Last night Karen, Joshua, and I went to my parent's house for a visit. You know... the visit to catch up on things that have been going on in each other's life; watch a little Jeopardy; a little Wheel of Fortune; some Braves baseball; and, of course, Wii. Yes, my parent's have a Wii system. It's a lot of fun and it can wear you out if you aren't careful.
I watched from the dining room table as Karen and Joshua played golf, and then they shot some 3-point basketball contest. They were having a good time. It's actually more fun to watch the participants than the TV screen. Anyway, it wasn't too long until I was playing golf and shooting hoops. The amazing thing about the Wii system is, you quickly get to the point where you feel as though you are totally in the game....playing; not just pressing buttons to produce a result, but moving physically to produce a result. You start to focus more on how you hold the controller so your swing doesn't hook, or slice when you hit the ball. You look at the layout of the fairway, the direction of the wind, the sand traps, and the angle of the break on the green as you putt. You forget you are standing in the middle of a living room.
The same goes for the 3-point shoot out in basketball. You sense yourself reaching for the ball in the rack, jumping to shoot, and concentrating on your follow through to make sure the ball swishes the net. The rest of the games are the same way. They make you forget where you are and move you to another place.... a place of just you and the game....everything else is placed aside for this time. At the end of the game though, you are back in reality with all it's distractions, pressures, and struggles....life....real life.
Is it posible for our worship to be like a Wii system? It can be if we only feel like we are worshipping when we are at church on the weekend. We turn our worship on the moment we arrive and the music starts and we begin singing; the moment we leave everything that has made our week a mess behind, and sing praises to our God and listen to His voice in the message speaking directly to us; the moment we feel as though it is just us and God with no distractions, pressures, or struggles....worship. Then, when we walk out the door, we hit the "Off" button and return to where we were before we arrived at church...distacted, pressured, and struggling.
No....worship is not a Wii system, because true worship has no "Off" button. Worship is a life-style; a result of our life in Christ....everlasting....never ending.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
june 29th
"Man, you had to be there!" I have heard people say this when they are trying to describe an event they were a part of. It may have been a professional ball game, or a concert by their favorite artist, or an amazing vacation over-seas, or just something experienced by a group of friends. There seem to be a lack of words when it comes to our description of the event, and the best we can do is say, "Man, you had to be there!" Because, if you had been there, you would better understand the impact of the event.
Tuesday night, June 29th, was one of those events for me; one of those unplanned, unrehearsed, unprepared events...at least unplanned in my mind. It would be hard to say unrehearsed and unprepared. As a worshipper, we should always be rehearsed and prepared for times of worshipping God. Whenever we open His Word to read what He wants us to know, we are being prepared for His presence in our life. Whenever we think about how He is working in our life, how He is orchestrating everything according to His plan for us.....we are rehearsing for what He is about to do. So often, we don't plan for Him. Kind of like Tuesday night. Our plan, as part of an after-dinner time of fellowship together, was to play a few songs and have prayer. A very simple plan. Our plan was not His plan for us. We had placed our plan within a time frame, and were focused on our group; staff and spouses.
His plan was so much better. His plan eliminated our time frame for worship. Our plan was 25-30 minutes....He led us for over two hours in worship. Our plan included just us....He included those passing by the building; camp personnel, counselors, and volunteers. Our plan had an air-conditioned room....His plan opened the doors and windows for everyone to hear His worship. I believe what made this event so special was the realization that we no longer had control of our plan and we surrendered to God's plan for us.....to worship at the top of our lungs for however long He led us and to not restrict His plan in any way.
Yes, God's plan affected everyone in the house; all our guests, all the staff, and me. And yes, you had to be there for that event to understand what it was like. But, those events are in every moment of our life. Are you rehearsed and prepared? Whose plan are you using?
Tuesday night, June 29th, was one of those events for me; one of those unplanned, unrehearsed, unprepared events...at least unplanned in my mind. It would be hard to say unrehearsed and unprepared. As a worshipper, we should always be rehearsed and prepared for times of worshipping God. Whenever we open His Word to read what He wants us to know, we are being prepared for His presence in our life. Whenever we think about how He is working in our life, how He is orchestrating everything according to His plan for us.....we are rehearsing for what He is about to do. So often, we don't plan for Him. Kind of like Tuesday night. Our plan, as part of an after-dinner time of fellowship together, was to play a few songs and have prayer. A very simple plan. Our plan was not His plan for us. We had placed our plan within a time frame, and were focused on our group; staff and spouses.
His plan was so much better. His plan eliminated our time frame for worship. Our plan was 25-30 minutes....He led us for over two hours in worship. Our plan included just us....He included those passing by the building; camp personnel, counselors, and volunteers. Our plan had an air-conditioned room....His plan opened the doors and windows for everyone to hear His worship. I believe what made this event so special was the realization that we no longer had control of our plan and we surrendered to God's plan for us.....to worship at the top of our lungs for however long He led us and to not restrict His plan in any way.
Yes, God's plan affected everyone in the house; all our guests, all the staff, and me. And yes, you had to be there for that event to understand what it was like. But, those events are in every moment of our life. Are you rehearsed and prepared? Whose plan are you using?
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