What's been on my mind

Love God. Love others. The first and second greatest commandments of Christ. A simple process with profound results. Church life is complex. Peoples needs are immense. But Jesus came to take away the burdens and discover life in Him.

A quote I heard yesterday 'Missions exists because worship (of Jesus) does not.'

Why is it that everyone loves to talk about a train wreck? ie Brittney Let's celebrate those who have been faithful, those who have walked the walk and endured.

Humility is such a hard discipline to learn. To share with others that your fasting. To talk about deep times with the Lord. There is a line somewhere between encouraging and boasting. God knows our hearts. But we must be careful that we don't look for the reward of men.

check out the verse of the day. bc

Seminary Chapel Messages

I thought this was fairly cool. Download Southern Seminaries chapel messages here.

http://www.sbts.edu/resources/Audio_Resources/Chapel_Messages/Fall_2007.aspx

Shuffle Mode Worship

We all get in ruts in life. Ways of doing things that can block out fresh ideas, visions, and even words from God. I was listening to my ipod the other day on shuffle mode. Where it randomly plays songs. It was amazing. Song after song popped up that blessed my heart. Songs that I would never have found and picked, but they were there. Jewels hiding in a hard drive awaiting the appropriate time and place to reveal their beauty.

Some times when we only do certain songs in worship, we hinder those kind of pearls.
It's like picking up your Bible and only reading the Psalms. There is so much more there. Now I'm not advocating always doing popcorn scripture reading because systematic study is certainly important. But can a painter really shine with only one color of paint? Something to ponder.

The stones will cry out!

Check out this passage from Luke 19

37When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"^[b] "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

Creation groans. The things around us point to something greater. Jesus points to some pent up worship here. Some interesting questions .... Does Jesus miss being worshiped? There is most certainly a place for joyful praises in loud voices. Where once Jesus shied away from the praise in order to continue ministry to the crowds; he now welcomes it. If the stones one up us in worship, we are in trouble folks. V.38 likely is the title of 2 songs of worship that they were singing. Peace in heaven.... is there not always peace there? Your turn to chew on God's word.

There is a light. It shines bright. Yet it remains hidden. Afraid. Comfortable where it is accepted. But, this Light longs to break out. To go to a darkened world with love, compassion and a better way of life. Let us shine before them, so that they may see our good deeds and praise our Father up in heaven. (Mt. 5:16)

Rick Warren Article on Worship

Rethinking worship
by Rick Warren

Worship is our first responsibility to God, yet most church members don't understand it. For many, worship is just a synonym for music. They say, “At our church we have the worship first, and then the teaching.” Or they think of worship as something for their benefit. As pastors, we often receive notes that say, “I loved the worship today. I got a lot out of it.” Others associate worship with ceremonies, candles, and communion or healing, miracles, and ecstatic experiences.

One of our primary responsibilities as shepherds of God’s flock is to lead people to become true worshippers." Rick Warren

Yet all of these ideas fall short. Worship is far more than praising, singing, and praying to God. We worship God by enjoying him. C.S. Lewis said, “In commanding us to glorify him, God is inviting us to enjoy him.”

One of our primary responsibilities as shepherds of God’s flock is to lead people to become true worshippers. Anthropologists have noted that worship is a universal urge, hard-wired by God into the very fiber of our being – an inbuilt need to connect with God. Worship is as natural as eating or breathing. If we fail to worship God, we always find a substitute, even if it ends up being ourselves. The reason God made us with this desire is that he desires worshipers! Jesus said, “The Father seeks ... worshipers.” (John 4:23 NAS)

Our job is to connect the God-given desire to worship with the One who seeks true worshippers. To do this you have to expand your understanding of worship as well. You need to stop thinking in terms of church services and begin to see worship as anything that brings pleasure to God.

Your church will become a church filled with true worshippers as you show them how every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when done for the pleasure of God. The Bible says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31 NIV) Martin Luther said, “A dairymaid can milk cows to the glory of God.” When you use your life for God’s glory, everything you do can become an act of worship. The Bible says, “Use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.” (Rom. 6:13 NLT)

How is it possible to do everything to the glory of God? By doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus and by carrying on a continual conversation with him while you do it! The Bible says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Col. 3:23 NIV)

This is the secret to a lifestyle of worship – doing everything as if I was doing it for Jesus. The Message paraphrase says, “Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering.” Work becomes worship when you dedicate it to God and perform it with an awareness of his presence.

This moves worship beyond church services not only in space but also in time. We are told to “worship him continually” and to “praise him from sunrise to sunset.” In the Bible, people praised God at work, at home, in battle, in jail, and even in bed! Praise should be the first activity when you open your eyes in the morning and the last activity when you close them at night. David said, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Ps. 34:1 NAS)

When I first fell in love with my wife, I thought of her constantly: while eating breakfast, driving to school, attending class, waiting in line at the market, pumping gas – I could not stop thinking about Kay! I often talked to myself about her and thought about all the things I loved about her. This helped me feel close to her even though we lived several hundred miles apart and attended different colleges. By constantly thinking of her, I was abiding in her love. This is what real worship is all about – falling in love with Jesus. And this is where we need to lead the flocks God has placed in our care.

Until next week,

Forgiveness

We must forgive. Though it is not in our nature it is crucial for our own spiritual health. We must also do it to be forgiven by God. We are hurting ourselves (and also others) by holding on to painful words, actions, thoughts, etc.

The Word...
'With You, there is forgiveness' Psalm 130:4
We must believe in order to receive forgiveness Acts. 10:43
Forgiveness is in Christ (Eph. 4:32) and is through His blood (Eph. 1:7, Heb. 9:22)
We must forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Col 3:13 - note the verb tenses)

Lord, may we truly be a people that strive for reconciliation. Let us bear with one another, considering them better than ourselves. Humbles our sense of pride and let us put on love above all things. Is there room for compassion in our hearts? Is there a place where wrong is acknowledged? Let us always take the first steps, let us not go to bed in a state of anger, but to clothe ourselves with patience, kindness, gentleness and peace. Peace for the world, peace for our souls. amen. bc

Caring for His Creation

I am a big believer in caring for God's creation. We can see and know something of God through his handiwork. If we pollute it, we are not only spoiling our God given home; but we are keeping people from seeing God.

http://www.creationcare.org/resources/declaration.php

2 Peter 3:12-14 (NIV)

"as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him."

Music, Noise, and Rest

The only difference between music and noise are rests. It's the space between the music that defines it and sets it apart. It's the times of rest where we can see the song of our lives being played out in God's hands, where we can refresh, refocus, and re-create. If we have no rest, the busyness of our lives becomes monotonous noise. God rested on the seventh day - think about that one. I am thankful for the opportunity to rest in order to rest-ore.

Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you. Psalm 116:7

The Worship Edge Pt.1

The name of this blog and the once a month service we normally do at Anastasia in St. Augustine has an intriguing name. The Edge or Worship Edge. There are a lot of ways to think about this which we will begin to unpack. If you've ever seen a picture of an iceberg you know that what you see or experience is just a fraction of the reality. Nehemiah 9:6 says 'You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you." I think it's silly to think we've ever arrived in our worship. Our worship experiences here on earth are mere glimpses of heaven. Consider the reality of the 'multitudes of heaven'. When you stand on the rim of the Grand Canyon or at the edge of the sea and look out; you realize how very small we are. When we worship, we are warming up for the main event. The worship of heaven will be eternal bliss, incalculable joy, and a marvelous wholeness that comes from being in His presence. We're just touching the tiniest of edges on earth.

' Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! Psalm 147:1

Far from ordinary

From the Message Exodus 30: 22-25 God spoke to Moses: "Take the best spices: twelve and a half pounds of liquid myrrh; half that much, six and a quarter pounds, of fragrant cinnamon; six and a quarter pounds of fragrant cane; twelve and a half pounds of cassia—using the standard Sanctuary weight for all of them—and a gallon of olive oil. Make these into a holy anointing oil, a perfumer's skillful blend.
26-29 "Use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the Chest of The Testimony, the Table and all its utensils, the Lampstand and its utensils, the Altar of Incense, the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offerings and all its utensils, and the Washbasin and its base. Consecrate them so they'll be soaked in holiness, so that anyone who so much as touches them will become holy.

30-33 "Then anoint Aaron and his sons. Consecrate them as priests to me. Tell the Israelites, 'This will be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.' Don't pour it on ordinary men. Don't copy this mixture to use for yourselves. It's holy; keep it holy. Whoever mixes up anything like it, or puts it on an ordinary person, will be expelled."

God is far from ordinary. His holiness isn't average. God want's His things, his servants, his leaders to be special, set apart, consecrated. If our lives are to be extraordinary, we must soak ourselves with his annointing, his holiness...so that our influence would bring God glory and we'll become far from ordinary.

bc