We were at the outlet mall today, yeah call us crazy!!

Anyway it struck me how many different people were there, all searching for the perfect gift or just hanging with friends.  So many different individuals, that’s kind of redundant isn’t it?   Each one with dreams and plans so unique to their path in life.  And yet Papa God has told us that He knows each one in minute detail.  He’s so directly involved in our lives that He literally gives each one of us our next breath and keeps our hearts beating all day long.

It’s one of those things that makes your head kinda explode when you try to comprehend how vast and yet detailed the mind of Papa must be.  To hold the whole world in His hand and yet know how many hairs are on each of our heads.  To sustain all things by his very breath and yet be there to hear our prayers, to reach into our individual lives and save us in the nick of time, or heal our infirmities, or direct our feet in the way they should go.  I guess that’s what they mean by infinite.

It brings one to their knees in reverent awe.

Hmm sounds like worship to me what do you think?

Gratitude is easy when we can see and feel the blessings and faithfulness of Papa.   We recently had the rear tire blow on our Goldwing at about 60mph.  I, or probably, our angels slowed the bike down to about 10-15mph by the time we were thrown off.  We landed in the dirt and grass on the side of the road.  The guy in the car right behind us was an Orthopedist, behind him a first responder, behind her a nurse…..   Needless to say we especially blessed to have survived with bruised and broken ribs being the worst of the damage.

It is so easy to feel gratitude for The things we experience in this physical world. We feel the joy and pain, we sense the emotional implications and see the direct results with our eyes. But what about the unseen realm? What about those blessings and special graces which impact our spirit man? They are much easier to ignore or lose sight of. This is one of the reasons we need conscious, purposeful worship in our lives. I know that this blog is about worship being a natural part of life and living and I firmly believe that is true. However, there comes a time when we must take account of the path we are walking and give honor, indeed worship to the unseen hand of providence.

With so much chaos and destruction going on in our world these days it’s easy to lose heart and be caught up by the calamities around us, but we must take our stand firmly on the ground of worship and hold fast to the anchor of faith. Never forget that Papa God and Jesus have ahold of that anchor on the other end.

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.