Words & Music
The Church must repent of its idolization of “cool,” in which we dishonor our parents, spite our brothers and sisters in the faith, and merely set ourselves up for the sins we perceive in them — appearing “of the times.”
Quote from Jared Wilson’s Blog.
Why are there so few opportunities to worship the Lord together? It’s so wonderful, so amazing and makes us (hopefully) more like Jesus. As we praise we are filled with more of the Holy Spirit. He baptizes us anew. We see more of His fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. Who wouldn’t want more of that (especially those who live with us:)?
When I was in Illinois, there were two fellow staff members and a few others at the church that loved to get together informally and worship. Usually around the piano and sometimes with a guitar we would just begin to sing and proclaim Scripture. There were prayers for each other and various needs we were aware of. We would cry out for God to move in the upcoming services. Sometimes it could be dry and just us singing a few songs before we went about our day, but often it was so much more.
Many times we would sing, “I’m falling on my knees” from the song “Hungry” and everyone would be on their knees. It wasn’t uncommon to glance over and see someone on their face, prostrate before the Lord. We all looked for times when we could slip away and worship…it was such a delight to get in God’s presence and focus on Him.
So many amazing things were happening at the time in the church body and I believe this was a key to that. People crying out to God for Him to make His presence known.
Sunday morning meetings are wonderful and I’ve known the presence of the Spirit in powerful ways during these times. But there are so many other items that must be attended to (announcements, etc.).
I miss the fellowship and power of those intimate times with a few – two or three – singing and declaring the goodness of God.
With the current change in seasons I have a renewed longing for those times. I long for the expectancy they produced. Anything could happen – Jesus could do anything and He was doing it.
Lord, may it be so again in greater measure.
Today the subway was packed with people. That’s not unusual in the mornings, but today was extra tight. I noticed a woman standing next to me reading the Bible and it got me thinking about how many people I see reading Scripture on the train. Of course, everyone’s usually doing something – reading, writing, listening to music – but there’s often someone reading the Bible.
So often we hear about how the Church is compacting and leaders ask the question, “Where are all the believers?” While this is not necessarily a bad question to ask, God’s been showing me that He has believers everywhere. Even in the darkest places His people are there. They are praying. They are seeking Him. They are the ones bringing the favor of God upon those places. They are leading people out of the darkness.
What I’ve started doing when I see these people on the train is just praying for them. Praying that God would show them something so incredible, so wonderful in that moment. It’s the only place to start for my new brother or sister I didn’t know existed just minutes before.
Jesus is building His Church in the Earth. Let’s look for each other. Let’s encourage each other — even if we don’t always agree. He’s worthy of that and so much more.
May we be His Body:
And God placed all things under his (Christ’s) feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. – Ephesians 1:22-23
This will be a light week on the blog as I’m preparing to lead worship at Shelter Rock Church this weekend and Olivia and I are answering the question, “To move or not to move…”