Micah Klutinoty's Blog

Philippians 3:3~
For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.

Praise God for His Holy Spirit, for it is by the Spirit of God that our worship has been redirected from earthly things to a Holy God! It is by the Spirit of God that our own spirit can rejoice in the Lord. It's by the Spirit that the knowledge of who God is is made known to me, and my eyes are opened and my heart abounds in the glorious worship of his renown that is all around. By the Spirit of God I taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps34:8)!. By the Spirit of God, mere songs become offerings of praise, and our minuscule voices become a sweet sweet sound to the ears of our God. By the Spirit of God our bodies have been transformed into a Holy place of worship:

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.~1 Cor.3:16-17

The Spirit of God has become the enabler to sinful mankind! The Holy Spirit has enabled us to fulfill that which we were created for...communion with God centered on His glory! The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to all that the Father is worth...thus enabling us to be the worshipers God created and is now seeking(Jn.4:23-24).

So all of that probably doesn't even dent all that the holy Spirit does in our lives concerning our worship, but it is certainly enough to see how foolish it would be to put our confidence in anything other than the Spirit of God!

Paul had a strong case for why he could be confident in His flesh. He did a lot of the right things, learned the right stuff, but apart from Christ, Paul knew firsthand that there was nothing! So it can't be about us! It can't be about what we know, how good of a singer we are, or how eloquent of a Bible teacher we are, etc...Where we begin to find confidence in our flesh, we begin to see our worship misdirected; Directed away from our Holy triune God, from whom only true worship flows, and onto our own efforts, attempts, and insufficiencies.

The beauty of true worship is that I don't have what it takes, but through the divine working of the trinity, the Holy Spirit initiates, stirs up, and takes our worship to our High Priest Jesus who can offer it wholly and acceptable to our God! That is worth my confidence. Jeremiah 9:23 says,

"Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."

We can find plenty of earthly things to boast In or put our confidence in, but they will always disappoint. Our God will not disappoint, and He has given us His very Spirit to move us into a right heart of worship to our Righteous God. If you will boast, let us boast in the Lord together!

My small group has been going through a study by James MacDonald called "Lord Change My Attitude." Last night's message was on LOVE and it was really convicting and has had my mind processing all night. I got up this morning to read back through 1 Corinthians 13 and the worksheets from the message. What I'm evaluating in my own life is why is Biblical love so important, and why do I make it so hard so often?

As I'm learning every step of the way, as I seek to serve the Lord in ministry, I came up with this statement recently:

There is nothing more depleting in ministry than executing a perfect service, or delivering the most powerful statement or song, if my love for the people is not in it. But, there is nothing more rewarding in ministry than watching hearts soften, eyes become attentive, and worshipers be restored as I truly walk with people and love people more than the service.


So I've been thinking on that statement and trying to apply it greatly over the past month. Because it can be hard right? Maybe your not in "full time ministry," but whether you are or not you do have a full time ministry wherever you are, in whatever you do...so this applies. But we all want to make things the best they can be, deliver truth the best way possible, understand scripture in its most contextual way, etc...And all those things are important, as we're called to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus (Col.3:17), but apart from love towards God and towards people, it is meaningless. Paul describes this in First Corinthians 13:1-3, when he opens the chapter with, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal..."  Meaning he could be the most eloquent speaker, or the most exuberant worship leader, or the most passionate evangelist in the work place, but apart from a real love for people, people wouldn't hear what he had to offer and he would have nothing!

Only Jesus could be the perfect model of this, for He was FULL of grace and truth (Jn.1:17). He was FULL of grace and He was FULL of truth. I've been really thinking on this lately, and it's come up a lot in my life as I seek to serve the Lord. Jesus didn't heir towards one or the other, nor did He give one more attention. Jesus was FULL of grace and truth which aloud Him to love others with a 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love. But as a whole, we are bad at this LOVE thing in our day. The love movement is so watered down that people are feeling warm and cozy and loved on their way to hell, or the other extreme, people are so ingrained in the truth and "their way or the highway" that people are turned off to the real truth of Jesus...I can struggle with those two extremes for sure; how about you?

So what can we apply from scripture to how we love others, as we seek the ultimate goal of worshiping God and see others become worshipers of God? Obviously, 1 Corinthians lays out a huge list of what love is and looks like. I'd encourage you to spend some time reading it and examining your own life, but here are some of the things that I'm convicted of:

~Having agape love towards others is putting others before ourselves. It is patient, kind, and not rude even in disagreement and frustration.

~Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth(1Cor.13:6). Love is not compromising, nor is it withholding hard truth from people in sin or in opposition to God's Word. Real love makes known the truth. The hard question sometimes is, "am I confronting this person because I really love them, or because I know I'm right and they need to be made right..." There is a difference.

~Love bears all things, hopes all things, believes all things, endures all things(1Cor.13:7).  When others don't see their wrongdoing, or continually choose the wrong, or even live differently than us, real love goes beyond confrontation or giving up...Real love prays intercessory prayers on behalf of others; Real love bears the hurt that others can continually bring upon themselves and you; Real love is there even when it's inconvenient or repeated.

~Love Never Fails! The perfectly balanced grace and truth love that Jesus displayed did not fail. His life was the standard that we might know what love is in this; "while we were still sinners Christ died for us(Rom.5:8)." And Jesus not only modeled it, but challenged us in John 15:12-13 when He said, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." Love was pretty important to Jesus' ministry, and not only did He command it of us, but His Word speaks of it as the greatest among even characteristics such as faith and hope (1Cor.13:13)!

This whole study and thought process that started a few weeks ago, and is hashing itself out even now as the Lord sanctifies me more and more for His work, can be a burdening thought process. How will I ever have the agape love towards others that Jesus modeled so perfectly? Don't rely on yourself, but put your confidence in the Spirit; for its by the Spirit of God that we might find the fruits of the Spirit (Gal.5:22-24). Whether your in ministry, or God has called you to something else, let's get a biblical understanding of what love is, and submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit that it might take shape in our lives and in our work!

God loves you with an everlasting love! His love is the basis on which you can love others. All of our effort comes to nothing if you don't understand and grasp this truth: YOU ARE LOVED! 

The most commanded word in all of the Bible is: "SING!"

76 times in the book of Psalm alone we see "SING!"

Psalm 47:6-7 by itself says, "SING praises to God, SING praises! SING praises to our King, SING praises! For God is the King of all the earth; SING praises with a  psalm."


Singing to the Lord is not just some lame, participation exercise that churches everywhere have come up with to warm up their congregation before opening the Bible on a Sunday. But, in our day, we have lost a good theology for congregational singing, which has led our Sunday morning "Church singing" to places that are anything but worship to God!

The command to SING in the Bible is PARTICIPATORY, NOT ENTERTAINING! 


Somewhere along the way, the Church has become more and more passive to leading people in worship, so entertaining in "worship" has taken participations place. The idea that "the good singers on stage will do my worshiping for me," could not be further from the truth. When we gather together on a Sunday morning, as a congregation of people under the banner of Christ, it is a chance to gather with those whom we have all things in common with! Because of Jesus, we are the redeemed, "called out of darkness into His marvelous light, that we might proclaim the excellencies of His name!(1Pet.2:9)" Psalm 100 calls us to "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise..."  We gather as brothers and sisters, standing shoulder to shoulder, all with different gifts, stirring one another up in service to the Lord, the proclamation of His Word, the remembrance of His death/resurrection, and the adoration of Jesus!  So while singing isn't the only vehicle for worshiping the Lord, it is certainly an important one that we are commanded to do in scripture. So, whether you sing like a bird, or sing like a coyote in a trash compacter...join the praises of Jesus and SING!

The command to SING is to SING TO THE LORD! 


Psalm 96 says,
"Sing to the Lord a new song!Sing to the Lord all the earth; Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Tell of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the heathens, His marvelous works among all people."


There would be NOTHING more lame, dumb, and pointless than getting a bunch of businessmen, successful professors, hard working moms, and anyone else together once a week to sing songs together...if God was not in them! Without God, the source of our salvation, the center of our attention, and the reason for our songs, what is the point!?! Scripture's command to sing is not so we can entertain ourselves, or entertain others, or to show off our ability or voice...The command to sing is for the Glory of His name! And when we gather with other believers once a week, it is a chance to declare the praises of God and stir one another up in worship. When we become followers of Jesus, and pick up our cross daily, we become worshipers of Jesus. Worshipers who seek to glorify God in what we do, speak, and sing!

The command to SING is founded on TRUTH


Colossians 3:16~
"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another with Psalms, Hymns, and spiritual songs..."


Ephesians 5:19~
"...Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord."


Paul paints a great picture in the above two verses. There are many different types of songs, but One Spirit and One inerrant Word of God. And, within those verses we see the truth of God's word and it being communicated through singing! Which means, as we sing Psalms, or hymns or spiritual songs, all should fall under the theology and doctrine of the Bible, which is our only source that accurately allows us to know the "WHO" of our worship. A good friend of mine says, "music is the glue that can infuse theology in the hearts of people." A lot more people probably remember lyrics to a song over passages of scripture. So every time we sing together is really a chance to pour out theology and truth that is consistent with who our God is, sing to Him, and paint biblically faithful pictures of what He is doing and why He is worthy!

So we must be discerning with what we sing. Not every song deemed a hymn or "worship" song is biblically accurate, or theologically sound. When the Word of Christ dwells in us richly, we have a foundation for discernment in what we sing. And just a small comment I'd have towards our more modern practice of singing top 40 "secular" radio songs in church or covering classic rock hits to drive home a series title...as far as I can see Biblically, this is not a profitable practice. Is our God not great enough, big enough, and Holy enough for His people to jump at a chance to ascribe worth and glory due His name?!? The church doesn't need gimmicks, it needs to be passionately consumed with the adoration of Jesus. So let's sing truth when we gather together!

The command to SING starts with YOUR HEART


It's easy to fall into a routine. We are creatures of habit, and we definitely habitually do church as Christians.  Our singing should come from an overflow of a heart that has Christ enthroned. When we lose our passion or our sight of the object of our singing, we are not bringing glory to God. In Amos 5:23-24 the people lost sight of the object of their worship, to which God responded:

I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in Your solemn assemblies...
...Take away from me the noise of Your songs; to the melody of your harps
I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an 
everlasting stream.


So God despises our singing and songs when it does not come from a broken and contrite heart (Ps.51), and He certainly doesn't accept it. But, sadly, we often sing in church on a Sunday, giving the appearance of worship, but our hearts are far from it. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His Holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false (Ps.24:3-4). Only you can know if you are worshiping the Lord in song from a pure and right heart, just like only I can know when I am. A worship leader can't do that for us. God offers what we need, if we will seek first His kingdom and His righteousness in repentance and brokenness.

CONCLUSION
I woke up thinking about this "theology of congregational singing" at like 5:45am this morning. Its been really thought provoking all day, and I really want to look even more into God's Word about the specific privilege and topic of Singing to the Lord. Let's be intentional, expectant, passionately ascriptive, and biblically faithful as we gather week to week to Sing! Don't just sing to sing, but sing from a prepared and surrendered heart, in obedience to the scriptures, bringing glory to God alone!

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13

We use that verse all the time to convey that with Christ we can win a football game, dunk a basketball, be the best ballerina in the world...etc. You've seen the posters! It's all good. I'm glad Sunday School teachers around America want kids to know all things are for God's glory and that our strength comes from the Lord; even though they'll never dunk a basketball no matter how hard they put their faith in Jesus...It's a good poster though. HAHA

But what about Paul's original context of that verse? It has to do with contentment, which has to be so incredibly tied to a worshiper of Jesus. Basically, Paul was writing that He's been through a lot over the years. He's had high times and low times, rich times and poor times, times of hunger, distress, and need, and times when he's had an abundance of things (Ph4:12); But He writes, "in whatever situation, I am to be content...I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!(Ph.4:11,13)" Wow! That is such an incredible attitude example of what Christ does for the transformed, ever-sanctifying sinner, and a context that puts into perspective my inevitable need for Christ who strengthens me!

God's been teaching me about contentment. Literally, 1 Timothy 6:6-16 has been popping up in my life so much lately. Paul again writes about contentment describing that we will grow greatly in our godliness, if we have contentment. We all want to grow in the things of God, but it's connected directly to contentment. Read the 1 Timothy passage for yourself, but basically Paul writes that if we realize we came into this world with nothing, and know that we are leaving it with nothing, anything more than nothing should make us content.

So why do we make it so hard on ourselves? Why do we so easily struggle with discontentment, which causes us to slow down our growth in godliness?  Paul uses the example of desiring to be rich, which I'd say can translate to desiring anything more than Christ. We are tangible people, in a material world, with a sinful nature...we don't really have much going for us concerning our contentment. Thankfully, by the grace of God, we have been given eyes to see that the things of this world are empty, and that lasting fulfillment and true contentment can only be found in Jesus. But, that doesn't mean it comes easy, which is probably why Paul wrote "fight the good fight of faith (1Tim6:12)" within this passage.

Again, God's teaching me about contentment; First, about how I need it, and secondly, about how it is a main ingredient for a worshiper of Jesus. I read yesterday, "if you are not a true worshiper, everything in your life will be spiritually out of sync." When our worship is right, our hearts are in the right place, and right worship brings contentment, which accelerates our godliness. But where there is a worship problem, isn't it so true that there are spiritual problems!? Nothing can bring us to a greater recognition of God, a more passionate adoration of Jesus, and a more joyful lifestyle of worship than contentment in Christ alone.

Contentment realizes there would be nothing apart from Christ. (1 Tim.6:6-70)

Worldly cravings bring discontentment, lack of faith, and even wandering from the very thing that saved our souls. (1Tim.6:9-10)

Our pursuit of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness, and all of Christ-likeness starts with our contentment, which is a fight worth fighting. (1Tim.6:11-12)

Contentment and pursuit of righteous living always leads to adoration, worship, and a recognition of our divine, triune God. (1Tim.6:15-16)

I know, I know, it's been too long since updating the old blog. Sorry the Lord is trying to teach me some things lately and honestly I have not had much inspiration or creativity for much...Sure its frustrating, but I believe the Lord can allow us to walk thru a time of desolation, questions, and the "desert" in order to stretch our worship of Him. I know God loves me, and all His children far too much to leave us where we are. We see in James 1 that our great God is interested in making us more perfect and more complete. Unfortunately, the perfecting comes thru "trials of various kinds," but fortunately we can trust that God is at work in our imperfect lives as we walk thru those trials or "desert" moments.

Anyways! God is so good, so faithful, and so constant. I joyfully acknowledge and proclaim His unchanging nature in the moments where I'm "prone to wander." I am imperfect, and my God is perfectly perfect, and that is why He and He alone is the Lord of my life.

"A major obstacle to creativity is wanting to be in the peak season of growth and generation at all times...but if we see the soul's journey as cyclical, like the seasons, then we can accept the reality that the periods of despair or fallowness are like winter-a resting time that offers us a period of creative hibernation, purification, and regeneration that prepares us for the births of spring."
~Linda Leonard

So, for the last 7 days our little girl, Callie has been stuck in the hospital due to E.Coli found in her blood. She will be here a total of 14 days...and yes, through Christmas:(. My wife hasn't really left the hospital, I've been here everyday and multiple nights, our 2 year old has had to come up daily for visits only to cry as she leaves mommy once again, and Callie is attached to a line pumping medicine into her veins, that allows us to move about 1 foot.

I don't know if you have kids, or if you've been through medical stuff with your kids, but there honestly is nothing worse for me. Seeing doctors and nurses hold your little girl down to put IV's in and do spinal taps and whatever other tests is terrible! Honestly, I really struggle with anger in the moment. And no one probably hates it more than Callie herself, as she fought and screamed to break loose from the sharp jabs and cold hands...

I hate it, but I let it happen. Callie hates it, but the outcome is hopefully good. Through the terrible affair, Callie received a line directly to her blood, where the infection could be killed at the source!

You catching the parallel? As my wife and I were trying to process all this the first day, my mother-in-law painted a good picture.

Our life with God is much the same. Sometimes, we go through some of the hardest, most painful, uncomfortable circumstances. Like Callie, we hate it and fight to get away from it...but it's no use! And if that wasn't painful enough, God, the one in charge, let's it happen.

This whole experience is giving me a good perspective on God. Though He may let the trial, or painful circumstance, or chastening happen, he doesn't stand by saying, "Boy you deserved this" or "yep that'll teach you." God loves me! God is my Father! Just as it hurts me to see Callie go through these things, it hurts God when His children suffer! But, just as I let the doctors work on Callie, God lets "work" happen on me, because the outcome is good!

1 Thessalonians 4:3 says:
"For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from..."

The passage above goes on with a laundry list of worldly sins that we are to abstain from. Each listed, are the very "infections" that caused us to once walk in darkness and still tempt our eyes, flesh, and pride. As God seeks to make us more Holy through His divine process of sanctification, he has to allow "surgery" to happen. It can hurt His children, make them mad, cause them to ask why, and all the while God feels that pain, but let's it happen for He knows the outcome is a killed "infection" and a better person.

Concluding, like my daughter is in the process of being physically "sanctified," I think I'm in the process of being spiritually sanctified. Not sure from what yet, and honestly, it sucks bad! But I'm thankful that I have a Father who looks on my struggling with love, and who knows what's best for His child concerning the outcome. I'm thankful that He loves me to much to leave me where I'm at, and that he's willing to love me when I'm angry, hurting, or questioning, because He knows what's best. I know that God is for me, even when it hurts.

God is good!

Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Got some family pics taken recently. To be honest, with a sick little girl and a new baby, this session was one of the biggest tests ever of my salvation;) Working on the old patience:/

But, the few pics I've seen this far turned out great! More to come.

My wife is pregnant.

My wife is 4 days past her due date.

My patience is lessening. Her patience is lessening.

I mean...COME ON ALREADY!!!!

It's crazy how life can feel like it's on hold during a time of waiting for your new child to arrive. Like, being  a Pastor at a church, there are a lot of things throughout the week to be responsible for, but when the baby decides to come I drop everything; SO....do I not plan a lot this week, which I didn't, but the baby hasn't come yet; SO...do I start getting stuff done for next week, but what if the baby doesn't come then...AND what if the baby comes right before something really important, like Sunday morning; AND WHAT IF THE BABY JUST NEVER COMES!!!

Haha...See what my brain has been like lately?

But, above all of those anxieties and thoughts, I am thankful for the hope that I have in Jesus. I am thankful that His ways are not my ways. I am thankful that the Lord knows my new child, what he/she needs, and when the perfect timing to send her into our world is, far better than I do.

Also, waiting for baby #2 has made me thankful for baby #1. It has been an incredible (almost) two years with my little girl, Reese. And lately, I have grown to love her more and more as I see her personality more and more.  She is hilarious! She is such a beautiful, energetic, personable little girl, and I cannot wait to see how she will be used for the glory of the Lord someday!

It is hard to imagine having another kid, and loving it as much as I love Reese. I mean she is all I know, and she's had all my wife and my attention for the past 2 years! But, I'm confident that the Lord is only giving us another blessing that will only make our family better, grow us closer together, and make us more of a force for the Kingdom of God!

As I wait, I am thankful for what God has given me in baby #1. He could not have been better to us! My prayer for Reese is that the Lord would truly break into her life at a young age, open her eyes to her sinful, rotten, prideful self, break her of that sin, lavish His love upon her, and allow her sweet personality to not just come from an outward appearance, but to stem from an inward love for Jesus.

God is faithful. God is God. God is good.