Proof of a Worshipper

I learned a long time ago, when I set out on this journey learning to worship the Lord with everything in me, that you cannot worship with only a part of you. It is impossible. Rather, worship must be wholehearted, radical, extravagant, with everything in you - matching the glory of the One you worship.

We sometimes have the idea that worship is contingent on whether or not all the conditions I need to worship God are met. But the Lord asks us, "Will you worship Me (or lead others to worship Me) when. . . "

1. When other worship leaders seem to sideline or reject you, intimidate you, your age, your style, or your calling? --even if they try to keep you from your destiny, will you still worship Me?
2. When the congregation refuses to worship because the style seems strange to them (King David taught Israel a new style of worship), or when the Pastor and leaders seem to snub you? Will you be offended and then have it affect your ability to worship Me from a pure heart to bring people into God's presence? Will you still worship Me?
3. When nothing in the venue is right, it is nothing like you expected, or, you don't expect a reward, honor, or remuneration? Will you still worship Me?
4. When there is no audience, except Me?
5. When all the conditions are wrong (i.e., song display, audio not working, no microphones or monitors, etc.), will you still worship Me?
6. When you have no ministry engagements lined up, no congregation in which to worship, no ministry to speak of. . .will you minister to Me when you are all alone, with great delight, just to bring pleasure to Me?
7. When you are distraught with life (family, health, financial, marriage, etc.)? Will you still worship Me?
8. When you are a failure (or feel like one)? --a spiritual failure? --or feel like a "has-been". . .Will you still worship me?
9. When your emotions are screaming "You are not accepted here!"? --or you are overcome with personal shame? --or, you feel "God wants others near, but not me!" Will you still worship Me?
10. When your body is wracked with pain and disease, and there seems to be no hope of recovery? Will praise arise to worship Me?

Determine that nothing - and no one - will keep you from giving worthy worship unto the Lord. I tell my soul often, I will worship You Jesus with everything within me, at all times, in all seasons. I have come to prefer my audience of One.

May you be inspired as you listen to this song (and worship God) from Hillsongs United in Australia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSCE8uLuTJY

When Fear is Welcome

(Photo: Ted Larson, "Digital Art by Ted Larson" - visit his website: http://is.gd/1lMFj )

Fear in Bible context is a confusing subject. In one place we are warned against it, in another we are enjoined to embrace it. For example: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). We are to embrace that fear. However, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (II Timothy 1:7) is the fear we must shun, but how, and what is the difference?

"Pahdah” (pakh-dah), the Hebrew word from Jeremiah 2:19 is in a form that is single usage, i.e., seen only once in all of Scripture.

“Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me.”

There it is translated “awe,” but, the word awe has lost its meaning in our modern world. Just ask a teenager: “Totally awesome!” has become a common response to ordinary life. The modern day usage of the root word of "awe" will at first lend confusion, but once explored, it brings clarity. Pahdan (pakh-dan), ending in “n” making it a noun in Modern Hebrew, is translated “a coward,” i.e., scared of pretty much everything. Other Scriptures that use the root of the word translate is as “fear.” It differs from “ya’re” used in many other biblical passages as the “fear of God.”

Messages on the fear of God are almost nonexistent in today's American church. And if such a sermon should be preached, the term “fear” is translated with care so as not to make anyone uncomfortable. The term has been so watered down as to cease to convict anyone of sin, or lead to repentance, or to suggest that we make things right with people we have wronged. Reverence and honor have been the chosen options in the list of concordance choices; however, there are other options.

If we want nearness to God, we must consider the various Scriptural terms for “fear.” How about this one: to make afraid; to terrify. I don’t think the prophet Daniel was thinking of a polite, refined, respectable reverence of the Lord when he fell face down as dead in front of the heavenly messenger in chapter 10:

“I had no strength left. My face turned deathly pale and I was helpless” (vs.8).

Paul had a similar response when blinded on the Damascus road and seeing Jesus. What about Ezekiel three times:

“…When I saw it [the vision of God in His glory], I fell on my face…” (Ezekiel 1: 28).

“…I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days…” (Ezekiel 3:15).

“So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face” (Ezekiel 3:23).

“…and I fell on my face” (Ezekiel 43:3).

I have made a list of over 20 other such instances in Scripture.The good news about pahdah is that this kind of the fear of God refines, purifies, and replaces all other fears with itself.

How it is that one fear can make you fearless? The truth of the matter is: Fear the Lord, and you will fear none other! Your choice of words will determine the degree of your fearlessness of all other people, things, or circumstances.

--Ron Cantrell

I AM - The Present

The Lord woke me up this morning with a proclamation.

"Repeat after me..."

I will...not live...in the past today. I will...live in...the Present...where I AM, where I dwell. For I do not live in your past, only right here, right now, preparing you for your future, your tomorrow."

Help me to live in your presence today Lord, and not my past. Thank you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vatfnKrFzyI

Atmosphere of Heaven

The Holy Spirit brings with Him the atmosphere of Heaven. I want to live in the atmosphere of Heaven. So, what is the atmosphere of Heaven? Heaven is full of:

• Joy
• Peace - Jesus said, "My peace I leave with you...not as the world gives..."
• Love - the core of God is love and so is the core of every creature He has created. He is creating us into His image
• Hope - every creature in heaven is full of hope and lives in hope
• Faith - "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith doesn't just hope, though it is hopeful, it believes God to be all He is
• Light - The Lord is the light the citizens of heaven enjoy
• Music- jubilant celebrations, worshipful songs that exalt the Lord and His mighty acts
• Fragrant
• Humility - the 24 elders throw down their crowns before the Throne of God, bow down, giving praise to Jesus
• Fear and awe of God
• Praise and worship - active, participants, no performances, no spectators.
• God and His glory, Jesus the Lamb of God, the Holy Spirit

May we be filled with your Glory, Lord, and experience Heaven's atmosphere!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XZarrFpjg8

Marrow of the Soul

The Holy Spirit asked me as I woke up this morning at 4:30 am "What is the marrow of the soul?"

We know the marrow of the body rejuvenates the whole body by reproducing healthy red blood cells that replace the old and dying ones, thereby bringing health and life to the whole body: bones, cells, organs, skin, blood, tissues, etc. This rejuvenation to the body makes it much more alive, building up vital defenses from diseases. If the marrow is not functioning properly or is weakened by disease, it will kill the body eventually. That's why when someone is very ill, say with cancer, they undergo blood transfusions with the hope that the new blood will generate life in the cells to overcome cancer which is bringing death to the cells and body through the disease. Some people even go through the more radical procedure of a bone marrow transplant, insuring the best possible opportunity for survival.

The Holy Spirit answered the question He asked me: "The Word of God is the marrow of the soul, for it is the Living Word."

God's Word is life and health to our whole person from the inside out. It is the Living Waters we drink in; His Word is life-giving. When we saturate ourselves with Him and His Word and allow it to take root - go deep - we are doing an infusion, bringing life and health to our soul which affects our whole being.

Listen to this song "Word of God Speak" by MercyMe, and read His Word today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JK_6osCH74

Spirit-Filled Walk

I have been praying to learn the ways of the Holy Spirit. It has been interesting to consider those who walked with the power of the Holy Spirit. Below is what a person looks like who walks in the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit. This person. . .

1. Fears God and walks in awe of Him, and not man.

2. Loves God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength.

3. Walks in holiness: the Holy Spirit will not tolerate any positions that move this person backwards. They will live consecrated as a holy habitation of His Spirit mind, body and soul with no compromise.

4. Guards his tongue: speaks what the Father tells him; full of praises to God; does not speak about God's children negatively.

5. Radical in obedience: Obeys the leading of the Holy Spirit without hesitation or delay.

6. Loves God's people passionately: Seeks what God wants to do in them; functions as an intercessor on behalf of God's people as one who lives close to the heart of the Lord.

7. Disciplines his body: His body is subject to him now, and not a slave. The body is consecrated for holy purposes as the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, this person will not seek that which defiles the body or mind with intemperance.

8. Walks in and manifests the fruits of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit: The power and anointing of God is strong on this person through their ministry gifts.

9. Is not rich with possessions, but is rich and possesses all things. God is his inheritance; the Holy Spirit his greatest treasure (i.e., Moses had no earthly possessions or land to speak of, nor Paul or Jesus, etc).

10. Kingdom-Focused: "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," is the way this person lives. He is full time in kingdom business, pursuing the leading of the Holy Spirit.

11. Lives in the perpetual environment and atmosphere of heaven: Lives with the fruits of the Spirit evident in his life.

12. Is marked by humility

13. Is a friend of God: The Holy Spirit confides in this person ("God confided in Samuel...1Sam. 9:15). Through words of knowledge, prophecy, dreams, visions, and God tells the secrets of His heart about the purposes for the world, kings, men that He has determined (i.e., Daniel). The Holy Spirit leads us then in intercession for wisdom on how to disseminate the message of God.

Here is a great song of dedication for more of the Lord in our lives. May we all seek the fire of the Holy Spirit upon our lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg2kCAiB1Kw

Yearning

Last night, I had the overwhelming sense of God yearning for us. So, I looked up the word "yearn" and wanted to share a few of the meanings:

• To have an intense desire or longing for someone not present; to want strongly
• To languish as with love or desire; to desire strongly or persistently
• To have affection for, feel tenderness for

Here are a few words that fit in context of this entry:

• longing
• desire
• pant
• pine
• hunger
• ache
• crave
• languish

As I considered God's everlasting love towards me, and as He put others that He loves as deeply in front of me in that moment, I wrote this down in nearly one continuous flow. It is spoken to those He loves passionately, but because they are living in a distant, faraway land (for whatever reason), away from the nearness of His presence, they cannot know how He feels about them.

Hear the Lord speak to your heart.

Every moment
Of every day
And all through the night
While you sleep
Jesus yearns for you
He never tires or grows weary
He does not rest
He never gets discouraged in the quest
His Holy Spirit
Is striving
To ignite your heart
And set it ablaze
With passionate love
For Him...
Making you exclusively His
Wholly devoted
Completely in love with
And lost in devotion
To Him,
To His purposes,
For His people,
Ever yearning for eternal
Pleasures found
In Jesus
Alone.

"The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously." (James 4:5)

May I yearn for Jesus more and more everyday and never settle for what I had yesterday. Let's burn for passion for Him. Let's come to Him today, like these little children...



Below is a song I just found called "Yearn." Hear these two young men pour out their hearts as a prayer unto God. May we do the same.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho5JU53DRJc