The Gift of Thanks is the Heart of Worship

I breathe deep this morning, understanding in my heart that I was born to worship Him.  I was born to notice all the wonderful things about Him.  I was born to appreciate beauty....and He is Beauty.

And if we don't praise Him....the rocks will.  You should open your bible right now and read it.

Luke 19:37-40

Astonishing.  There------ I just need a minute to think about the overwhelming impact of all the things I've misunderstood about worship.  It begins with a seed just like everything else.  A seed of thanks, gratitude, acknowledgement...planted in the soil of faith, it takes root and grows into what?

Absolute Trust? Peace? Joy?  Can I even say it...Revival?  Does it burst into flame and ignite me...a part of the body of Christ (our church) into holy passionate worship of the Redeemer Himself?

Oh yes...all of these things.

We were at the ranch as a family.  We were part of a cross-cultural building team...building cross-cultural relationships with First Nations People while building cabins for a summer camp and ministry.
It was spring and before six am as I was walking the path to the kitchen where I was to get breakfast started for the crew.  As I came over the little hill...the sun burst forth and.....Radiance.....like I've quite never experienced before.  I could hardly take it in as I squirmed to grab my camera out of my bag!

Oh to see His beauty like that...His creation...a reflection of Himself...meant for me that morning and still not forgotten....

Praise His Holy Name in all the earth....

He is Worthy!

This morning I went to Revelations 4. In this chapter the apostle John is "in the Spirit"(vs.1) facing the throne in heaven and the One seated on the throne. What amazing, amazing sights and happenings he experiences!

This is by no means a quiet, tranquil experience. What catches my attention today is all the movement before the Glorious One.
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing.(vs.5)

All around the throne are the twenty-four elders, dressed in white and sitting on thrones, wearing crowns of gold on their heads.

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!"

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."

Big Breath. Wow, that chapter takes my breath away.

They fall down before Him.
They were sitting on their thrones; now they are down on their faces.
They cast their crowns before the throne.
Those golden crowns that were upon their heads are now scattered all over that crystal-like, sea of glass. Cast- "to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls" according to Strong's.
Not a thought for themselves.

I'm struck with the beauty of what's going on here.
God, The Centre of the whole scene - and I mean the whole scene there and here, now and always - seated on the flashing, thundering, glorious throne is the One. He is the One worthy to receive all glory and honor and power. FOR...why?...because He created all things. They exist and were created by His will - also translated for His pleasure. You and I were created and exist by His purpose and for His pleasure.

I think that's amazing. We worship the Glorious One who is worthy! And that Glorious One also clothes us in white(purity), crowns us, and seats us with Christ in the heavenlies. It's almost too much to take in..this glory that He also gives to us.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7.

I just had to spend some time face down, flat on the floor this morning in worship of our incredible God. I carefully got down though - certainly didn't fall down - but I'm sure I'll willingly fall before God in heaven when knees and bruising won't be an issue!

The Light of His Face!

As I sit here this morning, the light of the sunrise is streaming through the windows and onto my face. (I'm trying not to notice the fingerprints, dog slobber, dust, bird droppings, and spider webs that are revealed by the glorious rays of the sun.)

I love the light of the sun and feeling the warmth of it on my body. When the sun shines on my face, I think of Psalm 44:3 "for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them." The light of his face. The light of his face along with the his righteous, victorius right hand, saving me, fighting for me, winning the battle for me. I imagine it - the light of his face on mine.

Oh, amazing thought that he delights in me! The warmth of the sun on my face reminds me of that. I thank him for it, relish it, linger in it, soak it in.

On bright spring and summer days, as the rays of sun kiss your face, bask in the light of his face. He is delighting in you.

My Gift

One morning on a recent road trip with my family to a place I had been many times, we came to what has become my favorite part of the journey. Even after having passed through beautiful country along the way, this part always takes my breath away as the road takes us down from the mountain pass and into a rugged, dry valley. In the distance, there is a mountain, snow covered and grand. I love mountains. To me they speak to the majesty of God, high and lifted up, mighty and beautiful. It would eventually become larger in our view as we would drive very close to it and have to look up as we went by. I was looking forward to this scene as we descended into the valley. However, I was disappointed, because the sky was full of clouds, and I could only see the base of the mountain.

The closer we got, the more I wanted to see it. Silently, I prayed that God would part the clouds so that the snow-covered summit would be in view. This was my desire, but I was prepared to have to wait for another trip. After all, clouds happen. It's just the way it is. At that point, the road took us on some turns where the mountain was out of sight. After a few moments, we rounded a bend, and right in front of my eyes, there it was, in full morning sun, not a cloud around it and the most beautiful I have ever seen it.

Oh my. I don't know if I can express here what I felt at that moment. Maybe you can imagine it. Amazement. Awe. Wonder. I had received a gift from my heavenly Father. God did that for me! He actually changed the weather for my pleasure. Wow. Does he always do that? Of course not, and it's a good thing he doesn't. But on this day, he did. And I was overwhelmed with love for him as he overwhelmed me with his love for me. I responded with tears and my heart sang, My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has done great things for me.

Our God is a giver of good gifts. Sometimes he gives them because we ask, and sometimes he gives them just because he loves us and knows what will give us joy and pleasure. May we recognize his personal gifts to us and may our hearts receive them with joy and thanksgiving, cherishing them because we know we are loved. Amazing God.

Body Language

I have discovered that movement makes a difference. Postures of the body matter. When my mind embraces truth and my body uses movement and posture to express it, my emotions are awakened. When I move my body in worship, the action completes the words that I am expressing, and I worship with my whole being - spirit, heart (mind, emotions), body.

I have discovered that I love to dance. It all started with ballroom dancing lessons that my husband gave us for Christmas a few years ago. What a blast to actually know what to do with my feet! I learned a few steps, what steps to do with different kinds of music, gained a little confidence, and I was hooked. I have always liked to move. I loved playing sports and being active, but I never knew how much fun dancing could be. I love being able to move my body in rhythm, inspired by music and emotion. It has become for me a new language to express my heart to God.

My favorite worship/dance song these days is "I'm Alive" by Celine Dion. Yes, a secular song with a powerful beat (I love a good, strong beat) and words that I can direct towards God. There is something about that song that makes me want to move. I cannot listen to it without my body entering into it. I turn off the lights, (no neighbors, please) crank up the sound loud and go for it! O, it makes me feel so full of life and refreshes my soul. I love that my body joins my spirit in worshiping my wonderful, amazing savior and friend. I can resonate with "I'm Alive" !!!

I didn't grow up being expressive in worship at all. I learned to worship standing in one place with my hands holding the hymnbook. I loved to sing, and I found meaning in participating in the liturgy, but that was pretty much it, as far as being demonstrative went. It wasn't that anything else was frowned upon, it just wasn't what we did. It didn't even enter my head to clap or raise my hands. I am not putting down any style of worship. God's Spirit is not limited in his expression, and we are free to express our love for him in any way that is meaningful. It is always a matter of the heart. I, however, am just enjoying so much the physical aspects of worship that have come to be so meaningful to me.

Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately for those watching, especially my children) I am not so free in my expression on a Sunday morning at church as I am at home. God is freeing this middle aged woman up a little at a time to not care too much about what others will think. But in my heart, (and when I'm alone) I am like David who lost himself in sincere, earnest worship. And David danced before the LORD with all his might. 2 Samuel 6:14 (Read the rest of the story to see David's (and God's) response to the critics.)

If you haven't ever tried it, I want to encourage you to include your body in the experience of what you are expressing with your mouth and with your spirit. Offer yourself, the members of your body, in worship to God. No one's looking, not really, except the One who will be extremely pleased to have you join him.

(Celebrate Your Life Painting by Cher Odum)

Worship

Sunday was my turn to help out in kids church. I really struggled getting up as I just wanted to be in the big church with all the adults, worshipping and hearing from God’s Word. I dragged myself to the church and began the “task” of setting up and getting myself ready for all the kids to come. I asked God the night before to somehow make himself real to me so that I could be ministered to also while I was ministering to the children. God, how could you meet me and what lesson do you have for me while I teach them their lesson?

The morning went smooth. My heart was detached from everything as I realized more and more that this was the last place I wanted to be today. The girls chatted with me and the words droned on in my head not really hearing what they were saying. I found it very tiring to be in a place my heart wasn’t.

It came time for worship. We do this each time before worship begins….

Worship is not about me (point to our self)
Worship is not about you (point to others)
Worship IS about JESUS (point to heaven)

Worship is not for me (point to our self)
Worship is not for you (point to others)
Worship is ONLY for JESUS (point to heaven)

God met me there…. through the mouths of children… I saw all these children point around to themselves and the room and up to heaven and there God met me. They worshipped with pure hearts… jumping if they felt like it…. raising their hands…. sitting quietly…. shouting praises… I had heard this before and I’ve repeated these words myself with the children. Why would God choose now for me to hear them?

John 4:24 says “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.” How often do I wonder what others think of me if I were to raise my hands or kneel while worshipping? How often do I take my eyes off Jesus and look at those around me? What will others think of me if I have tears streaming down my face? Will they think something’s wrong and not understand that God has me in His heavenly embrace?

My house is constantly surrounded with worship music. It’s my way of filling my mind with truth and reminders of God’s love. The past couple weeks as music has been playing my kids have seen me pause from my tasks and join God in those moments I was led to… moments where I stood and raised my hands towards heaven, closed my eyes, or just wept as God met me. I’ve struggled with worry if my children thought I was crazy… now I know and have a peace that it’s okay…. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth. Worship IS ABOUT Jesus…. Worship IS FOR Jesus. God met me where I felt I couldn’t be met and shared this truth with me.