Why I Worship

What Is Worship, Why Do We Worship, How to Worship

Get Down!!! Get Down!!!

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I live in Oklahoma. This picture is a common sight in the months of late winter and spring as we experience tornado season. We hear it constantly on weather broadcasts and alerts.

 

“Get to the lowest area of the building and stay in a crouching position until the storm passes!”

Isn’t it interesting that the best way to survive a storm is to get as low as possible?

Most of the time, in this world of “climbing the ladder of success” and “do everything you can to go as high as you can” there’s not room or time for “going low.” I wonder if maybe we’ve missed something.

In the book of Luke, chapter 19, we see the story of a man named Zacchaeus. He was a man who wanted to see Jesus, so he climbed as high as he could. As Jesus passed by, He looked up and said to Zacchaeus, “Come down at once!”

In order for him to get face to face with Jesus, Zacchaeus had to come down from where he had worked so hard to climb to.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a low place and we wonder if anyone knows, but that may be exactly where we meet Him face to face!

Be encouraged today!

I Stopped… Dreaming.

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Jill and I have been married for a little over 30 years. I remember a conversation we had shortly after we started dating. It was a conversation about dreams… dreams we had for our future together… dreams for the life we would live together and the things we would accomplish together.

It’s funny to me how things look so much different now than they did then. There are some things that we dreamed about that we’ve accomplished, but many of those dreams still remain… dreams.

So, what happened?

Well, I guess LIFE happened. You know… marriage, children, jobs, careers… life. I mean, that is the adult answer, right? We give up our dreams to live responsible, adult lives. The question is “Is that really how we were created to live?”

Psalm 37, 4-5 says this; “Delight yourself also 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 shall bring it to pass.”

I’ve decided to let myself dream again. I’ve decided that, as I worship, I will allow God to touch those areas of my life that I have let die and bring them back to life. I will allow Him to awaken the dreams He gave me so long ago. It will be an adventure and I’m not sure where this journey will take me, but I’ve decided to trust Him. After all, He did promise me that His plans for me are good.

Will you allow Him to awaken your dreams?

Be encouraged today!

 

 

Choppin With A Dull Axe

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We’ve heard it said many times… “Your praise is your weapon!”

I’ve been around weapons all my life. I grew up going hunting and learning how to use weapons.

One of the most important things to learn about weapons is how to maintain them. You have to know the things that can damage your weapon. There are certain things which can render a weapon completely ineffective and useless.

The same is true for our spiritual weapon known as praise. There are certain things that can render our praise ineffective. They mainly are made up of our attitudes and the ways we think. Here are a few of them.

First, a pharisaical or haughty spirit. We know that Proverbs 16:18 says that Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. The pharisees of Jesus’ day were so educated and religious, they couldn’t see what God was doing right in front of them (Matt 21:1-16, Luke 19:37-40).

Second, the attitudes of frustration and despair. We see this when we look at Job’s wife (Job 1:29, 2:9-10). She and her husband had known the joy of living under the blessing of God, but when things took a turn for the worse, she allowed her frustration and despair to take her to a place of turning her back on the very God whose blessing she had known.

Third, the fear of humiliation (self consciousness). When King David brought the Ark back into its proper place, he danced with “all his might” before the Lord. The Bible tells us in 2 Sam 6:12-23 that his wife, Michal, got furious with him and even made fun of him because of the way he acted. In essence, she was embarrassed at how he had presented himself.

Let’s examine ourselves today and be sure that our weapon of spiritual warfare; our praise, is not hindered by any of these attitudes. I know what it’s like to chop wood with a dull axe. It’s no fun and it’s not very productive. I’d much rather swing a sharp axe. I’d also rather lift a sharp, effective praise so that God can make his habitation in my life.

What are some other things you can think of that will leave the “axe” of our praise dull?

Your comments are welcome…