get sometimes
It's because of who you are
You are the star
You are the star in my life

Celebrity (Jon Shabaglian)
Lights grow dimmer
But You outshine the sun
Our music is tired
But You are the song
Songs burn out
But You won't fade away
We will be saved by no other name
You deserve all the love
Contained in heaven and earth
Jesus you were famous first
No words can begin
To ever capture your worth
Celebrity of the universe

New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.