I have written much on this topic, worship and its proper form and function.
I guess it would be fair to say that worship not given its proper place really annoys me…it should upset you as well.
In the first place, worship is not about you or me…it is all about God. It is always about God first last and always.
A Plague of Flies of Biblical Proportions (Sort Of)
Ah Friday. Friday is writing day around here, and it’s Friday at last. Friday is the one day of the week everyone is supposed to leave me alone,
to write.
So I rolled out of bed thinking I was headed for the laptop until enough fog cleared from my head, for me to remember, Kathy is out of town. She’s in Portland with a mom, two daughters, and a sister, doing some kind of a women’s thing. A spa thing, I think they said. I’m not sure what that entails but I think I heard the words “many petting” in there somewhere, so my thought is, it involves zoo animals somehow.
Anyway, that means I had to cover for Kathy at one of her jobs. Among her many other activities, she manages the pool and recreational facilities at our townhouse complex. (She’s always doing something productive or helpful.) So off I go to the pool. “No big deal,” I think to myself. “Just a quick chemical check, and I’m off to my office.” But when I arrived, I found a surprise. Covering the surface of the pool I found flies. Scads of flies. Gazillions of flies. It was a fly plague of biblical proportions–except they were only on the surface of the pool–so I guess it wasn’t. But still, there were a lot of flies.
Ever feel frustrated that what you are stuck doing is NOT what you should be doing? In this article written by Kurt from God Running he looks at how we are often frustrated by this, and how Jesus dealt with this very same thing.
To finish reading this article please head over to http://godrunning.com/2013/06/08/love-like-jesus-day-of-small-things/
Check out the rest of Kurt’s great site while you are there, and be sure to let him know you enjoyed something he wrote.
Today is Memorial Day in the United States. (Since many of us have a three day weekend, look for Happy Monday on Tuesday this week.) While I'm not suggesting Memorial Day is a religious holiday, there is definitely a biblical basis for memorial.
A Storm Hits a Wedding Ceremony
I went to this wedding once where the person who took charge of planning the wedding had a beautiful vision for it. It was going to happen outside and it was going to be done in a very particular way so as to make the setting spectacular. The only thing was, everything was geared for outdoors. The venue was an outdoor venue, so the wedding and reception depended on dry calm weather. And whenever the person who was planning this thing was asked what she would do if it rained, she simply said: It won’t rain.
Well guess what?
A storm came through, and it rained.
And the weather outside wasn’t the only storm happening that day. With no indoor venue or arrangements made whatsoever, the wedding planner just shut down. Panic and pandemonium ensued as the bride, the bride’s mother, and many others frantically attempted to put something together.
This is a great article written by Kurt from God Running.
We have the power to help those around us, we can help them to calm down, to think, to rationalize, to simply pull themselves together and rest from the chaos within. How do we do this? Calm the storm…what can you do to help that person in need? Listen, talk with that person? Often the fact that you show you care is a help in itself.
To finish reading this article, please go to http://godrunning.com/2013/05/18/love-like-jesus-calm-the-storm-mark-437-39/
Check out the many other great articles on Kurt’s site while you are there, and let him know you liked something he wrote.
Related articles:
Forgive and Forget (The Art of Pursuit)
Closing the deal with my mom… (Lori Lara)
For those of you who follow events concerning Pastor Saeed and his family, his wife, Naghmeh will be speaking this week on Thursday May 16 at Calvary Chapel South Bay.
You can listen to Naghmeh live here: http://campus.316networks.com/cc-southbay
If this time does not work for you, you can still here her speak by going to South Bay’s YouTube channel. The video should be up on their channel in approximately a week. http://www.youtube.com/ccsouthbay
I want to thank my blogging brother Peter Guirguis from Calvary Chapel South Bay church for sharing this info with me. You can visit Peter on his evangelism based blog (he has great tips for all you Twitter users as well) here: Not Ashamed of the Gospel
Luke 11:17
Today’s guest post is by Yaw Ansong Jr You can learn more about him at the end of this article. In the coming days visit Yaw Ansong Jr’s new site launching soon!
Hating on people is pointless…
…because God is a merciful God. Hatred is one of the greatest distractions ever. That’s what I believe in, or at least that’s what the bible says. I remember my freshman years in high school. Those were turbulent moments in my life. A young and naive guy, I had very few friends. I remember those difficult moments when my teacher, backed by a few colleagues, would make fun of me. This would make me cry inside. As a Christian, the only thing I would do was to weep and call upon God. To tell you the truth, God heard me, and he did answer my prayer. I was never put to shame and I graduated with one of the best grades in my school. What’s more, I did better than all those who ever teased me, why, because I asked God to do so. From thence, I realized this fundamental Character of God: He is a prayer answering God and will answer the distressed and all those who call upon him. That’s why it’s pointless to hate on people. Hating on them will only cause them to call upon God to intervene, and he sure will. In fact, he will act more quickly than you think. There are several biblical examples.
Have you thought of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, who was provoked by her rival to conceive? Hannah would have never incited God to intervene on her behalf if her rival had not teased her. According to the bible, her rival provoked her to the point where she was bitter in the heart and wept sore (1 Samuel 1:10). This caused her to call upon Jehovah. Indeed, the bible says she poured out her soul onto Jehovah. As a just God, Jehovah heard her prayer and provided her with a son. I seriously doubt Hannah would have been motivated to call upon God if she was not mocked. There are several other examples in the bible I can’t help but list. Talk bout Hagar (who wept and called upon God on behalf of Ishmael, her son, after she was sacked from Abraham’s home), David (who called upon God to deliver him when he was betrayed by Ahithophel and Absalom), and Elisha (who called upon God to send bears to kill the children who were teasing him).
I could go on and on, however I want to keep this post short. Personally, I think the examples above are convincing enough to prevent anyone from hating; after all carnal humans don’t want their enemies to succeed. I however have a better reason why you should not hate on anyone. Never hate on anyone because Jesus says don’t do so.
“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Mathew 5:44
When Jesus said this, he really meant it and I also mean it. Never pray for the downfall of others, whether friends or enemies. Never ever tease anyone also, because you never know when you’ll need him or her. The fact that Christ died for us summarizes the lifestyle every Christian should live: A life of love. Any Christian who therefore doesn’t know how to love has terribly failed.
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (I John 4:8 NIV)
“Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.” (I John 3:15)
The two verses above sum it all. If you have something against someone, the last thing to do is to hate on him or her, it will send you to hell! Hatred is a distraction from hell! This is a serious thing. Also, hating on others will only propel them more forward. With that said, hating others simply put is harming yourself. If people only knew this, they would never hate on anyone. The best thing to do when you’ve got a problem with someone is to present your case before God, and he will surely speak on your behalf. Hating on people is pointless. What do you think?
Yaw Ansong Jr is a Christian entrepreneur with the personal vision and mission of sharing the gospel via modern technology. He is the founder and CEO of LoveRealm Ministry
by Neil Anderson
May 9
Call My name, I will be right here waiting.
Thank God for grace, for where would each of us be without it?
