Ch. 749 - Glory Leads to Praise

I am frustrated.

...

To fully worship God with all that we have... oh, the beauty... to not hold back, to be free. Such desire. For "the dwelling place of God - it is with man." We have access to Him. Why worship Him as He is far away, as if we have to wait for Him to come to us?


' "And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it." '
[Isaiah 40:5]

......

Click here to revisit Chapter 327.

Ch. 680 - MY Way or... ?

Worship is worship is worship.

What matters most is the heart and its intention behind the worship.

I should not, then, feel bothered when I am told where I have to sit, what I have to pray, which songs I have to sing... etc.

Yet I do.

[And of course, I don't "have" to do any of these things.]

I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't bother me. I know this needs to change. But if I have such a freedom to openly praise and worship my Lord God with my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am going to take full advantage of said freedom and worship Him the way I desire, even within a congregational context. Is that truly so wrong?

Open.
Observant.

Expectant.

Weighted down with the Presence.
Whispering words of love to my Lord God.

Spirit.

There's more.
So much more.
But it's personal.
"Me and God."
You understand... right?
It's okay if you don't.
I mean, I'm at a Bible college.
Surrounded by people just like myself.
So at the very least, I'm sure they understand.
... Right.


'Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;'
[Psalm 95:6]

Ch. 669 - Gutted.

Back.

I simply... didn't feel like posting.
So I didn't.

......

"Only one word comes to mind.
There's only one word to describe...
... There is no one like You,
You are holy... holy."
[Holy by Matt Gilman & Cory Asbury]

God is holy.
His Son is Lord.
His Spirit lives in us.

He speaks.
He lives.
He is near.

So why do we worship Him as if He is silent, dead, and far away?
... That is, if we worship Him at all...


'For this God is our God for ever and
ever;
he will be our guide even to the end.'
[Psalm 48:14]

'My salvation and my honor depend on
God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge. Selah.'
[Psalm 62:7-8]

Ch. 667 - People Get Ready

How can something meant to be uplifting be so very disheartening?

Even through the praise and glorification, I come to be discouraged. My heart breaks. Do they have any idea of what they're missing out on? I honestly have no clue. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it's difficult to do so.

WAKE UP!

Distraught.
That is what I am.
Distraught.


'He who testifies to these things says,'
"Yes, I am coming soon."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.'
[Revelation 22:20-21]

Ch. 664 - God of Glory

Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the Lord glory and
strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his
name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of
his holiness.

The voice of the Lord is over the
waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over the mighty
waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
[Psalm 29:1-4]

Ch. 170 - Giving Your All

I attended chapel for the first time here at Central today. Chapel is held twice a week for an hour and it's mandatory. They have attendance and everything. However, after going to chapel today, I have to wonder why you would ever want to skip out or be somewhere else. The reasons are completely beyond me.

We sang worship songs and it was a beautiful experience to hear over four hundred young voices singing praise to God. I've never been part of something like that. Even on mission trips, the most people we had gathered at one time was maybe one hundred and fifty or so. My home church's congregation is pretty large, but during the traditional service (the most attended service), the experience of singing (whether it's contemporary praise or traditional hymns is irrelevant) and praising God by doing so is completely different. The atmosphere is not the same. The energy isn't quite there like it was this morning at chapel. It's not vibrant.

Does that make it any less acceptable?
No.
Does that make it any less affective?
No.

God doesn't care about the how, the when, or the where. And that's what makes true worship so attractive. I've learned this past year that worship is not going to church. Worship is not singing praise songs. Those are aspects of worship. Worship is living your life for God. Giving everything you've got to Him - all day, every day. Don't get me wrong, going to church and singing praise songs is seriously an awesome thing to do, if it so appeals to you and you enjoy participating in those acts of worship. Some say they are not necessary on your walk with Christ, others would disagree.

But it all comes down to loving God above all else and giving Him your heart. That's what truly matters.

Chapel is definitely a bonus, though.


'Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name.'
[Hebrews 13:15]