Monday, December 11, 2006

The Unquenchable Worshipper

I am just one chapter into the book "The Unquenchable Worshipper" by Matt Redman, but am already finding my heart shaped when it comes to the idea of worship. Our culture has turned worship into a happy-go-lucky event that happens an hour a week on Sunday mornings, when it is really so much more.

Worship really has nothing to do with how we are feeling. Worship is a response to all that God has done for us and for creation. Therefore, in the midst of the best or worst of times, we must continue to worship and resist the quenching of our spiritual fire. Perhaps the times of utter despair should be the times we turn to God in worship the quickest.

May we be people who fail to let the burdens of this world, and sadly, often the burdens of the church, quench our spiritual fire and keep us from worship. May we press on in praise of our God and Savior.

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Enough of the Easy Road

While I am the first to declare that when God wants to get His point across He will be very blunt and keep presenting you with His will, I also am learning about the incredibly hard journey it is to be a disciple of Christ. We often get absorbed with whatever is easy and comfortable and never dare to let God be in control of our lives. We say He can do whatever He wants, as long as it isn't too inconvenient.

What kind of people would we become if we actually allowed God to fulfill His purpose in us? What kind of revolution would we lead if we actually had the guts to listen to God and do what He wants for us?

Jesus never claimed that following Him would be easy (in fact, it often leads to embarrassment, poverty, and sometimes death). But he DID declare that living the kind of life he spoke of would be the best possible way of living, a full life, an abundant life!!

May we be people who don't always look for the easy way out. May we strive to follow Christ more closely than we ever have before. May we experience the full, abundant life of the Kingdom of God here on earth.