Worship

Worship

What does worship mean to you? This new year God has been speaking to me a lot about worship and what it really means to me in my life. It’s funny because I have been singing on the church platform since I was in 6th grade and singing on a worship team since junior high school. Worship through music has been a part of my life since before I could remember. But I haven’t always known what worship was all about. As I grow in my relationship with the Lord, His love captures my heart through His word, through the relationships in my life and many other avenues. This year the Lord has put a newfound focus of worship in my heart to seek out how to live my life as a worship song unto Him, daily. Worship is not all about music. I know that this is mentioned often in the church, but do we really understand this? I know for myself that I haven’t really grasped this concept yet. But God is revealing to me little by little what He means through Jesus’ words in John 4:23, “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.” The notes in my study Bible on this verse say “Christ makes worship a matter of the heart. Truth is what is in harmony with the nature and will of God. It is the opposite of all that is false. Here the truth is specifically the worship of God through Jesus Christ. The issue is not where a person worships, but how and whom.”

I love how they explain this verse! Worship is a heart matter, not a religious tradition. This is something that I am learning and God is teaching me through reading His word and other books on worship. Right now I’m reading Extravagant Worship by Darlene Zschech. God is using this book to change my life and inspire me to worship Him no matter what. I recommend you read it! As 2010 has quickly appeared and the first month is already gone, I want to spend the rest of this year seeking God in worship. And I want this to continue into the rest of my life as I grow closer to Him and as He takes me deeper into His heart. Andy and I are launching a Bible study on living a life of worship on February 9th at our home. We are welcoming anyone who is hungry and thirsty for more of God to come and learn with us what worship is all about in our daily living. Even if you are not able to come to our study, our prayer is that you will seek after God with all your heart and soul and make a choice to do so this year in 2010 and beyond. Go after God. Seek Him with all your heart and you will find Him- His word tells us so! Love and blessing in Christ Jesus our Lord, April

Struggling with Temptation

Flesh cannot be overcome BY flesh. The flesh can ONLY be overcome by the Spirit. In Gethsemane, Jesus asked the disciples to pray and watch and not be overcome by the temptation to sleep. He said, "watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak"(Mark 14:38). The same goes for us when we are tempted. Watch and pray lest you fall- for no one is immune to temptation. The flesh is weak, but with the Spirit of God IN you, you are able to withstand temptation.

In my study bible, the notes on this verse say: Avoiding temptation demands constant vigilance, so much so that Christ included this admonition in the prayer He taught the disciples (Matt. 6:13; Luke 11:4). The dichotomy between Spirit and flesh is real. Our fallen human nature, even after conversion, wars against the work of God.

This is so important to know and understand as you are walking out each day of your life. When you recognize a certain area that you struggle with and desire to make it better, it is impossible to better yourself by yourself. There are so many scriptures I can give that point out the battle between our flesh and the Spirit- a few are: 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, Galatians 5:17-26, Ephesians 6:10-20(Armor of God). These are good scriptures to start with and meditate on while you're struggling with a temptation of any kind- whether it be impure thoughts/motives, actions, words, etc. We all struggle in one way or another. It's best to admit whatever it is you struggle with to God- put it out on the table to Him and let HIM overcome that in you rather than you trying to do it on your own.

Ok, so I'm all in favor of transparency. Lately I've been struggling with certain thoughts/motives that I know are not in accordance with God's character. I know that these thoughts could produce sin in my life if I dwell on them. Today as I was praying about this, the Lord really gave me the revelation of how I can't possibly overcome these thoughts on my own with my own strength. So I went to the scriptures and read Philippians 4:8-9. Paul writes to the church in saying, "...Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you (NLT). After I read these verses, I realized that all of these things that Paul encourages us to dwell on are characteristics of God. God is: Truth, Nobility, Just, Pure, Lovely, Good. God makes up all of these qualities and so much more. So when we desire to dwell on Him and on His characteristics, He will give us the strength to do so and it also says that we will have the peace of God with us. I pray that whatever it is you are struggling with today- that you take it directly to God and ask for His help. My desire is that you come to the realization that you can't fix yourself and that you desperately need His help. He has done this for me so many times...and I know that any time I admit my struggles to Him that He will be faithful to deliver me from them as I come to Him in humility, seeking His power to help me. May the God of peace fill your whole being as you go to Him for help and dwell on who He is. Be blessed, Andy & April