Earthly or Heavenly, which is it?

We recently moved further down the river and down two floors, it gave me a whole new perspective on the river.  What was far away is now closer, my whole perception of the river has changed.  Sights and sounds are clearer and amplified.  I am much more aware of the rhythms of the river and the life which depends on its flow.  It’s not necessarily better, just different and refreshingly new.

There is much talk about our perspective, is it earthly or heavenly? Is a common question, distinction.  This “difference” comes from the concept of “being earthly or heavenly minded”  John 3:12, Phil 3:19.   We’ve heard the idea of being no heavnly good because we are too earthly minded or vice verse.  Well. I think it’s like so many things I’ve come to see as my hair turns gray and the clock continues to ticktock on the wall.  The truth tends to lie between the extremes that are revealed in the Word.

Heavenly perspective  is totally accessible through the earthly perspective we live in day to day.  It’s similar to worship in that it is a mindset or lifestyle by which we interpret everything we experience thru the lense of the Holy Spirit.  Much the same way as my perspective on our lovely river has changed and become much more detailed and intricate, the journey of faith that I’m on has grown deeper and richer every time I’ve taken the time to see Papa in his creation and pondered the beauty of His glory.  Times of revelation in the “wild” have been as powerful as any big celebration or conference and may have been more profound and lasting.

Papa God put this all here so that we are without excuse in regards to knowing Him and seeking after His tangible presence.  The perspective we choose is our own doing, near or far makes no difference from Papa’s perspective He’s always as close as our next breath and in the very expression of that breath.

To Restore:

• Return to it’s original state
• Restitution of something lost or taken away
• Remove the wear and tear of time
• Replace the broken with new that blends in perfectly with the good.

Everyday we learn of new ways that bring worship out of us.  Restoration is one of those sources of gratitude which supplies us with the joy that springs forth from a new beginning.  When we have wandered from the paths of righteousness and followed after the ways of the world our soul gets weighed down by the cares of this world.  We get so focused on the world around us that we loose sight of the calling of our lives to worship and fellowship with Papa God.

Just like a piece of furniture which needs refinishing, we must be cleaned up and restored.  Sometimes it takes the Holy Spirit’s scraper, steel wool and solvent to cut through the layers of gunk and dirt we’ve collected.  We must be stripped of the tarnish and oxidation that comes from living in this world.  The labels on purported magical refinisher/restorers you will see in the store claim easy on/off quick work with no residual film or color.  But the hard work of restoration takes time and patience.  The damaged places must be restored through the tears of repentance and the rebuilding of trust just like the elbow grease of removing the old decay and applying the new layers of clean finish will bring out the original beauty and luster of the wood.

The real joyous thing here is that we have a helper in this restoration in Jesus.  He is patient, kind, loving and wants to see restoration more than we can understand.  He will supply us with the strength through the Holy Spirit to complete the work of restoration each and every day we walk out our faith and hope in Him.  Ultimately Him bringing worship as we live in His light and glory.

While walking the earth, who did Jesus spend his time with?

• Those who hungered for truth and freedom from despair
• Those who saw the connection He had with Papa God
• Those who wanted to be in His presence
• Those who recognized the presence of Holy Spirit in Him

While walking the earth, who did He stay away from ?

• Those who had it all, they were the tip of the top
• Those who had God all figured out, they had the system down
• Those who were convinced they lived in the presence 
• Those who knew they had their place secure they were the chosen ones

The Word says God dwells in the presence of His worshipers.  Where else would Jesus want to spend His time?  

Would He stay with those who didn’t even recognize Him, after-all they had millennia of prophecies lining out everything He did.  But they were steeped in layers of traditions which blinded them.  In the end they worshipped their system not their Creator.  Those other “outsiders” were looking for love in all the wrong places.  They were desperately seeking the love were starved for.  They knew they deserved nothing but saw living love in front of them.  They could sense the very atmosphere Heaven when He was near, His love was overwhelming and His joy contagious.  The perfect representation of Pap God standing in front of them and they came to two wildly different conclusions.  He was either the very author of life or worthy of death!

Every breath, every move, every step is true worship when Jesus is the focus, if we set our hearts on someone or something else, our worship is futile.  Dust in the wind, vapors not rising up but dissipating, tears not stored up but squandered on the ground.   Yes everything we do is worship but, of whom?

I had a worship thought the other day……

When we were part of the institutional church we had a scheduled day and time when we were supposed to worship.  You know, Sunday morning 10am or whatever the appointed time was for the fellowship we were part of.  You probably think I’m going to say that kind of “formal thing” is bad and artificial because I’m not part of the system anymore.  But in reality there is something good about a set time to be aware of His presence.  In effect the schedule at least makes us aware of our need to spend time with Papa God.  The breakdown comes in our complacency fostered by the feeling we have “fulfilled our duty” by being part of the appointed service.

Regardless of our form of fellowship, we should set aside times when we purposefully seek a deeper awareness of His presence.  It is this deep desire for more of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that brought the early church together from house to house in fellowship to grow together.  It just morphed over time as the traditions of men crept in and became systematized, formalized and organized into its current “normal Christian” expressions.  I would contend that they bear no resemblance to the early Church  what so ever.

So, in light of the premise that It’s all worship, we should be fully aware of His omnipresence in our lives as we breath in and out His name continually.  But hey, life happens and it is so easy to be caught up by the visible world around us.  We tend to live by sight, not by faith, because it’s the “natural” way to be.  Without Holy Spirit we depend 100% on our physical senses to experience life.  But the real substance of our being is Supernatural.  It’s who we are in Jesus, above the visible, natural world living in continuous knowledge of His presence and power working in our lives.

Be vigilant to stay actively aware of His omnipresence and His longing to be included in our every waking thought and action.

What propels the waves? A surge of energy from an unseen force of nature? The breath of God on the waters? A mysterious strength from the depths of the sea?   Waves continue unabated from the dawn of creation. A integral part of the symphony of worships set in motion as the Spirit moved over the waters so long ago.

They make me realize again how we are to be at worship continually in harmony with all of creation. Yes as if driven by the wind of the Spirit, moved by some urgent force deep within, responding to the force of Papa’s love poured out on us.
Waves take the hard places in the ocean and wear them down till they become the soft sands that smooth the weary feet.
Waves, sometimes soft and serene, quiet and peaceful. Other times raging, powerful and boisterous. All driven by that unseen force the dwells in the wind and sea. We too are driven by unseen forces which rise up in actions and deeds every day we live.

Let’s be aware of this worship we are continually engaged in and keep the focus of our worship on Papa, not distracted buy the boisterous waves or lulled into complacency by the gentle ones.

It’s really easy to associate worship and celebration.  It’s universal.  Not just some Western Christianity sort of phenomenon.  Worship in all cultures has at least a component of celebration at times.   But we celebrate all kinds of things and events in life and if you think about it we are worshipping in every celebration.

 So what can be considered celebration?  

We just traveled across the country to celebrate the life of a dear uncle.  No, it wasn’t a dreary gloomy wailing mournful deal, it was indeed a celebration.  The stories told at the wake, from the pulpit during the service, at the meal afterwards and on into the night in his famous Red Barn were a testimony to his life, a life well lived indeed.  

His example of practical blessing to so many around him was his faith, lived on the outside but never “in your face.”  He showed us how to celebrate every day…  I think he had ahold of something big, celebrate (worship) everyday by living a life of joy, generosity and love, and it will  spread contagiously to those around you.   

Thanks, Uncle Earl.  We miss you and look forward to seeing you again.

I’ve been contemplating serenity as a form of worship lately. This view off our balcony is so serene and peaceful it lead me to look up the word serenity.

1. The state of being serene; calmness; peacefulness.

2. A lack of agitation or disturbance.

3. A title given to a reigning prince or similar dignitary.

One of the benefits of worship is peace or serenity.  One of the benefits of salvation is “the peace that passes all understanding”.  Kinda makes you think don’t it ?

So if we are suppose to worship all the time and we have have serenity in us all the time, then aren’t we are there already, we just have to recognize it.  It’s the same way we have to step into our salvation daily and purposefully walk it out.  These attributes of the divine presence in us are always there just waiting for us to cooperate and let them out.  So, we really are enabled to worship all the time in everything we do.

Yeah, OK, life does it’s best to eat away at our peace, to chip away at the serenity we should walk in constantly. What we must focus on is that , in Christ we are already at peace, serene and impervious to the hostility going on in the physical world. The real you and I, the spirit man inside is quite capable of walking in perfect serenity always. Like so many things in this mortal life, it is simply a choice.

Let’s choose to live from the serenity within and walk in worship every minute of every day.