Corporate Worship

Corporate Worship

So, my take on corporate worship varies greatly depending on which aspect of it I focus on. I think that it is a very important thing that we come together and worship God as a body. I believe God looks at it with favor just as he does when two or more come to Him in prayer. I believe there is power in it.

I believe that the scripture tells us to worship God.

Psalm 40:3 says, "He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
and put their trust in him". Also in 1 Chronicles 16:9 we read, "Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts". These just two scriptures that tell us that we should worship God. Therefore, I have no doubt that is what we should do... worship Him.

Where my issues comes is this; I feel that many corporate worship settings sort of guilt people into thinking that in order to worship God they must act a certain way, or do a certain thing. I think that everyone has a different and personal way of worshiping the Lord. We are not all the same. I believe that everyone is capable of worshiping via song in a corporate worship setting, but I don't believe that you have to be physically singing in order to be worshiping and glorifying to God. I believe that you can quietly worship inside of your head and your heart. I believe that God is just as honored by you standing in a worship service with your focus on Him and the good things He has done for you and humanity. I believe that God is honored with whatever way you choose to praise him as long as you are doing it in full and complete submission to Him and not for any other reason.

I love to see people waving their arms and falling in the spirit while worshiping but I do not typically sing songs during worship services. I personally enjoy listening to the music and focusing on the words and focusing on God and what he has done for me and my family and friends. My personal offering of worship is submission of thought and remembering what has been done for me and what is to come! Sunday, at an Easter Service I actually felt lead to join in on the music because the words were very, very true and sweet to my soul. I could feel the presence of the Lord moving and I forgot about myself and my pride long enough to sing the words of the song to Him and Him alone without caring who saw or heard in the midst of hundreds of people... and it was awesome. I get a lot out of the way I typically worship, but let me tell you, I got a whole lot more out of Sundays worship!

Basically, I was reminded of the old days at camp worshiping and I look forward to the years ahead of me worshiping God in whatever way I feel led to worship, and most of all I look forward to worshiping God 'in person' one day! If you have experienced the presence of God then you can only imagine how AWESOME His presence will be when we are actually in HIS presence!!!!!

If you have not experienced his presence, there is hope... you can, all you have to do is believe in Him, in Christ and his death and resurrection, confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Christ is Lord and you will be saved! It really is that simple. No religious rituals you have to do, no anything but pure faith. It is your choice of where you go when you die. Its not only a matter of heaven or hell, it is a matter of being separated from God for eternity.

John 16-18 says this: ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

You have the knowledge, you and only you can choose what you do with it.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Everyone....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRiIpsbJW8o&feature=share

Allergies Part Two

Since my last post on allergies and how much I dislike them and how they were bothering me, I got them back under control! Wahoo.

I am thankful for allergy pills, they are a life saver. :)

Allergies

Allergies, oh what a wonderful time of year....

UGH.

I hate to have red, watery, itchy eyes. Today, it started. I was hoping that they would not be bad this year, but, I still have hope that they will not be awful like they were last year. :) Its cool though, I can deal with it.... I have for 22 years so whats another year to hurt? :)

Positivity, that is the key... right? :)

The Truth Is...

So, do you want to know something that annoys me? It annoys me when I email someone and they NEVER respond when I know good and well that they have seen my message or even MESSAGES.

I think I will give up on certain people when it comes to communication until they show on their end that they actually care to partake in communicating... it isn't worth it to have a one way friendship or relationship of any sort. It is more annoying than beneficial and I'm done with it.

Simple Truths.

Only time will tell what tomorrow will bring,
Only by grace does tomorrow come,
Only by faith do we await tomorrow,
Only in the moment can be we be happy.

-Enb

Be an Example... not so much...

Something important to me is that I am a good “big” cousin. I never had any younger siblings so I was never someone who was there to give advice or to be ‘looked up to’ in a sense, but, I now have younger cousins who I am closer to than I have been with any of my other cousins, and I try to do right in the weird and unlikely chance that they look up to me in some way, shape, or form. I also now have nieces and a nephew who will look up to me in the future as they grow older, and I hope that I can stay a respectable person who is someone that I’d want to look up to myself if I were younger.

Life isn’t easy, and I am not pleased with the way I turned out really at this point, but I know that I have the ultimate gift inside of me, which is the gift of salvation by Christ Jesus and that is who I want to reflect, and that is who I want for anyone who looks at me to see. My flesh and my dreams, ambitions, and goals are useless and nasty if I have not the love of Christ in me.

What annoys me.

So, today’s blog is a simple rant. I am going to blog about the one thing that annoys me very badly. I hate when I email someone and they never respond when I know that they’ve seen the message. Granted sometimes it is awhile before people see messages, of course, it doesn’t bother me unless it has been awhile since I sent the message and also if I have sent several messages over time and the person seldom, if ever, responds to any of the messages. That really, really annoys me. Very short responses also annoy me!

Why this annoys me, you may wonder. Well, ever since I was young I can remember talking to people and when they would simply not respond for whatever reason it would bug me. When being ignored I always felt like I was talking to a wall, suffocating and claustrophobic in a way. Well, that carries over to the virtual world. I HATE BEING IGNORED. So, I think that I am going to stop emailing the people who tend to ignore me until they actually show that they want to communicate to me, until then, it isn’t worth it.

This has been my random maybe too truthful Sunday rant.

Thanksful....?

So, as I sit here thinking of how much I dread going to work for 7 hours in the evening, I realize that I take things for granted way too much! I should not be dreading that I have to work, I should be thankful that I have a job that I can go to and work. And not only do I have a job, but I have a job that I actually enjoy because of the environment and the people.

Sometimes I forget how blessed I am. I have a home, a job, many great friends, clothes to wear, food to eat, shoes to put on my feet, a warm bed to sleep in, a vehicle to drive, money to buy gas and food and other random things, and a wonderful loving family which includes awesome parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and AWESOME "little" cousins.

So, instead of dreading the fact that I have to go to work, I want to try to embrace it. Why? You ask; well it is simple really, the fact that I have to go to work symbolizes all of the wonderful blessings that I have in my life. I should never shun one of them and then be sad when I do not get to partake in another one.

Basically, be thankful for what you have. Enjoy the things you have the chance to experience while you are in the moment, for that moment could be gone in the twinkle of an eye and things could seem dark and dim. Live for the moment, look forward to the future, and be thankful for your present and past.

FOOD.

Hello Blogger,
Here is a random thought: I GOTTA STOP EATING SO MUCH JUNK AND FAST FOOD!!!