The Reason We Worship

There are so many posts, blogs, and articles by Christians complaining or bashing the praise and worship band. Although I can understand some of the viewpoints of those people, I have to respectfully disagree. As I sat in church this past Sunday morning, those posts came to mind as our song leader for the day was quoting scripture about God's power, might, and presence. How we don't come to church to sing words, but worship Him, and draw near to Him...to feel His presence.

I've read the complaints about these kinds of bands....my church's band; they're "too loud", there's lights and fog...like a "rock concert"...or the fact that the worship team seems to be worshiping and not strictly leading the congregation. See, I grew up in churches where the song service had a single song leader instead of a worship team, a simple piano in the background instead of multiple instruments, with the congregation holding hymnals singing along instead of slide shows, seated in pews instead of standing with raised hands.

Here's the thing, before you go and get defensive, let me explain that I do not have a problem with the traditional worship service, hymnals, or a single instrument during song service. I have absolutely no issues with this style. I do, however, have a problem with people judging the heart of those praising God in this way, simply because it is not what THEY prefer. 

Let me give my thoughts. Growing up in the traditional song service with no raising of hands, rarely standing unless told to, and reading words from a book...I never felt a lot of emotion during our song services. I was never moved. Now those who are traditional song leaders, that is not meant to discourage or degrade the job that you do! God has called you to this position; you're there for a reason, and what you're doing is meaningful.

For me, this is a personal feeling, nothing against the job you have done.

Skip several years, and I joined a church that has a band, lights, a worship TEAM, and yes...even fog sometimes...heaven help us. I can honestly say I have learned another kind of worship.

I want you to ask yourself this: do you feel like the traditional way of worshiping is better than the modern way because it's "not how you were raised", or because you don't really understand the meaning of worship? Now, I'm not judging. Your worship experience is between you and God. Not me. Not the person sitting next to you. Not your family. You and God. I have simply realized in my own life that I previously judged these bands because I was uncomfortable ...maybe even jealous...that these people were OPENLY worshiping. They weren't afraid to lift their hands to the Lord; cry tears of joy, sadness, or gratefulness. I grew up where you stood still, like a statue, and sang words from a page. Still to this day I love hymns, especially when my family sits together and sings, or my praise and worship group leads them...but do you really think people in heaven will be praising God in seated positions, hands in their lap, reading from a book? Do you think the voices and instruments will be soft? Or do you think people will be falling to their knees, singing with a LOUD voice, praising their King singing "holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God almighty"?

If praise and worship isn't for you, that is 100% okay. If that isn't how you get close to God, that is your business. But I want to warn you...be cautious of your judgments on those who give their time and talents to the Lord by leading 

these praise and worship services. Worship is a PERSONAL experience, and to judge others for worshiping one way, simply because YOU don't feel close to God in that time is a very dangerous place to be.

"Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a SHOUT of joy." -Psalm 33:3

"SHOUT joyfully to God, all the earth; Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!" Psalm 66:1-3

"I will praise the name of God with song and MAGNIFY Him with thanksgiving." -Psalm 69:30

"Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with JOYFUL singing."

Psalm 100:2

I can honestly say I feel closer to God through my praise and worship band, seeing their emotions, joy, gratefulness, and LOVE for their Savior than I ever did standing in a pew. 

Worship is personal. If you don't like one way of worship, seek out another. Don't bash those who feel God's presence in that place.

The beautiful thing about

Christianity is that we are all 100% uniquely designed by the most loving, gifted artist there is. Use your story and time with God to touch and move other people. Not degrade their experience with their Savior. 

A Beautiful Marriage

Today is a special day for two special people. It's a day we celebrate two of the most influential people in my life.

It's my parents 27th anniversary!

There are a few things you need to know about my parents.

1: They told me, my brothers and sisters very early on in our lives that they wanted us to know with assurance that they would never get a divorce. They said they never wanted us to fear that one or the other would leave us.

2: They have always worked together on everything.

3: They are ALWAYS open with each other.

4: They are best friends...and if you're around them longer than 2 minutes you can tell.

5: I have NEVER heard my parents yell at or degrade one another. I'm sure they've had fights...I mean, they're married with 6 kids, it's inevitable...but they've never done it in front of us kids or other people.

To grow up with a hard working mother, who did so much for my brothers and sisters on a daily basis....trained us to work hard, taught us how important it is to have character, how to love learning (reading specifically), and how to treat other people with respect, is something a lot of kids don't get these days.

And my dad. He has always worked so hard to provide above and beyond what my family needed. We have always had a nice house. Plenty of food (maybe too much sometimes, ;) electricity, water, and we never lacked toys to play with or things to do.
I've seen my dad stressed over work, bills, where to move, which job to take, churches....and through every choice he made, he made it completely selflessly based on how it would affect his family (which meant passing up sever really good job opportunities).
My dad was always eager to help us if we had an interest in learning a new skill, or thought of something we might want to do for a living. Even if he thought it was silly, he bought the material and books to teach us that skill.
I've sat through countless sermons of my dads, heard the conviction, felt the passion he has for his Lord, and seen the tears of his gratefulness and awe of Christ. Not many kids get that privilege. My dad is an AMAZING pastor. My favorite out of every pastor I've ever heard (no bias here).

For the 23 years I've been alive, I have been able to witness a beautiful marriage. Lots of hard times, many unknown times, many stressful times....but my parents have stuck with it, grown closer, and continue to be an example of a Christ centered marriage to their children and everyone around. It's not about how perfect your life is....our family certainly has its struggles...but having my parents as the example always makes things a little brighter.

I want to thank you, Mama and Daddy. For always believing in me, pushing me to do more, encouraging me, raising me, teaching me about the love of Christ, how to never stop learning, and how wonderful a marriage can be.

I love you!!! 

Where Is Your Life Headed?

We hear about it on the news, read it on social media and in the papers, everyone we are around seems to have a little bit of it. It's taking over our lives, deteriorating our health, relationships, jobs, and finances, and we don't even see it. It's become so engrained in our lives, it's just an every day thing for us now. The more people we are around who are infected with it, the worse our condition becomes.

Negativity.

See, we have become so used to the sound of it, we don't even realize how badly it is affecting us.

Health- When we are overtaken by negative thoughts for so long, our bodies begin to wear down and break down. There is only so much of it our bodies can take. Those worthless feelings you have? The aches in the morning? The strange mood you've developed? It's not just age, y'all. This is part of the result of living a negative lifestyle. Now I'm not saying its only those of us who seem to be stressed, worried, fearful, and never have a positive thing to say. No, it can be complaints about anything in your life that's "not going right."

Relationships- Nobody ENJOYS being around someone who complains all the time. Even people who live that 24/7! When your friends/siblings/parents/
spouse/children are always having to listen to you complain about your work, aches, car, finances, or depressing life, those relationships will begin to crumble right there in front of you. How can we expect for things to get better if we keep doing the same old routine day in and day out?

Jobs- If you had a business, and you always heard 1 of your workers complaining, how long do you think you'd keep them? Probably not too long. Now, I am fully aware some people have horrible jobs. There are jobs out there that are so stressful, bosses who overwork you, underpay you, or are just downright degrading to you. I understand those feelings. I have been there before. It's not fun. I also understand that not everybody has the option of finding another job. But until your attitude changes, you will never find the perfect job, you will never be happy with your work no matter what it is.

Finances- The more desperate and hopeless we feel, the more we tend to throw in the towel. We have $10,000+ in debt?
-"Well, I have to have a new shirt for this birthday party coming up, what's $20 more going to do?"
-"I'm already as bad as I can get, and a candy bar and soda will make me feel better about it. What's $5 more going to hurt?"
See, it's the mindset that we have NO control over our situation, and responsibility for our own actions, that continually makes the situation worse.

Come on now, how many things really go wrong and keep us down that we truly have NO control over?

I have been noticing a huge increase in negativity in my own life the last few weeks. I feel like I'm fine, then I get this overwhelming feeling and just start to complain about everything. How I feel, paying my bills, people that have "irritated" me. The list could go on for awhile. But I've been stuck in this rut for weeks now, and it was until last night while I was reading a book that I was brought back to the truth. I have control over my actions, feelings, and words. I have CONTROL over my own life and how I react to everything that happens. I have chosen a negative mindset. Which has increased all of my negative feelings by 100.

You see, it's not that we are stuck in this lifestyle. That is both the sad and exciting thing about it! The sad thing is, we have let others convince us, and have convinced ourselves, that our life is stuck the way it is; that we have no control over how we are living or what happens to us. I'm here to tell you that is a bold faced lie.

A few bible verses to think about:

Jesus said:
"In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ NKJV)

He never promises us, anywhere in the bible, that our life will be easy. As a matter of fact, He tells us over and over that it will be hard, we will be laughed at, mocked, tortured for His name... And I know hating your job or struggling financially may not fall under the "mocking" or "torture" category, however, I'm sure many of us feel tortured in those instances. Life isn't going to be hard just because we are followers of Christ, it will be bar because of SIN. And sin says being unhappy, negative, and depressed is okay.

Proverbs says:
"A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones." (‭Proverbs‬ ‭17‬:‭22‬ NKJV)

When we allow ourselves to live in a life filled with negativity, it will affect us down to our bones, and will literally begin to make us sick. But a merry heart (a joyFUL person) is like medicine! Jesus says we are the medicine we need! If we have Him living inside of us, we HAVE that ability to make a change in our lives. We HAVE something to be happy about. We HAVE someone who will listen to us, and help us through this life's journey. No, it will not always be easy. There will be days when we want to be downright grumpy about our situation and circumstances. But Jesus gives us the power to overcome the entire WORLD if we let Him come by our side and give us the strength we need.

So, we have a choice today. Where is your life heading? What's yours decision going to be?