You cannot help it

We are all worshippers.  Truth is we are worshipping all the time.  Every place, all day long, every day, we worship.  We were made to worship.  We are wired that way.  Essentially we cannot help but worship...something.  Worship is simply an issue of value.  THE QUESTION lies in where we place it. When I am worshipping God, am I really placing value...understanding the value...spiritually, intellectually, prophetically and trustingly putting value on God the loving ridiculous Daddy?  It takes a sincere awareness and outpouring of honor.

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Gone forever: challenge to pastors and ministry leaders

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gone Upon reflecting on any regrets he had, Billy Graham said, "Every day I was absent from my family is gone forever."

While we realize physical absence certainly has an affect, I am thinking today of the realities of emotional absence. As a pastor and leader, you are expected to be on-call and at the ready at all times. You are to be fully available for everyone at all times, and we too often justify this as "the life of ministry".

Pastors, ministry leaders, those days you are absent (both physically and emotionally) are gone forever. [TWEET THAT]

Look at the ministry you have and realize that everything you do can be done or shared by someone else. Only you can be husband to your wife (or wife to your husband). Only you can be mom or dad to your kids.

I am trying to challenge myself to lose less and less days forever.

The Worst

worst I, for one, would really like to thank you for being the worst sinner, because for a long time there, I thought I was the worst sinner.  Wait!  Nope, I'm still the worst sinner.  You're welcomed to second place if you would like, but I am still the worst sinner.  Thank you very much.

I am not as bad as you think I am; I am much worse.[Tweet That]

1 Timothy 1:15-16 tells me that I am still the worst of sinners SO THAT MERCY MAY BE SHOWN TO OTHERS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST."  People quote that thing and forget it is only possible if you realize you are a sinner who actually NEEDS mercy...you don't DESERVE mercy...you NEED mercy.

You are my joy

Augustine writes of God, "You yourself are their joy.  Hapiness is to rejoice in you and for you and because of you."  Remind me again that joy is not based on my self . God is the only source of joy.  All REAL happiness is because of the ultimate joy which IS God.  Joy is based completely on God.  Suppose God does not GIVE us anything.  Is HE still my joy?  I hope I can make God my only joy.  Then I can allow my happiness, however it comes to me, to drive me to rejoice in God and for God and because of God.

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Breaking the cycle

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA It was so easy to be angry at the legalistic Christians who have no idea what it means to love others as we are called to. I pretty much quit being angry and bitter when I made a guess at WHY they had been so poor at loving. God had called us to love others as we love ourselves.

It appeared to me perhaps we as Christians struggle to love others because we do not actually know how to love ourselves. For so many of us, or I know for me at least, I would not wish on anyone the kind of love I dish out on myself much of the time. So I see Christians in a different light. We suck so much at loving others because we do not know how to love ourselves as Christ sees and loves us.[Tweet That] So the cycle begins.

Now I have been noticing another point in that cycle. That point answers the question, "Why do we struggle to love ourselves?" "Why do Christians have such a horrible time loving themselves and thus loving and accepting others?" Essentially, why ARE we legalistic?

The answer comes from within the question. We are legalistic because we have been hurt by legalism.

I have a hard time loving and accepting others because I have a hard time loving myself, and I have a hard time loving and accepting myself because I do not feel loved and accepted by Christians, and Christians have a hard time loving and accepting me because they have a hard time loving and accepting themselves, and they have a hard time loving and accepting themselves because I, a Christian, have a hard time loving and accepting them. And the cycle of legalism thickens, and I am more a part of it than I ever realized.

Can the cycle be broken? Yes! How?

By loving and accepting myself AND others! By not withholding love and acceptance! The easiest cycle breaker (and hardest personal choice) is to break the cycle at the point of reality and brokeness. I take away the pretense of perfection...of myself. Then I allow the Christians to realize I have no perfection pretense of myself and I am able to have no perfection pretense of them. This will happen when I become more concerned with being honest and acquiring healing instead of appearing fine, okay, good, or dare I say, perfect. It is in my brokenness that legalism cycles are broken. Because then I am able to love others as I love myself, which is loving acceptance of myself despite my failures and mistakes. So when I love and accept others as I do myself, they can love and accept themselves as they are, and then love me and others as they love themselves.

But right now, we DO love others as we love ourselves...legalistically.

Broken Faith

faith "Behold the man who would not make God his refuge; but trusted in the abundance of his riches and was strong in his evil desire. But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God forever and ever. I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it, and I will wait on Your name, for it is good in the presence of Your godly ones." - Psalm 52:7-9

If your trust in God's goodness and faithfulness wanes when times are tough, you have to wonder if your faith was ever in God in the first place. Perhaps it was in the things you have now lost.

Faith in God is not determined by our circumstances. That is faith in our circumstances; not faith in God. {Tweet that} Our circumstances can change in an instant, but God never changes.

Verse 8 begins, "But as for me..."

How would your life complete that sentence?

You're Welcome: Sugar & the Hi Lows

Every once in a while, there are things I just cannot get enough of, and I feel it is my duty to spread the word. There are times those things are websites. Other times they are books, and many times they are music artists. Right now, I cannot get enough of Sugar & the Hi Lows. Their sound is reminicent but so refreshing. If you have never heard them, you're welcome. Other artists on frequent rotation on music player: - Beautiful Eulogy - Alabama Shakes - Propaganda - Churchill

Songs on frequent rotation: - Beautiful Eulogy by Beautiful Eulogy - We Will Run/He is Here - Live by Gungor - Awake My Soul - with Lecrae by Chris Tomlin - Came to My Rescue by Hillsong - Two Day High by Sugar & the Hi Lows (video below) ------- What is on your frequent rotation right now? [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9UmLEifiPI&w=560&h=315]

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Throw up first

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throw up I am teaching a workshop on the creative process in March at The Worship Conference. I am having similar feelings as I do when given opportunities to teach God's Word; who am I to teach this? All is grace!

Same as intimate connection with God, moments and periods of creativity are exactly that; moments! [Tweet That] We all have times when God seems as distant as our creativity. As a follower of Jesus, I believe the two are intimately connected. I am my most creative when I am most connected to the heart of God.

There are practical steps to take for jumpstarting that intimacy, and there are practical steps for jumpstarting your creativity. I will communicate those in my workshop in March, but one I will communicate in a great quote I just came across.

"Throw up into your typewriter every morning. Clean up every noon." - Raymond Chandler