Rejoice

A couple posts ago, I asked a question about serving.  Here’s another question I’ve been pondering: where do we find our joy?  It is so easy to be misled in this area.  I won’t even start talking about entertainment; think about that for yourself.  But you know, if something is “spiritual,” we Christians try to find joy in that.  Check out this verse:

“Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”–Luke 10:20

This verse shocked me when I read it several days ago.  Jesus was rebuking the disciples here, because they were rejoicing in their power to drive out demons in the name of Jesus.  Out of everything, we aren’t even allowed to find happiness in the power and authority God has given us?  Interesting: I wonder why?  Of course, there’s the obvious question of pride.  We must always remember that all our power comes from God alone.  We have to stay humble.

But I think the real issue here is our perspective.  Yes, Jesus has given us amazing power, and that’s awesome.  Not everyone takes advantage of it, sadly.  But if we know who Jesus is, these “super-spiritual” things really don’t seem that great.  Jesus even said that the tiniest amount of faith can move mountains.  If you believe in God just because of spiritual things you’ve seen, you’re missing the point.

What’s the point?  This is the true miracle: Jesus has saved us from eternal damnation, and our names are now written in heaven.  We will forever be alive with Him in glory.  We had no hope, and still, God loved us.  Now that’s something to rejoice about.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.“–Philippians 4:4

I Give Up

I can’t do anything well.  And I don’t think I am supposed to.  I am blind, and I need to see…

Maybe you think I’m being too hard on myself.  I don’t think so.  You know, I’ve been finding lately that life is the mystery that can’t be solved.  I’ve tried to be ambitious, and I’ve tried to be intellectual.  But really, I know nothing; I can do nothing.  I am at the mercy of the systems of this world.  Maybe I could survive just a little longer than the next guy, but then again, maybe not.

This is where God comes in.  In my worthlessness, He finds something to love.  In my brokenness, His hand of grace and mercy is extended to me.  I don’t deserve any of it, but there it is.  All I have to do is receive His love.  Even that is difficult.  Even for that, I need Him.

So here I am.   I need to give up.  Completely in His hands: that’s where I want to be.  God, please help me.

“Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.’”–John 9:39

Idols Are What We Make Them

Let’s all take one step back for a minute, look at our individual lives and ask ourselves this question: what are we serving?

Have you thought of your answer?  You may have several, like your family and friends, maybe your church or your favorite ministry.  Maybe what you serve is an ideal, a dream of world peace or something like that.  Maybe you serve yourself, your personal need for happiness or fulfillment.  Whatever you serve, just remember this: God needs to be first.  And if anything else is hindering your relationship with God in any way, it needs to go.  It is an idol.

What is your idol?  Is it a career, music, money, entertainment, a celebrity, your wife or family, a house, a feeling, a cause, a lifestyle?  No matter what it is, it is sucking the very life out of you.  Instead of indulging in it, worshiping it, we must learn to hate it.  We must hate everything in us that gets in the way of our relationship with God.  He is too precious not to give everything for.

Lately, I’ve been losing interest in certain things like movies, tv, video games and music.  They just don’t give me any pleasure like they used to.  And I think it’s a good thing; I’m glad because of it.  But I feel kind of empty right now.  I hope that the LORD will fill me up soon, give me a direction and a purpose.  I need only Him.

“Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests;
    wail, O ministers of the altar.
Go in, pass the night in sackcloth,
   O ministers of my God!
Because grain offering and drink offering
   are withheld from the house of your God.”–Joel 1:13

Altogether Insufficiant

Have you ever tried to describe something you really loved?  It’s pretty difficult, I think.  No words really seem capable of describing that love.  This is the way I’m starting to feel about worship music.

I guess it started last week, when I decided I wanted to find some new worship music to listen to.  The songs I’d been singing just didn’t seem good enough.  So I asked around, listened to some new songs which were great, but that emptiness was still there.  Then I started to ask myself: what was I really looking for?  Was it beautiful music?  There was plenty of that out there.  Moving lyrics?  A little harder to find, but still attainable.  No, what I was really looking for was passion.  It was heart.

Here’s what I realized: the kind of passion we all need to have in worship can never be recorded.  Words can never describe the greatness of God.  Sure, we can say “awesome,” “beautiful,” “holy” and “great,” but God is so much more than that.  Our music should be the most amazing thing on earth(it’s what He deserves), but our own meager efforts at musicality could never approach the beauty of God.

We can’t even dream of getting close to God through some nice song.  It just won’t happen.  All we can do is pour out our heart, our every fiber of existence, humbly at His feet.  He’ll take care of the rest.

I think I want to write some worship music that is hard to listen to.  Something unsettling.  I hope some people will hate it; I think that’s the point.  It won’t be clean, but it will be from my heart.  That’s what counts.

“Then the man bowed low and worshiped the LORD.”–Genesis 24:26

A Heart For You

Out of my ashes, You pull a beating heart of flesh.
It is Yours now.  It only beats for You, God.
Please don’t wrap it in pretty pink bows and glitter.
Don’t place it on the shelf in a row with all the other hearts.
It is raw.  It is free.  You know that.  You made it that way.
Throw it against the wall.  Sink Your teeth in.
Let the blood stain Your lips.  Taste the sweetness
Of a heart whose only purpose is to please You.
Consume every morsel, for every tender fiber is desirable.
Its scent is pungent.  Its flavor, rich.
Oh, to taste.  Oh, to taste!  Oh, to taste; oh, to taste…

Let Your fire fall.  Take my heart.  Consume me.

[Image created by Ben Hume.  Used with permission.]

“To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?”–2 Corinthians 2:16

Developer

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”–2 Tim. 2:2

I’ve always enjoyed teaching.  It feels good to know that someone else can now succeed where they couldn’t before because of what you gave them.  I see the real, true potential in people, and I rejoice with each step of progress they take(whether I was a part of it or not).  Of all my top 5 strengths, I believe that this is one of the most important of them all.

I think it’s good to realize, this world is much bigger than you and I.  What we accomplish only really makes a difference if others can take it and run with it.  If we can give them the opportunity, then why not?  Are we really so selfish as to keep all our knowledge to ourselves?  Not me.  One day I’ll be dead, and if no one learned from my life, well then what was the point?

But it’s not really about my life.  It’s about the lives of others.  Can we enrich them?  Can we love them enough to tell them the truth?  Can we be be wise enough to give good advice, to lead them to God?  I hope so.  I hope that every person I meet will be better when they leave.  It’s the least I can do, for Jesus said to love one another as He has loved us.  Jesus is the one who created our giftings, our strengths.  He’s given them to us for a reason: to love.  And love is not selfish.  Love means relationship.  He loves me.  I, therefore, will love others.

“…Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”–1 Corinthians 8:1