Monday, December 22, 2008

A Roach by Any Other Name...

David is always asking, "What's that smell?" I usually can't answer because I don't smell anything. He must have the most sensitive nose in the world.

Tonight as I was brushing his teeth, he said, "What's that smell?" I replied with my usual I don't know. He then told me it smelled like a roach. I told him that I was not aware that roaches had a smell. He said, "Well, dead ones do." I don't EVEN want to know how he knows that.

I really just blogged about this because I wanted to use the title! : )

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Be Still

Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

This year, I've been asking God to help me get past all the stuff of Christmas so that I could get to the heart of Christmas, which is His heart. When I started praying about this, the phrase that kept running through my mind is, "Be still" which led me to this verse. I looked up some of the words of this verse to see what it really means to be still.

The Hebrew word for "still" is "raphah". It means "to slacken: abate, cease, forsake, idle, leave, let alone, be still". Pretty self-explanatory, but what I found very interesting is that it is the exact same word for healing. That entry's definition is "to mend, to cure, to heal, make whole".

The Hebrew word for "know" is "yada". It means to acknowledge, discern, discover, the list of words for this word go on and on.

The word for "God" is "Elohiym", which means the Supreme God.

That is what God wants from us at Christmas, to acknowledge that He is the Supreme God. Because until we really get that, we cannot fully understand and appreciate the miraculous gift of Emmanuel - God with us. We cannot fathom the wonder of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men they felt when looking into the eyes of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in tiny human form. This Supreme God stepped out of the glory of Heaven, laid aside His privileges as God, and became a man so that He could be with us in every sense of the word, and ultimately to die for us. The Supreme God chose to suffer and die on the cross for all mankind, and because He is the Supreme God, He conquered sin and death once and for all. That is what God wants from us and wants for us this Christmas, to be still and know that He is God - and everything that implies. Hallelujah! Emmanuel!!

Friday, December 5, 2008

A Life of Worship

Last week I shared what God has been showing me about making my life an act of worship, and the sermon at my church last Sunday only reiterated all of that to me. Our worship pastor preached, and he talked about how worship is our response with all that we are - body, mind, will, and emotions - to all that God is, says, and does. So that got me thinking. What does a life that is lived out as an act of worship look like? I know it's a life that is living to love, but on a practical moment-by-moment basis, what does it look like? How can changing my baby's dirty diaper, or cleaning the kitchen be an act of worship? As I've pondered this, God has brought two verses to mind. The first one is Colossians 3:17 - "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." This sounds like just another abstract concept, but it has to do with my motivation and my attitude. Do I grumble about changing a diaper every time I turn around or because it seems I am the only one in my house who knows how to throw anything away? No, I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. I guess a good example of what I'm thinking this looks like is the way I am at church. I love SMIC, and I love this worship ministry. As a result, I do whatever I can to serve this ministry - from these prayer emails (and the praying), to helping set up chairs or file music. Therefore, how much more should I be willing to do in my home or out and about as an act of love and service to my Lord Jesus?
The other verse that came to mind is I Thessalonians 5:18 - "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." So the other part of it is not just doing things without grumbling or complaining, but also with thanksgiving and gratitude to God. So I can thank God for my sweet baby girl who will only be this little and in diapers for a short time, and for my family that I get to clean up after (as an act of love to them AND to God) and that I have a house that needs cleaning and the healthy body to get up and do it. In other words, it comes down to my attitude. Because, after all, God is not looking at the outward stuff of what I'm doing, He's looking at my heart. Like Kevin said Sunday, worship should start in the heart. Therefore, making my life an act of worship is all about making my heart a place of continual worship and thanksgiving to God.