Familiar Worship

Giving Thanks, God Loves You

John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

A few weeks ago during Praise & Worship at church (I told you about that earlier), the Lord took me back to the days of old and reminded me of my love of worship. I was singing a song that we’ve sung numerous times; the words were on the screen and etched in my mind. The problem was the song was great to sing, but that is not why we’re signing it. The reason God took me back was because I found myself singing the words to the song, yet not singing them to the God who loves me so much. True worship is to “worship the Father in spirit and truth.” One thing I’ve always done during praise and worship is change up certain words of the songs, to take it from second to first person. That was always something that helps me intentionally keep my focus on Jesus. I can then sing them as if I wrote them myself specifically to sing to my closest friend. I would change the We to I or the His/Him to You (just a couple so you get the picture).

This is just one small way I keep the worship from becoming too familiar. I’ve heard my wife use the saying, “Familiarity Breeds Contempt,” when speaking about how easy it is to neglect and disparage the very thing that used to be “sacred.” The very words used to lift up the name of the Lord can become familiar and seem like just words. It sounds horrible doesn’t it? I’ve got a suggestion for you should you ever find yourself going thru the motions during praise and worship. Don’t waste time feeling condemned, because the devil would like nothing less. Instead, be excited that the Jesus loves you so much that He’s willing to remind you how to be a “true worshipers.” He will give you ways to keep His worship fresh thru you, in “in spirit and truth.” Whether it be changing the words while singing or saturating yourself in scripture prior to; so you’re reminded of just how much love God has for you. Whatever you choose just believe God receives it in Jesus name. Now go on and get your worship on…..

Name Dropping

Church Leaders, God Loves You,

Phil 2: 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

I was recently in a conversation with a colleague after seeing a picture in his office. The picture was with a former president. I commented and he told me about the encounter, since I also had a picture with the same president, I told my story. What ensued was a battle of name dropping, we both began to tell stories about “important” people we’d met in our lifetime. It was not intentional, it just sort of happened. I realized later in a moment of worship (I hear from the Lord a lot during worship; because He inhabits the praise of His people), that we were putting a great deal of our worth/importance in many of the names we were dropping. Then the Lord gently and graciously reminded me that there is a name greater than all those names we were so excited to share. The name I should have been dropping was Jesus, the name at which every knee shall bow and every tongue should confess.

Philippians reminds us why it is so impactful to name drop the King of Kings, because it is done “to the glory of God the Father.” Rather than try to use the names of others to make yourself look better or to prop us up. Drop the Name of Jesus, who makes all of us better, He loves us and lifts us higher to the Glory of God. He is the only one we need to know J

Whoa, What Just Happened Here?!

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It’s time for something new check this out….

Vanessa A. Harris's avatarVanessa A. Harris

😮  I told you.

I wasn’t kidding in a previous post about putting this blog into the Lord’s hands and seeing where He would take it.  It’s still under construction, but with the new domain and name change I figured I should say something lest my fellow journeymen think I’ve vanished.  No worries, I’m still here and super excited to have a blog premise, with an eventual look and feel, reflective of where I am in my walk with Jesus today!  Just like puberty, growth at any age is painful and confusing.  I’m thankful for increasing clarity about the direction going forward.

This morning’s discussion with my pensive younger son beautifully explains my challenge with change the last six months…

Son: Drying dishes.  “Mom, do you consider yourself flexible?”  Laughs (too hard I think) “I don’t mean like moving your body around, but like you have plans to…

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2016: A Year of Discernment & Vindication Resulting in Blessings

Church Leaders, Spiritual Food,

Each year I look forward to the New Year’s message. It is great to hear how the Lord is speaking to the whole church. It has often been my experience, that the same scripture, principle or theme for the year would be given by God to a number of Pastors I follow, which to me just confirms what God is saying. During Praise & Worship last week God sent me to Chapter 20 verse 16 for 2016. I could not wait to sit down and find this scripture; that is before realizing that there were well over 20 books in the bible with a Chapter 20 and verse 16. However, there are two principles I use when studying scripture; Jesus in the book of John & First Mention. Whenever I want to know something more about Jesus I go to the Gospel to John, this Gospel speaks to the Divine Nature of Jesus. First Mention is when you find a topic first mentioned in the bible, you’ll find God’s original meaning/definition of that topic. So using these principles, I focused on John and Genesis 20:16……are you following yet?

  1. Discernment

John 20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”   She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).

When I read this I was excited, because I immediately remembered this story. The verse highlights a moment when Mary was in deep despair, after all Jesus had just died and now it seems someone has come in and stolen His body from the grave. Angels were on the scene and had just started a conversation with her, but she could not focus with so many distractions demanding her attention. Jesus was even talking to Mary, attempting to give her peace, but she was so lost in her current circumstances, she had no idea the Lord was talking. “Mary,” a voice pierced thru the chaos and all of the noise, now she was finally able to clearly hear and discern the source of this dynamic voice. It was Jesus. Immediately, everything changed, the Prince of Peace calmed all of Mary’s anxiety and pain, giving her a completely new perspective on her circumstances. Everything that Jesus taught her had now become clear.  Just like Mary, in 2016 we will be able to hear Jesus thru all of the chaos in our own lives. We will discern His guidance and direction like we’ve never experienced before. Where we’ve been hesitant to make major decisions, in 2016 our path will be made plain. Major project milestones that needed to be met in 2015, the Lord will make our next steps clear and He will complete what was started. Where we’ve been afraid to make moves; Jesus will make it Clear in the New Year…… (you know you have to make it rhyme ;). Get ready for clarity in 2016.

Jesus will be our JEHOVA-RAAH (Our Shepard who tenderly leads us, Loves us and will keep us safe)

  1. Vindication

Gen 20:16 Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.”

Genesis tells the story of one of the times Abraham, in fear lied to protect himself while leaving his family at risk (Abimelech, the King of Gerar, could have easily made Sarah one of his wives and took her away from Abraham). Read the story, he did this twice, but don’t get is twisted Abraham is still the Father of our Faith (Thank Goodbess receiving Jesus’ righteousness does not depend on our actions).  Even though Abraham made a poor decision, God stepped in to protect Sarah from any harm, then He turned around to vindicate and  exceedingly bless them both. The word vindicate depicts a coverings or a veiling; I’d like to think of it as our own suit of armor…..can you say a robe of righteousness.

Have you made a bad choice?  One that put your entire family at risk? Maybe you are living out the ramifications of those choices. Guess what?  God knew us while we were still in our mother’s womb.  So He knows every thought we think and every choice we make well before we’ve ever considered it. He will protect us from harm and in 2016 He will vindicate us!!  That thing you’ve been accused of, Jesus is your lawyer and will argue your case.  He will ultimately turn the tables on your accuser.  He will cause those seeking you harm, to restore all that was lost and even more. You see Abimelech, after Abraham  lied to him and put his family in jeopardy, gave Abraham a thousand pieces of silver. Now how much that is worth in today’s dollars has been estimated by different sources to be anywhere from $500 to $200,000. Regardless, Abraham was blessed immensely by the very one that he feared would destroy his family. God will use your enemies to bless you; and in 2016 we will begin to see this happen in our lives.

Jesus will be our JEHOVAH-NISSI (Our Banner, a Banner of Love and Protection).

Recap: While there are so many powerful chapter 20 verse 16’s in the bible. I sense the Lord leading many of us to the Book of John and Genesis, preparing us for the New Year.   2016 will be a year of Discernment & Vindication resulting in tangible blessings. Next year we will see and experience the “Lord our Shepherd” as depicted in Psalm 23. I don’t know about you but I’m excited for the 2016!!!

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him!!!

Giving Thanks, God Loves You,

Matthew 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,  2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

As we prepare to celebrate this Christmas with our family and close friends, I cannot help but remember the greatest gift who is so often forgotten.  Jesus Christ is the reason that we celebrate every December 25th, not because that was his actual birthday, but because God sent Him as a redemptive gift that we can received for free.

I love the lyrics “Oh Come Let Us Adore Him” from the very popular Christmas favorite “O Come All Ye Faithful.” I absolutely love hearing these word because it sets my soul on fire; encouraging me to stop everything (all of the craziness or this world) and go worship Christ Jesus.  At the end of the day that is all that really matters.

In Matthew, three Wise Men also called Magi (Magi were men who were the advisors to kings in some countries; often asked to interpret the kings’ dreams and gained much of their wisdom by studying the stars) dropped everything they were doing in order to go and worship the coming “King of Jerusalem” (Somehow, when a very special star appeared in the sky, they knew they should follow it).

These Magi were chosen by God to seek out and bless His only begotten Son.  We have been given by God, the indescribable gift of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  He is our Savior, Redeemer and Friend.  We have the privilege of relationship with Christ, and the opportunity to receive His unfailing love.  Oh Come Let Us Adore Him; the word adore, according to Webster’s is 1) to love and respect (someone) deeply;  2) to worship or revere.  Oh Come Let Us Love, Respect, Worship and Revere Jesus Christ our Lord:

-We Love Him because He first Loved us, giving His life on the Cross for ours.
-We Respect Him because He didn’t come to earth to be served (He deserves it) but to serve each of us.
-We Worship Him because He is the Great “I AM,” King of Kings, & the Messiah; who deserves worship.
-We Revere Him because everything about Him is all together lovely & as He is so are we in this world.

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him Jesus Christ our Lord!!!

Happy Birthday Jesus

When Passion Hinders the Message

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Numbers 11:27-29New King James Version (NKJV)

27 And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, forbid them!” 29 Then Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!”

For a little while now I have been doing a study on Joshua. My first born is a Joshua and I know that God gave me specific direction to name him accordingly well before he even showed up. Therefore, when I don’t have a clue about his purpose and what lies ahead for his future….the Word of God can fill in some voids for me. One, is the fact that so often God reminded Joshua to “Be strong and of good courage.”  Therefore, like Timothy, fear must have been something that Joshua dealt with. Another is the fact that even before Joshua became the leader of Israel, he was often in the Lord’s presence, both with and without Moses. There is no better place to be and he was witness to many leadership strategy sessions, discussions, worship….and God’s glory. It had to be awesome seeing what he saw and receiving what he received. I love to see this in the Word, because I trust and believe that it will have relevance in my son’s life as well.

So why this verse? Well along with the great things, comes lessons learned along the way. I could only imagine all that Joshua had access to; the knowledge and wisdom of God’s counsel as well as the heartbreaking murmurs of an ungrateful people. So when Moses smiled I’m sure Joshua did and when his heart was broken, I’m sure Joshua fumed. It is not strange then, when others started to prophesy (or speak by inspiration of a divine spirit in this case the Spirit of God), Joshua immediately assumed that Eldad and Medad were trying to usurp Moses’ authority and spread some message of their own. Therefore Joshua calls for immediate forbiddance (restriction; restraint, shutting-up) of their message and voice. Joshua was passionate about protecting Moses so much so he did not care what Eldad and Medad had to say or even who had them say it. He just wanted it squashed.

How often do we do the same, maybe on behalf of our Pastors or favorite ministers? Maybe it is our loved ones or it could even be our own voices and beliefs. If it does not come from these sources….it cannot possibly be right, wise or beneficial. Hmmmm; doesn’t quite sound right does it? Look at Moses’ wise response. “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them.”

Moses got it!! But of course he would, he had a pressure on him that was so great. The very thought of God using others to share and spread God’s direction, purpose and vision was not only pleasing, but a relief to him. We should be excited when others are used by God to do anything, because ultimately it edifies the rest of the Body of Christ and it empowers and blesses the individual being used (God always blesses the vessel). Many people criticize our current Pastor and I used to be one of them years ago. However, the anointing on his life and the impact of his ministry is undeniable. It took maturity to get me to the point to not only change my mind about my pastor but to allow his ministry to impact my life as it has my son’s. Oh and did I mention the hundreds that give their lives to Christ every Sunday? Don’t be so quick to disregard other voices of those being used by God.

Now I know that many people that claim to be speaking for God are clearly not… and often it is readily apparent, but sometimes it is not so easy to see. The apostle, John, gives us more detailed direction on how to respond in 1 John 4:1:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that[a] Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God

Don’t let your passion keep you from receiving from God’s messengers/ministers.

Don’t Fear Destiny…Check Your Receipt

God Loves You, Spiritual Food

Numbers 14:4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”

Who said these words? Was the leadership so bad that an immediate change at the top was needed? What was so bad that a return trip to Egypt was imminent?

This was a quote from the children of Israel, after a select group of 12 leaders were sent into the Promised Land. They were sent to prepare an assessment of an unfamiliar place they were destined to occupy; a promised gift from their leader. Oh did I mention that the leader they so anxiously wanted to replace was Jehovah God, the very God who’d created them. Yes, Moses was the human put in charge, but the people knew he was merely a figurehead as all of his direction came straight from the mouth of God.

Don’t be so quick to judge; how many times have we latched on to someone else’s leadership (especially our own) and gone in the opposite direction of God’s leading? Yeah, we’ve been there….each and every one of us. Even though God’s not speaking to us like He did with Moses, in a cloud during the day and fire at night, we’ve chosen our ways as better than God’s.

Well why they were so opposed to God’s plan, that they would even consider going back to the enslaved life of bondage and despair they’d recently been delivered from?????   They were PETRIFIED of their destiny and could not believe that God loved them enough to keep His promise. Fear will challenge faith and distort reality. The devil knows that fear hinders faith; which is why God’s perfect love casts out all fear. The Israelites felt they we’re a mess, a failure, weak and insignificant. There is no way they could go up against the Giants of this new land and win. There is no way this unbelievable land, new homes and gorgeous resort style country could be for them. God could not possibly love them enough to keep that promise he made back when they left Egypt. After all, they’d broken His commandments and complained. He would never follow-through on His promise because they did not deserve it.

That was their mindset, it was what they believed about God. Oh, it’s hitting home now isn’t it?? You’ve felt like this before, maybe even right now. I’ve been there. With all of the wrong that I’ve done in my life, how could God possibly want to see me “living the dream?” The dream that is salvation, freedom, blessings, health and prosperity….you know the blessed life. I do not deserve it…..but God loves me so much (John 3:16).

You know what we have that the Children of Israel didn’t? A receipt for God’s promise. Jesus Christ is our blood stained receipt for God’s love and destiny for our lives. God has paid for our future, one of eternal life with Him, by giving His Son as a sacrifice for all of our sin, past and future. So God knew our future before we started our past and just like us He knew the promise for the Children of Israel. They did not see God as Joshua and Caleb did (we’ll dig into that a different time).   It’s time for us to check our receipt and know that because of Jesus’ work on the Cross, the destiny God has given us is paid for. Although there are giants occupying that place now, they will fall because Our God is Greater, Stronger and More Loving than anything that will ever stand in our way.

Change your mind and like Joshua and Caleb say, “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’   Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”

There Is No Where Else To Go!!!!

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Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life….(John 6:68)
I’ll admit it; I’m trapped and I’ve got no place to go.  I cannot move and cannot get away from God’s love (Ps 139).  I tried!!!! I tried to fight it; I’ve tried to run and even tried to replace it, but all to no avail…He’s got me in His hands and will never let go (John 10:29).  The Sin that I would do, as Paul reminded me (Rom 7)…always failed me in the end (Prov 14:12).  There was a good feeling for a minute; fleeting as it was there were moments that made you smile….but in the end sadness always prevailed  Sadness because it was either wrong or unfulfilling (Rom 7).  For as an infant knows nothing but the love of his mommy/daddy so should we as Christians know the everlasting love of our Super Daddy (Rom 8:31-39).

At the end of the day all of the hurt, pain, depression and despair that the devil provides…those things that seem fun and exciting leave you in a place where you’re left in Jesus presence saying “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,”  and those words are Love, Peace, Joy, Healing, Purpose and Blessing.   Where will you go??

Great Potential For The Quickly Approaching School Year

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I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.  Psalm 27:13 In a recent post, I mentioned transitioning our children from homeschooling to public school.  Our boys have attended public school before, but the experience will be totally new for […]

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