After getting a really, really, really good laugh from this video, I was left with the stinging sensation that it’s all too true of a reflection of Western/American church services and what we call worship.

I keep thinking about…

• what God thinks about our weekly services.
• what else God has in store for His followers that we’re missing out on.
• what it means to worship in spirit and in truth.
• what our responsibility is in all of this is.
• what the long-term repercussions of what we’re doing today are.

You know, Donald Miller may be onto something though.

What do you think about after seeing this video?

Michelle and I got the chance to make a quick trip to Wilmington, NC a couple weeks ago. We slipped down for a Saturday to see a friend and her new baby, Finley. Even though it was short trip, it was a great day.

I am always amazed when I think about babies and the fact that God brings new life into this world in such an incredibly beautiful way. Seeing a baby often reminds me of a powerful truth from scripture.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17

This scripture always gives me great hope. Hope that my old, former self has been wiped away and that I have a clean slate to start over with. The kicker though is that one word at the start of passage, “Therefore.” I’ve found over the years that “therefore” is a pretty powerful word. It usually means that the next statement is the result of something. It also usually means I am overlooking something if I don’t know why “therefore” is part of the passage. When you put 2 Corinthians 5:17 into context with its surrounding passages, it brings the truth to its full light.

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:14-20

Oh, now I get it…since I am alive I shouldn’t live for myself, but I should live for Christ. I have to die to myself, my desires, my wishes, my goals, my ambitions, my pride. Becoming a new creation is not a passive thing, it is fully active. It requires me to set aside everything that is me and fully embrace everything that is Christ. It requires me to be fully involved in seeking out what it means to live and love like Christ does. You know, the real clincher for all of this is that I already know this, but I often like to avoid it. I would much rather think about and pursue what I see as best for me. On the flip side, if I spent every moment of every day living for the one “who died for [us]” I would truly and undoubtedly be “Christ’s ambassador.”

Therefore, I urge us all to live for Christ, not ourselves; to set aside our goals and ambitions; to live and love as Christ does.

It has become painfully obvious to me (and my wife) that I am in need of regular Sabbath. A lot of times we view commands from the Old Testament being outdated and unnecessary, but there is a definite need for us to have regular and intentional rest.

Sometimes the pace of my life far outweighs the pace of what my body and spirit can handle and the past couple of days have brought that to light. I’m typically a patient and calm person, but that hasn’t been the case as of late. The consensus after a late-night discussion is that I have to commit myself to rest.

I realized this morning that I often relegate Sabbath to being a one day a week thing, but I am realizing that to truly appreciate rest, I must not only find it during each day but create time for it each day. I usually race around from one thing to the next and miss out on the small moments of rest that God has waiting for me. If I am intentional about getting out of bed a few minutes earlier or arriving somewhere with a few moments to spare I will undoubtedly see more of God’s presence and be more aware of how He is moving. On top of that, I can only imagine how much more meaning a true day of rest would bring with it. I usually get more hung up on the fact that our “lazy day” is over and that I have to return to my responsibilities rather than being whole-heartedly grateful for the peace and rejuvenation that God has provided for us.

Check out this link on the Jewish perspective of the Sabbath (or more appropriately Shabbat).

I guess the biggest reason I started this blog is because I was tired of my site being an old and outdated portfolio from when I was fresh out of college and trying to get a job. My hope is that this blog might bring a bit of inspiration to me and hopefully even more to others. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll bring a little bit more of heaven to earth. Not trying to say my words are heavenly (far from it), but one of my lifelong goals is to bring more of God’s Kingdom to this earth.

Feel free to drop me a line and let me know if you want me to write about anything. Any help/advice would be much appreciated!