Striving to accept the Free Gift

The following questions were from a Lenten devotional I was reading today. The answers are my responses.


Why is it so hard for us to accept Christ's gift (of salvation)? 

We live in a world that shuns you if you don’t do enough. There are written and unwritten rules of this world that capture our time;  if you’re not doing something, it’s considered ‘laziness’. If you’re doing everything while neglecting yourself, family, friends, and other relationships, you’re considered ‘gifted’, ‘selfless’, and ‘worthy of promotion’. This world has little, if no, grace for those who try their best and then fail. If you fail at your job, you’re fired. If you fail in your marriage, you're forced into a divorce.

Whereas when we know and proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior; that He died for us and that we are called to live for Him, we feel like our relationship with Him has the same so-called rules as the ones we have here on earth. 

Wrong. The relationship Christ offers is full of forgiveness. Forgivefull. We live in this world, and therefore are easily conformed to the ways of it. Our senses are overwhelmed. However, Paul tells us to fix our eyes not on what is seen (or otherwise, “sensed” by our 5 senses by what is in the world) but to fix our eyes on what is unseen [2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV] (or otherwise, we shall focus on everything that is, and of, Christ--our focus should be heavenward). 

Is this a struggle for [me]?
Since I am of this world, yes, I do feel it is a struggle for me to continually and momentously accept Christ’s gift of salvation through the cross. This world tells and shows us that if we fail in this world, we gain nothing. Christ tells us that if we fail in this world, we gain everything; if we lose our lives for Him, we will find our lives in Him alone. 


Christ calls us to lose ourselves in His sacrifice; that we learn to love as He loved us. Our lives are to be a constant sacrifice to Him. In every activity we do, we are called to honor Him. “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial…” and therefore we need to honor Him only in actions, words, and events that are holistically pleasing to Him. 

However, this world does not always approve of actions, words, and events that would be pleasing to Christ. But that shouldn’t matter. Christ is our treasure. HE. DIED. FOR. US. ALL.  “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him Who died for them and was raised again” [2 Corinthians 5:14-15].



How do we make it a non-struggle? 

My desire is to keep a constant relationship with Christ. By praying to Him; thanking Him for His sacrifice. “Pray without ceasing” [1 Thess. 5:17]. 

I desire to ask Him to reveal His Truth to His people. And “in your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:” [Ph. 2:5 NIV]. 

I desire to “[g]ive thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” [1 Thess. 5:18 NIV].

And remember, Christ doesn’t look down on you if you fail. YOU. ARE. FORGIVEN. Our relationship with Christ is forgivefull; it is full of forgiveness. It is important to not become prideful of His grace, but to accept it as a gift; one that you never expected, but are overtly grateful to receive. For it is in Christ that we are saved. It is in Him through His sacrifice of love that we have the opportunity to be reconciled to God. 

Now all glory to God, Who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into His glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to Him Who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before all time, and in the present and beyond all time! Amen.

-Jude 1:24-25

Lent: Giving up, while keeping the focus

Today is the beginning of Lent. As it is a season of self-denial, fasting, Christian growth, and simplicity, many people are "giving something up" in recognition of this time set aside in the church calendar/year. It is also a time of remembrance and reverence and reflection of what Christ did in the desert. He fasted 40 days and 40 nights (Matt. 4; Luke 4). Even through His many struggles during those 40 days and 40 nights, He overcame them all. Since we are called to be like Jesus in modeling Him in His words and actions, we can do that in one way by giving something up for Him. Our act of giving something up for Christ's sake, also imperfectly mirrors (at best) Christ's loving sacrifice for us; by giving His very life for us on the cross.

Grace is freely offered over to us and has been readily available since before the beginning of time (2 Tim. 1:9). I still don't understand it fully, and I may never understand it. For if I were to fully understand God's grace, I may become prideful and desire to do nothing for His glory. I desire to learn from Him, by focusing on Who He is and what He has done for us, rather than focusing on myself. But sadly, I don't always do what I want to do (Rom. 7). It is with the word "focus" that I want to continue discussing the season of Lent. 

When Jesus was in the desert, He was fasting and He was also being tempted by Satan (Matt. 4; Luke 4). The entire span of the 40 day period, Jesus was focused on God. He gave up food for the sake of the glory of God. He desired to show dedication to His Father God by fasting and keeping mind and heart full of the Holy Spirit (Mark 4:1; Luke 4:1) in His act of worship to God. 

Jesus not only gave something up for those 40 days (what we now call "Lent"), but during Lent, He was completely and utterly focused on God's Word. He quotes Scripture to Satan in response to Satan's attempts to sway Jesus to worship him instead of God The Father. When Satan tries to use Scripture against Jesus, He knows Satan's usage is out of context, and wins the battle even again. And why? Granted, Jesus is part of the Trinity, and therefore in constant reciprocating relationship with the other members, but Jesus was able to win because He was completely centered on God. Being in the Trinity helps a bit.

So for the Lenten season, it's not just what you "give up", it's also about Who you choose as your focus. If you give up chocolate, will you be doing it for the glory of God; to honor Him?  Or will you be doing it for yourself?  If you give up chocolate, you could try to see how Jesus felt when He gave up food in order to bring glory to God during those 40 days and 40 nights. In the Lenten time period when you feel like you are tempted to eat chocolate (or whatever you decide to give up; if anything at all), you could ask God to have your eyes and heart opened more to see what He wants you to see and do for His glory.

Maybe you don't decide to give something up for Lent. Rather you decide to begin a new spiritual discipline that will grow your relationship with Christ in learning more of Him and His love. Since the season of Lent is garnered from Jesus' 40 days and 40 nights in the desert being constantly tempted by Satan to do the wrong thing (the worst thing), choosing to start a new discipline--a focus on a spiritual discipline--could be a way to observe it.

Whether or not you choose to observe Lent, I pray that during these 40 days and 40 nights that you are renewed by God's transforming love, grace, and mercy. I pray that you are not overcome by evil, but that any evil you encounter; that you overcome it with good (Rom. 12:21).

Why Do We Worship?

One of the many books I'm reading recently is entitled, Christian Worship. In the second paragraph of the first page of his book he gives different possibilities of why some people worship God. He resolves to say that there is no "one-size-fits-all answer". Rather, people tend to:

1) worship to meet someone else's expectations

2) worship out of pure habit

3) worship in spite of--or because of--the fact that they are locked in some sort of struggle with God

4) worship because they are awestruck by a God who deserves a life of praise...and so much more.

I find it interesting that there are four ways listed. To me, these four ways could be broken up into seasons; seasons of life maybe?  

Granted, these ways have not been fully extrapolated. There are many more ways and reasons why we worship God. Spiritual disciplines are just one way to honor God, yet spiritual disciplines like an intricately-spun spider web filled with silk strings of countless ways to show love and honor and praise to God. 

One of my friends and I were talking about what God is doing in each other's lives recently. When she asked me, I said that I felt Him pushing me to be more mindful of the words I say and how I say them. The meaning counts. After the conversation, Jeremiah 29:13 kept going through my mind... "you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." 

Not half-hearted. Whole-hearted. I wonder if whole-hearted worship is the season of life I desire to always serve for God. 

Why do we worship? 

If our answer to this question results in something epitomizing half-heartedness, we may not be worshiping God with our whole heart. Prayer, solitude, service, fellowship, study, and many more spiritual disciplines are ways we can learn to give God all the glory in the lives He has so lovingly given us to live for Him. Doing these things together with a friends/accountability partner is a beautiful way to engage in fellowship. "For where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am with them." --Matthew 18:20

As believers in Christ Jesus, God needs to be our foundation; not just in one area, but in everything we do. I'm learning more and more that as long as we seek Him, and give Him the glory for what He accomplishes through us, the more we honor Him as the creation He made us to be for Him.

Creative Worship Stations: some examples

In my last post, I brought up the phrase "creative worship stations" (a.k.a. "worship stations"). I have found some imagery online that will give a mental picture of what a projected station looks like.

This website provides a somewhat bare-bones example of what some creative worship stations appear:


http://gatheringinlight.com/2009/02/24/stations-of-the-lords-prayer-a-worship-resource/
*pictures are provided at this website

Creative worship stations are heavily used within the Emergent Church/Worship movement, but such stations are embraced across other denominations.

If you are interested in learning more about the Emergent Church, books by Dan Kimball such as Emerging Worship or Emerging Church.

Thoughts on Lent 2011

I went into staff meeting today with some sacred space ideas for the five Sundays of Lent (March 13th, 20th, 27th, April 3rd, & April 10th). I came out of the meeting with a more refreshed, complex, and more concrete foundation on the meaning behind this season.

We're trying something different for Lent 2011. During the five Sundays listed above (not included Palm Sunday and Easter), we'll be having creative worship stations that emphasize themes such as thanksgiving, confession, yielding, and intercession. When a Sunday is the first Sunday of the a month during Lent, we'll partake in Communion in place of the stations.

The four of us sat around the Senior Pastor's office brainstorming about specific themes we could emphasize during Lent. We took a field trip (minor as it was) to the sanctuary for approximate measurements on what materials we might need and where they would be placed during the service. We finalized our field trip by discussing possible scriptures that could explanatorily epitomize each station.

I will be posting more on what we're doing for Lent.

Feel free to share what you have learned recently about this season!

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble...or sick

Remember when I said in my last post, "it felt like medicine head"? Well, little did I know that was just the beginning of a week long battle of the flu.

Nick and I toughened out the remainder of Sunday by finishing out the services, going to lunch, then coming back to the church for handbell practice that afternoon. Thankfully, when it ended we were both free to return home and do whatever possible to get me well fast.

It's funny to trust your own instincts when really, you're not the one in control. God is. What I mean by that is He led me through a week of learning to trust Him in, what I deemed, an unfamiliar area. I was working too hard with the goal of "I have to get well. I have to get better now!" I wouldn't let go of how sick I was, and give my illness to God. I had to hold on to it; like it was my treasure.

I know what you're probably thinking (or even saying/shouting at your computer), "the sickness was your treasure!?"

Well, I treated it like it was. The thing is, how many times in life do we desire to control something that wants to control us?

You know what that's called? Opposition to authority. Not the flu's authority, but the Almighty and Everlasting authority of God. His authority always was, always is, and will forever be reigning above all. It's high time I realized that truth in even something as seemingly minute as the flu.

One thing I didn't forget to do during this whole week, was thank God that it wasn't the stomach flu.

The beauty of this illness is that it has been musical. It began late Saturday while Nick and I were with B2 (2nd floor, Baker Hall on HU's campus) watching football. We couldn't even finish the game. The illness crescendoed throughout the next few days, and either Tuesday or Wednesday night was the climax. At that point, I hadn't slept in three days or so and had a breakdown. I felt like I was trying my best to get well, but "my best" just wasn't cutting it.

Nick encouraged me. We prayed together and talked about how to help me sleep. Thankfully, the next time I had to lay down, I got 5 hours. Praise God! It was then that I started feeling His healing.

As this illness decrescendos and makes its way out of my body, I notice how long it took. A week. But this girl's not weaker because of it. She's stronger because of the lesson that was learned through God's intervention. That intervention brought not only a healed body, but a healed heart, soul, and mind with renewed strength.

And... He gave me just enough time to heal. Just before the next Sunday's services.

I have gotten wind that a lot of people are sick right now. If you're ill, I pray that God intervenes in your body, and heals you. But not that He heals just your body. I pray that He heals and renews your mind, heart, and soul while giving you strength for what's yet to come.

blessings,

Bethany

Strategies of Cohesion for me, an ENFP

I'm still searching for informative research on worship leaders and their personalities; especially if they're ENFPs. But for now, I'd like to dive into some things I have learned through reading other bloggers such as Bob Kauflin. When searching worship leader blogs, his is near the top of the search list. It's called, "Worship Matters."

I was eager to seek encouragement one day last week, so I read a few hot topic entries of his of which I felt I was struggling in leading worship. He discussed transitions and how to make them meaty with the gospel; not just the supposed silence to which we naturally cling. One could share personal experience, a provocative theological thought that epitomizes the connection of the seemingly opposing songs, an instrumental transition, a prayer to engage the heart mind and soul in worship, and even repeating the last line of the previous song while playing the intro into the next song; this helps those involved in worship to not lose the momentum of what it means to worship God. It helps them focus on worshipping God rather than feeling uncomfortable about what they may deem as an awkward transition.

Normally it takes me quite a long time to invoke a lot of new strategies into my actions, but this learning experience proved otherwise. Today at services, I was so out of it (it felt like medicine-head), but yet I felt strength, peace, and perseverance in a very big way. When I felt weak, God made me strong and exemplified these transitional traits through me to create a cohesive worship experience with His believers. Granted, worship may not always feel cohesive, but when someone is leading the worshippers with the ability to create such cohesion, the worshipper is less likely to be distracted and can wholly dwell on all of God.

We get distracted everyday, right? I'm an ENFP. It's sort of my job. But when it comes to the body of believers and desiring a deep reciprocating relationship with The Almighty, distractions are just that; distractions. I'm not talking about the distractions that we may see as distractions to our own lives; such as someone walking in on our tv show right at the season finale and wanting to talk. I'm talking about the distractions that lead us astray; the kind that lead us toward eternal death rather than eternal life. For instance, they are the kind that attempt take away precious moments during the day that we could be practicing, sharing, learning, and reveling in the Love of God.

I pray that we all are learning about cohesion, in that we seek the strength God provides us in His fathomless, ever-widing, and endless Love that is found in Jesus Christ Who died for us...with arms spread wide open.

blessings,

Bethany