What you say makes a difference. So when I heard someone say a couple weeks ago that if you didn't like our "worship session" that we had, then you wont like heaven. WOW that person was feeling bold! I started to think of the implications of that statement. There are 6 things that came to mind from they were implying, 1. "worship" is a thing you do in sessions. 2.
Heaven is going to be someone singing from the front that isn't Jesus.
3.That singing praises = worship. 4. That singing in heaven is going to be a certain genre. 5. That worship is getting "Holy Spirit goosebumps". 6. That I might not like heaven
. Holy dinna, words have power.
Today I am feeling bold and I am going to say that this kind of "worship" leads to hollow Christianity. Why? You might be asking, oh I will tell you why. Lets first define worship, John MacArthur says this, "worship is honor and adoration directed to God." MacArthur goes on in his Book,
Worship, the Ultimate Priority, to tell us that worship is a lifestyle that must be lived out everyday. This is not to be confused with musical praise, which lets face it we do. We have "worship times" on Sundays, we have "worship practice" and "worship leaders" and "styles of worship." Ha, we have made a mess of the word worship. No, it is worse that we have made it seem like worship is a shallow routine, may God have mercy on our souls. Well, what do we do on Sundays... we praise, we teach, and we fellowship . True praise, teaching, and fellowship is an outworking of worship but it is
not worship. I think Micah 6: 6-8 should slap us up a bit.
What can we bring to the Lord? What kind of offerings should we give him? Should we bow before God with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Israel at the time of Micah had a similar type of mind frame as we do today. We rather worship with sessions and with possessions and with selfish motives instead of worshiping God through our everyday life in every hard and mundane moment. God is concerned with our hearts and that we do everything out of an act of worship for Him. We all need grace but lets stop pretending that we are true worshipers if we sing hard on Sundays. What really matters is your heart on Monday. May we love each other through our short comings so that God can be glorified through our relationships. God have mercy on me since you have revealed your heart and still mine becomes hard.
Have you ever looked at the moon? Were you in awe of its craters. Or maybe the way it shines spoke to you. Apparently it is spinning crazy fast around the earth. Today I thought I had big problems and then I stared at the moon for a while and it seemed to put me back in my place. Back in the hands of a merciful powerful loving God. In these hands I realize how very small and insignificant I really am. I am small but full of peace and I know without a doubt that I am loved beyond my comprehension. Brother Yun a Chinese Christian fasted for 100 days for a Bible, which God provided for him. He then preached and was beaten by government officials for what seemed like forever. But what hit me was that one day Yun realized that God didn't need him... ... ... ... ... ... Yun thought that he was needed to help God spread the gospel to China. Maybe Yun was looking at the moon when he realized that it was only by God's grace that he was used by God and that it was his pleasure to suffer for his living savior and king. Why do I forget to look at the moon when I am feeling the weight of life. Because right now I am pretty sure that my problems are up on that moon wondering how they got so far away. My answer to them is this, my God has big Hands.
