Isn't it encouraging to know that righteousness doesn't depend on being in a good mood 24/7? The last few days have been less than sunshine and birds chirping. It's funny how all it takes is one negative thought that can start a downward spiral of self-consciousness, loneliness, and despair. These moments are so tough to deal with. Everything in your life has a tinge of darkness. If it gets bad enough, you'll start to think things like "What am I doing here?" and "Nobody wants me" and "I'm a failure." The longer these thoughts marinate in your mind, the longer they start to become truth. How do you fight these thoughts? How do you overcome these moments? Is there any way out?
Psalm 118:17 says, "I will not die but live, and will declare what the Lord has done."
You have to declare the truth to yourself. You have to command yourself to live.
Psalm 103 says, "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His Holy name."
You have to command your soul to praise the Lord. There are times that we don't necessarily feel like praising the Lord. There are times that we want to listen to songs that match our mood and complement our lonely feelings and sad moods instead of music that fights against it.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
You have to realize that there is someone who wants you to stay in a bad mood all the time. Satan is real and he is fighting to demolish our spirits and relationships with God. He is a pro at telling half-truths. He will say "You are lonely." That is a half truth. Yes, I feel lonely, but Deuteronomy 31:6 says God will never leave me nor forsake me. Satan will say , "You messed up. There is no way you can fix this." The truth is yes, you messed up. However, there is redemption. Psalm 103:2-3 says, "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not His benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases." There is new grace, new forgiveness with every morning. We are the redeemed of the Lord. We are His beloved.
So, I'm sitting here having written this blog, having had a bad day, and am now convinced that God is who He says He is. He is in love with me. He forgives me for all the times I've messed up. He is always with me. I can't help but to smile. So many times I've said, "Thank you God for giving me a reason to smile." If for no other reason, I can smile for and about Him. I will not die but live. I have a holy purpose to walk out. I choose to worship God and I choose to not go to sleep feeling sad and alone. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Worship
So, the title of my blog is "A Worshipful Heart in a Warring World." What is worship? I've been on a worship team in church since I was 14. However, it wasn't until fairly recently I developed a personal understanding of what worship is. Worship is the response we give to the revelation that we are loved by God. There is a three step process that I have found helpful to continually come to this revelation.
1. You have to come face to face with the cross.
--We live in a dying world. We are eternally separated from God and essentially life. God is God, He can't stop being God. He can't stop being pure. We are human. We can't magically become God. We can't stop being evil. There has to be a bridge. Something has to happen to fix this separation. Praise be to God something did happen. In His great love for us, God sent His ONLY son to die for our sins. It is one thing to have John 3:16 memorized, but another thing to grasp its meaning. Jesus Christ is the bridge between us and God, between death and life, between darkness and light. He is the answer. He brings us into eternal fellowship and family with God. If we understand that and believe that we have eternal life. Eternal life doesn't start in heaven. It begins once we accept the truth of the cross. John 17:3.
2. You have to realize that you are loved.
--You can't live by who the world says you are. You can't even live by who you say you are. You have to live by who God says you are. Who does God say you are?
1. More than a conqueror. Romans 8:37
2. Co-heir with Christ. Romans 8:17
3. Fearfully and Wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14
4. Eternally loved. Romans 8:35-39
5. Strong in Him. Philippians 4:13.
6. Rich. 2 Corinthians 9:8-11
7. Free. Romans 8:2
It is so easy to be weighed down by the past and even by the sin we commit today. It is easy to assume, "There is no way God can forgive me for this. I can't even forgive myself. I might as well just forget about anything I might have had because I can't get away from this." In these moments, it is CRITICAL to remember who we are. We are loved with an eternal love that will never die. Paul prayed that we could at least grasp a little bit how loved we are while still understanding we will never truly understand it. Ephesians 3:16-18 talks about how great God's love is (stay tuned because I will do a further study on this passage). It is hard for us to understand true forgiveness because we can't truly forgive without God's help. So, with that, understand that it is not our job to necessarily understand why God forgives us, but the fact that He does. One day I was at the King's Park International Church prayer meeting and I asked God why He made me. He said because He loves me. Then I asked Him why does He love me. He said because He made me. There is no escaping it.
3. CELEBRATE!! You are loved!!
--My specific reaction to the revelation that I'm loved is singing. I love to worship God through song. I don't mean Sunday morning I get on stage and sing and that's the extent of my worship. No. Recently, God gave me the desire and grace to learn how to play the guitar (Psalm 37:4-->I will do a study on this later also). There hasn't been a day where I don't pick up that guitar and worship my God. Not to brag to people that I can play an instrument, but because I can't help but to do this in response to His love. Even beyond music, I can't help but to love others because of God's love. I can't help but to try to forgive others. I can't help but to live a lifestyle pleasing to God. I can't help but to want to go where He wants me to go. I can't help but to even have moments where I shout and scream because I feel the weight of God's love for me.
We were eternally separated from God and life until Jesus came down to bridge the gap. He loves us even when we can't love ourselves in our own power. How are you going to react to that?
1. You have to come face to face with the cross.
--We live in a dying world. We are eternally separated from God and essentially life. God is God, He can't stop being God. He can't stop being pure. We are human. We can't magically become God. We can't stop being evil. There has to be a bridge. Something has to happen to fix this separation. Praise be to God something did happen. In His great love for us, God sent His ONLY son to die for our sins. It is one thing to have John 3:16 memorized, but another thing to grasp its meaning. Jesus Christ is the bridge between us and God, between death and life, between darkness and light. He is the answer. He brings us into eternal fellowship and family with God. If we understand that and believe that we have eternal life. Eternal life doesn't start in heaven. It begins once we accept the truth of the cross. John 17:3.
2. You have to realize that you are loved.
--You can't live by who the world says you are. You can't even live by who you say you are. You have to live by who God says you are. Who does God say you are?
1. More than a conqueror. Romans 8:37
2. Co-heir with Christ. Romans 8:17
3. Fearfully and Wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14
4. Eternally loved. Romans 8:35-39
5. Strong in Him. Philippians 4:13.
6. Rich. 2 Corinthians 9:8-11
7. Free. Romans 8:2
It is so easy to be weighed down by the past and even by the sin we commit today. It is easy to assume, "There is no way God can forgive me for this. I can't even forgive myself. I might as well just forget about anything I might have had because I can't get away from this." In these moments, it is CRITICAL to remember who we are. We are loved with an eternal love that will never die. Paul prayed that we could at least grasp a little bit how loved we are while still understanding we will never truly understand it. Ephesians 3:16-18 talks about how great God's love is (stay tuned because I will do a further study on this passage). It is hard for us to understand true forgiveness because we can't truly forgive without God's help. So, with that, understand that it is not our job to necessarily understand why God forgives us, but the fact that He does. One day I was at the King's Park International Church prayer meeting and I asked God why He made me. He said because He loves me. Then I asked Him why does He love me. He said because He made me. There is no escaping it.
3. CELEBRATE!! You are loved!!
--My specific reaction to the revelation that I'm loved is singing. I love to worship God through song. I don't mean Sunday morning I get on stage and sing and that's the extent of my worship. No. Recently, God gave me the desire and grace to learn how to play the guitar (Psalm 37:4-->I will do a study on this later also). There hasn't been a day where I don't pick up that guitar and worship my God. Not to brag to people that I can play an instrument, but because I can't help but to do this in response to His love. Even beyond music, I can't help but to love others because of God's love. I can't help but to try to forgive others. I can't help but to live a lifestyle pleasing to God. I can't help but to want to go where He wants me to go. I can't help but to even have moments where I shout and scream because I feel the weight of God's love for me.
We were eternally separated from God and life until Jesus came down to bridge the gap. He loves us even when we can't love ourselves in our own power. How are you going to react to that?
Dying Daily
Die everyday in order to live forever.
My struggle is not against
What society construed or mixed together
To shape the person I’m supposed to be…
In their eyes.
But in Your eyes, I’m built
To last, built to fight those things
That force me to feel guilt,
Or pride, or hate, or jealousy…
In my heart.
Through God, my sole adversary,
I live. For God, my soul provider,
I die. I go to Him as you turn to some apothecary
Wishing for a fix to your struggle…
In your flesh.
Only when you turn completely
To the true vision and understanding
Of God will you be able to affectively
Prosper and flourish on earth…
In His eyes.
Accepting His will for your life
Provides you with the easiest way
To forget the daily toil and strife
And have joy in knowing you matter…
In His heart.
Find security in knowing when you fall
He is there to catch you when you have
Need, fear not for He possesses all.
Forget this life and die to live and walk…
In His faith.
My struggle is not against
What society construed or mixed together
To shape the person I’m supposed to be…
In their eyes.
But in Your eyes, I’m built
To last, built to fight those things
That force me to feel guilt,
Or pride, or hate, or jealousy…
In my heart.
Through God, my sole adversary,
I live. For God, my soul provider,
I die. I go to Him as you turn to some apothecary
Wishing for a fix to your struggle…
In your flesh.
Only when you turn completely
To the true vision and understanding
Of God will you be able to affectively
Prosper and flourish on earth…
In His eyes.
Accepting His will for your life
Provides you with the easiest way
To forget the daily toil and strife
And have joy in knowing you matter…
In His heart.
Find security in knowing when you fall
He is there to catch you when you have
Need, fear not for He possesses all.
Forget this life and die to live and walk…
In His faith.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Love
Too often people mistake fleeting feelings of momentary affection for the true eternal elation that comes from being in love. In order to understand what love is, it is imperative to understand where love comes from. 1 John 4:8 states, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” After understanding that God is love, we have to understand how that love is manifested. God’s love is an unconditional commitment to support us, fend for us, empower us, and provide everything we could ever need, not pending a reciprocation of His affections. This means, we could turn our backs on Him and He would still stay by us, waiting for the moment we choose to receive this phenomenal, priceless gift. Receiving this love is the easy part. Applying it to others is another story. It is so easy to let moments of frustration, hurt, and anger agitate our supposed love for another person. I Corinthians 13:5 states, “Love keeps no record of wrongs.” If we choose to love someone, we are choosing to not let what they do to us, which might cause us harm, belittle our feelings towards them. The reason it is so hard to love another person, or even to love God with the same vigor he shows us, is because love has the least to do with us. Love has nothing to do with our ability to rationalize or choose, but relies solely on our ability to accept that we do not truly love with our own power, but with the power given to us by the One who is love Himself. Love is being able to see a reflection of God in every aspect of the relationship. Love is friendship on fire. Love provides a cover for the hard times. Love is soothing like cooling water yet burns hot as the purest flames. Love encompasses and surpasses any and every other emotion ever felt. It is easy to be angry with someone, easy to hold grudges against a person. However, spend your lifetime forgiving those who have hurt you, loving those who others deem unworthy, and never allowing insignificant details to separate you from the ones, as well as the One, you are meant to be with. That is the true sign of a life of love, a life emulating God, and a life many, unfortunately, won’t ever attempt to achieve.
I was encouraged to start a blog...
I was encouraged to start a blog. My hope is for others to find hope for themselves by reading my posts. I will write about struggles Christians have , especially pertaining to overcoming brokenness. I have found a remedy in life...pure worship. Worship is the response you give to the revelation that you are loved by God. When you experience the love of God you have no other choice but to be completely undone. I hope all who follow this blog will find encouragement and ultimately your own understanding of who God is to you and how you will respond to realizing how much you are loved.
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