Here is blog post #1 (of 4) about the things God is teaching me, particularly this week.
1) It started with my cousin, Chrisalyn, sharing something from Emily P Freeman at my Grandfathers Celebration Home-Going service. Here is portions of what she shared:
“God never intended us to refer to the church as a building. And he never intended worship to be reduced to a church service. His church is his people, and worship is what they do.”
He doesn’t want us to compartmentalize our lives.
He doesn’t want us to assign percentages for work, service, prayer, exercise, PTA, meal-planing, bill-paying, dog-walking, toilet-cleaning, church, and rest.
He wants us to freely receive the abundance of truth from Him and abide in that truth….
As people who have received the free gift of God’s grace, we respond with worship in everything….
We breathe in air, we breath out worship.
We receive love, and extend worship.
We comfort, we laugh, we dance, we breathe, we dream, we exist. Worship. All worship.
We pay the bills, we run on the treadmill, we enjoy a good movie, we make dinner, we welcome friends with open arms - Worship. All worship.
We wait for love, we long for home, we pour our our hearts, we create with words, and photos and colors and food. Worship. All worship.
But we don’t call it that. We call those things “living.”
But when the spirit of God lives inside of us, then our living is also our worship. What else could it be?
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship."
Romans 12:1
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Colossians 3:17
These testimonies were the first illustrations that reminded me that I need not get caught up in trying to figure out what my life is worth. I need not live just from one load of laundry to the next. I need to live, and move in a state of worship. I should do laundry as unto the Lord. I should cook rice as an act of worship.
I'm not talking about living in a state of euphoria where everything is hunky-dory. But I am talking about finding ways to avoid the dangerous trail of viewing any daily task as drudgery, or somehow less important than any other God-given assignments.
I'll continue this thought in my next posts...
1) It started with my cousin, Chrisalyn, sharing something from Emily P Freeman at my Grandfathers Celebration Home-Going service. Here is portions of what she shared:
“God never intended us to refer to the church as a building. And he never intended worship to be reduced to a church service. His church is his people, and worship is what they do.”
He doesn’t want us to assign percentages for work, service, prayer, exercise, PTA, meal-planing, bill-paying, dog-walking, toilet-cleaning, church, and rest.
We receive love, and extend worship.
We comfort, we laugh, we dance, we breathe, we dream, we exist. Worship. All worship.
We pay the bills, we run on the treadmill, we enjoy a good movie, we make dinner, we welcome friends with open arms - Worship. All worship.
We wait for love, we long for home, we pour our our hearts, we create with words, and photos and colors and food. Worship. All worship.
But we don’t call it that. We call those things “living.”
But when the spirit of God lives inside of us, then our living is also our worship. What else could it be?
Romans 12:1
My cousin, Jill, then shared about how Grandfather and Grandmother clearly demonstrated how all parts of life are to be seen as worship. She shared how they lived out this verse: make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands…" - 1 Thessalonians 4:11
These testimonies were the first illustrations that reminded me that I need not get caught up in trying to figure out what my life is worth. I need not live just from one load of laundry to the next. I need to live, and move in a state of worship. I should do laundry as unto the Lord. I should cook rice as an act of worship.
I'm not talking about living in a state of euphoria where everything is hunky-dory. But I am talking about finding ways to avoid the dangerous trail of viewing any daily task as drudgery, or somehow less important than any other God-given assignments.
I'll continue this thought in my next posts...
No comments:
Post a Comment