Logos Team Challenge

So, in our Logos Team we are reading "Good to Great in God's Eyes: 10 practices Great Christians Have in Common" by Chip Ingram. Chapter one is called "Think Great Thoughts." That is going to take awhile...hhmmm...yeah. Chapter two I can do. I am all over "Read Great Books." Our Logos Team leader and my wonderful (today, anyway) husband challenged us to at least start a great book, and he had some that he thinks are great to choose from. I didn't need him to tell me Tozer was great...but I have never read anything by him because as Troy puts it people like A.W. Tozer and Watchman Nee are "jumping in the deep end." I originally thought I would just continue to plug through Beth and "Get Out of That Pit," but never one to back down from a challenge (that's not totally true...I will definitely back down if I don't want to do it). Anyway, I decided to tackle "The Knowledge of the Holy" because both Troy and Chip (in his book) recommend it.

I have only read the preface (Logos was yesterday!), but I am already very intrigued. In the preface, Tozer makes these statements:

"The Church has surendered her once lofty concept of God and substituted it for one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshipping men."

"The low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us."

"With our loss of the sense of majesty has come the further loss of religious awe and consciousness of the divine."

WOW! Tozer believes the church lacks reverence and awe of God....and he wrote this in the 60s. Can you imagine what he would think of today's church? You don't even have to get too awfully emergent to see people dressed down, tardy or talking in worship. I'm not bashing...I'm guilty of all three. Can you imagine Tozer at a church that has "centers" and making a collage for Christ? Yikes! I am all about fun...but don't we sometimes lack respect for Who and why we worship? What if our sanctuary was just that...a sanctuary where the Spirit fell freely and was felt by all? I love being challenged in how I view God. I can't wait to continue to expand my knowledge of the Holy.

The apple of His eye

I love when God shows Himself as the answer to all of our questions. He will make His way know if you look for it. Like He did for me today.

There are two mini-background stories you need to know to understand what happened today. First, like I have said I spent Friday night and Saturday listening to Beth Moore speak. One of the things she said was that she really believes in reading Scripture first thing in the morning. I understand the idea that we start the day with God if we read His Word first thing, but I am soooo not a morning person. I barely function before 9:00. But in an effort to apply one of the many things I learned this weekend, I began my day reading Scripture. Second, there happens to be a couple of situations in my life right now that are causing me issues. They are situations that only peripherally involve me...basically, because they more immediately involve people I love. The issue that I am having is that some people just need to be yelled at because they are being selfish and stupid and are just flat wrong. So running through my head is all the things I want to say to these people who desperately need to be verbally slapped. So, last night I was talking to Troy about where Jesus says that you have committed adultery as soon as you lust and murder as soon as you are angry. I wondered if that meant I might as well say everything since I was already sinning by thinking it. My wise husband was barely listening because he has a crazy busy schedule this weekend that has him wiped out.

Finally...the reason for the blog. I had no plan for where to start reading the Word this morning. Though not commenting on the method one way or another, I just flipped open the Bible. This is what I read...
Psalm 17
1 Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my prayer—
it does not rise from deceitful lips.

2 May my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.

3 Though you probe my heart and examine me at night,
though you test me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.

4 As for the deeds of men—
by the word of your lips
I have kept myself
from the ways of the violent.

5 My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.

6 I call on you, O God, for you will answer me;
give ear to me and hear my prayer.

7 Show the wonder of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings

9 from the wicked who assail me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.

10 They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.

11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.

12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a great lion crouching in cover.

13 Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down;
rescue me from the wicked by your sword.

14 O LORD, by your hand save me from such men,
from men of this world whose reward is in this life.
You still the hunger of those you cherish;
their sons have plenty,
and they store up wealth for their children.

15 And I—in righteousness I will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.


Amazing. I don't know what it says to you (because God's Word is like that...living and active). But for me, today, it says leave it to God. Do what is right in His eyes. Let no sin come from your mouth (it matters if you say it - which was my tired husband's response - but don't tell him he was right!!). And I am the apple of His eye. Fabulous.

Beth Moore Simulcast

So, this weekend we hosted the Living Proof Live simulcast at our church. I am still processing all that I learned from Beth and will (hopefully) blog about that soon.
Here's what I learned while heading up this thing...Trust God to do His part. I had so many worries while planning this thing. Will anyone come? Will we be able to provide an experience that people will enjoy and enable us to do things like this in the future? Can we feel like we are part of what is happening at the live event? Will worship be the same? Will the women feel comfortable in their worship? Will they give to our mission? WILL YOU REALLY BE THERE GOD? Just tons of questions.
Did it go exactly as I planned or imagined...? Nope. But God was faithful...as usual. He was there and hearts were changed. I can say that with certainty because mine was. Isn't that why we did it?
It is beautiful to know that God is sailing the ship...even if we try to grab the wheel.

Friendships

You know, I serve a God of restoration. I am glad that I do. I am glad that friendships can be restored. My mom used to tell my brother and I (usually when we were arguing) that friends would come and go, but we would always be family. The church is a family. We go through things that, sometimes, aren't pretty. But we will always be family. We are all the children of God. A God of restoration.
Speaking of restored friendships...
I am in the nursery on Wednesday nights with a fun toddler...usually, it is just us. We often struggle with whose job it is to pick up the blocks that he has dumped all over. This happened a few weeks ago...

Jeremy: "Miss Kelly, I'm dirty."

Me: "Okay, let's change you."

Jeremy: "I've got to put it in the toilet."

Me: "Um, no"

Jeremy: "That's what I do at my house."

Me: "Well, this is God's house."

Jeremy: "He needs to come clean up the blocks then."

Nice...

Worship...AI Style?

I hope this works...




I hope this works...
So, I don't watch American Idol which is why this is seriously late...but in my exploration of MyChurch, I saw that youtube video of some AI finalists singing Shout to the Lord. It really is beautiful. And because I don't watch AI, I can't pretend to know anything about all the people singing, but I imagine they are not all believers. Some probably have mentioned faith in the packages you watch before they sing...like I said I don't watch it. But it is probably a safe bet to say that most of them learned the song to perform it.
That made me consider the difference between performing a song and worshipping. If you have seen it (on the show or here on my blog - hopefully), the setting was amazing...a full choir in a huge auditorium. The capacity for a moment of beautiful offering to our Lord is huge. But I wonder what He heard. The Word says that He inhabits the praises of His people but what if the people praising aren't His?
I hope that all of you have experienced worship inhabited by God. It is by far my favorite experience in this life. But I have also witnessed "worship" not motivated by a heart filled with love for the Lord. "Worship" that is not about the worthiness of God but about the voice of the person singing. It just seems hollow. If I am honest, sometimes, when it comes to worship, I am just singing...and in the process missing out on an opportunity to tell my Father that He is worthy because He always is.
I guess I am not putting the AI performance in one category or the other. It just made me think about worship. Jesus says that worship should happen in Spirit and in truth. But sometimes I think God just hears a pretty song.

God's love does not depend on you keeping the rules...?

So, I am quote-ish-ing (which means it was something close to that but maybe not word for word) a sermon from two weeks ago that I did not hear but my husband did. (I actually heard the sermon later and John did not say it that time.) Anyway, the idea of rules is an ongoing discussion between Troy and I. We disagree (usually peacefully) about whether or not God has rules.
If you know us at all, you may have figured out where each of us falls in the debate...you may have even heard (or taken part in) one of our discussions on the subject. I think that God has a way of life that we can choose or not. If we choose His way, we should remain in that way. Troy thinks that God has a list of Dos and Don'ts. I think that when you understand grace and freedom in Christ seeing that the Word points out the way to experience abundant life and following out of love for Him is easy. Troy thinks that God has standards that we must/should try to keep.
John's statement interests me because it doesn't really confirm either side. While it does mention rules, it implies that it is not necessary to keep them. The more I turn it over in my mind the more it makes me want to agree with Troy. (don't get too excited, T) Here's the thing...God will love you if you keep the rules or not. His Word says that He died for us when we were still sinners. But His acceptance certainly comes after we follow some guidelines...steps...boundaries...rules He has decided upon. We must do something to be accepted. Repent, believe, confess, baptize...whether you believe you must do some or all of those, you have to agree you must do something. Beyond choosing Him once, you must continue to daily pick up your cross and follow to remain in Him. So, does following Him mean following the rules...?

the discussion continues

Soap Opera God

(I guess that by writing this I am admitting to watching a soap opera. I do. The best one on TV according to the Daytime Emmys tonight, in fact. Anyway...)
So, has anyone ever noticed that soap characters only talk to or about God when something tragic has happened? Sometimes, I am proud that they mention Him at all. Mostly I think, I hope I am not like that...a sometimes or specific times follower. Isn't the key to a relationship continuity? How can I claim a relationship with someone I don't meet up with? Why would I go to a stranger in my highs or lows?
My favorite verse (it is hard to write that because there is so much good stuff in God's Word) is Psalms 63:3 "Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You." I know that I need God all the time. I hope that I glorify Him all the time. Sometimes, it is just easier to glorify Him. Just like sometimes it is easier to cry out to Him. When things are hard, it is easy to see that His love is better than life but not always easy to glorify or praise Him. On the other hand, sometimes when things are hard, we can't see His love and may even doubt that it is there. When things are good it is easy to praise Him but harder to remember that no matter how "good" life is His love is better. And sometimes when things are good, we forget to praise Him or give Him credit altogether. I love this verse because I easily see the need for consistency in it.
What I hope is true in my life is I always know and trust that He loves me...that I understand that His love is perfect and focused on me in all situations...that He walks with me through the bad and is the source of the good. If you truly understand those absolute truths, you have no choice. The only response is praise. I have no choice but to glorify Him.