(no subject)
Hey everyone,
I'm preparing messages for the encounter, and during worship God was showing me some things. I feel that I should write them down now before I forget.
The most important thing that we should be learning about is developing our relationship with God. Our communion with God is the foundation to every message that has ever and will ever be preached on this planet; nothing is more important; it is the foundation of life, and the essence of our existence. In saying that, here are some lessons that God is teaching me about developing that precious relationship:
I find myself often singing or saying things like "I want to know You" or "I want to know the deep things of God". We can spend a whole WORSHIP service proclaiming that to the top of our lungs and never truly know God more. Let me ask this: how do we get to know a person better? For me, I learn about a person when I ask questions. I believe that God wants us to ask Him questions. How often do I sing "I want to know you more" and never ask a question, or never truly search out an aspect of God that I don't know much about. How can we know more about God if we never spend quality time with Him? Just as we would take a friend out for coffee and find out how their day is going, and what they've been up to, why would we change our approach with God? It doesn't make sense to say to a person "hey I really want to know more about you" and only talk about yourself or just keep saying "I want to know more about you" and not even ask questions or have a true conversation with them. I wonder why Christians do that with God; I wonder why I do that with God.
I also find myself singing or saying phrases such as "You are never changing" or "You’re the same yesterday, today, and forever". This is good to know, but what good is it if a Christian doesn't know what God is unchanging about, or if they don't know the foundation from which God never changes. What is it that He never changes from? His Words, both revealed and written. But if we never read His Word, or take time to hear His voice, then knowing that He never changes would be useless, because we don't know the foundation from which the Lord never changes.
My point is this: for me, I use words and phrases that aren't bad, but only scratch the surface of the deeper place that God has placed before me, and you. These phrases are good, but if we never discover who God is, and if we never dig deep into His Words, then these phrases are useless and empty. When we truly develop our relationship with God, then these words have meaning.
This is not to be cynical about what we are doing, or saying that the church has got it all wrong. This is a challenge to me and maybe for you, if you find that these words don't have the substance that you would like them to have. This is the next step, the higher level of worship that God is calling us to.
Tell me what you think...I learn so much from your lives and from your words. You're all an encouragement to me, to swim deeper into the presence of God. Thanks for reading.
I'm preparing messages for the encounter, and during worship God was showing me some things. I feel that I should write them down now before I forget.
The most important thing that we should be learning about is developing our relationship with God. Our communion with God is the foundation to every message that has ever and will ever be preached on this planet; nothing is more important; it is the foundation of life, and the essence of our existence. In saying that, here are some lessons that God is teaching me about developing that precious relationship:
I find myself often singing or saying things like "I want to know You" or "I want to know the deep things of God". We can spend a whole WORSHIP service proclaiming that to the top of our lungs and never truly know God more. Let me ask this: how do we get to know a person better? For me, I learn about a person when I ask questions. I believe that God wants us to ask Him questions. How often do I sing "I want to know you more" and never ask a question, or never truly search out an aspect of God that I don't know much about. How can we know more about God if we never spend quality time with Him? Just as we would take a friend out for coffee and find out how their day is going, and what they've been up to, why would we change our approach with God? It doesn't make sense to say to a person "hey I really want to know more about you" and only talk about yourself or just keep saying "I want to know more about you" and not even ask questions or have a true conversation with them. I wonder why Christians do that with God; I wonder why I do that with God.
I also find myself singing or saying phrases such as "You are never changing" or "You’re the same yesterday, today, and forever". This is good to know, but what good is it if a Christian doesn't know what God is unchanging about, or if they don't know the foundation from which God never changes. What is it that He never changes from? His Words, both revealed and written. But if we never read His Word, or take time to hear His voice, then knowing that He never changes would be useless, because we don't know the foundation from which the Lord never changes.
My point is this: for me, I use words and phrases that aren't bad, but only scratch the surface of the deeper place that God has placed before me, and you. These phrases are good, but if we never discover who God is, and if we never dig deep into His Words, then these phrases are useless and empty. When we truly develop our relationship with God, then these words have meaning.
This is not to be cynical about what we are doing, or saying that the church has got it all wrong. This is a challenge to me and maybe for you, if you find that these words don't have the substance that you would like them to have. This is the next step, the higher level of worship that God is calling us to.
Tell me what you think...I learn so much from your lives and from your words. You're all an encouragement to me, to swim deeper into the presence of God. Thanks for reading.