This morning, I set in a living room of a friends house reflecting on the paths that I have taken in life and the paths that now lay in front of me. I have been made humbled by the grace and love of our God. He has taught me many lessons in the past few months. Lessons that I will never forget as long as I live on this earth. This morning I have been reading Ephesians, which is where my church is currently teaching from on Sunday. This book always blesses me everytime that I read it. I ALWAYS find something new. I just wanted to share from my heart this morning, the insight that the Holy Spirit has given to me. I have been reading Ephesians 2.
"1-6It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah."
The part that really got to me in this passage was the part that says,"You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience." Wow. That is the truth in a nut shell. I personally am guilty of this. I think we all are in a way. This world that we live in can have a strong influence on how we live our lives. It can tell us how to dress, how to talk, and what is "cool" and "not cool". For some time now I have found myself being a people pleaser. I wanted EVERYONE to like me. At times I would tell people what they wanted to hear from the world standards to make myself seem cool or to impress man. This made me stumble time after time after time. NOW, its a completely different story. I have started to live for one reason and one alone. TO PLEASE MY HEAVENLY FATHER! The one who determines my steps and who is a light unto my path that I find myself walking. NO MAN will determine who I am anymore. I am a SAINT, and heir to the Kingdom of God. It says further in this chapter that God tore down the walls that once sperated us from his presence and he then took us and seated us next to Him (with Christ) in the heavenly place. This brings tears to my eyes. I feel like for once in my life I have FULLY grasped the power and the grace of our God. Even in my filth I am seated at His right hand. Thats how close we are. Close enough to where he doesnt have to shout to get our attention, He only has to wisper in our ear.
I once told a friend of mine who is saved, that distance from God is only an illusion that the satan can paint. Honestly, His love never fails, never gives up and never runs out on us. He is with us in the good times and the bad. The world will let us down every time. But God never will. We are the only ones that can put limits on Him and on ourselves. In God's life that he brings, THERE ARE NO LIMITS!! I want to live the amazing life, that the creator of life, has for me. Not what this world, who doesn't know anything about living, tells me how to live. Thats like building a swingset and reading the instructions on how to buld a grill. I want to follow the instructions from the person in charge of buliding that swingset. So I can have it in its FULLESt.
I encourage all of you to ask God to reveal to you, just how close he is. The response that he gives you might just blow your mind! Be blessed!! And Live with NO limits!
Aaron
Friday, January 27, 2012
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Who We TRULY Are
This is something that I feel like I have to write out for myself. It’s become one of those things that I feel like if I share with all of you this deep revelation that I have, maybe I can sleep at night.
Let me just start out by saying that this weekend at the Encounter Retreat God moved in me. There was major shift in my spirit. I feel like the Lord revealed to me His character. I got to see a side of him that I never knew existed. Permanent change took place in me and I believe in some other people who were there as well. There was a deep revelation that was just stamped on my heart. It’s been hard to receive it (I’m not going to lie) but never the less it is the truth. Since I have been back from the Encounter I feel like I have been attacked. I am not surprised, our enemy would love for nothing more than to corrupt the revelation God gave me. I have pressed through and thought, what better way to stick it to him then to write it out on here and share it with all of you! So here we go.
When we FULLY receive Christ and all the work that he did for you on the cross, you then can realize that sin is no longer the truest thing about you. You are NOT your sin! God even tells us in his word, “I will put a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (Ezek 36:26). One of the biggest lies that I believe is being told in the church today is that we are nothing more than “sinners saved by grace.” We are SO much more than that. I don’t believe for a second that our loving Daddy God looks at us like that. We are new creations in Christ. I believe that when we have the break through and realize this it’s like God is reminded of when he FIRST created man and said that we were “VERY GOOD”. The crazy thing is, He already looked at us like that to begin with. We are just so complicated and we tend make things harder than what they are, we were too blind to see it! I mean the New Testament calls us saints, holy ones, and sons and daughters of the Most High God! We just need to understand that there is a war going on inside of us! I love how John Eldridge says it, but “it’s a civil war. The battle isn’t between us and God; no, there is a traitor within us who wars against out TRUE heart fighting alongside the Spirit of God in us.”
The Spirit of God is like a rushing wind, it clears the air, and it frees us up from a lifetime at the hands of sin and death. You who have welcomed him in, in whom he dwells…if the alive and present God who raised Jesus from the grave moves in you, he is faithful to do the same thing for you that he did for Jesus. When God breathes in you, you are delivered from the dead life. (Rom 8:2, 9-11)
The real you are on the same side as that powerful God, fighting against your false self. Knowing and understanding that will change your world. Ask God to give you vision to see things from his perspective. Walk in freedom and don’t look back!
Let me just start out by saying that this weekend at the Encounter Retreat God moved in me. There was major shift in my spirit. I feel like the Lord revealed to me His character. I got to see a side of him that I never knew existed. Permanent change took place in me and I believe in some other people who were there as well. There was a deep revelation that was just stamped on my heart. It’s been hard to receive it (I’m not going to lie) but never the less it is the truth. Since I have been back from the Encounter I feel like I have been attacked. I am not surprised, our enemy would love for nothing more than to corrupt the revelation God gave me. I have pressed through and thought, what better way to stick it to him then to write it out on here and share it with all of you! So here we go.
When we FULLY receive Christ and all the work that he did for you on the cross, you then can realize that sin is no longer the truest thing about you. You are NOT your sin! God even tells us in his word, “I will put a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (Ezek 36:26). One of the biggest lies that I believe is being told in the church today is that we are nothing more than “sinners saved by grace.” We are SO much more than that. I don’t believe for a second that our loving Daddy God looks at us like that. We are new creations in Christ. I believe that when we have the break through and realize this it’s like God is reminded of when he FIRST created man and said that we were “VERY GOOD”. The crazy thing is, He already looked at us like that to begin with. We are just so complicated and we tend make things harder than what they are, we were too blind to see it! I mean the New Testament calls us saints, holy ones, and sons and daughters of the Most High God! We just need to understand that there is a war going on inside of us! I love how John Eldridge says it, but “it’s a civil war. The battle isn’t between us and God; no, there is a traitor within us who wars against out TRUE heart fighting alongside the Spirit of God in us.”
The Spirit of God is like a rushing wind, it clears the air, and it frees us up from a lifetime at the hands of sin and death. You who have welcomed him in, in whom he dwells…if the alive and present God who raised Jesus from the grave moves in you, he is faithful to do the same thing for you that he did for Jesus. When God breathes in you, you are delivered from the dead life. (Rom 8:2, 9-11)
The real you are on the same side as that powerful God, fighting against your false self. Knowing and understanding that will change your world. Ask God to give you vision to see things from his perspective. Walk in freedom and don’t look back!
Monday, January 31, 2011
The Assault
Have you ever found yourself filled with anxiety? Filled with worry? Or maybe even doubt or fear over something that is in the future, that when you think about it, you can’t control it anyway? Have you ever felt like the wounds of your past just won’t leave you alone? It feels like at times that your heart is under some sort of assault. That’s because it is!
The story of your life is the story of the long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it. Why does he attack our hearts? The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart, for from it flow the wellsprings of life. Our enemy wants to take your life! He wants for you to live in fear of the unknown. To live a life filled with worry and doubt, to live in fear period. He’ll even try to steal the focus of our hearts. Sometimes we might focus too much on our future. Or maybe he’ll bring up an old wound and try to make us believe that we really didn’t receive our healing. He is good at what he does! However, we serve a God that is more powerful than he is!!! Here is what the Lord says:
“I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” Isa. 45:2-3
WE ARE AT WAR! Praise God that we have a High Priest, a Warrior, and a Good Shepherd in Jesus that does all he says he'll do.
In John 10:11-13, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd. He also describes us as sheep. I love this description because it describes and compares us to sheep. Sheep in all honesty, is a defenseless and dumb animal at times. Not to say we are all dumb. But I will be the first to say that I have been guilty. My point to this is that without the Shepherd, they could never find their way! In that chapter he says that he WILL go before us and prepare a way. As our Shepherd he is also is our warrior and defender. When the wolves attack it’s the Shepherd that defends the flock. Jesus is our warrior, he fights on our behalf.
All that we have to do is follow his voice and do as he directs us. In the same chapter it says in verse 14-16 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.”
Listen for his voice, he is calling to you. You are capable of hearing the voice of God! He is directing you through this unknown path called life. All you have to do is listen and obey his voice. He is FAITHFUL to take care of the rest! Just remember that you are valuable in the Kingdom of God. Otherwise, the enemy wouldn’t be wasting his time on you. YOU ARE A THREAT TO HIS END!
The story of your life is the story of the long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it. Why does he attack our hearts? The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart, for from it flow the wellsprings of life. Our enemy wants to take your life! He wants for you to live in fear of the unknown. To live a life filled with worry and doubt, to live in fear period. He’ll even try to steal the focus of our hearts. Sometimes we might focus too much on our future. Or maybe he’ll bring up an old wound and try to make us believe that we really didn’t receive our healing. He is good at what he does! However, we serve a God that is more powerful than he is!!! Here is what the Lord says:
“I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” Isa. 45:2-3
WE ARE AT WAR! Praise God that we have a High Priest, a Warrior, and a Good Shepherd in Jesus that does all he says he'll do.
In John 10:11-13, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd. He also describes us as sheep. I love this description because it describes and compares us to sheep. Sheep in all honesty, is a defenseless and dumb animal at times. Not to say we are all dumb. But I will be the first to say that I have been guilty. My point to this is that without the Shepherd, they could never find their way! In that chapter he says that he WILL go before us and prepare a way. As our Shepherd he is also is our warrior and defender. When the wolves attack it’s the Shepherd that defends the flock. Jesus is our warrior, he fights on our behalf.
All that we have to do is follow his voice and do as he directs us. In the same chapter it says in verse 14-16 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.”
Listen for his voice, he is calling to you. You are capable of hearing the voice of God! He is directing you through this unknown path called life. All you have to do is listen and obey his voice. He is FAITHFUL to take care of the rest! Just remember that you are valuable in the Kingdom of God. Otherwise, the enemy wouldn’t be wasting his time on you. YOU ARE A THREAT TO HIS END!
Monday, January 24, 2011
A Heavenly Romance
My heart was really stirred this morning when I woke up. I read something a couple days ago from an email devotional that I get from an author named John Eldridge. It was talking about a sacred romance. It was a small short paragraph but it just intrigued me to the point of wanting to go deeper on the subject. So here I am, wanting to share this with all of you. Hoping that this will either help you or bless you as read what the Holy Spirit laid on my heart.
I am a very sensitive kind of guy. For a long time I hated how sensitive I was. I didn’t understand why 90% of the time I was in the presence of God I cried. Or why when I saw God moving in someone’s life or when I was praying for someone I would ALWAYS cry. It started to drive me nuts. Then, with a help of a very dear friend of mine, they helped me realize that as an artist I was naturally sensitive. But then with the Holy Spirit inside of me that just added to it. As a worship leader I have to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in worship. Otherwise, I will lead people to myself instead of into the presence of God.
After reading this devotional, the Lord laid something else on my heart. He spoke to me that my sensitivity was not a design flaw. It was put there for a purpose. It was put there for intimacy with him. But it gave me an awakening like never before. I started to put all the dots together. Everything started to make sense.
I cherish and want the little things in life. There is a part of me that wants a beautiful wife and a family so bad at times. I desire it so much that I lose focus. Meaning, I get distracted. Now, please don’t get me wrong. I believe the Lord DOES want us to be married. There is nothing wrong with that! I am just saying that until we give our all to him (and I do mean ALL), we will always live with that feeling that we feel like we have missed something. We will never feel completion.
Our hearts were created by God for a sacred romance. We as individuals tend to feel the longing for intimacy, so we just give it away to anyone or anything that will take the time to love us even a tiny bit even if that means giving our whole hearts away to something or someone. This romance however goes deeper than we could ever imagine. It was designed by a jealous God, a God that won’t relent until he has it all. He is the creator of romance. He wrote the book. The Bible is a beautiful sacred romance love story where all of mankind is caught in the middle of it. Where a God who has it all desired to be near us, surround us, and be intimate with us that he gave his only son to have all of us. What a gift for a first date! He desires us. (Let that soak in for a minute) He longs for us. But our God is a gentleman. He will not force himself on anyone. He wants us to draw near out of pure surrender!
I believe the Lord knows that I want a wife and a family here on earth. But he also knows that the place that he has taken in my heart will NEVER go to anyone else but him. And I will never desire to take HIS place in the heart of another. I only wish to invest in it and watch it grow. That’s what he has called me to do as a man of God.
His love never fails, it never runs dry, and it will never abandon you. Give him your WHOLE heart! Rest in knowing that he will satisfy your soul! I promise!
I am a very sensitive kind of guy. For a long time I hated how sensitive I was. I didn’t understand why 90% of the time I was in the presence of God I cried. Or why when I saw God moving in someone’s life or when I was praying for someone I would ALWAYS cry. It started to drive me nuts. Then, with a help of a very dear friend of mine, they helped me realize that as an artist I was naturally sensitive. But then with the Holy Spirit inside of me that just added to it. As a worship leader I have to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in worship. Otherwise, I will lead people to myself instead of into the presence of God.
After reading this devotional, the Lord laid something else on my heart. He spoke to me that my sensitivity was not a design flaw. It was put there for a purpose. It was put there for intimacy with him. But it gave me an awakening like never before. I started to put all the dots together. Everything started to make sense.
I cherish and want the little things in life. There is a part of me that wants a beautiful wife and a family so bad at times. I desire it so much that I lose focus. Meaning, I get distracted. Now, please don’t get me wrong. I believe the Lord DOES want us to be married. There is nothing wrong with that! I am just saying that until we give our all to him (and I do mean ALL), we will always live with that feeling that we feel like we have missed something. We will never feel completion.
Our hearts were created by God for a sacred romance. We as individuals tend to feel the longing for intimacy, so we just give it away to anyone or anything that will take the time to love us even a tiny bit even if that means giving our whole hearts away to something or someone. This romance however goes deeper than we could ever imagine. It was designed by a jealous God, a God that won’t relent until he has it all. He is the creator of romance. He wrote the book. The Bible is a beautiful sacred romance love story where all of mankind is caught in the middle of it. Where a God who has it all desired to be near us, surround us, and be intimate with us that he gave his only son to have all of us. What a gift for a first date! He desires us. (Let that soak in for a minute) He longs for us. But our God is a gentleman. He will not force himself on anyone. He wants us to draw near out of pure surrender!
I believe the Lord knows that I want a wife and a family here on earth. But he also knows that the place that he has taken in my heart will NEVER go to anyone else but him. And I will never desire to take HIS place in the heart of another. I only wish to invest in it and watch it grow. That’s what he has called me to do as a man of God.
His love never fails, it never runs dry, and it will never abandon you. Give him your WHOLE heart! Rest in knowing that he will satisfy your soul! I promise!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Relax!!
In life it’s not hard to focus on what you don’t have. It’s so easy for us to question and analyze our lives. Then, out of that, comes worry and anxiety. We begin to say to ourselves “Why am I not there yet?” We can even take it deeper than that and begin to question God. The devil is so sneaky in this area. Think about it. If we shift our focus to the future (since none of us know what it holds) then he can run wild in our minds helping us dream up and over analyze where we think we should be. There are times we can even focus our attention on other people’s lives and wonder to ourselves “Why am I not there yet?” It can go on and on and on like this.
In my personal life I have been over evaluating. I think that I should be so much farther along then what I really am. I think that I should be on the road to marriage, have a fancy car, and a lot of money in my bank account. But when I focus on those things I have learned that I tend to lose the blessings of I have today. My focus is stolen away from me. The Lord gave me a simple word from this whole mess (spoken through my Mom) and that one word was “Relax.” I think the Lord was speaking to me and telling me to relax and embrace the now. I did a little bit of digging on this in God’s word and this is what I found.
Jesus directly addressed the issue of worry and anxiety in His Sermon on the Mount:
"So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life -- whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so little faith! So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today” (Matthew 6:25-34).
The issue here is faith. If we have faith in God, worry and anxiety about the details of our lives will be put into the right context. We’ll trust Him to take care of us now and later. If we are wondering about tomorrow, we lose the blessings available today.
Another principle in the biblical book of James reveals the ineffectiveness of worry and anxiety: “Look here, you people who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog -- it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:13-15).
Being in the Lord’s will is the safest place for the believer to be. If God sacrificed His Son for our sin, will He not do the best for us? Therefore, our hope -- a confident assurance rather than "I hope so" -- should be in God's will. Then, we will not waste our time being unduly anxious about what tomorrow may or may not bring. Then we can FINALLY relax and let God's will take it's course. Sounds good to me!!
In my personal life I have been over evaluating. I think that I should be so much farther along then what I really am. I think that I should be on the road to marriage, have a fancy car, and a lot of money in my bank account. But when I focus on those things I have learned that I tend to lose the blessings of I have today. My focus is stolen away from me. The Lord gave me a simple word from this whole mess (spoken through my Mom) and that one word was “Relax.” I think the Lord was speaking to me and telling me to relax and embrace the now. I did a little bit of digging on this in God’s word and this is what I found.
Jesus directly addressed the issue of worry and anxiety in His Sermon on the Mount:
"So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life -- whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so little faith! So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today” (Matthew 6:25-34).
The issue here is faith. If we have faith in God, worry and anxiety about the details of our lives will be put into the right context. We’ll trust Him to take care of us now and later. If we are wondering about tomorrow, we lose the blessings available today.
Another principle in the biblical book of James reveals the ineffectiveness of worry and anxiety: “Look here, you people who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog -- it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:13-15).
Being in the Lord’s will is the safest place for the believer to be. If God sacrificed His Son for our sin, will He not do the best for us? Therefore, our hope -- a confident assurance rather than "I hope so" -- should be in God's will. Then, we will not waste our time being unduly anxious about what tomorrow may or may not bring. Then we can FINALLY relax and let God's will take it's course. Sounds good to me!!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Worship
Worship is a word that when it comes across most peoples minds they picture a band on a stage with lights flashing and loud music blaring with a body of believer lifting their hands towards the heavens, while experiencing something bigger than them. While, this might be a true vision of a worship experience in a common church today, that is not what worship truly is. Worship is a way of life. It is the way that we live our everyday lives. We as a body have fallen into the lie that a church service is where and when we worship. I hope that we can awake from our deep slumber and realize the truth. The truth being we should be worshipping everyday of our lives without the loud music, guitars, and lights. I’m not saying those things are bad, but when we rely on them to depict worship in our lives, and then yes I think they are dangerous.
The true definition of worship in the dictionary is this: reverent honor and homage paid to God or to any object regarded as sacred. Notice that it also says “or to ANY object regarded as sacred”. Does this mean that we can worship other things in our lives? Absolutely!! Most people do it without even knowing it! However, worship was designed and intended for us to make little of ourselves and much of God. To reflect everyday on just how small we are and how amazingly big our God truly is. The bible tells us multiple ways that we are to worship.
The first can be found in John 4:23. “But the time is coming-indeed its here NOW-when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Notice this verse is telling us that we have to learn how to worship God from our human spirits. The letter “s” in the word “spirit” is with a small “s.” This means it is talking about our human spirits. The apostle Paul tells us that we have three parts to our being – body, soul and spirit.
I believe the Lord is trying to tell us two things with the specific wording of this verse. First, we have to learn how to worship the Lord from our spirit, which means that we have to learn how to worship Him from our heart.
The second thing is that we must learn how to worship the Lord in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives and dwells in our human spirits. The Holy Spirit enters into our human spirits the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and have become saved and born again.
We also find in Romans 12 it says this: “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship.”
Here Paul is PLEADING to us to give up ourselves in worship. Scratch out our desires, our wants, and even our selves and sacrifice them at the feet of Jesus. Sometimes we must lose ourselves to find God. When we lose ourselves and surrender ourselves over to the Holy Spirit, the supernatural can take place. If we don’t then all we will focus on is what our human minds can fathom which is nothing compared to what God can do when we submit and soak in the Holy Spirit! We have the honor and the privilege of coming into the presence of the Holy Spirit in worship everyday of our lives. We don’t have to go through a priest or sacrifice meaningless animals before God. We don’t even have to say a special prayer to enter into the presence of God. All that we have to do is submit and come as we are. And God is faithful to fill us and restore us in his presence. So I encourage you all to have a heart of worship everyday of your lives!
The true definition of worship in the dictionary is this: reverent honor and homage paid to God or to any object regarded as sacred. Notice that it also says “or to ANY object regarded as sacred”. Does this mean that we can worship other things in our lives? Absolutely!! Most people do it without even knowing it! However, worship was designed and intended for us to make little of ourselves and much of God. To reflect everyday on just how small we are and how amazingly big our God truly is. The bible tells us multiple ways that we are to worship.
The first can be found in John 4:23. “But the time is coming-indeed its here NOW-when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Notice this verse is telling us that we have to learn how to worship God from our human spirits. The letter “s” in the word “spirit” is with a small “s.” This means it is talking about our human spirits. The apostle Paul tells us that we have three parts to our being – body, soul and spirit.
I believe the Lord is trying to tell us two things with the specific wording of this verse. First, we have to learn how to worship the Lord from our spirit, which means that we have to learn how to worship Him from our heart.
The second thing is that we must learn how to worship the Lord in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives and dwells in our human spirits. The Holy Spirit enters into our human spirits the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and have become saved and born again.
We also find in Romans 12 it says this: “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship.”
Here Paul is PLEADING to us to give up ourselves in worship. Scratch out our desires, our wants, and even our selves and sacrifice them at the feet of Jesus. Sometimes we must lose ourselves to find God. When we lose ourselves and surrender ourselves over to the Holy Spirit, the supernatural can take place. If we don’t then all we will focus on is what our human minds can fathom which is nothing compared to what God can do when we submit and soak in the Holy Spirit! We have the honor and the privilege of coming into the presence of the Holy Spirit in worship everyday of our lives. We don’t have to go through a priest or sacrifice meaningless animals before God. We don’t even have to say a special prayer to enter into the presence of God. All that we have to do is submit and come as we are. And God is faithful to fill us and restore us in his presence. So I encourage you all to have a heart of worship everyday of your lives!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
It's Not About Me!!!!
I have had a pretty interesting week. I feel like I have been attacked and messed with all week long. It’s been a constant battle for me in the mornings. I feel like I have been told that I can’t do anything right, that I might as well quit while I am head. WELL, it’s a dang good thing that I don’t my live based off of my emotions!! I live based on the perfect will of God in my life. I might feel the pressure from time to time but I know that God is in control. I understand that he is preparing me for something amazing. My heart has never been more stretched, torn, and polished in my entire life. I find myself asking what you are up to God. Through all of this I have come to this conclusion.
IT’S NOT ABOUT ME!!! I have felt the past few weeks that I have been waking up and the devil has been right there in my face trying to make me run off my emotions. How I am “feeling” about me. It’s seriously like I was one of those whined up toys and every time I came before God in the morning I would come with an “It’s all about me” attitude. Man, I have I been convicted. I keep asking myself, “How did I fall into this trap?” I dove into God’s word and this is what he began to lay on my heart.
One of the things I think the enemy wants us to do is have a selfish attitude about ourselves and about God. Think for a second, our selfish attitudes can cause division and separation between us and other people in our lives. It can impact our walks with God to the point that we forget to ever ask God what HE wants, it ALWAYS turns out to be what WE want. It becomes all about us. It becomes about our emotions and how we feel. Do you not think that God already knows and cares about how we “feel”? His word tells us that he knows us better than we know ourselves. I know he does. So I feel like we need to get past the constant “whining” and “bickering” toward God. God tells me in Isaiah 61:2 that he is my comforter. Though my heart is broken and it hurts, he is my comforter. He comforts me in my time of mourning. In verse 3 he talks about how he will bring joyous blessings instead of mourning. So I strongly believe that I don’t have to wake up and whine to God about my feelings. He is already taken care of them. I need to learn to come to peace with myself and the fact that HE is my joy and my strength and HE is all I will ever need. It gets even better! In verse 8 the Lord says that he is a God that LOVES justice. So I know and can have peace that God will show justice to all those who do me wrong. I really have nothing to worry about. Besides isn’t worrying doubting God? I choose to put my confidence in God. Philippians 3:3 tells me that my confidence should be placed in Jesus and not in human efforts.
Please, I hope you all understand that I am not saying that there is anything wrong with crying out to God in pain because your heart is hurting. Believe me I have done my fair share. All that I am saying is do not make your quite time all about you and your feelings. I encourage you all to open up your hearts and allow God to heal your emotions and serve justice on your hearts. Take your relationship to a deeper level and start asking God what HE desires for you. His word tells us that all of our desires where nailed to Jesus’ cross. God can speak to your hearts it you only open it up and LI
IT’S NOT ABOUT ME!!! I have felt the past few weeks that I have been waking up and the devil has been right there in my face trying to make me run off my emotions. How I am “feeling” about me. It’s seriously like I was one of those whined up toys and every time I came before God in the morning I would come with an “It’s all about me” attitude. Man, I have I been convicted. I keep asking myself, “How did I fall into this trap?” I dove into God’s word and this is what he began to lay on my heart.
One of the things I think the enemy wants us to do is have a selfish attitude about ourselves and about God. Think for a second, our selfish attitudes can cause division and separation between us and other people in our lives. It can impact our walks with God to the point that we forget to ever ask God what HE wants, it ALWAYS turns out to be what WE want. It becomes all about us. It becomes about our emotions and how we feel. Do you not think that God already knows and cares about how we “feel”? His word tells us that he knows us better than we know ourselves. I know he does. So I feel like we need to get past the constant “whining” and “bickering” toward God. God tells me in Isaiah 61:2 that he is my comforter. Though my heart is broken and it hurts, he is my comforter. He comforts me in my time of mourning. In verse 3 he talks about how he will bring joyous blessings instead of mourning. So I strongly believe that I don’t have to wake up and whine to God about my feelings. He is already taken care of them. I need to learn to come to peace with myself and the fact that HE is my joy and my strength and HE is all I will ever need. It gets even better! In verse 8 the Lord says that he is a God that LOVES justice. So I know and can have peace that God will show justice to all those who do me wrong. I really have nothing to worry about. Besides isn’t worrying doubting God? I choose to put my confidence in God. Philippians 3:3 tells me that my confidence should be placed in Jesus and not in human efforts.
Please, I hope you all understand that I am not saying that there is anything wrong with crying out to God in pain because your heart is hurting. Believe me I have done my fair share. All that I am saying is do not make your quite time all about you and your feelings. I encourage you all to open up your hearts and allow God to heal your emotions and serve justice on your hearts. Take your relationship to a deeper level and start asking God what HE desires for you. His word tells us that all of our desires where nailed to Jesus’ cross. God can speak to your hearts it you only open it up and LI
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