Alrightyyyyyy! well, I just started reading the book Worship Old and New by Robert E. Weber for my worship lesson and I have already been challenged by it. One of the things that really hit me while reading the first chapter is that he talks about worship being a joyful act. I have been so challenged by the idea of being joyful this month. In 1 Peter 1:8 Is says "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious JOY, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." I love this verse because it basically tells us that if we are a believer we have no choice but to be filled with the joy that is hard to express. This is one key thing that sets us apart in this world. People can see we are different because of our joy. It's challenging isn't it? Our worship should come out of a place of joy.
The thing I loved about chapter 2 is that it was a great reminder of how God is constantly pursuing a relationship with his people. We talked about this in class last week but it made me examine my own thinking when Josh said something like its not that we should be asking for more revelation but we should be asking God to open our eyes to the revelation of him that is all around us. He is available... we usually are not.
I have been praying and asking God to open my eyes to see more of Him, and it has been incredible. One thing I've found is that we can ask Him to open our eyes, but we can also prevent Him from doing this if we are not willing. So, we need to be willing to allow Him to open our eyes, to be filled with joy, and to realize He's showing us a revelation.
ReplyDeleteThat really is true. When we realize He is showing us revelation most of the time joy ends up being a response to that. I know for me it is because I get excited about what the Lord is doing in my life and it makes me pursue him more. good stuff! :)
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