How is it that God allows us more time to think about the things that draw us to Him? Just this week, I was talking about how I don't take the time to notice the small things in life, like a light switch, and what happens? Power goes out. It really is a simple act that we do on a normal basis, flipping a light switch, that becomes so important when we can't. I am thankful for those things and I was happy to have a couple days to think about it.
Actually, I haven't really had to do without power. I have been blessed with parents (in-laws) who are willing and wanting to spend time with us. They opened their home and thats where we have been staying. I know that I am lucky. I have been praying for others who haven't had some one to turn to or some where to go. Also, more than anyone, I am thankful for the workers who have been out in the cold and mess working to get things running back to normal again. They are so often forgotten even when they are putting in long hours to give back to us the things that we often take for granted.
Maybe that is a good thing to come out of all this, we do get the opportunity to recognize how blessed we are. We want to think of ourselves as lacking when we look to others who have more, but in reality, we have so much. I have been watching the series Balanced by Andy Stanley and thats one of the things this past week's segment was about. We have so much extra that we take for granted.
While I am happy that I have power, I know that plenty of people around this state still don't. I pray that they get it soon and that until then God continues to guard them. I ask that you would do the same.
Be back next week with some of the things that I have struggled with.
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, November 24, 2008
Joash Sunday
I had never heard of the whole "Joash chest" thing until I came to my current church. I didn't really know what to expect with it either. The biblical story is recounted in 2 Kings 12: 1-16 and thus I give you the link if you want to check it out. I don't know if I had even read that before I started at this church. Yesterday was our Joash Sunday, and it also coincided with The Lord's Supper. Both events are very special and very powerful. But, combining them made it an amazing service.
First, I am constantly amazed by God's use of music to evoke our hearts. I am thankful that Drew is willing to listen to God's direction when leading the congregation. God's truths are flowing through the words we sing and soaking into our minds. We are invited not just to sing them, but to think on them and allow them to be our praise. Of course, I love music period. I don't listen as much as I used to, but it still stirs up great emotions and feelings inside of me. Then again, I think thats part of being human. A song can evoke a memory. The songs chosen at a wedding are almost always something personal to the bride and groom. Its because they mean something. When we sing at church, we are to think about the words we speak and let the memory of God's faithfulness wash over us.
Thats what was going on with me yesterday. I thought of my life and how I am so thankful to be able to sing words of love and adoration to God. It really kicked off my heart's desire to give anything that I could give back. And I don't mean just monetarily. God desires so much more than my money, He desires me. That is beyond humbling. But it also empowering. It gives me reason to pray not just some form prayer, but a prayer that lays out all that I think, even though He knows it, and all that I desire, even though He knows that too, in order to leave myself bare before Him so that I can give Him all of me.
Second, we did the whole Joash thing, where we gave whatever we felt led to give. For me and my wife, it wasn't much, but it was more than we were able to last year, which was nothing. However the gift isn't really what I wanted to talk about. During this part of the service, our pastor invited people to just go up and give their gift as the praise team sang and played. He also encouraged us to love on one another. I think that this might have been the most joyful giving session that I have ever experienced. I am not saying that when I tithe I don't do it joyfully. I am just saying that the added enjoyment of hugs and words of encouragement were very welcomed. It made it more about the people you were with than about tithing. I know that its probably impractical to do this every Sunday and eventually it would lose its charm, but for a kick off for a season of thanks, it was very good.
Then we did the Lord's Supper. I always enjoy doing this at this church. I was raised very Baptist where you were quiet and somber during the Lord's Supper. Even at the end when they would say, and they left joyfully singing or whatever, it didn't seem that way. Thats why I enjoy it here. We joyfully sing during. As things are being passed out, we are singing about how thankful we are to Jesus and praising God for His gift. I am sure that a lot of other churches do this, but this is really my first experience with a joyful Lord's Supper every time.
This week is a week of Thanksgiving, its celebrated on Thursday in case you didn't realize. I get to have 2 days off, which is nice. It also means that I might not be back on here to post anything. I did want to end this with a thought from a book that I am reading. Its called Waiter Rant, and thats the blog the guy writes. Its just his observations as a waiter and the stories that he encounters. However, there is one that I have been thinking of since he told it. I won't go into all the details, but it was basically about an incident where he was questioning the humanity of some people. He starts reflecting on our selfishness as a society. That we often are caught up in our own world and forget to look at others around us or at the very least have any compassion for their own trials. As a Christian, thats supposed to be our first priority. Even Jesus states that he wasn't here to do his will but the Father's will and thats about service others. Its a convicting thought. Its a challenging thought. But its one that has to be revisited from time to time. We need to be reminded that its not about what I want from God, but what God wants to do through me, if I allow Him to. And thats going to take the form of serving others.
I have no clue how to really end this because mainly I am stuck thinking about that last part myself. I have no resolution to speak of besides that He is working on it.
First, I am constantly amazed by God's use of music to evoke our hearts. I am thankful that Drew is willing to listen to God's direction when leading the congregation. God's truths are flowing through the words we sing and soaking into our minds. We are invited not just to sing them, but to think on them and allow them to be our praise. Of course, I love music period. I don't listen as much as I used to, but it still stirs up great emotions and feelings inside of me. Then again, I think thats part of being human. A song can evoke a memory. The songs chosen at a wedding are almost always something personal to the bride and groom. Its because they mean something. When we sing at church, we are to think about the words we speak and let the memory of God's faithfulness wash over us.
Thats what was going on with me yesterday. I thought of my life and how I am so thankful to be able to sing words of love and adoration to God. It really kicked off my heart's desire to give anything that I could give back. And I don't mean just monetarily. God desires so much more than my money, He desires me. That is beyond humbling. But it also empowering. It gives me reason to pray not just some form prayer, but a prayer that lays out all that I think, even though He knows it, and all that I desire, even though He knows that too, in order to leave myself bare before Him so that I can give Him all of me.
Second, we did the whole Joash thing, where we gave whatever we felt led to give. For me and my wife, it wasn't much, but it was more than we were able to last year, which was nothing. However the gift isn't really what I wanted to talk about. During this part of the service, our pastor invited people to just go up and give their gift as the praise team sang and played. He also encouraged us to love on one another. I think that this might have been the most joyful giving session that I have ever experienced. I am not saying that when I tithe I don't do it joyfully. I am just saying that the added enjoyment of hugs and words of encouragement were very welcomed. It made it more about the people you were with than about tithing. I know that its probably impractical to do this every Sunday and eventually it would lose its charm, but for a kick off for a season of thanks, it was very good.
Then we did the Lord's Supper. I always enjoy doing this at this church. I was raised very Baptist where you were quiet and somber during the Lord's Supper. Even at the end when they would say, and they left joyfully singing or whatever, it didn't seem that way. Thats why I enjoy it here. We joyfully sing during. As things are being passed out, we are singing about how thankful we are to Jesus and praising God for His gift. I am sure that a lot of other churches do this, but this is really my first experience with a joyful Lord's Supper every time.
This week is a week of Thanksgiving, its celebrated on Thursday in case you didn't realize. I get to have 2 days off, which is nice. It also means that I might not be back on here to post anything. I did want to end this with a thought from a book that I am reading. Its called Waiter Rant, and thats the blog the guy writes. Its just his observations as a waiter and the stories that he encounters. However, there is one that I have been thinking of since he told it. I won't go into all the details, but it was basically about an incident where he was questioning the humanity of some people. He starts reflecting on our selfishness as a society. That we often are caught up in our own world and forget to look at others around us or at the very least have any compassion for their own trials. As a Christian, thats supposed to be our first priority. Even Jesus states that he wasn't here to do his will but the Father's will and thats about service others. Its a convicting thought. Its a challenging thought. But its one that has to be revisited from time to time. We need to be reminded that its not about what I want from God, but what God wants to do through me, if I allow Him to. And thats going to take the form of serving others.
I have no clue how to really end this because mainly I am stuck thinking about that last part myself. I have no resolution to speak of besides that He is working on it.
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