Worship: Joy Echoes
What IS a "worship tape"?
The "style of worship" you mentioned--I don't know that I wouldn't enjoy it, much less appreciate it. If it has anything to do with soaking in the goodness of the Lord, melting in awareness of His Love, responding in spontaneous praise from the soul, THAT'S WHAT I FEEL MANY CHRISTIANS ARE MISSING OUT ON AND SHOULD HAVE IN THEIR LIVES!!! (That's the way most of my daily devotions end up.)
The "reserved" style used in our church may be vastly different from what's practiced in your church, but no matter. It's the same wonderful God communicating Himself to His own in different ways, getting different responses. This is something I've been feeling more and more of personally.
It's just this thing of "I can worship God WITHOUT going to church." I kinda think Christians SHOULD worship God when not in church! Even formal service procedures can evoke emotional recollections of intimacy with the Lord at home but can be pretty dead otherwise. Too many Christians go through life robbed of joy rightly theirs --"Joy Sabotage", I call it! Nehemiah 8:10. Okay, off my soapbox. Thanks for bearing with me!
I meant some services can be pretty stiff, formal, dead BY THEMSELVES; it's only when those attending services have vital, daily, personal WORSHIP at HOME that emotional responses result. "When God speaks to me," one Christian said, "I LEAK" (shed tears) ! My sister once said church should be like an oasis. Yes! It should be a place of enjoying JOY ECHOES, I think!
(Example of these emotional echoes: reading of scripture GOD JUST OPENED YOUR EYES TO THAT WEEK; singing songs THAT FLOODED YOUR HEART AT THE END OF YOUR OWN TIME WITH THE LORD; seeing answers to prayer and reviving love for people THAT CAME TO YOUR MIND WHILE PRAYING DURING DEVOTIONS; hearing over the pulpit the very words/subject matter THAT GOD HAS BEEN DEALING WITH YOU ABOUT ALL WEEK;...!)
God says, "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." (Psalm 81:10), but WE have to open our mouths! He's not going to cram blessings down our throats! And if we choose to "open it" only on Sunday mornings, well, that's the extent of blessing we'll receive.
The "style of worship" you mentioned--I don't know that I wouldn't enjoy it, much less appreciate it. If it has anything to do with soaking in the goodness of the Lord, melting in awareness of His Love, responding in spontaneous praise from the soul, THAT'S WHAT I FEEL MANY CHRISTIANS ARE MISSING OUT ON AND SHOULD HAVE IN THEIR LIVES!!! (That's the way most of my daily devotions end up.)
The "reserved" style used in our church may be vastly different from what's practiced in your church, but no matter. It's the same wonderful God communicating Himself to His own in different ways, getting different responses. This is something I've been feeling more and more of personally.
It's just this thing of "I can worship God WITHOUT going to church." I kinda think Christians SHOULD worship God when not in church! Even formal service procedures can evoke emotional recollections of intimacy with the Lord at home but can be pretty dead otherwise. Too many Christians go through life robbed of joy rightly theirs --"Joy Sabotage", I call it! Nehemiah 8:10. Okay, off my soapbox. Thanks for bearing with me!
I meant some services can be pretty stiff, formal, dead BY THEMSELVES; it's only when those attending services have vital, daily, personal WORSHIP at HOME that emotional responses result. "When God speaks to me," one Christian said, "I LEAK" (shed tears) ! My sister once said church should be like an oasis. Yes! It should be a place of enjoying JOY ECHOES, I think!
(Example of these emotional echoes: reading of scripture GOD JUST OPENED YOUR EYES TO THAT WEEK; singing songs THAT FLOODED YOUR HEART AT THE END OF YOUR OWN TIME WITH THE LORD; seeing answers to prayer and reviving love for people THAT CAME TO YOUR MIND WHILE PRAYING DURING DEVOTIONS; hearing over the pulpit the very words/subject matter THAT GOD HAS BEEN DEALING WITH YOU ABOUT ALL WEEK;...!)
God says, "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." (Psalm 81:10), but WE have to open our mouths! He's not going to cram blessings down our throats! And if we choose to "open it" only on Sunday mornings, well, that's the extent of blessing we'll receive.
Labels: ...just thinking...
posted by Life in Koriyama @ 6:31 PM
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