There are plenty of things I could have called this blog, and some would be quite clever. But I have found over the last 7-8 years that if I could categorize “worship” as anything other than worship, I would call it a catalyst for change. Worshiping God is serious stuff, and to do so demands a lot from us in our lives. It demands a life truly set apart. It demands daily walking with our God. It demands a level of forgiveness that the world cannot understand. It demands a sincere level of humility that doesn’t take credit for any of the good things that we do, but bears the burden of accountability for our words and deeds.
One definition of the word “catalyst” is: a person or thing that precipitates an event or change. Speaking from life experience, aside from the initial giving of myself to Christ, nothing else precipitated change in my life like the act of worship has and continues to do. In fact, through the Worship Ministry at Valley View, I have seen many lives changed by the simple act of a person’s giving his/her time and talent back to the One Who gave it in the first place. This is the stuff that precipitates radical change.
I encourage you to check in from time to time at this blog and see what’s going on at Valley View. I also encourage you to visit our church if you aren’t currently plugged in somewhere else. If you are a Valley View person and know that God has gifted you in worship, I encourage you to get involved in the worship ministry and I challenge you to view your involvement not as a new activity, but as a link to God in a way that will change your life.
Did you ever wonder when “worship wars” began? By worship wars I’m speaking specifically about individual preferences for different music styles in worship. Though, to me, this seems like a church issue that is fairly new, I’m certain that the issue of preference and style is as old as Christianity itself.
At some point in history somebody decided that God placed a new song in his mouth and stepped out on faith, wrote a new God-given psalm and introduced it, with what was surely a great deal of enthusiasm and passion, to his local church. Now, unless humanity has changed vastly over the last 2000 years or so, (and the Bible indicates that we haven’t) not everyone in the congregation that day was giddy over the new song. I imagine the feelings against that sort of change might have been quite strong. “What’s wrong with the songs David wrote” might have been a resounding question around that campus, and a question worth asking. After all, a few thousand years have now passed since David penned the psalms given to him by God and we still sing most of them in one form or another today. When David wrote in the 40th Psalm that God had “put a new song” in his mouth, he never declared that God wouldn’t do the same for generations to come.
Sometimes our traditions dictate that we be slow to accept the changes of upcoming generations. Sometimes we accept God in a “style” rather than in the truth of His word spoken through songs of many styles. Some of the choruses dearest to me are from the time that God was reaching me for the first time in my life. “Potter’s Hands,” The Power of Your Love,” “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” and so many others still hold a dear place to me today. But here’s the thing; I don’t live in those days anymore. I still love those songs but I look forward to the “new song” God will place in my mouth and in my heart if I allow Him to. At every step of my faith journey I want to be able to identify songs that moved my heart, that challenged my growth and commitment to God’s word and that helped me through the troubled times of my life.
I want to leave this world a shoutin’ and a singin’ and I don’t want to concern myself with the style as I go!
I’m sure you’ve heard the question phrased oppositely - “what would you do if you knew you could not fail?” - but I want to approach this life knowing that failures in life are a certainty; no one lives a life without failure. In fact, if you never fail at anything you obviously aren’t trying hard enough!
The Famous inventor, Thomas Edison, said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Today, I would encourage anyone who reads this to try something new in the name of Jesus. Witness in a place where you never dreamed you’d try. Speak to a lost family member in a practical and real way about the power of Christ in your life. Pray for the server at your restaurant. Lift your hands in worship if you feel the urging of the Spirit to do so. Fast. Pray longer.
Do something differently and allow God to work in you in a way that is fresh, new and powerful.
Today, for no particular reason at all, I was thinking about the story of Joseph and how his father gave him that really cool multi-colored coat. I imagine that Joesph’s brothers wrestled quite a bit with the idea of their father giving Joey such a dashing coat while they all slaved away in fields and pastures, no doubt dressing appropriately for the occasion. In fact, the 37th chapter of Genesis tells us that Joseph’s brothers hated him because of the partiality his father showed him and they couldn’t even speak a kind word to him.
If you’ve read the story of Joseph you know how the story ends - happily, but not without some great trials.
God shows favor to his children as well. To some He gives the gift of prophecy, to some the gift of mercy, to some the gift of serving, to some the gift of leading. In fact, there are some 28 gifts that God gives us, not to mention the talents associated with those gifts to get the job done, and done well. If Joseph could have only received the gift from his father with a humble attitude and a grateful heart, how much grief would he have been spared in his life?
Sometimes we can parade our gifts around our Christian family too, creating an environment of envy and competition which is really unhealthy for growth and for life. It’s of serious importance that we understand that the talents or gifts we have were given to us for a certain purpose, and that purpose is to be of use to the Kingdom of God. When I stop to survey whatever it is that God has given to me or allowed me to do, I should always give the glory and the credit to Him for whatever good there is in me while at the same time taking the blame for whatever I am lacking in spirit or in character.
Today, I desire to be a living vessel to glorify God. I have breath and life for now, though not to keep forever. I have a voice to sing and a sound mind and body with which to lead. These days we’ve been given are numbered and fleeting. Our lives as vapors will dissolve into nothing sooner than we expect. We have no time to take credit for our gifts and never a need to boast about what’s been given to us by God.
Romans 12:6 “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly:”
Have you ever wondered about some of the odd things that you do? You know, the things that make you uniquely weird or goofy or maybe even make you feel a little like you just don’t fit in?
I’m here to tell you that some of the very things that we might want to rid ourselves of are some the the very things God has given us to set us apart, to enhance our personal ministries to others and to make us acceptable in certain circles while keeping us outcasts in others. Whatever your quirk (mullets don’t count, that’s a choice!), talk to God about why you are the way you are. You just might find out that He wants it that way and the oddest thing about you may ultimately bring glory to Him. After all, what you are is no surprise to God.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” Jeremiah 1:5 NIV