Designer Goodness

Genesis 1:26-28, 31 NASB
"Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."

Every time I read Genesis I learn something more about our creator God the designer of our hearts.
I love that He says "Let us create man in our image." This references is also made in John 1 all things were made through Him the holy trinity. God was not alone creating the cosmos, the Father, Spirit and Son were in agreement creating all of existence.

I love how He pauses and says everything is good after he creates it. I imagine a master craftsman impressing himself and enjoying his handwork. Kicking back and enjoying what he has just done. When God rests on the 7th day it is not because he was tired, or needed a break from all that hard work. Scholars maintain that "rest" in the Hebrew is closer to the meaning of the word enjoy. On the 7th day God enjoyed his creation. (There is a great book called Sabbath by Dan Allender, if you are interested.)

Now sitting in His presence where He enjoys us I can't help but think about how He created us in His image and called us good. God calling us good has more to do with who He is than what we are. We tend to think we have been good or bad, but the bible says there is only one who is good. The Designer. Now Jesus died and saved us from sin so now the Father sees the Son's righteousness instead of our sin, and we are covered by His sacrifice. Yet again it is about who He is, not what we are.

I am beginning to understand creation more when I realize design is about the designer, not the designed.

-=What does this mean for our worship?=-
We worship God for who He is. We should worship Him, worship as designed, in accordance to His will, with His Spirit, in His presence, made possible through His sacrifice.

Surrender our idols and sacrifice only to Him, for Him. Jesus' life was an example of worship for us to follow. God who designed the worshiper shows us how to worship, to seek him in spirit and in truth.

I surrender my preferences and styles of worship to His will, Lord teach me how to worship. Show me your design.

Holding Nothing Back

What does this mean for our worship?

We were dead, and because He died and conquered death we now have life. Life to the full, more abundantly. What do we do with this new life, now that we are free? How could we use this time for anything other than thanking the one who gave it to us? Worship can be a thanks to God, for all that he has done for us, before we were even born. 

Yet i will Rejoice!

"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor the fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet i will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places."
-Habakkuk 3:17-19

I will have days when it seems like God isn't near to me, or i am not near to Him. On those days or hours, minuets, seconds what attitude should i take? It is easy to pout, or be grumpy and say things like, "Lord why?" or, "I just don't feel like praising you right now, I'm not in the mood."

The word of God says something should be different in the heart of a worshiper. The example of worshipers in the old and new testament are like Habakkuk, Job, Paul... the list goes on. They worship God regardless of the day, what has happened to them, how they feel, or what He wants them to do. (Jonah isn't in this group, his fish might be)

What does this mean for our worship?
God is to be worshiped always, regardless of our mood, our state of heart, our worldview, our distractions, our sin. Simply because He is God. Worship is taking joy in God, delighting in Him, and giving everything to Him no matter the times. This is a state of worship, to be giving to God.
We tend to talk about "corporate worship" as "worship," when we sing and pray together, and that is when God moves in us together. I cherish those times, but maybe God is calling you to one-on-one worship. To grow your heart, and shape it like his, into an obedient joy.

I think that complaining is the enemy of giving praise. Pray against the spirit of complaining.

Made for More

New Song
-Archie

Pace your Face, take a love day

Sabbath, rest, hanging out, relaxing, kicking back, or my personal favorite, bustin a chill.
All things we might use to describe a day of Sabbath. I want to look at our personal motivation for a day of rest.

I think a lot of people genuinely work hard and feel like they are "owed" a day to relax. Considering we cant earn salvation through works, I'm going to say we can't possibly be "owed" much. All these diversions aside, do you ever think about why God gave us the Sabbath? I know i do.

Was it to spend time with love ones? Was it to recover from our labor? Was it to have something to rush toward every week, and pass up 6/7 of our lives? (or 1-7/7 depending on your work ethic and how much you long for the weekend)

What i do know is Jesus said that the Sabbath was created for man, and not man created for the Sabbath. So i shouldn't place busting a chill on the top of most exciting things to do this week? I think we can be quick to put rest on a pedestal, and then if something gets in the way we get grumpy or cranky. I know this has happened to me before.

So what does God intend the Sabbath for?
"But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, "You shall surely observe My Sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you."" - Exodus 31:13

Here is God speaking to Moses, giving him the Ten Commandments. What i gather from this EPIC verse 13 is this: The Sabbath belongs to God, it is a sign of our relationship, and it is to remember Him, that He is God and He alone cleanses us of sin.

What does this mean for our worship?
Like usual the questions about Sabbath i ask first are all "me" questions. We can be so focused on ourselves. Here God has made it obvious that Sabbath is all about Him. All the me questions melt away in the fire of God's passion for us. When you think about how He gave us the Sabbath to remember Him. I am going to go so far as call the Sabbath a day of romance with God. Like escaping with a lover, or a honeymoon. But we get to have it with God every week! When we think about it in this context the questions about "what should we do on the Sabbath?" also disappear.
And all that remains, is intimate worship.

Crazy Faith of Abram, Bilbo Baggins

Do you ever desire to have a crazy faith? We know that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. Chew on Abram's faith with me, and his desire to say "YES" to God's plan for his life.

"Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that i will show you. And i will make of you a great nation, and i will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you i will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran."
-Genesis 12:1-4

Whoah, so much there to dig into. First God told Abram to leave everything he has ever known, and he said what? Time to pack. I don't know about you but if God gives me such a huge thing, like leave everything you have known for the last 75 years and go to this place you have never been. I don't know that my first response would be, "sounds fun, lets roll."But Abram had the faith in God's promise, and didn't even question him, there is a great example later on in Sodom and Gomorrah where Abram barters with God about saving people from the sin infested land. Yet in this call, Abram just responds with im going to put my feat on the road. It reminds me of what Bilbo Baggins says to Frodo his nephew when he leaves for Rivendale in "The Fellowship of The Ring."

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

Abram heard God's promise, and he trusted that God would  Keep his feet, he understood shepherding.

What does this mean for our worship?
I believe any heart that is ready to say "YES" to anything God speaks to you, is a heart devoted to worship. In worship we submit our own desires, our wants, and we give them to God. Don't get me wrong we know that He wants to give us the desires of our hearts (they pure ones.) But our attitudes should be like Abram, a willingness to give it all up for the Lord. He paid the price for our sin, a high price, His own son Jesus. Anything we think is hard to give up compared to that is... puny, insignificant, and kind of arrogant. So let us forge forward with an attitude of "Yes Lord," seeking with a readiness to worship Him with all of our hearts, and a willingness to give up everything we have ever known. He WANTS to bless us, so let Him, obey his call. Amen.

Summer Days

An original composition, I love you more than summer days, and i love summer days. The idea first reminds you of a love song between two people, the reveals that it is about our relationship with Christ as His bride. Some only love him "some summer days" aka when things are easy and good. But we need to love Him more than some days, some summer days, we need to love Him every day.