Why I Worship

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

I made this for you. Please enjoy…

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My wife and I love to watch the show “Top Chef” every chance we get.

I love to watch the cooks prepare their dishes and present them to the judges. They labor and toil. Sometimes things turn out right. Sometimes they don’t turn out so good. Sometimes the flavors are “spot-on” and sometimes they leave a little to be desired. But they always say this phrase after they give the description of their dish…

“Please, enjoy.”

I had a conversation with a friend today and she was, to say the least, a little frazzled and frustrated. She has not had the best of weeks so far. I tried to encourage her by saying “Hey, just take a deep breath and try to enjoy your day.” (Those of you who know me know that is one of my favorite phrases.)

I thought as walked away from our conversation “God must be a lot like one of those  Top Chef contestants.” He creates beauty all around us. He puts the events of our lives together as a chef would a wonderfully, flavorful, five course meal. He knows that some of what we face will not be pleasant. He knows that some of the events of our lives will taste of pain, suffering, betrayal, loneliness and disappointment. He knows that there will be times of great joy and times of great sadness. Yet, He says to us “This is what I have created especially for you. Please, enjoy.”

Jesus said it well in John 16, verse 33: “These things I have spoken to you that, in me, you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take  heart, I have overcome the world.”

And even Paul knew what it meant to  have peace in times of struggle. He said in Romans 8, verse 28 “For we know that all things work together for good to those who love Him and are the called according to his purpose.”

Are you enjoying what God has prepared for you today?

Be blessed!

2011 Fasting…

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Many churches, ministries and individuals make it a custom to take the first few weeks of the new year to get themselves focused on what God is saying or wants to do over the coming 12 months. Many do this by the practice of fasting.

When I was first introduced to fasting, it was in a situation where there was no clear direction for the reasons for the fast and the  main focus was on what we “cut out” rather than whether or not God was actually speaking. It was more about who was the best “faster” than it was about becoming more sensitive to the Spirit’s voice in our lives.

This year, as our pastor; Bishop Tony Miller called our church to fast and pray for the first few weeks of this year, I asked God “Lord, what would you have me do this year?” His response was a surprise to me. I really felt the Lord lay heavily on my heart some things that I was supposed to add to my life for this fast rather than a set list of things that I was to take away from my life. I thought this was strange, but in learning about what fasting means, I discovered that fasting is simply the practice of getting my flesh in a position of greater sensitivity to the heart and voice of God.

You know what? It worked! Of course, there are some things that I decided to “stay away from” but those were just things like some time in front of the television or some food items (probably simply out of tradition),but the things that I felt the Lord wanted me to add to my daily routine have produced far greater results than the things I came up with to leave out of my routine.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.

Are you or have you been on a fast of any sort this month?

Have you done a traditional fast or has God laid something different on your heart?

What results have you seen? What has God spoken to you about your life, ministry, future, etc. as a result of you being more sensitive to hear his voice?

Ready… GO!

Where was Jesus???

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I was looking around on Facebook the other day and came across a post from an old friend that raised some very hard questions for me. I’ve been thinking about the things he said ever since I read it.

He was writing in reference to the tragic shooting that took place in Tuscon, Arizona last week and the nine year old girl who was killed there.

Here is what he said in his post…

“i wonder where jesus was this weekend when that poor little 9 year old girl was shot and killed at random…… I wonder how the christians explain that one…… oh i bet they say” evil is in the world and god has a plan for everybody and that was her time”…. i say that’s a sad fu–ing excuse… it’s because psycho’s like that asshole get their hands on guns…

My outrage is just that when something like this happens,, christians say ” gods will”… and it amazes me because others will post ” jesus answered our prayers.. sam’s ingrown toenail is healed”… but jesus didn’t stop that asshole from killing those poor people…”

Wow!

He raises some very strong questions that I think are a indictment against us as believers.

I believe that if we are to be true ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven, we are going to have to address and deal with the perceptions that these questions are symptoms of.

How do we answer the question of  “Where is Jesus when bad stuff happens?” How do we change the perception of the world that the Church of the Most High God has been reduced to a faceless, voiceless, powerless group of people who meet on Sunday to get their “shout” on and only have enough knowledge and revelation of the character and heart of God to say things like:

“This world is not heaven and sin is bad. That little girl is in heaven where no more sin exist.”

or

“I think Jesus was sitting beside that little 9 year old girl.”

 

When will we realize that this world will never believe what we have not experienced? If we have not experienced and are not experiencing the power of Almighty God in our lives, in our homes, and on our jobs, how can we ever present Him to a world who needs to see real power more than anything else?

You can dismiss my friend’s comments as “just the rantings of a raging liberal,” or you can take time to look a little deeper into the fact that we are not accurately representing the God of Heaven on this earth. We are not “going into all nations and preaching the Gospel and making disciples.” Instead, we are trying to take something that someone told us (but we’ve never experienced) and make it real to a world that is crying out for something real. It’s like we’re in a boat and the whole world is drowning around us and the only thing we keep throwing them is a spaghetti noodle to hold on to. All it does it fall apart when it hits the churning water of their storm. Can we please throw them a real rope???

“Father, help me today to be your witness to a dying world. Help me to show them the real you. Help me to live the life of someone who knows you and knows your power in his life. Help me to be an ambassador of your Kingdom here in this land where they don’t know or understand you or your ways. “

Your thoughts??