Posts about encouraging and instructing our worship

Routines

Yesterday, my kids and I headed out to lunch at our favorite BBQ place, and my son ordered a catfish sandwich.

Okay, let me back up and tell you why that statement is huge. One, we were going out to eat for lunch (not at McDonalds) on a weekday. My husband is out of town this week, so it was just us. Second, and this is the big one, Alan has never had a catfish sandwich in his life. The boy who will eat cupcakes but not cake… go figure… ordered something completely off the wall. And he lived.

I suspect it has to do with his goal of becoming an extreme fisherman, like Jeremy Wade of River Monsters. If he's gonna catch these monster catfish, he should learn to eat them. But whatever his motivation, he took an amazing risk and broke out of his routine.

I am very much a creature of habit. I like the smooth predictability of routines. They allow my brain to go on autopilot, freeing up precious mental resources for other things. But I also find that routines can be boring, and can numb me. Especially in worship.

Paul says, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." (Romans 12:11 NIV)

In the sentence, zeal equals spiritual fervor. It is a passionate pursuit. Next week as we break out of our worship routines for VBS, I could use a little of that fervor restoration.

How do you know you're in a routine in worship? How do you shake things up?

Watch Me, Dad

By Paula

When my nephew got married, Alan was just shy of his 5th birthday, and the wedding reception was the biggest, best party he had ever been to. He loved the music, and danced with complete abandon. Five-year-old boys do just about everything with complete abandon. Of course it's all on video, and you can hear Alan say, "Watch me, Dad!" I love that. He didn't care what anyone around him was doing. He didn't care if he was doing all the 'right' steps. His dad was there watching, and that was all that mattered.

Alan taught me a lesson about worship that evening that I still need to grasp completely.

God wants me to enjoy His presence with that same joyful abandon.

Just like Jon brought us to the wedding reception for the purpose of celebrating, God will bring me aside with Him to celebrate. (Isn't that what worship is? Not all formal, stiff and lifeless.) I'm usually much more like the other Wiseman men at the reception, off to the side, hands in my pockets, missing the opportunity. I'm way too self-conscious, way too concerned with how things might look to everyone else. But if my Dad is watching and smiling, what else really matters?

The wedding reception only lasted a few hours, and then it was back to our regular routine. There's a day coming, though, when the wedding reception never ends, and I'll be there, not just with my Dad, but with the Bridegroom Himself.

(This is an encore post.)

Worship and Sacrifice

By Paula

Fire Genesis 22 is one of my favorite chapters. It tells the wrenching story of God's test of Abraham. "Take your son, your only son, whom you love … and offer him …" Just a few quick thoughts from my most recent reading of that chapter-

In verse 5, Abraham tells the young men accompanying them to wait. "I and the lad will go over there, and we will worship and return to you."

The first time the word worship appears in Scripture, it is here. Worship and sacrifice. What about sacrifice?

The sacrifice was loved. God didn't ask for lambs or gold or grain. He asked for what Abraham held most dear.

The sacrifice was offered, not taken.

Without the sacrifice, the offering, worship is a burden. It's carrying wood up the mountain, just to burn it. It's empty.

Knowing this, have I ever truly worshipped God?

How to Win the Battle

By Paula

At a loss One of my favorite quotes is from Plato – "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Jesus promised us as much. (John 16:33) In Psalm 76:2-3 there is an important principle for fighting those battles.

"In Salem [Jerusalem] also is His tabernacle
And His dwelling place in Zion.
There He broke the arrows of the bow,
The shield and sword of battle." (NKJV)

Did you see it?

It was in the tabernacle, the temple, His dwelling place in Zion, that the victory was actually won. The prayer, the worship, the offerings and consecration the soldiers underwent before they ever took the battlefield was what sealed their ultimate triumph.

The battle is won in worship.

Study Tip: Praise the Lord

By Paula

Confetti girl In previous tips, we've discussed how studying Scripture should serve to reveal God, and to deepen our relationship with Him. One way it does this is by giving us a constant stream of reasons to praise and worship Jehovah God.

So as you study, watch for reasons to praise God. Sometimes, this is a piece of cake. Many of the Psalms are structured just that way- "I will praise the Lord because …"

Other times, it's not so obvious. Yesterday, I read Psalm 110, which begins, "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'" Praise is never mentioned. However, in those few words, there are some awesome things worth praising God for.

His sovereignty- He has a plan that is progressing on His timetable.
His victory- He will defeat all the enemies.
His regent- Christ will reign over all.
His work- Christ is sitting at His right hand, a place of honor, because He completed the redemption work the Father entrusted to Him.

By making our study time a search for reasons to praise God, it becomes not just a time that benefits us, but an offering we can give back.

Praise is the Devil's Death-Knell (lynnmosher.blogspot.com)

Praise & Thanks

By Paula

“We will show forth Your praise to all generations” Psalms 79:13

Some days you just have to praise God…

I was in a praise service Sunday evening with my whole family. Jon and I sang. Lauren played the piano and Alan gave his testimony. I’m sure Rachel will take her part soon enough. What a blessing to sit in church as a family! We received word today in the morning service about a family torn apart by suicide, about a family touched by the uncertainty of job loss, about another family devastated by catastrophic illness.

God doesn’t owe me anything, but yet He pours out blessings upon blessings. Friends, family, life and health… I don’t know why except that that’s just the way He is. Here’s an exercise I’ve done with the kids on occasion- Thank God right now for ten things you’ve never thanked Him for.

In no particular order:

1. Corrective lenses so I can see without getting a headache

2. Chocolate milk (the store-bought kind AND Nestle’s Quik)

3. Toothbrush (Could you imagine NOT having a toothbrush?)

4. Being able to read

5. Hearing my children laugh

6. An alarm clock, really. It means I’ve got something to do.

7. Medication (otherwise that tachycardia might just take off on me)

8. Getting to choose at the grocery store (Not only is there food there to buy, that’s safe, but I can get just about anything I can imagine.)

9. Leisure time (Jon and I – and the kids too – don’t have to work every waking moment just to eat.)

10. An office full of books

“We will show forth Your praise to all generations” Psalms 79:13

Some days you just have to praise God…

In no particular order:

1. Corrective lenses so I can see without getting a headache

2. Chocolate milk (the store-bought kind AND Nestle’s Quik)

3. Toothbrush (Could you imagine NOT having a toothbrush?)

4. Being able to read

5. Hearing my children laugh

6. An alarm clock, really. It means I’ve got something to do.

7. Medication (otherwise that tachycardia might just take off on me)

8. Getting to choose at the grocery store (Not only is there food there to buy, that’s safe, but I can get just about anything I can imagine.)

9. Leisure time (Jon and I – and the kids too – don’t have to work every waking moment just to eat.)

10. An office full of books

Posts about encouraging and instructing our worship

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