I woke up this morning thinking, "Why am I awake right now?...Oh I have school this morning...Maybe I should sleep in and not go..." like so many other college students. However, my thought process continued with, "It's Good Friday, that could be a good excuse to not go to class! I'll just go to the restroom and make my decision after I get up on whether or not I'll go!". As I dragged myself out of bed, I thought of the possible consequences of not going to school...how my father would be disappointed in me after finding out I had school today, how my mother would react in seeing that I did not go, and how I would miss my dear friends in class and a possible in-class assignment. Then I thought of the benefits of sleeping in (since I was awakened twice in the middle of the night by a restless hamster), and the excuse of, "Oh if I sleep in, I can just open up God's word after I wake up and read about His crucifixion then!" as if that would make me feel better about myself. Overall, I feel ridiculous thinking these things. Ultimately, I made the decision to go to school.
Last night I had stayed up late reading Matthew 26-27:56, the plot to kill Jesus through His crucifixion. I'm glad I did. The Holy Spirit sometimes reveals strange things to you when you're tired. This morning He reminded me that I'm using a day to remember His crucifixion as an excuse to make myself more comfortable. How ironic is that?? It finally clicked as I was battling my first world decision in my head on the way to the bathroom (lol). How is it a blessing to the Lord to possibly disappoint my parents and make myself even more comfortable on a day to remember such sacrifice and pain? How does that make sense? Not only that, but He also knows my heart. He knows that I foolishly thought about "making it up to Him" by reading His word after sleeping in, as if He needs me! Puhleez. I should be sacrificing more, even if it is just a man-made holiday! That would make more sense than listening to my flesh. I'm still baffled over the fact that I'm just now learning this. It's completely humbling.
And in all this, He continues to bless me. 1. Dad woke up while I was getting ready for school today and made a large pot of coffee to share with me. 2. I had time to read a different account of His crucifixion (John 18-19:30) in my car before class started. 3. My classmates made me laugh and smile as they shared stories and lovingly asked how I was doing. 4. My sister and I got to visit our best friend at work and do a little shopping together without any irritated quarrels. 5. At work, our newest co-worker revealed to me that she loves Jesus too, and helped me so much in the bakery with her joyful heart and readiness to serve! I'm counting my blessings and they're stacked up so high! I would keep going, but I don't want to bore you or make you jealous! ;D
I'm at the end of my day now and I'm reminding myself that the great thing about His crucifixion is that it's not the end of the story. Easter is coming up, and I get to celebrate His resurrection with my church family and my biological family...and now that I think about it, I shouldn't be as bummed as I have been about having to work on Sunday afternoon! Maybe I should be excited about working on Sunday, since He is the great and almighty Savior, who conquered death, that I may serve Him well no matter where I am...or how tired I may be.
Come, Oh Lord. Maranatha.
Friday, March 29, 2013
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By:
δοῦλος
Thursday, March 7, 2013
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By:
δοῦλος
He is Present...and It's Scary.
I don't know what the exact reason is for this, but I feel very isolated in some of my community college classes. Today, for instance, I sat there surrounded by young people who just graduated high school not too long ago, and older women taking sign language for reasons I am unsure of. The Freshies were chatting amongst themselves on different topics and the older women were chatting with each other...and I sit there and wonder if I'm the only in betweener (age-wise) there...and if anyone else loves Jesus too. The conversations the Freshies have are never wholesome; there's an f-bomb in almost every sentence and a lot of complaining and party talk...and to be honest, my desire is to find just one brother or sister to talk to in some of these classes. As I'm typing this, I wonder if it's my pride that holds me back from talking to these 'kids', or if it's a genuine disdain for the topics they are discussing; it's probably both.
Lately, there have been a lot of other things that keep reminding me that Satan is always at work here. In class, I've got a kid behind me content in the false teachings of Joseph Smith and a kid in front of me with a shirt that reads "Jesus Loathes You". In my own life, I've dealt with regularly scheduled nightmares that tempt me to think that God isn't near. I've got a sister who recently told me a business interview turned into a confession from a woman of the intense hatred she has for God's children. Meanwhile, on facebook, there's a friend posting everything he can about gay pride and his identity as a homosexual. It’s as if Satan is saying “YES, I AM THE PRINCE OF THE EARTH!”...and it scares me.
I don’t want to pretend that he isn’t active or powerful once you’re saved. However, I don’t want to underestimate the power of Trinity. My pastor mentioned this past weekend a few types of afflictions that I now see relate to what I’ve gone through/seen recently, including demonic affliction (what I believe was behind my nightmares), vicarious affliction (hatred towards Jesus=hatred towards you), and empathetic affliction (you hurt because they're hurting). It all confirms the fact that we live in a fallen world. However, I’m glad that Scripture tells us that afflictions have a purpose, whether we see that right away or not,
“...but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5).
“...but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5).
My pastor also reminded me that, “Jesus suffered the most...and righteously.”,
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faiththat I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,” Philippians 3:8-10.
When I see my suffering as “meaningful, powerful, and purposeful” (from my sermon notes) I can reflect Christ more by the power of the Holy Spirit, “becoming like him in his death”. Sure, the devil may have a hand in the goings-on of this world, but he has no power compared to the greatness of the Holy Spirit! This is a comfort to me, and should be a comfort to you if you know and love Jesus! However, I fear for the woman I mentioned who hates Christians, for the students in my classes, and for my apathetic co-workers. Maybe this should cause a greater urgency in my prayers for them, since it’s only by His grace that I’m not in that place anymore...
When I see my suffering as “meaningful, powerful, and purposeful” (from my sermon notes) I can reflect Christ more by the power of the Holy Spirit, “becoming like him in his death”. Sure, the devil may have a hand in the goings-on of this world, but he has no power compared to the greatness of the Holy Spirit! This is a comfort to me, and should be a comfort to you if you know and love Jesus! However, I fear for the woman I mentioned who hates Christians, for the students in my classes, and for my apathetic co-workers. Maybe this should cause a greater urgency in my prayers for them, since it’s only by His grace that I’m not in that place anymore...
Come, Oh Lord. Maranatha.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
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By:
δοῦλος
Valentine's Day
Too much is going through my head on Valentine's Day. I keep trying to figure out the meaning of it. For some, it's a day to adore a special someone; for others, it's a day to remember the love of Christ... and for the festive ones, it's a day to sprinkle hearts over everything they see! I just keep thinking...well, shouldn't we appreciate our 'special someone' everyday? And what about the love of Christ, is that just a comfort for the single ones all wanting to have that special someone? It's almost as if the single Christians are like, "Well, we don't have our 'significant other' yet, but we have Jesus!" in order to cover up their loneliness on a day focused on couples. They make it seem like Christ's love on the cross is a 'back up' of sorts. What I find amazing is that there are only so few who will sit there and admit that Valentine's Day sucks. (Thank you roommate!). Single people try to make themselves feel better by going out with their friends, or indulging in chocolates until the day is done. Afterwards, we all look to our calendars and try to remember what President's Day means, and rejoice in the fact that school and (sometimes) work is cancelled!
Two mormons on their bikes inspired this post. I was driving to work today, trying to figure out the significance of today, and then I saw them. I kept thinking, "Wow...they have never really experienced true love...". It made me want to cry. You know why today and every other day is significant? It's another chance at life. It's another day to decide whether you will live for Him or not. This is for those two men on their bikes. It's for all those customers with the bindi on their foreheads and for those apathetic agnostics casually walking across the college campus. Today's post is a prayer for the lost. I cannot explain it to you, (it must be the Holy Spirit), but my heart was especially broken for those who don't know Christ. I don't want to sit here and post my quick shout out to Jesus on facebook and then move on. I want to love people. I want to give back to my new manager who gave me a warm hug today. I want to demonstrate the honest gratitude I had for my co-worker in teaching me how to decorate cupcakes. I feel a need to share and give the truth, not just show and tell it. I don't want to be that t.v. chef that tempts you with all the delicious food and gives you no possible chance to taste it for yourselves. May you taste and see that God is good to us! (Psalm 34:8). May my life reflect this so much that when I come across anyone, they don't see so much of me anymore. May they see Jesus.
People are gifts to one another. People paint us a picture of grace and beauty and love, despite depravity. I hate 'em, but I love 'em. Just bein' honest here, I'm not actually Jesus! ;D BUT His Holy Spirit is present, and He is powerful! Salvation is miraculous, and may I not forget that...for out of the the darkness He rescued me, and He wants to rescue more than just me...so who's He going to save next?? :)
Come, Oh Lord. Maranatha.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
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δοῦλος
I'm Awake and I Felt Compelled to Share
For some odd reason, I'm having a difficult time getting sleepy at this hour...maybe it's due to a nap I took earlier this afternoon, maybe it's from the dark chocolate bar I ate around 12, maybe it's from my late night work schedule...who knows! ;D So now I'm left writing to the world thinking that there is a possibility of encouraging somebody on the internet with my words...so here it goes...
A friend of mine from work is learning english as he's teaching me spanish, and that's how I'm going to start my story. My story really isn't that interesting, but I'm going to continue writing it anyways because I feel like it...so hax if you don't care, 'cuz I don't either! hehe Anywho, the two of us decided to play a 'game' of sorts by writing down phrases in our native languages with the goal of learning how to read the foreign one better eventually. Each week we switch our index cards of random sentences about our lives and translate them when we're not trying to sleep, or when we're not crazily working. In addition to translating, we add more sentences to keep the 'game' goin'...this has proven to be a challenge at times when I have no idea what to write. Today, I decided to write a very concise and short testimony of my Christian life in the hopes that the Lord would use me to relay some sort of message to him that would glorify Christ and open his eyes to whatever he needs to see right now...Of course, I had to include at least a couple verses that I thought were good for him to translate at home...and the first verse that came to mind was Ephesians 2:8...
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."
Context on why I chose this verse...well, he has told me before that he is a Catholic who goes to church every now and then...so I figured, 'why not open God's word to a testimony of His grace?!'. The Catholic church has done a mighty fine job teaching about how you need to work for your salvation, (along with every other religion out there) and I felt that maybe, just maybe, God would use this to get him to read the Bible more, or ask more questions about Christianity...Would you call that sneaky? Yeah, it probably is...and I would never dare say that all Catholics are unsaved, by the way. I would say that there are a lot of Catholics who know their Bible way more than some people who profess to be Christians, and no doubt, there are Catholics who know it better than me! I suppose the main goal of writing that verse down for him was to encourage him to think about the grace of Christ, and how awesome our God is! If my co-worker never decided to open up His word again or never got curious about what the verse said, I would still be okay with it knowing that the Lord's plans are way different than mine! WARNING: I'm pretty much just writing whatever comes to mind now, so if you're reading it and thinking that I'm rambling, that's probably what I'm doing.
I was getting towards the end of my 'concise testimony', and I wanted to 'close' with one last verse...So I'm sitting on the couch with my mom's Bible on my lap just flipping through pages of wisdom, wondering where to go from there. I was thinking I could close with another verse from Ephesians, but then I kept reading and wanted to read more from other books written by Paul...so I got to Colossians and set my eyes upon the beauty of those words...but then I didn't want to confuse my co-worker with the phrasing of some of those verses due to the historical context of the letter...and then I remembered how much I really enjoy the book of Philippians, so I finally chose a verse of linguistic simplicity, yet profound meaning: Philippians 1:21.
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
And all that was going through my head at that moment was, 'LORD, WHY DO I NOT READ YOUR WORD MORE?! PAUL, YOU WERE SUCH A BEAUTIFUL MAN! I am an embarrassment to the faith...'. It had finally occurred to me that the Lord had used my spanish-speaking co-worker to get me to open His word. It had dawned on me that maybe, just maybe, the Lord thought my 'plan' was funny. All along I was thinking I would be an encouragement to him, when in reality, my co-worker is indirectly encouraging me. God uses people who we think may not be saved to get us to depend on His word more...and amazingly enough, I tend to think I've got it all planned out. GOD IS SO FUNNY SOMETIMES! What patience He has to deal with such small thinking! Can you imagine what it's going to be like when we get to heaven and am in the presence of a perfectly comedic God?! What joy and laughter we will experience, right??
I just thought I'd share that...and whoever is reading this may be thinking 'cool story bro, no need to tell it again!'... so I probably won't. :)
Come, Oh Lord. Maranatha. (Can't wait to experience that joy and laughter with You!)
A friend of mine from work is learning english as he's teaching me spanish, and that's how I'm going to start my story. My story really isn't that interesting, but I'm going to continue writing it anyways because I feel like it...so hax if you don't care, 'cuz I don't either! hehe Anywho, the two of us decided to play a 'game' of sorts by writing down phrases in our native languages with the goal of learning how to read the foreign one better eventually. Each week we switch our index cards of random sentences about our lives and translate them when we're not trying to sleep, or when we're not crazily working. In addition to translating, we add more sentences to keep the 'game' goin'...this has proven to be a challenge at times when I have no idea what to write. Today, I decided to write a very concise and short testimony of my Christian life in the hopes that the Lord would use me to relay some sort of message to him that would glorify Christ and open his eyes to whatever he needs to see right now...Of course, I had to include at least a couple verses that I thought were good for him to translate at home...and the first verse that came to mind was Ephesians 2:8...
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."
Context on why I chose this verse...well, he has told me before that he is a Catholic who goes to church every now and then...so I figured, 'why not open God's word to a testimony of His grace?!'. The Catholic church has done a mighty fine job teaching about how you need to work for your salvation, (along with every other religion out there) and I felt that maybe, just maybe, God would use this to get him to read the Bible more, or ask more questions about Christianity...Would you call that sneaky? Yeah, it probably is...and I would never dare say that all Catholics are unsaved, by the way. I would say that there are a lot of Catholics who know their Bible way more than some people who profess to be Christians, and no doubt, there are Catholics who know it better than me! I suppose the main goal of writing that verse down for him was to encourage him to think about the grace of Christ, and how awesome our God is! If my co-worker never decided to open up His word again or never got curious about what the verse said, I would still be okay with it knowing that the Lord's plans are way different than mine! WARNING: I'm pretty much just writing whatever comes to mind now, so if you're reading it and thinking that I'm rambling, that's probably what I'm doing.
I was getting towards the end of my 'concise testimony', and I wanted to 'close' with one last verse...So I'm sitting on the couch with my mom's Bible on my lap just flipping through pages of wisdom, wondering where to go from there. I was thinking I could close with another verse from Ephesians, but then I kept reading and wanted to read more from other books written by Paul...so I got to Colossians and set my eyes upon the beauty of those words...but then I didn't want to confuse my co-worker with the phrasing of some of those verses due to the historical context of the letter...and then I remembered how much I really enjoy the book of Philippians, so I finally chose a verse of linguistic simplicity, yet profound meaning: Philippians 1:21.
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
And all that was going through my head at that moment was, 'LORD, WHY DO I NOT READ YOUR WORD MORE?! PAUL, YOU WERE SUCH A BEAUTIFUL MAN! I am an embarrassment to the faith...'. It had finally occurred to me that the Lord had used my spanish-speaking co-worker to get me to open His word. It had dawned on me that maybe, just maybe, the Lord thought my 'plan' was funny. All along I was thinking I would be an encouragement to him, when in reality, my co-worker is indirectly encouraging me. God uses people who we think may not be saved to get us to depend on His word more...and amazingly enough, I tend to think I've got it all planned out. GOD IS SO FUNNY SOMETIMES! What patience He has to deal with such small thinking! Can you imagine what it's going to be like when we get to heaven and am in the presence of a perfectly comedic God?! What joy and laughter we will experience, right??
I just thought I'd share that...and whoever is reading this may be thinking 'cool story bro, no need to tell it again!'... so I probably won't. :)
Come, Oh Lord. Maranatha. (Can't wait to experience that joy and laughter with You!)
Friday, August 24, 2012
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δοῦλος
Why is it so Hard for Me?
It is difficult to explain the thoughts that consume my head when I see men lusting after, or disrespecting women. I feel disgusted, angered, sad...but none of which bring about thoughts like, "Oh, that guy needs the gospel!", or "Wow, maybe I should get a Christian brother to go talk to him!". In other words, my heart is definitely not broken for them. How sad is that? If the guy I observe isn't saved, where is my compassion? Was I not a slave to sin myself before Jesus saved me? If it is a concern over respect for women, does it just offend me because I think I deserve to be treated a certain way, or does it offend me because they are truly hurting another person's feelings? How interesting that these questions are just now making their grand appearance in my thought processes! I know I will never be able to say that going to a place like a bikini bar is okay, (unless for the purpose of evangelism)....but I do want to say that my attitude towards people who go into places like that is not okay.
So, how do I love that person when my immediate reaction to their sin is disgust? How do I change that good ole, Americanized feminist mindset of "all guys are pigs"? My disturbance over their disrespect turns into an immediate disrespect for them, which helps no one, and becomes hypocrisy. Fortunately, here in this blessed county of the United States of America, I can remember and look to God's word! :D
1 John 1:6 says, "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."I had to mention this verse because it reminded me of my own depravity. "No darkness at all."...meaning, the sins that I struggle with every day still separate me from fellowship with God; it is equal to a man's lust.
1 John 4:7-8 continues with, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." OUCH! How convicting is that?! If I claim to be saved, I better be loving that person who just "offended" me! The Holy Spirit living in me should make love an easy option if I would just stop and listen for once!
The message of the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ needs to be the central focus, main idea...actually, our entire life purpose!
"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:9-11
I did not love God first. I was never capable of doing so. The Lord gave Himself to me. "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10). If I was truly wanting what He wants, I would have passionately wanted that person to be saved!
I hope next time I see an "unpleasant" facebook post, or hear a sin-filled conversation, or feel disrespected myself, I cry tears of sorrow for those people's lost souls and enslavement to sin. I pray that my life would reflect Christ and the love He has shown me, and that He would humble me more each day. I walk in light, so may that light be bright enough for other people to see it...
Come, Oh Lord. Maranatha.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
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δοῦλος
Lesson of the Week...
You know what's strange? Finding contentment when you feel like you have no idea what you're doing; when you don't have a real plan for the near future, when you don't know who may come into your life, when you don't know where you may be in the next year... and the fact of life here on this earth is that you will never know. I've been encouraging a friend to read the book of Job recently, and it makes me think about how I've been reacting to my current stage in life right now. Unlike Job, I'm not being placed into the hands of Satan for insane trials and torture, and no one would say that I am one of the most 'righteous' persons of this earth. However, I do feel like nothing is in my hands concerning my future. It's like the Lord is watching me from up above with His research team, studying how I make the 'bigger' decisions for myself. He already knows the outcome, but maybe He's curious to know if I will be seeking Him for the answers to the questions that bombard my brain at night....or maybe He wants to see if I will begin seeking answers from the logic that I think I have.
I would say that the will that He has given us is a gift. I also know that when we don't think about it as a gift, we think about it as a 'right' or a 'property' in a sense. It's difficult to meditate on the fact that my sin is powered by will. When I deliberately disobey God, that's my way of saying, "Hey, you gave will to ME and I'm going to use it for MY pleasure!". My knowledge of having will power as a gift should cause me to give back to the One who gave; it should motivate me to use it for pleasing the Giver of all things. So I sit here and wonder what Job was thinking after He had praised God for His sovereignty in the last chapter...He must have finally understood that his life was something that was completely not his own. He must have seen that the Lord can easily take it away from him in a flash, just as He took away the lives of so many of his loved ones in one day. Job was such a righteous man, did he struggle with contentment after everything that happened to him, after the book ends? Surely, he must have at least once! However, contentment is directly correlated to His sovereignty... So maybe Job learned his lesson for good! Maybe when he was resting his head at night he sat there dwelling upon the goodness of life in the Lord's sovereign plan for it. My prayer is that the Lord will remind me of how He has brought me here to this place so far, and how He has something greater planned for those who want to glorify Him. I pray that I would remember that will power is a great gift when used for Him, and that the future is not mine, but His. May I view this all as a marvelous blessing...probably like Job did.
Come, Oh Lord. Maranatha.
I would say that the will that He has given us is a gift. I also know that when we don't think about it as a gift, we think about it as a 'right' or a 'property' in a sense. It's difficult to meditate on the fact that my sin is powered by will. When I deliberately disobey God, that's my way of saying, "Hey, you gave will to ME and I'm going to use it for MY pleasure!". My knowledge of having will power as a gift should cause me to give back to the One who gave; it should motivate me to use it for pleasing the Giver of all things. So I sit here and wonder what Job was thinking after He had praised God for His sovereignty in the last chapter...He must have finally understood that his life was something that was completely not his own. He must have seen that the Lord can easily take it away from him in a flash, just as He took away the lives of so many of his loved ones in one day. Job was such a righteous man, did he struggle with contentment after everything that happened to him, after the book ends? Surely, he must have at least once! However, contentment is directly correlated to His sovereignty... So maybe Job learned his lesson for good! Maybe when he was resting his head at night he sat there dwelling upon the goodness of life in the Lord's sovereign plan for it. My prayer is that the Lord will remind me of how He has brought me here to this place so far, and how He has something greater planned for those who want to glorify Him. I pray that I would remember that will power is a great gift when used for Him, and that the future is not mine, but His. May I view this all as a marvelous blessing...probably like Job did.
Come, Oh Lord. Maranatha.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
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By:
δοῦλος
Sincere Worship
This morning while walking in the gym before chapel, I came across a young woman who was sitting in the bleachers sulking. This greatly disturbed me, because I knew I could be one of the reasons why she was sulking, and it quickly changed my attitude from 'all is well' to 'all is annoying'. I thought to myself 'Really, does your life suck that much that you would act this way?'. To make the situation worse, the night before I was unable to complete my reading for government class, so this added more distractions onto my offering before the Lord. As I was singing along with the worship crew and my fellow students, I came to realize that I wasn't really paying too much attention to lyrics at all, and when I did, I did not feel that I was giving the Lord my everything. I began to then justify myself by blaming the young woman sitting on the bleachers for distracting me, when in reality I'm the one standing there, blocking my own view of the goodness of God. As my mind was drifting off into the dense forest of my thoughts, I began to realize that my heart was in a dark place at that moment. The only thing I can tell you from the message today was what passages we were in, other than that, I was lost. I knew I had sinned, and that was my time of figuring out why.
That young woman...she deserved grace from me. That young woman...she deserved compassion and understanding from me. What was I doing? I was thinking about myself the ENTIRE morning! HOW can a heart be prepared to worship the Lord if it is so self-absorbed?? She may have been sulking, but I was the one quick to sinfully react to it! The Lord has shown me immeasurable grace, and yet I still act like I deserve to be loved. I act as if my pedestal could not get any higher! My pride hurts me the most, and I have grown so tired of it, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23). I NEED to remind myself of how depraved I really am DAILY, for if I don't, I will become poisoned by self-righteousness. A heart that is ready to worship the Lord is one that is clean, and humble. I found a couple verses on worship from the Psalms...
Psalm 95:6
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
Psalm 99:5
Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.
LET US KNEEL, HE IS HOLY! What a reminder today of how far from that I truly am! The only person that is worthy of being exalted is the Lord, never me. I cannot offer Him sincere worship if my sin is entangling my thoughts. I cannot offer Him sincere worship if my view of Him is lower than myself.
So, in conclusion, if you are having trouble 'getting into the worship', let me ask you...Do you have anything that you need to repent of? How often have you thought of just yourself up until that point of the day? How has the Lord shown you grace that week? In answering these questions, your heart may become broken, and spurt forth a fountain of praise, as mine did...
May He make me ready to really praise Him in His return. Maranatha.
That young woman...she deserved grace from me. That young woman...she deserved compassion and understanding from me. What was I doing? I was thinking about myself the ENTIRE morning! HOW can a heart be prepared to worship the Lord if it is so self-absorbed?? She may have been sulking, but I was the one quick to sinfully react to it! The Lord has shown me immeasurable grace, and yet I still act like I deserve to be loved. I act as if my pedestal could not get any higher! My pride hurts me the most, and I have grown so tired of it, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23). I NEED to remind myself of how depraved I really am DAILY, for if I don't, I will become poisoned by self-righteousness. A heart that is ready to worship the Lord is one that is clean, and humble. I found a couple verses on worship from the Psalms...
Psalm 95:6
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
Psalm 99:5
Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.
LET US KNEEL, HE IS HOLY! What a reminder today of how far from that I truly am! The only person that is worthy of being exalted is the Lord, never me. I cannot offer Him sincere worship if my sin is entangling my thoughts. I cannot offer Him sincere worship if my view of Him is lower than myself.
So, in conclusion, if you are having trouble 'getting into the worship', let me ask you...Do you have anything that you need to repent of? How often have you thought of just yourself up until that point of the day? How has the Lord shown you grace that week? In answering these questions, your heart may become broken, and spurt forth a fountain of praise, as mine did...
May He make me ready to really praise Him in His return. Maranatha.
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