How Do You Worship?

But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.” John 4:22-24 (MSG)

As Jesus leaned in and talked to the woman at the well, he did what he always does with us, he started focusing on her heart. He pointed out things in her life that were not what they should be. He highlighted her sins with his “only Jesus can fix this” spotlight. Jesus gently let her know that he could see what she was struggling with.

As the conversation between them became more intimate, she did what we all do. She deflected. This was getting too personal and uncomfortable. Let’s talk about something less heartfelt…..like where we should worship. Should we worship in this church or that church? Which denomination is better, yours or mine? The woman tried to make the topic of importance about something other than her life.

Jesus cut to the heart of the matter again.

He said all that stuff doesn’t matter. It is semantics. What matters is what is in your heart. What matters is that you worship God with all of your soul, with your very being. When you are in a relationship with me, your life will be changed. You will become a different person. That new being, that new person is where the worship starts. The way you live your life is your worship.

Are you living your life in worship? Do the decisions you make and the way you live life reflect a heart that is in love with Jesus? If not, then there is something missing. We were not created to just attend church and check the box. We were intended to worship with all of our heart, soul and mind.

That’s what a life surrendered to Jesus looks like.

Still Thirsty?

But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life. John 4:14 (NLT)

The woman came to the well. Same routine as yesterday and the day before. As she walked there in the middle of the day, the sun beat down on her. It was hot. But she came now because she couldn’t face the people in her village. Her life had been a series of one mistake (or bad choice) after another. And because the village was small and they all knew each other, everyone knew her history.

People are not kind. If you do something they don’t like, they judge you and make you feel like an outsider. That’s the way she felt. So instead of facing it every day and going to the well with the crowd, she went alone. Alone was painful but less painful than the people were.

As she approached the well, there was a man sitting there. A Jewish man. What was he doing here? He was n Samaritan territory. This was unheard of. She thought to herself, “I am going to get my water and get out of here. He won’t speak to me anyway. Jews don’t talk to Samaritans and men don’t talk to women. Ever.” As she approached the well, he asked her for a drink.

She almost dropped her jug. What in the world? As he engaged her in conversation, she felt herself relaxing. There was something different about him. He was talking about giving her water. He didn’t even have a bucket to draw water with. What was he thinking? Then he began to tell her about his water. His water was different. He said if you drank it, you would be filled up. Never thirsty. Never empty. He said if you drank his water something inside you would change.

Something would start and it would keep bubbling up to overflowing. She desperately wanted that water. She wanted to quench the thirst in her soul for something better than this life she was living. Her heart yearned for it. In that moment she decided. She would take some of this water. She would let it change her.

I want this water too. Each and every day I will look for the water that Jesus offered her. I will drink it and my soul will be satisfied. How about you?

Ultimately It's Up To God

And may the Lord do what seems good to him. 1 Chronicles 19:13 (ESV)

David was King. The King from the Ammonites died so David sent a delegation to express his sympathies to the King’s son. His son, not trusting David, humiliated the delegation and sent them home. Afterward, he realized he made a mistake. I love how the ESV says it “When the Ammonites saw they had become a stench to David.” When the Ammonites realized they were stinky, they hired an army to fight for them. In response, David sent his might men and his army to fight.

Now David’s mighty men and his army had a great reputation. People from all around knew who they were. These were not ordinary men. As you read through the Bible, some extraordinary feats are listed. They were powerful.

David put Joab in charge. Joab realizes the odds are not in their favor and he puts together a plan. He tells everyone what to do, and then I love his next line.

And may the Lord do what seems good to him.

Some days, it feels like we are fighting a battle. It feels like the odds are against us. No matter how well we plan, the odds do not seem to be in our favor. We need to remember, just like Joab, that in the end it is up to God.

God is the tipping point. He is the One greater than everything we see. It’s His plans that get executed, not ours. Will He fight for us? Most definitely! But there will still be things that don’t work out the way we want them to…..and that’s OK. Because we know in the end that God is the One in control. And if He allows it, there is a purpose.

Like Joab, we need to plan. We need to do everything we can to succeed but after all that is said and done, we need to trust God in whatever the outcome.

Whispers From Heaven

I will bless the Lord who guides me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. Psalm 16:7-8 (NLT)

Lately, I’ve been waking up with songs in my head. This has happened before but rarely. In the last few weeks, it’s been happening a lot. Let me explain.

I’ve been walking through some tough decisions the last couple of weeks. I go to bed, I pray about it and when I wake up in the morning there is a song going through my head. Sometimes, I know the song, who wrote it and I have it downloaded in my iTunes. Sometimes, I only get a few lines of it.

I get up and go research the song. One day, I didn’t know the song and I couldn’t figure out who wrote it. I kept googling the lines that were repeating in my head and I couldn’t find it. I started praying about it (because the lines kept repeating) and kept googling. I finally found it. And the message of the song was that even when things are overwhelming He will never let me go.

Another day, I knew the song. I had it on my iTunes but I’ve learned to go check it out anyway. Instead of playing it on my iPad, I went to find the YouTube video. And there, in the beginning of it was a testimony by the artist that I’d never heard. The testimony talked about not focusing on all the things that are happening but instead focusing on Jesus and letting him change you. It was just what I needed to hear.

God doesn’t speak to me every day like this. Some days he talks through his Word or through books I’m reading or friends.

I also realize that God doesn’t talk to all of us with songs first thing in the morning. He speaks to each of us differently. I have a friend who sees pictures when she’s praying. I know of other friends who God speaks to with his words from the Bible. He communicates with us as uniquely as he created each one of us.

That’s the incredible thing about God. He is not limited by well, anything. He can talk to us any way he wants and he does.

So the next time you hear a song as you wake up in the morning, or you see something that makes you go hmmmmm…..go check it out. It might be the God of the universe whispering your name.

A Minute In It - It's Not All Mine!

A minute in God’s Word will change your life. Take a moment to read the text below and then follow the instructions at the bottom of the post.

The earth and everything on it
belong to the Lord.
The world and its people
belong to him. Psalm 24:1 (CEV)

Take a moment and list the gifts God has given to you. List the big things (like maybe a car) and the small things. Don’t forget to put non-material things like time and people.

We are so focused on what we see as “ours.” Based on today’s text, it is all God’s. Knowing that everything on your list is not yours but God’s, how does that change what you do with it?

Spend some time in prayer and ask God to show you how to use what is His.

Can't Hide This

“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the village to see him. John 4:29-30 (NLT)

There are days after I spend some time with God that I want to stay put. I am filled with awe and peace and going out to face the day (the world) is not appealing to me. It feels like a lot of work and stress. So I want to linger; for hours or even all day just being content in my space.

But God does not call us to that life. The life where we get to hide and be safe. We are called to a life of sharing; sharing who he is and what he’s done in us.

The woman at the well in John 4 may have been tempted to keep what Jesus revealed to her to herself. She, after all, was not accepted in polite society. She was a loner. She came to well alone, after everyone else had gone. She was living with someone and not married. By all accounts at that time, she was criticized and ostracized.

After Jesus spoke into her heart though, she ran back to the village. The Bible says she left her water jugs and took off toward the town. I can imagine it now. Running into the village out of breath she shouted “Come! Come and see! There is this man, he saw into my heart. He spoke words unlike anything I’ve heard.” She faced what she normally hid from (people) and she gave God glory.

Because of her testimony, the people came. They experienced Jesus for themselves and they were also changed. This is how the gospel is supposed to work.

So, the next time you are tempted to hide in your space and not go out and face the world, remember. Remember the way Jesus speaks into your heart. Remember the way he has loved on and changed you. Then, go out and share that with others. Your testimony will help them meet Jesus.

A Minute In It - Who Am I, Lord?

A minute in God’s Word will change your life. Take a moment to read the text below and then answer the questions at the bottom of the post.

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
    his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
    nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
    he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass;
    he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
    and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
    and his righteousness to children's children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
    and remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
    and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his word,
    obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
    his ministers, who do his will!
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
    in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Psalm 103 (ESV)

How does this Song of David describe God?
How does it describe us?
After reading this, why should we worship God?
Does your soul worship Him?

What Is Good?

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 107:1 (NLT)

A common saying among Christians is “God is good!”. I started wondering what that means exactly. The word ‘good’ can be used a lot of different ways. Looking it up in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, I found a few examples. Here are a few.

• Of favorable character or tendency - check

• Virtuous, kind- check

• Loyal - check

• Close (as in a good friend) - check

• Praiseworthy - check

• Of the highest worth (as good as gold) - check

• Can be relied on - check

It seems when you think about it, we can define ‘good’ in a lot of different ways. It’s one of those words in the English language that has multiple uses and meanings. Maybe that’s why we use it to describe God. There is not one way to describe who he is. And to each of us, he is a God who is personal. When I say God is good, I may be saying he is true and present. When you say God is good, you might be saying he is worthy to be praised. All of them are correct.

Have you thought about what God’s goodness means to you? Why do you think he’s good? What is it you know about him that causes you to think this?

When you answer that, give thanks for it!