Worship with Purpose

I love music. I love the sound of multiple instruments perfectly intertwined together with different voices playing in different octaves all coming together to create one beautiful sound. 

As much as I love music, I love worship so much more. 

Music alone is powerful and meaningful. Beautiful music with thought provoking lyrics is even better.  But there is nothing that can compare to the power and significance of worship. 

Worship is a means for us to connect to and converse with God. Psalm 95:6 says, "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!" We are called to worship, and called to give God praise; but sometimes we aren't really sure what that even is supposed to look like.

With that in mind, I want to share with you, what my worship experience typically looks like.

I am not saying this is the only thing that happens, or should happen during worship; but, if worship for you has seemed flat or lacking in meaning, I encourage you to try this next time you walk into a worship gathering.

While I worship I am simply agreeing with the words in the song that speak about God and His character. If we sing Forever Reign, and these words come up,  "You are good, you are good when there's nothing good in me." That rings so true in my life. God has always been so good to me, even when there is nothing redeeming about my attitude or behavior. So I simply say in my heart, "Yes God! Thank You for being good to me, no matter what!" 

Another aspect of worship for me is getting my heart back in alignment. If we sing the song God I Look to You, and we sing the words, "Give me vision, to see things like you do." I ask God to do just that. It is so easy for me to get off track, and caught up in the frustrations or uncertainties of life, and my vision is all about me and my perspective. So I ask God to help me to see things how He does, how He wants me to see them. 

It may seem odd, simple, or even uncomfortable at first, but I believe as you worship with purpose you will find your worship experience to become more meaningful and enjoyable. 

So give it a try. Worship with purpose this week! 

Choosing Not To Be Lonely

One of the first observations God made of man was that it was not good for him to be alone. Yet all these years later, many of us spend our time battling loneliness. Maybe we have a hard time making new friends, or even keeping the old ones. Perhaps it's because trust does not come easily; and doubt and suspicion are never in short supply. 

Truth is, most of what causes us to pause before building a new friendship, or walk away from an old one, is not fully based on substance. Rather it is based on the appearance of substance.

In Psalm 23:4 it says "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

I want you to look carefully at that verse again. It doesn't say "Even though I walk through the valley of death..." It says, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…"

Often times we are deterred from good things God wants to give us, because we have been scared off by a shadow. 

When I read this verse, I think about the old cartoons where the main character was in a cave, and a scary shadow was looming around the corner. So they cower in fear as this figure approaches. Then lo and behold, a small cricket that was producing a massive shadow walks around the corner.

It wasn't a monster, it was the shadow of a monster. 

Certainly people can let us down, and there are times when it best to choose better company than we currently keep; but, often times small misunderstandings or mistakes can be worked through with a little bit of effort.

So my encouragement to you is this, don't stay lonely just because you see the shadow of something that could be scary. Build friendships, introduce yourself to someone new. Go to lunch with someone, join a Small Group. Get out there and choose not to be lonely anymore.