All Consuming God

It's Sunday morning when I walk up to a store front church next to Diary Queen. As I step through the door with guitar in hand, gentle praise music from a CD player fills the white cinder block room. A wooden stage runs the length of one side of the room with a full band complement of drums and guitars. I move to set my instrument down in the corner and notice a young woman in front of the left side of the stage, hands folded and head reverently bowed. She seems to be intensely focused on something. My eyes shift to a man in front of the center portion of the stage with hands and eyes raised to the ceiling, stepping side to side, singing along with the song in the background and then shouting Worthy! You are worthy! Yes Lord! Finally another woman near the right side of the stage, knees and face to the ground. I find myself barely able to move or breathe as if afraid to disturb something so fragile yet so beautiful. The Spirit of God is in this place. I have not walked in on the middle of church, but band practice an hour and a half before church.

As I stand to the side of the room, not really knowing what to do, thoughts begin flooding my head. These people are here to worship. How easy it can become to make casual our daily and weekly routines work-school-church-friends-eat-sleep. How easy it is to make God into a child's favorite toy. Fun and amusing at times but then set aside when not convenient. But not here, not now. I know these people. It's the youth pastor and worship pastors. They live and breathe worship 24|7 - not just for convenience's sake. God comes first in their lives whether it means going somewhere they don't want to go, giving up something they desire for themselves, or showing up to church an hour and a half early to seek God for themselves so that they can lead others in genuine worship.

Within a few minutes, the song ends and the band members take their place for sound check. Today's worship service is going to be an awesome encounter with God.

What is our response to God? Does God fit our schedule or does our schedule fit God? God is not a stack of beliefs we pick up whenever we have time but a living and dynamic being who desires intimacy with each of us. God desires to commune with us in a special way. He is only waiting.

Random Thoughts: Relationship

The sun crept slowly through the slits in the window blind and the air conditioning unit murmured softly as I slept. All was at peace...that is until dream land was interrupted abruptly by "beep! beep! beep! beep!". Again? Already? As I laid there and contemplated how many more minutes I could squeeze before class, the thought occurred to me that I really needed to eat breakfast. Just a few more minutes. But as I argued with my own sense of reason, time was passing by, so I decided to get up to face the day. By the time I was actually ready to walk out the door, I had about 30 minutes until class. I usually try to take at least that much time to spend with God each morning - talking to Him, reading the Bible. This morning though, food was firmly implanted on my mind. God would really want me to eat breakfast wouldn't He? I mean, if I don't have any food, I won't be able to focus quite as well on God. My reason droned on as I walked towards my university's cafeteria. I climbed the stairs, and turned the corner only to see the cafeteria door close just ten feet in front of me. I quickly walked around to all the other entrances only to find them also closed. I had missed breakfast by mere minutes. I began to feel angry that such an injustice could occur but stopped short with the feeling of someone who has been had been a well planned practical joke. Ok God, I get the point. So I sat down, opened my Bible and began to read. It should be no surprise what was up for me to read in my journey through Mark.

"Let me say it one more time: Placing anything above the kingdom of God will have its consequences as surely as worms attack a dead body or a forest fire burns trees. Every person's loyalty will be tested, and every sacrifice made to maintain your love for me will be a PRESERVING AGENT FOR YOUR SOUL, just as salt preserves food. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, what good is it? Every sacrifice offered on the altar is salted with salt as a symbol of the covenant. So don't lose the relationship with God hat you have. If you do, your discipleship is worthless. Now be at peace with each other." Mark 9:48-50