Changing Perspective

How are you praising God these days?

Are you holding onto the promises of God's presence and peace?

What are you grateful for today?

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
                                                                               (Phillippians 4:4-7)

These verses have spoken to me often. I've turned to them in many situations where things didn't seem to be going as planned.

When I opened my Bible to read this afternoon, this was the passage that was next. I struggled with the first couple sentences today. If I'm honest, I don't really feel much like rejoicing in anything these days.

But, as I stopped and sat with these familiar verses for a while, I was challenged and encouraged by what God was speaking to me through them. And, while all of what I'm about to say might be familiar to us. I think it's important to remind ourselves of it right now.

Paul isn't talking about rejoicing because our circumstances make sense or things are good. Paul is talking about rejoicing in the Lord. We can rejoice in the Lord because He is God and He is good and He is faithful and He is unchanging. Sometimes, this is a choice. We may not feel like rejoicing in anything, but we choose to praise God for Who He is regardless of our circumstances.

There are promises we can hold onto in this passage:
1) The Lord is near. He has not left us or forgotten us. We can be sure that He is walking through everything that's going on with us.
2) We can have the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds. This isn't a peace based on circumstances, because our circumstances may not be peaceful yet we can still have peace. It's a peace because God is with us. He gives us His peace, which goes beyond anything we can understand in our humanness.

Even though I know these promises are true, I wondered how we can find the peace to replace our anxieties and fears. I wondered how we can live in the reality of these promises instead of the fear and anxiety that comes so easily right now.

In the middle of these verses, we're told we can take everything to God in prayer. He can take it all. But, I think there's two important words in the middle of the instruction to take everything that makes us anxious and afraid to God. Two words that will help us to change our perspective.

What are they?

With Thanksgiving

This changes our perspective. In the midst of fear and anxiety, when we choose to look for things we can be thankful for it changes so much for us. It shifts our focus from all that is wrong, all we're fearful and anxious about, to the good things in the midst of it all.

I was challenged today to be more intentional about things to be grateful for each day. To take the time every day to write down at least three things I'm thankful for from that day.

As I did that today, it didn't remove the current reality. Nothing has changed in our world. But, what I was seeing changed and I was moved to worship, because the God we serve is good and faithful and constant and loving.

Maybe you're struggling with all that's going on too. Can I challenge you? Take a few minutes at the end of the day and write down three things you're thankful for from the day. Look for the good in the midst of the fear and uncertainty of the world.

Why Worship?

The records of Jesus' birth are filled with one response to Jesus.

People worshiped.

Mary worshiped in response to the news she would be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah (Luke 1:46-55)

The shepherd worshiped after they have been told the news by the angels and gone to see Jesus (Luke 2:16-20)

The wise-men traveled far to worship Jesus after His birth (Matthew 1:9-12)

Why was the response worship?

And it seems to be a response we follow today. In our services. In the words we sing. Often our Christmas songs speak of coming to worship the newborn Messiah.

So, what is it about these encounters and ours today that cause us to respond in worship?

In the case of the response of worship in these instances in Scripture, each of the participants had a reason to worship in response. Mary had a visit from an angel with a message from God and knew the significance of the baby she was carrying. The shepherds had a visit from angels who announced to them the significance of this birth. The wise-men studied the starts and in their studies knew the significance of the birth represented by the star.

All of them worshiped out of understanding of the significance of this birth - of the Messiah coming. It wasn't any ordinary event. And they knew it was significant.

I think the same is true for us today. We worship in response to significance of Jesus as Messiah and of our encounters with Him. Worship is a response to significance of this.

We worship because it's a response to the significance of Jesus' birth. We worship because it's a response to the significance of our own encounters with Jesus.

Looking for Perfect?

"Allow life's imperfections to become what they were always meant to be - everyday signs that point you to Jesus. Use them as cue that can encourage you to look up from the annoyances of earthly life and see Him. The only One who truly satisfies." (Priscilla Shirer, Awaken Devotional, Day 22)

Somehow it always seems like the imperfections in life are more pronounced at this time of year. They're always there, but we notice them more at Christ,as. At least, I do.

Finding the perfect Christmas tree.
Decorating it perfectly.
Selecting the perfect outfit to wear to the Christmas party.
Choosing the perfect family picture to put with the Christmas letter that talks about all the highlights, the perfect moments, of the last year, but often ignore the other stuff.
Buying the perfect gift for everyone on your list.
Preparing the perfect meal for all around the table.
It can get exhausting.

Yet, in the midst of our search for "perfect" our longings never seem to be satisfied. Something is still missing. And, maybe at this time of year, those unmet longings never seem to be satisfied. So, we increase our pursuit of perfect, in hopes of finally finding satisfaction, only to find we never achieve it.

What if those longings we're so desperately looking to satisfy weren't meant to be met in anything on earth?
What if, instead of increasing the desperation of our search for perfect, they were meant to point us toward something other?
What if they were meant to cause us to lift our eyes?

When I take a moment to read it again, it quickly becomes clear that the original Christmas story was anything but perfect from an earthly perspective:

• Mary was not married when she became pregnant.
• Joseph was asked to believe the impossible and still become Mary's husband, even with the scandal.
• Joseph and Mary had to make a long journey when the time of Jesus' birth was near - not a comfortable time to travel.
• There was no room for them to stay in, so Jesus was born in a stable.
• The first visitors they received were shepherds - the lowest in society.
• When King Herod found out about his birth, they had to flee to Egypt.

The story of the birth of the long-awaited Messiah was imperfect. Nothing about it was as expected.

But Mary's response to this struck me this year. She didn't caught up in trying to find perfect.

Luke 2:19 says, "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." In the midst of the imperfect, Mary saw the treasures and held onto them. In Luke 1:46-55, Mary turned her eyes from the imperfect and worshiped God. She lifted her eyes from the imperfect around her, to the only perfect One.

How do you respond in the imperfect? In the midst of unmet longings?

It can be tempting to desperately search for perfect satisfaction on earth. Especially in a season where perfect seems to be the focus.

What would it look like if we instead allowed the imperfect to turn our eyes to Jesus and find the satisfaction we're looking for in Him - the only place it can truly be found?

"Allow life's imperfections to become what they were always meant to be - everyday signs the point you to Jesus. Use them as cues that can encouraeg you to look up from the annoyances of earthly life and see Him. The only One who truly satisfies." (Priscilla Shirer)

Our Lives as Sacred Space

Sometimes when I'm looking for something to write about, I'm drawn to a post I wrote a while ago. That is the case this week. I was pointed back to a post I wrote three years ago about this time of year. Pointed back to it by the "On this Day" function on Facebook showing me things I've shared.

You can find the original post here.

I haven't edited or changed a whole lot this time. As I read it, I was struck by what was written - especially the quote that prompted the post.

Here's the post for today, with some more thoughts I've had since rereading this a couple of days ago.


"Though our bodies and souls may become ravaged, yet we continue to be God's temple - at times a temple in ruins, but a sacred space nonetheless." (Miroslav Volf)

This quote wouldn't leave my mind after I heard it a few days ago. Something about it wouldn't let go. I think because there is such incredible truth in it.

In the Old Testament the Temple was a sacred space. It was carefully built and cared for. It had a place of honour among God's people - Israel. When the Temple was in ruins after Israel had been in captivity, it was important enough that given the opportunity, they rebuilt the Temple. The Temple was God's dwelling place on earth.

We Are God's Dwelling Place

The New Testament tells us that we are now God's temple - that our bodies are the temple of God on earth. Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit was coming for all believers (John 16) and would dwell in them. In Acts, we see the Holy Spirit coming on all the believers gathered before they are sent out. We are now God's dwelling place on earth.

Sometimes life on earth gets hard and things get messy. Our lives can feel like they are blowing up or crumbling around us. And that means our lives as God's temple can be in ruins.

The challenge comes in what we do when it seems like our lives are in ruins.

Will we run from God?

Or will we choose to worship God in the midst of the hard and messy times in our lives? 

Choosing to Worship

When we choose to worship God in the midst of the mess and ruins of our lives, then our lives are sacred space. Sacred space can occur everywhere we choose to worship God in the midst of whatever is going on.

It doesn't have to be a perfect place to be a sacred space. In fact, sometimes the most sacred of spaces is in the midst of the biggest messes or the hardest struggles we've ever faced. All because we choose to worship God in the midst of it.

What is the mess or hard time in your life right now?

Are you choosing to worship in the midst of it?

Where is the sacred space in your life right now? 

How is the rebuilding of the ruins work going?


"Though our bodies and souls may become ravaged, yet we continue to be God's temple - at times a temple in ruins, but a sacred space nonetheless." (Miroslav Volf)

Build an Altar

"When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 'Choose twelve men from amount he people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put the down at the place where you stay tonight'." (Joshua 4:1-3)

God told Joshua to build an altar out of stones from the middle of the Jordan river. The same river they had been able to cross because God had stopped the river from flowing to give Israel safe passage.

"So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, 'Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, What do these stones mean? tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever'." (Joshua 4:4-7)

God wanted Joshua and the Israelites to build the altar as a reminder of what He had done for them. For them to see the altar in the future and remember. It served a purpose.

We need these reminders in our lives as well. We need those things we can look back on and be reminded of what God did in that situation.

We may not be building physical altars of stone, but we need to create these reminders in our own lives. These are the things that keep us going in the hard times. Our ability to look back on how God has moved and worked in the past in our lives. Those times gives us hope that God is at work in the current situation as well.

What are those times for you? What are those instances when you look back and see how God has worked on your behalf? How God has met you in the midst of what was going on?

We need to become intentional about these things - about remembering them. God had the Israelites build this altar on purpose after they crossed the Jordan on dry land to remember what God had done for them. We need to build altars at these same times in our own lives. Not to worship them - but so they can point us to the God Who stepped in at that moment.

Worship the Creator

Crisp, cool, early morning air

Sun rising over the mountains behind

The quiet, stillness of it all

Draws me to my knees in worship

 

Only a God of masterful creativity

Who desires the grandest of beauty

Who cares deeply about smallest details

Could have created all I see

Greens, oranges, blues, and browns

A vast array of brilliant colours

Highlighting intricate details

Of all I am surrounded by

Worship of the Creator of it all

Seems the only fitting response

Remember He loves me more than these

More than could ever be understood

Worship as a Response

Worship seems to be one of those things we wither like or we don't like, at least when it comes to the small part of it that would be singing songs in church. And, at different times in my life, I have fallen on both sides of it - sometimes liking it, sometimes not.

I read a quote that reminds me of why we worship and I realized that in those times when I don't like it, it's often because I've lost the real reason behind our worship. I've begun to think it's about duty or trying to please God by doing the right things. It has become a "have to," not a "want to."

I'm reminded of the only way worship can really be a "want to."

"All worship is a response to a revelation - it's only when we breathe in more of the wonders of God that we can breathe out a fuller response to Him . . . the key to a life of passionate and powerful worship comes from seeing God." (Matt Redman)

In these words, Redman gets to the heart of where real worship flows from. Real worship of God comes as a response to what God has done in our lives - to meeting God and seeing Him for Who He really is. It's only then that we are really able to worship God.

Real worship is always a response to something. It's always a response to have met with God.

In 1 Samuel 6, we see a clear example of worship as a response to God. David is dancing his worship before God as the Ark is returned to Jerusalem. He knew God and had experienced God's power and protection in his life many times at this point. Because David knew God and had seen Him at work, his response was to worship God with complete abandon as the Ark was returned to its rightful place in the Temple of Jerusalem.

That is exactly the kind of worship, Redman is talking about in his quote. An example of what real worship is.

"All worship is a response to a revelation - it's only when we breathe in more of the wonders of God that we can breathe out a fuller response to Him . . . the key to a life of passionate and powerful worship comes from seeing God." (Matt Redman)

When was the last time you experienced worship like that in your life?

Sacred Space

"Though our bodies and souls may become ravaged, yet we continue to be God's temple - at times a temple in ruins, but a sacred space nonetheless." (Miroslav Volf)

This quote wouldn't leave my mind after I heard it a few days ago. Something about it wouldn't let go. I think because there is suck incredible truth in it.

In the Old Testament the Temple was a sacred space. It was carefully built and cared for. It had a place of honour among God's people - Israel. When the Temple was in ruins after Israel had been in captivity, it was important enough that given the opportunity, they rebuilt the Temple. The Temple was God's dwelling place on earth.

We Are God's Dwelling Place

The New Testament tells us that we are now God's temple - that our bodies are the temple of God on earth. Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit was coming for all believers (John 16). In Acts, we see the Holy Spirit coming on all the believers gathered before they are sent out. We are now God's dwelling place on earth.

Sometimes life on earth gets hard and things get messy. And that means our lives as God's temple can be in ruins.

The challenge comes in what we do when it seems like our lives are in ruins.

Will we run from God?

Or will we choose to worship God in the midst of the hard and messy times in our lives?

Choosing to Worship

When we choose to worship God in the midst of the mess and ruins of our lives, then our lives are sacred space. Sacred space can occur everywhere we choose to worship God in the midst of whatever is going on.

It doesn't have to be a perfect place to be a sacred space. In fact, sometimes the most sacred of spaces is in the midst of the biggest messes or the hardest struggles we've ever faced. All because we choose to worship God in the midst of it.

What is the mess or hard time in your life right now?

Are you choosing to worship in the midst of it?

Where is the sacred space in your life right now?


"Though our bodies and souls may become ravaged, yet we continue to be God's temple - at times a temple in ruins, but a sacred space nonetheless." (Miroslav Volf)

Praise God Always

A couple of days ago, I wrote a bit about how Psalm 34 has been a psalm that I've been drawn to lately. There's much in the psalm that I decided I would take a few posts to focus on smaller segments of it.


I will extol the LORD at all times;
     His praise will always be on my lips.
I will glory in the LORD;
     let the afflicted here and rejoice.
Glorify the LORD with me;
     let us exalt His name together.
                                    Psalm 34:1-3


David began his cry to God with praise. Even when things in life were not going well, he began with praising God. That was where David turned in every situation - to God and to praise.


"I will extol the LORD at all times . . ."

Extol isn't a word we commonly use today, so I looked it up. It means "to praise highly; laud; eulogize." David was declaring that he would lift the name of God highly.

David also declared the he would lift God's name all the time. It wasn't a one time thing for him. It was something he would do all the time - whatever else he was doing.


". . . His praise will always be on my lips . . ."

David felt that lifting God's name high in every situation was important enough that he needed to repeat himself. Here he declares that words to lift God's name high will always be coming out of his mouth - whatever situation he may be in.


". . . I will glory in the LORD . . ."

When David speaks of glory here, he is talking about giving God honour and admiration. It is "adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving." And all of this would come about because of Who God is.


". . . let the afflicted here and rejoice . . ."

David knew that praise of God was the way out of any tough situation that we are facing. He wanted those who were in distress to hear the praise of God and be turned from their troubles to God.


". . . Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together."

David called all those who would be listening to join him in praising God in all circumstances. He called on people to praise God together with other people. It wasn't just something he was going to do. He knew the importance for all of us to do this and invited us to join him.

Extravagant Acts of Worship

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He was reclining at the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant, "Why this waste?" they asked. "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."

Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly, I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done for me will also be told, in remembrance of her."  (Matthew 26:6-13)



How often I have read this account quickly and missed what is contained in it. It's slipped in in the midst of the accounts of the plans to kill Jesus. Just a few verses, but they challenged me when I read them a few days ago.

A woman comes to where Jesus and His disciples are. She comes with an extravagant gift of worship for Jesus. She is so focussed on her worship of Jesus that she not only gives Jesus an expensive gift, she also breaks social norms to do it. Her heart is set on worshipping Jesus.

The disciples are watching this all unfold. But they are missing the worship of her act. They are seeing only the cost of the perfume. Money they decide could have been better used to help the poor.

As I read this I began to ponder who I would have been if I had been in the room that day? Would I have been the woman bringing my extravagant gift of worship to Jesus despite what others might think? Or would I have been one of the disciples who missed the heart behind it and judged the act a misuse of money? Challenging questions to ponder.

I think we all have moments of being the woman and moments of being one of the disciples. Although we don't really want to admit to being one of the disciples in this instance.

The person who we should want to be in this account is made clear in Jesus' response to this. He commends the woman for her act of worship. And He challenges His disciples on how they were thinking. Jesus doesn't condemn His disciples for their thoughts, but He encourages and challenges them to think differently.

Who would you have been if you had been there that day?

 

Would you have been the woman offering Jesus your extravagant worship - not for others to see, but because you felt compelled to do so in your heart?

 

Or would you have been one of the disciples, judging the acts of worship of another?

If we would have been one of the disciples that day and maybe we are now, the good news is that we don't have to stay that way. God can change our hearts and He offers us a second chance (and many more) to get it right with His help.

Five Minute Friday: Worship

It may be Saturday, but I'm joining in on Five Minute Friday a day late this week. Usually we join in over at Lisa-Jo baker's blog for five minutes of writing on the given word for the week. No editing or over-thinking what you write. This week the post is over at (in)courage and the word is "worship."



What do you think of when you hear the word worship?

Standing between pews at church singing songs?

That might be the way we have often viewed worship. But it is so much more.

Worship is about the way we live. It's something that encompasses our every moment. It should be more than just something we do once a week.

We can worship God as we go through each day. The sunshine on our faces. The rain fall. The beauty of the world around us. There is so much reason to worship God at all times.

Worship is a way of life. Not something we go to once a week.

What do you think of when you hear the word worship?