Worship

Had the most amazing worship experience. I'm at a conference and the worship band has been really good. But something truly remarkable happened. As we were singing "Blessed be the name of the Lord" all of a sudden the worshippers just took over the worship. The band stopped but we all just kept singing. We praised the Lord and the worship team was blown away. The worship leader looked like he was physically moved back a step or two by the power of the emotions that were being raised up. He said "I am blown away, you all have blessed us beyond measure."

It was AWESOME! I wanted to stay in the moment forever. I have never experienced anything like it in church. One woman said, "Wasn't that GREAT? Why do our churches have to have such anemic worship? It should always be like this." I had to agree.

The song has been done by a number of artists. Here are the lyrics Matt Redman wrote:

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name

I have no idea how long we sang this song. Time didn't seem to matter. Anyway, this is my devotion I offer to you. If you know this song take a minute and sing in praise to the Lord. If you don't know it, go check it out on youtube or something. Or just read and meditate on the words. Powerful stuff. AMEN 

Shipping and Handling

I did some online shopping today. Looking for bargains. I was so excited until I "proceeded to the checkout". That is when I got the news that the S&H charges were as much as my purchases thereby doubling the total. What a let down. I realized my bargains were just not that great a deal. I can stop at the store, pay a higher price with sales tax, and it would still cost less than buying it online.

 

I ship things all the time. I know I'm not paying for the shipping with these outrageous charges. It is the "handling" they are asking me to pay for. You know; the time it takes someone to pull the item and put it in a box. That is what I'm paying for. So I canceled the order. Ironically, if they had a bigger price on the item and a lower price on the S&H, I probably would have completed my purchase.

 

Why am I like that? Genetics? I remember hearing my dad say as I grew up "its the principle of the thing". I had no idea what that meant as a child I just remember my dad being upset about something when I'd hear it. NOW, I understand.

 

So I wondered what could I learn from this experience that might allow me to understand God a little more. How does my reaction to this reflect the character of God in me? Sadly it doesn't that much. First of all God is never out there "looking for bargains". And for God, the cost was high but He purchased our freedom anyway. He didn't pause to see if He could find a better deal. No, He sent His one and only Son to die for us so that we could be reconciled with Him. 

 

But I also know God desires I do the best I can with the resources He gives me. So I could justify my reaction by trying to convince you it was about this deep spiritual desire to honor God with my choices. But it wasn't. It was just the "Dillard" in me deciding there was a principle involved here. And I was going "show them" by not buying anything from them.

 

Now, I have to find time in my busy day, scratch that, busy week, scratch that, busy month to go to the store and see if the items I need are there. Probably more than one store. Grrrrrrr

 

John 2:24  NLT

"But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature."

Generosity

There is an event in my area called the “Passion Awards” and it’s done through the National Christian Foundation – Heartland (http://heartland.nationalchristian.com/), a great ministry that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing for years now. This year the theme for the Passion Awards is “Live the Generous Life”. So I have been thinking and praying a lot about generosity. Today my look into the Bible landed on this verse in Isaiah 32:8:

“But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity.” <NLT>

In other translations the “but” is often translated as “therefore”. I’ve always been taught that when reading the Bible for all its worth you must pause and ask yourself “what is the therefore…there for?”

I love that! So I looked back into verse 7 and here is what it said “The smooth tricks of scoundrels are evil. They plot crooked schemes. They lie to convict the poor, even when the cause of the poor is just.” What a contrast to the generous person!

So now that I have the context of verse 8 what does it teach me? “Generous people plan” to be generous. I have to pause and challenge myself to search my heart and ask if I plan to be generous or does it happen by accident or when it is convenient? Not just generous with my bank account but also with my time and my talents. I’ve learned the discipline of planned giving over the years and am able to give when an unexpected need arises. I understand it all belongs to the Lord and I am merely an administrator of what He gives me.

But I am challenged by this thought of planned generosity with my time. I work in ministry and often go home exhausted. I “protect” my time away from ministry and will need to spend time thinking about if I have gone too far in that protection of my time. Yes, there is a lot to ponder here.

The verse ends with the picture of generous people standing firm in their generosity. Can you picture someone who does that? I can and I want to be just like that person when I grow up.

May you be generous today.

May you be challenged to plan your generosity.

May God, who owns it all, grant you the resources you need to stand firm!

AMEN

Work

This morning I am finding it hard to steady my mind and have quiet time with the Lord. I sit at my desk by the window and look out. A gentle breeze makes my tattered and faded American flag look like it is floating and free of the wire that keeps it in its place. The giant trees are so green and against the blue sky everything I see is inviting me to come out and play. But I am much like that flag. I am tattered and faded. I am held in place not by a wire but by obligations that require my time and attention. I am not free to run and play. Not now, not yet.

I must focus. I must work. I must use my time wisely in service to the Lord. This day will go fast and before I know it I’ll be laying my head back on my pillow. I will lay there and think about all the things I did not finish, forgetting all the things that were accomplished. What is up with that? Why do we so often look at the undone and not rejoice in what is done? Hmmm…I’ll have to marinate on that thought for a while.

I don’t know what this day holds for you. I don’t know what work is before you. I pray it is work of eternal value and that regardless of the tasks required you will do it as if working for Lord.

Ephesians 6:7 <NLT>

Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Dust

“I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.”

Isaiah 46:4 NLT

Father God, thank you for knowing me. For knowing the numbers of hair on my head and the color they are at the root. You made and formed me while I was still in my mother’s womb and you have never forgotten me. Who am I that you would notice me at all? I am nothing. Dust really. Because you love me I have value. Because you save me I have life! Carry me Father…all the days of my life. AMEN

What

So I did a short Bible study on the words “what should I do”? When I first did this word search at biblegateway.com I did not expect any verses to return. I was wrong. I read through the different verses, going to the entire chapter when needed to get the context of what surrounded the question. I saw a number of different situations where this simple question came up. SIMPLE?! Well maybe not. I’ll change that to “short” question. Sometimes the question was hypothetical and sometimes I got the impression it was asked not to seek an answer but to get the listener to think. And the list of those who asked the question is like a “who’s who” of the Bible:

Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do…”?

David prayed, “What should I do?”

Saul answered to Samuel, “What should I do?”

Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, “What should I do?”

The king asked Haman, “What should I do…”?

Pilate asked the people, “What should I do…”?

An expert in religious law asked Jesus, “…what should I do…”?

Paul asked the Lord, “What should I do”?

In Hosea 6:4 the Lord asks: “What should I do with you?”

As I pondered this list I thought more and more about the question and less about the answer. What should I do?

Seriously, what should I do? When I’m asking this question it is because I’m seeking direction. I desire to be told something rather than discovering it for myself. I want the short cut and I want it with all the answers laid out before me.

Answer: what I believe I learned this morning is that the answer to this question requires action on my part. Finding the answer is part of the adventure. It is like looking for buried treasure. You don’t start by opening the chest, no you start by hearing it exists, then finding a map, then perhaps enlisting the help of others, then you have to go, then you have to dig…get the picture? Sometimes you might find the treasure and sometimes the true treasure was in the journey.

What should I do? Do the next thing, whatever that is. One step at a time, one conversation at a time, one discovery at a time. Do the next thing.

Labor

Ecclesiastes 5:18 <NIV>
"This is what I have observed to be good:
that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot."

As I studied this verse here is what I observed:
That upon reading it I experienced many varied emotions ranging from good to depressing. I like the part about eating, drinking and finding satisfaction. However...toilsome labor? toilsome? REALLY? Part of me wishing I could just eat, drink and be satisfied without that toilsome labor part. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the definition for toilsome is: marked by or full of toil or fatigue .

That doesn't sound fun. It certainly doesn't sound American either. Then add to that the next part of the verse above: "the few days of life". UGH. So I don't live long and I get to work until I drop. WHY? Well according to this verse because that is my lot. Bummer.

I guess doing a word search on "labor" this Labor Day was not the best idea I've ever had. So I decided to read on in this chapter. The verse states that "it is good to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it." Okay, I'm feeling a little better now. It also says to "enjoy your work and accept your lot in life" because this too is a gift from God. Well I got that one. I truly do enjoy my work. And I love the life God has given me. I have moved from depressed to blessed. How great is that?

Chapter five concludes with verse 20 stating "God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past".

Man God is smart.  :)

GMP

1 Timothy 1:2 <NLT>
"I am writing to Timothy, my true son in the faith. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace."


God give grace, mercy and peace to deal with anything this day will bring. Grace to show others your love. Mercy to show others your compassion. And peace to show others your unending patience. Amen