David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the ark of the Lord by asking for his blessings and giving thanks and praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.

— 1 Chronicles 16

Walking into the house, I noticed a wonderful smell coming from the oven.

Chocolate chip cookies. Warm and gooey. Right out of the oven.

I couldn’t wait to dig in, so I did. They were as good as they looked and smelled.

They were a product of grandma and granddaughter’s stellar efforts. All the necessary ingredients were all over the counter, not to mention my granddaughter’s clothes, face, hair and hands.

They were properly mixed with exactly the right quantities and baked just the perfect amount of time. A masterpiece of culinary delight.

As David took his rightful place as king, his heart belonged to God. He knew everything he had received — the victories, the strength, the wisdom and the support of the people — had come from God.

He wanted to and did lead the charge when it came to worship of God.

He had the Levites bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem with great celebration. They sang. They danced. They shouted. David even wrote a song for the occasion. In it, he included examples of some of the key ingredients of worship: asking, thanksgiving and praise.

These ingredients create a pleasing aroma in the throne room of God.

To ask of God acknowledges that he is God and we are not. All good things come from him.

To thank him is to express appreciation for those things he has given.

To praise him is to proclaim his loving, gracious and generous character.

As you examine your worship these days, do you see all of these ingredients? Are they in proper balance?

Let’s ask God to enable us to worship him properly.

Let’s thank him when he does.

Let’s praise him for his goodness in making worship possible.

All about Jesus

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation…

— Colossians 1:15-20

Not too long ago, I found myself in a mad search for my identity.

It wasn’t that I needed to go find myself or that I had amnesia of some kind.

It was a search for the physical evidence that proved I am who I say I am.

My new driver’s license required a birth certificate, a social security card and some kind of picture ID. It was a chore.

I had to go through all kinds of papers. I had to make repeated calls to ask if this piece of evidence was sufficient. What a hassle!

However, I received my new license, which allows me freedoms that I value highly. It was worth it.

As Paul prepared his readers for the rest of this particular letter, he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to provide them and us with one of the most powerful and detailed revelations regarding the identity of Jesus.

He wanted to reassure everyone who had put their trust in Jesus that they had made the best decision of their lives.

The stakes couldn’t be any higher.

If we get confused about who he is, we will be off track regarding all things divine from the very start.

It is his person that establishes the significance of his work.

If we say, “I believe in Jesus!” just what exactly are we saying?

How would you define “I”?

What about “believe in”?

Finally, perhaps most importantly, “Jesus”?

Each part has to be explained for the confession to have any meaning and significance for this life and the life to come.

We can’t allow what might feel like a laborious process to be avoided for one more day.

So many of our struggles in life can be traced to a truth shortage.

That’s part of the reason why Paul gave this revelation.

Read it. Study it. Talk about it. It’s time for all of us to meet the real Jesus.

Wiles is senior minister of Fall Creek Christian Church in Pendleton. He can be reached at 765-778-3166.