Worship Day 2

Wikipedia starts off by saying, "religious devotion".  I'll assume religious because our world insists that our spiritual lives and physical lives are separated one from the other.  I believe that they are not divided.  Can we cut off our heads and still live?  The answer is obviously no and yet we are driven by the world and the devil to believe that everything is separated.

Let's discuss Devotion as defined at Dictionary.com.  Devotion: profound dedication, consecration.  Follow the link to read the additional descriptions.  "Profound dedication" in today's world is extreme or radical and yet our Father, the creator of all the universe is profoundly dedicated to the reconciliation of HIS creation back to Himself.  He sent Jesus Christ  to become the ultimate sacrifice for all of mankind for this very purpose.  God set the standard for devotion by willingly giving His best, His all for us.

Profound dedication shouldn't give us pause.  I know people. and I'm sure you do as well, who are driven to succeed in their careers.  So dedicated in fact that they barely see family or anyone else beyond their work.  In our society today, this is acceptable behavior.  Yet anyone outside of the clergy who shows this drive for Christ and His church gets a label; zealot, religious freak, fanatic, intolerant and the list goes on.

The truth is that our God is a jealous God.  Exodus 20:5 - "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the fourth generations of those who hate Me,".  Oh but you say, that's just in the Old Testament and I ask you to remember what Jesus said, "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the Holy angels." ~Mark 8:38

I've used just two examples of what I believe show God's expectations concerning our devotion to Him.  He's jealous for our devotion, dedication, worship and He expects us to be open about who He is in our life.  While we live and work, God still expects us to be devoted to Him is everything we do.  "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men," ~Colossians 3:23

Regardless of what we do, if devotion is defined as profound dedication, then even our work and play should be acts of worship.  All that we are and do should reflect our faith and should glorify our Father.  This is the goal, the purpose for our life.  To live in worship of our Father is founded on our being profoundly dedicated to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

God send His best and He deserves our best.  The choice as always is ours.  We can proclaim His majesty and glory to the ends of the earth and make disciple of men or we can choose to live for our own selfish desires and purposes.  We can't do both and still worship Him in spirit and truth.

Glorify God with me today.  Put Christ first in all things and be His light to all who see you today as you worship Him in all you do!

Blessings & Peace
~Robert

Worship

Let's start with a definition from Wikipedia:
     "Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship."


The link goes into brief overviews of various religions and by following the link you can read those.  My focus over the next few blogs will speak directly to "devotion directed" and in our case devotion directed to God our Father, the creator of all that has ever been, is now and forever.


Today worship is usually referred to as that time set aside in a church service where songs a sung.  Some consider giving tithes and offerings as worship.  Prayer time both during church and individually are considered as worship.  What about reading God's word or working or playing?


Starting with what we all agree to be worship and moving forward over the next few days leading to Christmas, I want to discuss these different areas of life with regard to worship.


Singing songs and listening to songs written to praise and honor God have always been considered a direct act of worship.  These songs point to our Father's many attributes; blessing, courage, faithfulness, glory, honor and victory to name some on a short list.  They speak to who God is to us and to who we are in Him.  How He gives us comfort, courage and strength.


When we sing songs to Him, we fill His joy rising up in our hearts as we are giving Him glory, honor and praise through song for all praise is rightfully His to receive.  Anyone who has ever been down or feeling less than their best, can attest to the fact that praising God through song has an immediate impact on their spirit and outlook.


Personally, I know over the years there have been times when I didn't want to go or do anything.  During those moments, I will find myself singing songs of praise to God and before I realize it my mood has changed.  My spirit just a bit lighter and then I begin to pray, leaving the burdens on the alter of my heart at the foot of Christ's cross.


Music is very powerful and provides a gateway to worship that is very easy to enter.  Songs make it easy for everyone to enter into a time of worship.  Rhythm is easily found for everyone in song.  A connection that seems much easier when music is involved.


We are a people created to love music and dance.  We're drawn to music more easily than almost anything else in this life.  I believe it is one of the very core parts created in us by God.  Song draws us into greater depths.  Songs of worship draw us closer and into a deeper relationship with God our Father.


Blessings & Peace
~Robert

Giving Away

During this time of year, every year for that matter, even the world at large says that it is better to give than receive.  What about the rest of the year?  I think the answer is that it isn't "fashionable".  I also believe that as Christians we aren't setting the proper example.

Jesus gave of Himself during His ministry and ultimately all of Himself on the cross at Calvary.  "If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it." ~Matthew 10:39  As Christians, we should seek opportunities daily to give to our communities.  Starting with the time before Thanksgiving and running through Christmas, we have food drives, the Angel tree program, visit's to nursing homes for our elderly.

We should be opening our hearts to those in need and as God enables us, we should fulfill needs.  Giving in Christ's name for His purpose will glorify the Father.  We should begin now seeking how over the last few weeks of this year we can serve our Father in this regard.

Going forward into the coming year to come, will we plan to continue serving others? Will serving others fade away as Christmas time with family and friends starts to fade?  We must be challenged to seek God's direction for meeting His purposes here and now.  Not just during this special time of year.

How we serve our Savior is personal.  Not all are given the same gifts or talents.  I know many who are involved monthly, weekly and/or daily at home and abroad in our Lord’s service.  Is it possible that we aren't involved and we need to get started somewhere?  Do we have more to give?  The Christian life IS about giving, not receiving!

Life here is a journey.  I write this blog to challenge myself and those who read it.  The challenge is to realize that it IS Christ alone who enables us for this journey.  That living in His presence is more than talking about it.  This is all about exercising our faith.

Faith is a statement that indicates an action.  It's not enough to say, "I believe this or that," proof is required and that requirement is action.  We can say we believe all day long, it is only when we are tested that we discover the truth about what we believe.

If we believe Christ gave everything and has called us to give and serve others, we must step up and be moved to act in His name.  We always receive what we give.  Whether in helping in some way or participating in various forms of worship (specific definitions to follow in another blog entry).

Think about this, Christ was always giving.  God our Father gave first to us.  He still gives first in all things.  We’ve never been asked to do anything that Christ didn’t do first.  Christ lead by example and he calls us to do the same now.  Lead a lost world to Christ by following His example of giving ourselves to HIS commission. That commission is: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~Matthew 28:19-20

We are to share the compassion and love of Christ and to accomplish this, we MUST GIVE.  The choice is ours to make.  Either we believe God and Christ and willingly give as He has given or selfishly cling to that which we can’t keep.  I pray we all choose life and seek how God will use us to actively participate in HIS Kingdom work.

Blessings & Peace

~Robert

"I-tis"

(pathology) Suffix denoting diseases characterized by inflammation, itself often caused by an infection.

We have many examples to draw from where this suffix is used; arthritis, bursitis, colitis, meningitis, tendinitis and so forth.  We wouldn’t wish any of these or any of the others not mentioned on anyone.  Yet, none of these compare to the desperation of the deadliest “itis” of all.....”I-tis”!

The “I-tis” that begins and ends with “I”.  I watched a movie recently where a man pointed out the clinched fists of babies.  He explains, these babies are grabbing for everything and they are desperate to hold on to everything.  As we get closer to the end of our journey here, we realize that we can’t hold onto any of the “things” we’ve worked so hard to get and hold onto.  So, we start giving things away.

“...The sin which doth so easily beset us.” ~Hebrews 12:1  Have you ever noticed that the very center of the word “sin” is the letter “I”?  All sin springs forth from “I” and all it’s various forms; me, myself and I.  The heart of the matter is purpose.  Do I purpose to fulfill my desires and purposes? Or do I purpose to fulfill God’s purposes for my life and desire them?

Once we settle the “I” condition by turning our life’s goals to our Father’s, then we journey with Christ and in doing so are able to live life in His presence.  When I was growing up and playing baseball we had a saying, maybe you’ve heard it, “practice makes perfect”.  Only God is perfect and we strive to reach what we believe to be perfect.

When we place our focus on our Father and His will, then we turn the corner from “I” and move forward.  Trusting our Father for everything we need by focusing on Him, we journey together with Him.  As we reflect on our new journey, we will see in fact that our desires and needs are in fact one with our Father.  The things we’re doing, places we’re going and the people we meet are all beyond anything we could have ever imagined.

Life becomes easier to journey through.  Problems still come along with difficulties that seem larger than life, however it’s different now.  Now we know the presence of our Father in new and greater ways!  He makes all the difference and with our focus now fixed on Him and His kingdom, personal issues are not such big deals.

Living in His Presence focusing on Christ Alone for the journey in this life makes all the difference in what we see.  This makes all the difference in what we hear.  Ultimately, this make the difference for everything in and around our life here.

Blessings & Peace

~Robert

Honor Him in the Trials

Streams in the Desert Daily Devotional, Charles Cowman, Christian Bible Devotions:

"A man has as much religion as he can show in times of trouble. The men who were cast into the fiery furnace came out as they went in--except their bonds."

It's in the fire where we come to know depth of our faith. We need to remember that all we do in the day to day builds up our faith. The little steps make the difference. Staying true to our Lord and Savior in the little things are just as important as the "big" things.

"But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food..." I know many have read this passage in Daniel before and initially thought that eating the food wouldn't have been a "big deal". And it might not have really been that important. However, in the end that decision became another part of the greater foundation laid in there lives. He and his companions could not have know that one day they would be tested by fire!

Yesterday, in this blog, we talked about what is right in our own eyes and what is right in God's eyes. Daniel shows us just one example of this point. He believed that God wanted them to eat only those foods and drink that would honor God and testify to who they were as God's children. Sticking to this principle, God honored this step of faith and they prospered.

They become men looked up to and eventually when the time was right, they faced a test. This test could have never been foreseen by this young men. Had they not taken small steps of faith and obedience, there is NO reason to believe for a moment that they would have stood on their faith now. The sum of their actions paved the way for their actions on that day!

It was before, during and after this test where their testimony honored God and Him alone. We can't expect to live our life as we wish and then when the tests come, expect God to show up and save us. We must take the same path as Daniel, step by step, in faith following God's lead in our life.

Make no mistake, this journey is a step by step process. By following His direction in the smallest details we will lay a foundation that honors God. This journey is full of tests, all designed to build us up in Christ to honor God. As we practice living in His presence, the smaller tests become easier. When the trails comes, they too are more peacefully endured as we know that God is right there with us...in the fire!

Blessings & Peace

~Robert

The Opposition of the Natural | My Utmost For His Highest

The Opposition of the Natural | My Utmost For His Highest:

"Very few of us would debate over what is filthy, evil, and wrong, but we do debate over what is good. It is the good that opposes the best."

As we grow in grace in this journey, we might discover the pace slowing and a little more labored. It's funny how we don't realize just how wrong we are about what we believe is right. As Oswald Chambers points out in this devotion, "The things that are right, noble, and good from the natural standpoint are the very things that keep us from being God’s best." The very fact that we believe our moral compass is true and right is at the root of our condition from the beginning. We all easily identify sin in it's various forms! Yet we fail to see the very thing that keeps us from being God's best.

This point in your walk may have already passed where you had to face this reality. How did you deal with it? Did you face this moment truthfully under God's light? Did you confess it and leave it at the cross? Did you hedge and fall back on your morality and say, "I didn't hear that right" or ignore it all together?

Are you facing this point in your journey right now? Is the Holy Spirit speaking to you that you haven't yet denied yourself? Jesus said, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me." This means everything. Anything we put ahead of Christ is sinful. The work we face, moment by moment and day by day IS keeping our focus on Christ.

Knowing Christ and keeping our eyes focused on Him as we do everything in this life is our greatest challenge. As we journey in this light and path, HE provides us with courage, grace and strength. Apart from HIM we will fail and live defeated lives. He came to provide for us restoration to the Father and in HIM a victorious life here as well. In HIM is victory and peace and loving grace.

Ask our Father today, right now for HIS help in dealing with anything that we're holding onto that stands in our path as an obstacle to HIS best for our life. His best should be the best that we seek and we will only reach this point with HIM. "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from ME you can do nothing." (emphasis added)

In Chris alone we journey to live in His presence and in doing so we draw closer. This journey defines who we are and how we define our life and success. Seeing who we are through the eyes and heart of God and not self.

Blessings & Peace

~Robert

"My Rainbow in the Cloud" | My Utmost For His Highest

"My Rainbow in the Cloud" | My Utmost For His Highest:

"Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means that I have no faith in Him. I wait for Him to do something in me so I may trust in that. But God won’t do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship."

As we journey in our relationship with Him, it is right, good and appropriate that we examine our motivation and our actions. Are we waiting for God to "prove Himself" before we act or take action? Are we waiting to see the "rainbow" in the clouds to know He's still there and engaged?

When the prayers don't seem to leave the room or nothing seems to be going right or the wheels have actually come off the bus! This IS the place where our faith is tested and where we discover our true motivation. In the face of these trials and tribulations is exactly where we must believe God and His promise, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." This actually refers back to Deuteronomy 31:6: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."

In our Christ Alone Journey, this is exactly where many exercise Living in His Presence at a greater level of intensity or with greater focus. When life rolls along smoothly, we tend to take for granted our desperate need for Christ in our life and the provision of God. This is exactly the time we must focus with greater intensity toward our Father.

Read the full devotion in the link for the title by Oswald Chambers. Challenge yourself to everyday become, with Christ's help, determined in your walk. To practice His presence with purpose that has nothing to do with what we need or want. To practice Living in His Presence for the sole purpose of BEING in HIS presence.

Blessings & Peace

~Robert

Living in His Presence - Day 5-6

Life as we all know is busy, full of activity and some nonsense.  Trouble with it all, sometimes is we don't do the stuff that's really important to us.  For me, this blog is really important for many reasons and I just ran out of time yesterday.  I did however, accomplish two other very important items.  And, the surprise from God our Father that completely took my breath away.

We never really know who's watching us and what impact we are having for God's Kingdom.  Yesterday, I got a peek!  A man I've worked with over the years took me into his confidence based in part on my relationship with our Father.  He told me how he knew I was a man of faith and shared a personal tragedy with me.  I was completely unaware of what he needed to speak to me about and so I was blindsided...in a great way.

Being blessed by our Father is always sweet and I can't begin to express to you how special this has been.  I'm not wanting to dwell on this or make it out to be more than it should be, there IS a much greater point.  The purpose over the last several days has been and will continue to be "Living in His Presence".  Were I not practicing what I'm writing about, I don't know that what I've described would have taken place.

We choose to live our life either for our Lord and Savior or for ourselves. The decision to choose God starts us on HIS path.  When we choose HIM, life doesn't get easier, it does get better.  Opportunities come along to glorify Him and to grow in grace in astounding ways.  God is so very good and has nothing but the best for us, even when it doesn't look like He has our best in mind....HE REALLY DOES!!!

I don't know if you sing or participate in worship activities at your church.  We've been busy learning music and for me that means listening to the songs repeatedly.  This is really an understatement because in my job I spend a great deal of time on the road going from location to location.  Thirty minute programs get a ton of mileage as the miles roll by.  What's the point to all this...

When you practice "Living in His Presence" the words to the songs we sing take on a whole new dimension in our relationship with our Father.  Case in point are the words to the following song by Twila Paris:

Come, Emmanuel 
with Hear Us from Heaven


Come and speak to us, Come and renew us;
Come and live thro' us, Emmanuel.
Grace to implore us, Ever before us;
Come and restore us, Emmanuel.


Once mercy found us, Still You astound us;
Hold and surround us, Emmanuel.
Living inside us, Faithful to guide us;
Cover and hide us, Emmanuel.


Lord, hear our cry; Come, heal our land.
Breathe life into these dry and thirsty souls.
Lord, hear our prayer; forgive our sin.
As we call on Your name,
will You make this a place for Your glory to dwell?


Open the blind eyes, unlock the deaf ears;
Come to Your people, as we draw near.
Hear us from heaven; touch our generation.
We are Your people crying out in desperation.

Living in His Presence for me is wrapped up in the words of this song.  I'm renewed by His word and His presence.  I'm restored because of the work completed by Christ on Calvary!  I'm astounded by His grace and mercy, that He loved me first.

I KNOW that He hears our cries and that He alone is able to breathe life back into us!  He is the only one who can quench the thirst within us that is like parchment paper.  By choosing to live this way, we make ourselves available and ready for HIS glory to dwell within us.

Seeking His forgiveness for our sin; we're not just asking for me, the request is for our local church body, our town, our country and our world.  We need HIM and He's chosen us.  I'm excited to be of use in His Kingdom plan, to glory my Father!

Blessings & Peace
~Robert