Racial Reconciliation

July 17, 2008 at 6:31 pm (Uncategorized)
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My pastor has a ministry of racial reconciliation.  We often get the comment, “why do we need a racial reconciliation ministry?  When you become a Christian, you should know to love people the way that God has instructed us to love”.  I wish the world really worked that way!!!  To me, that comment is just like saying, “why do we have to keep preaching about sin…when we get saved, sin goes away!”  or “why are we preaching on healing and faith, when we get saved, we should just have faith and be healed because the Bible says so”. It’s interesting how many of these conferences that I’ve been to where people don’t even know that they have racial issues.  If you’ve never encountered difference, you would never know that certain feelings about racism exist. 

It’s so easy to have a homogenous church.  I think the issues come when you have a heterogeneous church.  Different styles of worship, different people from different walks of life.   There are so many thoughts about what one should do when they worship, or when they sing or when they study the Bible.  We always think that our way is the right way.  I don’t think that one thing is wrong over the next thing, and that gives me freedom in worship. 

One of the now deceased Mothers at our church once said, “If we can’t worship together now, what are we going to do when we get to heaven?”.  It won’t be homogenous in heaven.  Your way won’t be the only way. 

Paul started the work with the church of Antioch.  God has called us to finish the uncomfortable work.  Get busy, church!

Acts 1:8, Acts 8:1,4, Matthew 28:18-20

Check out this link! http://www.cnnw.com/articles/articles05-00.html

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Relationship or Religion?

July 17, 2008 at 5:33 pm (Uncategorized)
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A friend of mine once told me that I was religious.  I had to correct him.  I don’t like the thought of being religious.  Anyone can be religious, but it takes work to have a relationship with Christ.  You have to work at a relationship: you have to spend time with, cultivate and learn the person with whom you are trying to have the relationship with. 

I spend a good portion of my life being religious.  Doing the things I’m supposed to do, just because I’m supposed to do it.  I went to church, I played the “good girl” didn’t do anything I was not supposed to do.  But to know Him in a personal way, that is when I stopped searching.  To know Him personally is to be content.  I no longer have to search for something to fill the void.  He is everything to me.  I don’t have to look in drugs, alcohol and other material possessions, because God is everything I need.  When I’m at that place, I can be content with my church, my work, my ministry.  I am learning a lot about myself through our relationship and I’m learning alot about the character of God. 

I love contentment.  You should try this relationship thing!

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Extravagant Worship

July 17, 2008 at 5:55 am (christian music, praise, worship)
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One of my favorite artists, Darlene Zschech wrote a book that I recently read called Extravagant Worship.  She starts the book off talking about the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume – very expensive perfume.  She goes on to talk about how the woman was very extravagant in her worship.  She defines the word extravagant as: exceeding the limits of reason; lacking in moderation, balance and restraint (praise); extremely or excessively elaborate; spending much more than necessary; profuse, lavish. 

To even think about those words in the context of worship is amazing.  God, the Creator, Maker, Lover of our Souls, lavishes his love and grace upon us DAY BY DAY.  Can we not lack moderation, balance and restraint in our praise?  Can we show just a little bit of appreciation for all He has done for us?  Something is to be said about someone who thinks about praise in such a way.

My challenge for myself and for those reading this is that we will not lack restraint in our praise.  That we wouldn’t care about how crazy we may look.  That we may raise our hands, that we may lift our voices in adoration.  To not think about anything else but Him as He gives us all of Him.  What a wonderful God we serve.  Can we lavish our love on Him as He does for us???  What does this mean?  To me it means to take just a little more time to appreciate the “small” things that we forget about…breathing?  living? loving?  These are all things we take for granted.  May I never get too busy that I forget the small but huge things.

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