This morning I was able to attend chapel with Ewan (and was so pleased that he actually ASKED me to come with him!). They had a short message on what is essentially authentic worship. It was great, and gave me inspiration to share.
The speaker indicated that he was from a very formal church background. He ended up at a "rockin" church and was just completely shocked that people clapped and jumped up and down. He said one older lady even ran around the church (that part would probably shock me too :) ). He mentioned to the pastor that it was hard for him to get used to such behavior.
The pastor said: have you been to a Vols game? (Or any sports game for that matter) Do people stand or sit quietly? How do they behave? They go CRAZY!!! And all that for a game with a ball. So much enthusiasm, so much energy, so much emotion! For a game. So is it really that weird that people get that excited about praising the God of the universe?
We were created to exclaim His praise! In fact, it is a beautiful privilege to approach the throne of the Father at all...we SHOULD be excited! We have, for now, the freedom in America to worship with all we've got, as often as we want! Ritualistic Sundays? Scheduled monotony? Don't take the gift of worship for granted...it may not be long before that freedom is no more.
I personally can't stand still when I'm moved by a melody and lyrics that speak love between my spirit and the Lord's. I still feel some inhibition...but when you close your eyes...and feel yourself drawn near to God...come on, get excited! Give a shout! He is God, Yahweh, Mighty to Save, greater than anything we could possibly conceive. Don't miss out on the joy of authentic worship of Christ. Besides, aren't we just practicing for eternity? :)
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
A Living spring...
Ok..I want to be in bed right now! But I had a great evening receiving words from the Holy Spirit, and have to pour it out quick before I forget!! Just so you know..this is long and rambling and may not make any sense to you at all. It's just a blog about what He is speaking to me. And perhaps my buddy Chelsey. :)
Recently I have become more aware of how things start connecting when we really focus on Christ. I have been spending a lot of time getting into His Word...and there are days when I get the same message from Him...over..and over. At which point I think..hmm, clearly You are trying to make a point!
The Oswald Chambers devotionals at www.utmost.org have been all about being a river of living water. Well...it's kind of hard to explain as poetically as he does (and as Jesus does!) but essentially, when we allow the Holy Spirit to flow through us as God is filling us up, rivers of living water pour out of us to affect those around us. We rarely see the effects of all of these rivers, but that is not the point. The point is to keep our eyes on the Source. If there is an obstacle that comes up...keep your eyes on the Source, which is Christ. God will either remove it or take you around it.
Today's words that stuck with me were: If nothing is between you and Christ, out of you will be a river CONTINUALLY flowing. Not a one time experience, or passing on a blessing, or paying it forward. This will be a way of life, that, if you stay connected to the Source, will never run dry. There will be no dry riverbed, there will be no Dead Sea. He is the Source of life, and He is faithful.
I also have had that song from the recent Passion album stuck in my head for about a month, since I heard it at CAV - "All my Fountains (are in You)"
So that's what I've been focusing on. There are a few barriers that have come up in my life, and I have been waiting not altogether patiently for Him to move them...or move me on. He orchestrated the most beautiful removal of one of them today. It was AMAZING. I mean, honestly sometimes I think He is showing off. :) But the great part is when we have our eyes on Him we get to see and be an active part of this faith walk.
The great thing tonight was at youth group (no, unfortunately I have not un-aged and returned to my younger years..lol...I am helping out with the youth! It's a blast!) the youth pastor spoke about...yep...being a stream of water. I admit I'm not sure why God is driving this into me right now. I'm still in the dark at what He has planned for me on earth. But as always, it's in the process, not the end product, that the Lord places emphasis.
The verses were Isaiah 58:9-11.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry and He will say, 'Here I am.'
If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
And if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday.
And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places,
and give strength to your bones;
and you will be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
If you call upon the Lord, and then get rid of all the bad junk, like blaming and judging and badness...and then give of yourself to others..you will find that He will continually guide your steps. He will brighten your mood. He will bring you deep satisfaction, the likes of which the world can never provide! He will give you strength, and as long as you continue doing all these things- call on Him, repent, love others...He will make sure your waters never run dry.
Our God is awesome. That word no longer cuts it for me. I am in awe and in love and to be perfectly honest...I'm believing God over anything else.
Wouldn't you like to have the peace and joy He brings? There is no comparison.
Recently I have become more aware of how things start connecting when we really focus on Christ. I have been spending a lot of time getting into His Word...and there are days when I get the same message from Him...over..and over. At which point I think..hmm, clearly You are trying to make a point!
The Oswald Chambers devotionals at www.utmost.org have been all about being a river of living water. Well...it's kind of hard to explain as poetically as he does (and as Jesus does!) but essentially, when we allow the Holy Spirit to flow through us as God is filling us up, rivers of living water pour out of us to affect those around us. We rarely see the effects of all of these rivers, but that is not the point. The point is to keep our eyes on the Source. If there is an obstacle that comes up...keep your eyes on the Source, which is Christ. God will either remove it or take you around it.
Today's words that stuck with me were: If nothing is between you and Christ, out of you will be a river CONTINUALLY flowing. Not a one time experience, or passing on a blessing, or paying it forward. This will be a way of life, that, if you stay connected to the Source, will never run dry. There will be no dry riverbed, there will be no Dead Sea. He is the Source of life, and He is faithful.
I also have had that song from the recent Passion album stuck in my head for about a month, since I heard it at CAV - "All my Fountains (are in You)"
So that's what I've been focusing on. There are a few barriers that have come up in my life, and I have been waiting not altogether patiently for Him to move them...or move me on. He orchestrated the most beautiful removal of one of them today. It was AMAZING. I mean, honestly sometimes I think He is showing off. :) But the great part is when we have our eyes on Him we get to see and be an active part of this faith walk.
The great thing tonight was at youth group (no, unfortunately I have not un-aged and returned to my younger years..lol...I am helping out with the youth! It's a blast!) the youth pastor spoke about...yep...being a stream of water. I admit I'm not sure why God is driving this into me right now. I'm still in the dark at what He has planned for me on earth. But as always, it's in the process, not the end product, that the Lord places emphasis.
The verses were Isaiah 58:9-11.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry and He will say, 'Here I am.'
If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
And if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday.
And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places,
and give strength to your bones;
and you will be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
If you call upon the Lord, and then get rid of all the bad junk, like blaming and judging and badness...and then give of yourself to others..you will find that He will continually guide your steps. He will brighten your mood. He will bring you deep satisfaction, the likes of which the world can never provide! He will give you strength, and as long as you continue doing all these things- call on Him, repent, love others...He will make sure your waters never run dry.
Our God is awesome. That word no longer cuts it for me. I am in awe and in love and to be perfectly honest...I'm believing God over anything else.
Wouldn't you like to have the peace and joy He brings? There is no comparison.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
I am restless..
This is just where I am right now. Thanks Jon Foreman for giving words to what my heart is feeling. I encourage you to listen closely to the poetry set forth.
Also, Psalm 37:24 "When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand." I am humbled by this love. He is holding my hand. Who would dare say this is not a loving God who wants a personal relationship with us?? I will be restless until I am in His presence. That is all.
P.S.- MOM- He is backed by Sarah Masen, who is his sister-in-law!! Weird, small world, huh?
Also, Psalm 37:24 "When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand." I am humbled by this love. He is holding my hand. Who would dare say this is not a loving God who wants a personal relationship with us?? I will be restless until I am in His presence. That is all.
P.S.- MOM- He is backed by Sarah Masen, who is his sister-in-law!! Weird, small world, huh?
Thursday, September 1, 2011
All the single ladies!
Lately, Psalm 37 has been my go-to scripture. I have it taped to the cupboard in the kitchen. I marvel at the clarity of it, and I love the commands at the beginning of each sentence: dwell, trust, rest. We can't say that we don't know what to do until God acts, or what to do until He makes the next step clear. He tells us exactly how to behave in our times of waiting.
Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb.
TRUST in the Lord and do good; DWELL in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
DELIGHT yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.
COMMIT your way to the Lord, TRUST also in Him, and HE will do it.
HE will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
BE STILL in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.
Psalm 37:1-7 (NASB and NLT versions)
Although it appears that most of the above verbs are passive (resting, waiting)...I beg to differ. You see, I have experienced the fight against my flesh and my thoughts to be rather active, involved, and trying. We often try to blame Satan, and surely he tries to distract us. But this verse helps me remember that many times the source of the problem is within me: Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away (James 1:14 NLT).
So, while desires for a husband, children, etc are natural and often placed by the Lord for His own purpose...if not deliberately given into God's hands, these desires can allow us to get enticed and dragged away. Putting them into God's hands takes work- prayer, scripture knowledge, and self-control (which is a fruit of the Spirit). Otherwise the daydreams in our heads can take over and really make things nuts!
Tonight I was hitting the Nyquil before bed (best part about having a cold!) and was listening to Brooke Fraser. Her song, "Love is Waiting" was playing. I love it- mostly because it's a very good storytelling song about fall! And right now, I want fall...
But I finally understood- she wasn't saying Love is waiting...like here, I put this love on a shelf and it's waiting for you. I think it is similar to the "love is patient, love is kind" verse. Love is waiting. If I really loved my future husband...I would wait patiently and not rush things. One line says "I can't force the sun to rise, or hasten summer's start...neither should I rush my way into your heart." I love that.
When we are in our periods of waiting, much like the Saturday between the crucifixion and resurrection, that is when God is doing His finest work. He's working on the behind the scenes stuff that transforms everything!
So like Brooke says, slow the pace, hold on if you can. BE PATIENT! He says in Psalm 37 that He will do it! So trust Him. Instead of putting your efforts into looking for that special man of God...put all your efforts into earnestly seeking the Son of God...and allowing Him to transform you into the woman He created you to be. This world is so short...you can do this!
Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb.
TRUST in the Lord and do good; DWELL in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
DELIGHT yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.
COMMIT your way to the Lord, TRUST also in Him, and HE will do it.
HE will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
BE STILL in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act.
Psalm 37:1-7 (NASB and NLT versions)
Although it appears that most of the above verbs are passive (resting, waiting)...I beg to differ. You see, I have experienced the fight against my flesh and my thoughts to be rather active, involved, and trying. We often try to blame Satan, and surely he tries to distract us. But this verse helps me remember that many times the source of the problem is within me: Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away (James 1:14 NLT).
So, while desires for a husband, children, etc are natural and often placed by the Lord for His own purpose...if not deliberately given into God's hands, these desires can allow us to get enticed and dragged away. Putting them into God's hands takes work- prayer, scripture knowledge, and self-control (which is a fruit of the Spirit). Otherwise the daydreams in our heads can take over and really make things nuts!
Tonight I was hitting the Nyquil before bed (best part about having a cold!) and was listening to Brooke Fraser. Her song, "Love is Waiting" was playing. I love it- mostly because it's a very good storytelling song about fall! And right now, I want fall...
But I finally understood- she wasn't saying Love is waiting...like here, I put this love on a shelf and it's waiting for you. I think it is similar to the "love is patient, love is kind" verse. Love is waiting. If I really loved my future husband...I would wait patiently and not rush things. One line says "I can't force the sun to rise, or hasten summer's start...neither should I rush my way into your heart." I love that.
When we are in our periods of waiting, much like the Saturday between the crucifixion and resurrection, that is when God is doing His finest work. He's working on the behind the scenes stuff that transforms everything!
So like Brooke says, slow the pace, hold on if you can. BE PATIENT! He says in Psalm 37 that He will do it! So trust Him. Instead of putting your efforts into looking for that special man of God...put all your efforts into earnestly seeking the Son of God...and allowing Him to transform you into the woman He created you to be. This world is so short...you can do this!
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