Thursday, April 2, 2009

My Life Work ~ Worship

2 Chronicles 29:10
"I have decided to make a covenant with the God of Israel and turn history around so that God will no longer be angry with us. Children, don't drag your feet in this! God has chosen you to take your place before him to serve in conducting and leading worship—this is your life work; make sure you do it and do it well."

Prior to this time with Hezekiah, the Isrealites had established a lifestyle of regularly worshipping the Great I Am. But as with any of us, they allowed life to creep in and take ascendency over obedience to God and over their own desire to worship. Within time, dust had settled in, covering the beautiful floor of the temple. Cobwebs filled the corners of the sanctuary instead of the Glory Cloud. The doors had stopped being opened and that musty smell crept in (you know, the one you smell in the back of your grandma's closet when you played hide-and-seek as a child) overpowering the faint smell of incense that was used to send the prayers of the people to the heavens. What was once the love of the people for the one that delivered and provided had now become that distant relative long lost and forgotten by the works done to create a life.

But Hezekiah came in with a fresh breath and zeal for God. He was determined to find that relationship again. To restore the faithfulness and obedience of the children with the Father. I love that the Message translation indicates that they have a life's work of worship. Because worship is not just a matter of coming into the presence of God and singing a few hymns, saying a few prayers of thanksgiving and adoration, or lifting your hands in surrender to his awesomeness. These are all right and proper, but they are only a small part of the act of worship. They should be an expression of the things you do daily in adoration and realization of WHO He is. Worship is a part of every breath you take. Underlying in every thought and plan you make in your normal and daily life. It's only by making it as central to your life as I've indicated that you will create this lifestyle of worship...but it's what my heart longs for and pushes me to attain.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Worship ~ Reflected In My Wife

I once heard a minister say that the glory of the husband can be found in the face of his wife. In other words, if he is doing everything he should be doing as a man of God Almighty, then his wife's face will come to life when she looks at him, talks about him, or thinks about him, regardless of who is around her or even if she is alone at the time. You'll see the devotion he has for her in the sparkle of her eyes; the tenderness he shows her in her smile.

There's actually a television commercial that comes to mind that directly demonstrates this thought. A young man is walking down the street and his cell phone rings. His face is basically emotionless until he hears the voice of the person calling ~ and then he breaks out into an infectious smile. You could only imagine that the person he is speaking to has his heart.

I think of the words of that minister when I contemplate what kind of husband I've become. I know when I'm on target when I look into Tracye's eyes and see my love for her returned to me with the softness of her gaze. Likewise, I know that there are problems in Eden when I look at her and see that something I've done or said has brought hurt or if I really listen to what she says in passing conversation and comments. Like when she gets frustrated with herself and rushes because she doesn't want me to lose my patience...wow. Don't get me wrong, I know there are changes in my life as a result of my repentance and obedience in the last year. I know that some of those changes are in the form of patience. I also know that I must have caused some deep hurt for it to still affect Tracye the way it does and that it will take some time for that to heal.

Patience.

A fruit of the Spirit.

Evidence that I'm living and walking in the Spirit according to Galatians 5:25. The Amplified translates this passage by saying it demonstrates that we are controlled by the Spirit. The Message goes on to say "Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its (all the fruit of the Spirit) implications in every detail of our lives." By doing just that, working out its implications in every detail of my life, I become more and more a true reflection of the Christ within me. And as I become a mirror image of Christ, my worship for Him becomes more upfront and real.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

A Deeper Experience of Worship

I'm going to start writing about what the Lord has been dealing with me about and pray that it comes across clearly...

Sunday morning, during Praise and Worship, I felt the Holy Spirit impress on me that the Father wanted me to enter into a deeper experience of worship with Him. I remember feeling that I wanted more, but didn't quite know how to proceed. He took me to 2 Kings 5:1-14, where Naaman went looking for healing from the Prophet Elisha. In this encounter, Elisha sent instructions for Naaman to go to the river Jordan and dip himself seven times. Naaman puffed up at that because the Jordan river was filthy. He told his servants that if Elisha told him to dip into the rivers of Damascus, at least he would be clean from the soil of the world when he came out (even if he didn't get healed...Jim's interpretation).

Naaman's servants reasoned with him that he would have willingly and probably gladly done that, but the plan isn't what we always think it should be. We have to trust in what God tells us to do without question.

So I'm left with the question of how does this work with entering into a deeper experience of worship?

Last night, at Intercessory Prayer, Brendan led us to a scripture that helped. Isaiah 58:6-8 says:

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage."

What I hear the Lord instruct me through this passage is that He's more interested in me developing a LIFESTYLE of fasting than the occassional denying myself of something and then giving it back. Don't get me wrong, fasting in that fashion is biblical and necessary, but He wants an everyday, conscious effort, total heart committed, unwaivering determinated sacrificial lifestyle of being more like Him. Verse 6 talks about spreading the gospel that frees the captive and breaks the chains of bondage. Verse 7 talks about putting others first even at your own discomfort.

Again...what does this have to do with Naaman and what does Naaman have to do with a deeper experience of worship?

What I've come up with is this...there's an old saying that "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." In other words, there is no better way of telling someone how much you admire (or worship) them than by being like them. Worship is an expression of your love to the Lord for who He is. To be like him through sacrifice and obedience to His Word is the ultimate act of worship.

Naaman comes in to this in that I need to be sensitive to His direction so that I don't haphazardly ignore something that He tells me to do because I don't think it is worthy of my time or energy. I want to keep attentive to my spirit so that it "perks up" whenever it hears from the Lord and thereby keeps me in that deeper experience of worship.