Undignified

Pastor Jeff was on fire today with his sermon.  First of all, Consumed has been fantastic!  It has been hard hitting, direct, much needed, and right on time, at least for me. I love worship.  I have always liked to sing and praise God.  I enjoy being surrounded by people who praise and being inundated in worship with God's people but I am learning that worship is so much more.  I am learning to be consumed with worship. 

Worship is walking away from a dirty joke at work.  Worship is loving those I consider unlovely.  Worship is taking the time to sit with one of my children when my patience is growing thin.  Worship is giving up something that I want so that someone else may have something they need. Worship is not being afraid to be different.  Worship is dancing naked in front of a procession bearing the ark of the Lord.  

Oh, yeah, naked.  

King David was so excited that the ark was finally being returned home to it's proper place that he danced wildly in front of the ark.  He was so consumed with worshiping God that he lost his wife over this act of  worship.  She confronted him and condemned him for his foolish behavior in front of his people.  

David's response?  Simple:  I will celebrate before the Lord.  I will become even more undignified than this.  (2 Samuel 6:21-22)

Today, let's be undignified.  Let's live today with total love for our King regardless of what others around us think.  God will bless you; He hears the worship of His people. 

I'll close with a little treat from DCB; one of my favorite tunes from the Lime cd.  Enjoy! 

Undignified - DCB

Freely Give (Um, I Beg Your Pardon?)

Recently I heard someone quote or I read somewhere the words of Jesus from Matthew 10:8 "freely you have received, freely give"  These words are not new to me but I believe that this recent reminder  is right on time because the words have been ringing in my ears and bouncing through my brain since I heard them. 

There is no great theological mystery to this command of Jesus;  but I've been wondering why this is haunting me.  Since I love the dictionary, I decided to once again enlist the help of my friends at Merriam Webster.  They define freely as without restraint or reservation, without hindrance, or not strictly following a model, convention, or rule. 

Oh, my great love, the dictionary, has once again stopped me in my tracks.  I want to say, "Uh, Jesus, I beg Your pardon?  By freely, do you mean really freely or freely so that I'm not uncomfortable or don't have to give anything up that I might really like?" 

Sometimes I have to hear Jesus speak and sometimes I simply know the answer because of the sense that He has gifted me with.  In this case, the latter applies.  Freely means freely.  No questions.  No discussions. 

I am to love without restraint or reservation because I have been loved this way.  I need to love without hindrance because I have been loved this way.  Sometimes I may even have to do something a little crazy to show love; I may have to not strictly follow a model, convention, or rule. I am to love regardless of how I feel, if I want to, or if I think someone deserves my love. 

I love because He first loved me as He reminds me in 1 John 4:9:   God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  So the next time He reminds to love and I give Him feedback, I won't be surprised is He says to me, "Uh, I beg your pardon?"

You're in Good Hands

(This is for Amanda - I owe her so many apologies for my fledgling attempts at parenting!  I have more love for her today than the day that they placed in her in my arms and thankfully she still loves me, too)  

AllState insurance will tell you that, "You're in Good Hands with AllState".  The message?  That you can trust them.  They have what it takes to walk with you through accidents and disasters and they are going to take better care of you than anyone else could ever imagine doing.  


This is the message we need to let our children know.  We need to tell them that they are in good hands. 

Point 3 from this week's message is:  Remember your child being able to trust you is more important than you being able to trust your child.  I have known this for a long time; my daughter is 21 and through our trials and victories this is a lesson that has been hammered home.  Sometimes I was good at it, sometimes I failed miserably.  However, thanks to God's grace and mercy, we have reached the point of her adulthood with a strong and trusting relationship. 


Don't get me wrong - your children and my children can be trustworthy people of great integrity.  However, they deserve to know that when they mess up (and mess up they will, no matter how small or large the egregious choice may be or what consequences this will bring) they need to know that they can find safety in the arms and hearts of their parents.  They need to know that  we'll be parents, that they can be kids, and we'll see whatever comes their way together, with God, in love. 

Today, find a way to let your children know that they're in good hands with you. 

Love Changes Everything

Pastor Jeff said something today during the sermon that made me really stop and think.  He referenced Deuteronomy 6:5 which reads "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" and then he said that we have to love God first and then serve Him. 

Don't let the instruction in this verse pass you by unnoticed; process it.  Love God first and then serve Him.

Jeff said during his sermon [my paraphrase] that when we don't love God we begin to resent the things that He commands us to do.  When we don't love Him first there are all kinds of emotions and feelings that we have that are not good. Bottom line is that love is what motivates us to serve God and obey His commands.  Love  changes everything.  God will most effectively use us when we offer ourselves in love.  Love is what motivated Jesus to die on the cross.  Love changed our lives. 

I'll close with some of Paul's most famous words; these phrases remind us what love really brings to the table in our lives.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.  I Corinthians 13:1-3

Who Loves You, Baby?

I love reading my Bible.  God is so good and He speaks to me me when I read His word.  Sometimes there are obvious things to learn:  thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill and so on.  We all need to know these things.  What truly fascinates me is the Michelle-designed encouragement that God gives me through His word.  It is mind blowing to me that God can take a sentence or phrase that countless numbers of people have read and translate it, through His Holy Spirit, into words that are meant exclusively for me. 

I have waited my whole life for someone to love me in a unique and unfailing way.  I think that we all desire this type of love - perfect, unfailing, divine love.  As much as we want our family and friends to provide this for us, they simply cannot do it.  We're human.  We fail sometimes or we disappoint or we just miss the boat on what our loved ones would wish for us to do or say. 

Not so with God.  He loves me with a perfect love.  He never misses an opportunity to tell me He loves me.  He has surrounded me with the beauty of His creation and the glory of nature to remind me of this.  He has placed people in my life who, in His wisdom He knows that I need,  These folks are on many days they are my earthly reminders of my heavenly father.  God thinks about me. 

I wish I could pour my heart out into this blog because I am truly overwhelmed by the love that God has for me.  We teach personalization of scripture in the 201 class and I think it's appropriate to end today's offering to you with an example of this.  Today, personalize John 3:16.  Who loves you, baby?  Your heavenly father loves you - that's who!  

[Traditional - NIV] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16



[Personalized] For God so loved Michelle that he gave his one and only Son [for Michelle], that when Michelle believes in him [she] shall not perish but [she]have eternal life.  John 3:16