Lately I've been spending a lot of time looking at the life and ministry of Jesus through the gospel accounts. Mainly my thoughts have been focused on the gospel of John, as Campus Crusade is studying that as a group this semester. However, this past Sunday, I got the chance to do something I don't normally get to do, and attend the college service of Eastview Christian Church, Fuel. Fuel is one of the most thriving college ministries in the area, drawing hundreds of students from the Normal area, and I love it! Brandon Grant, the college pastor, is one of the most dynamic speakers I have ever listend to, and really draws you in with his passion and insight. This week was no exception.
As we dove into the scriptures, we took a look at the life of Jesus through the eyes of Luke. As we looked at Jesus, we discussed the idea of how Jesus was put on this earth for a purpose, to do the work the Father sent Him to do, and ultimately in the end be our sacrifice. That's it. His whole life was dedicated to His people and then showing His ultimate love, dying on the cross for the very same people. He was chasing after Jerusalem. We talked about what it must have been like for Him. He was the most popular and talked about guy of the time. People knew Him. I guess you could say He was a pretty Big Deal. People quickly got wind of who He was, Healer, Lover, Friend, Miracle Worker. EVERYONE wanted attention from Him. Imagine what it must have been like for Him!! Everyone was vying for the attention of Him. Now obviously Jesus couldn't heal everyone who asked Him to. He had to turn people down. Is this the Jesus you always picture? It wasn't for me, and to quite honest was challenging for me to think about. However, He was chasing after Jerusalem, the reason why He was on the Earth to begin with. He was on a mission, to fulfill the purpose He was called to. He couldn't be distracted. He spent the time He was given carefully and in accordance with the will of His Father.
This got me thinking, what is my Jerusalem? What is the purpose that the Father has put me on Earth for? Am I being too distracted by the demands of everyday life to hear the voice of God telling me of my Jerusalem?
If you know me, you know that this semester is totally crazy for me. I have a TON going on, and I have asked for prayer numerous times that I would be able to handle what is demanded of me and not spread myself too thin, but isn't that what's wrong!? We are so distracted and refuse to say "no" as Jesus sometimes did in order to figure out our true Jerusalem in our lives. At Fuel we were challenged to figure out what our Jerusalem was and seriously pray to it's realization. Mother Theresa's Jerusalem was loving people, Martin Luther King's Jerusalem was ending racism, etc, etc.
The more I think and pray about it, I feel like my Jerusalem is loving and ministering to students. I have a heart and desire to invest the life the Lord has given me to having students be my Jerusalem. It's a crazy thing to think about just 7 months shy of graduating from college. The beginning of the rest of my life starts now. How will I spend my time? How will I spend my life? Will it make a difference? Will I have the discernment necessary to say yes when it counts and no when it doesn't? What is my TRUE Jerusalem?
What is your true Jerusalem? Search it out, chase after it, and pray to it's realization....
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
The Day the Music Died
I'm a music lover. If you know me, you know that my idea of a good time is sitting at my computer with a cup of coffee while searching for new and random bands on either Myspace or PureVolume. I love the talent, thought, sincerity, and the sheer rawness of lyrics. There is, in my mind, nothing more intriguing than getting a glimpse at someone through the lyrics they write. Someone who writes lyrics is writing them because the lyrics mean something to them. The words they are writing are more than just words. They are perhaps a look into someone's private life, an expression of how they feel after an amazing day, the sheer daze of new love, the thoughts they have on life and all that comes with it, or maybe even a cry for help. No matter what though, the person writes them because in that moment they are expressing how they feel in arguably one of the most raw and surrendered forms.
The same is true for Christians. We sing worship songs to our God to express our love to Him, our abandonment, our struggles, our gratitude, our sheer amazement at Him and His works, among other things. In the moments we spend in musical worship to our God, we are, just like a writer of lyrics, expressing our thoughts and feeling towards God in the most raw form. Or are we? Do we even think about the words we are singing? Or are we too wrapped up in the sweet guitar riffs, whether or not there is the use of drums or not, whether the music accompanying our heart songs to our Creator is to our liking or not?
Recent circumstances have lead me to believe that corporate worship has totally distorted our view of what real, raw, genuine worship really is. Too often when people think worship, they think music and song. It is so much more than that! It can be words you speak to people, the work you do on a daily basis, the way you talk to people, ANYTHING pleasing to our God! It frustrates me when people get uptight about music and whether or not the worship services they attend and the music behind the lyrics to the songs they sing "ushers them into worship." Don't get me wrong, I do totally believe that a person can be ushered into worship depending on the types of music being played in a worship service, it just frustrates me when the music becomes a hindrance and distraction to genuine worship.
Tonight at a worship service I attended, the sound system decided not to work and the lead guitarists string broke. When he realized it, he tried to play the strings he had left in an attempt to keep the worship service going. It ended up just sounding distorted and awful, until finally he looked at the guitar, then shrugged his shoulders, looked towards the sky and closed his eyes in surrender to the Lord. Around the room the singing kept on in the most beautiful acapella voice, people were lifting their hands towards Heaven, and had eyes closed in focus of God. No one even cared or realized what was going on. It was to me, one of the most amazing and beautiful times of worship I have ever experienced. There was no music, no sound system, no fancy lights or glitz, just God's children offering their voices and hearts to the one that created them.
What I'm trying to get at is, God doesn't care in what form you worship Him. He doesn't care whether or not there is a guitar, or drums, or tambourines, or clapping, or no clapping, or dancing, or hand raising or no hand raising. He cares about our hearts and whether or not the words we are singing and the ways we worship Him are genuine. I don't think broken sound systems and guitar strings are coincidental. I think that's God's way of telling us to pay attention. To realize that the lyrics we sing go far beyond music of any form. They are fragrant and cherished offerings to our Father, the ultimate audience.
The same is true for Christians. We sing worship songs to our God to express our love to Him, our abandonment, our struggles, our gratitude, our sheer amazement at Him and His works, among other things. In the moments we spend in musical worship to our God, we are, just like a writer of lyrics, expressing our thoughts and feeling towards God in the most raw form. Or are we? Do we even think about the words we are singing? Or are we too wrapped up in the sweet guitar riffs, whether or not there is the use of drums or not, whether the music accompanying our heart songs to our Creator is to our liking or not?
Recent circumstances have lead me to believe that corporate worship has totally distorted our view of what real, raw, genuine worship really is. Too often when people think worship, they think music and song. It is so much more than that! It can be words you speak to people, the work you do on a daily basis, the way you talk to people, ANYTHING pleasing to our God! It frustrates me when people get uptight about music and whether or not the worship services they attend and the music behind the lyrics to the songs they sing "ushers them into worship." Don't get me wrong, I do totally believe that a person can be ushered into worship depending on the types of music being played in a worship service, it just frustrates me when the music becomes a hindrance and distraction to genuine worship.
Tonight at a worship service I attended, the sound system decided not to work and the lead guitarists string broke. When he realized it, he tried to play the strings he had left in an attempt to keep the worship service going. It ended up just sounding distorted and awful, until finally he looked at the guitar, then shrugged his shoulders, looked towards the sky and closed his eyes in surrender to the Lord. Around the room the singing kept on in the most beautiful acapella voice, people were lifting their hands towards Heaven, and had eyes closed in focus of God. No one even cared or realized what was going on. It was to me, one of the most amazing and beautiful times of worship I have ever experienced. There was no music, no sound system, no fancy lights or glitz, just God's children offering their voices and hearts to the one that created them.
What I'm trying to get at is, God doesn't care in what form you worship Him. He doesn't care whether or not there is a guitar, or drums, or tambourines, or clapping, or no clapping, or dancing, or hand raising or no hand raising. He cares about our hearts and whether or not the words we are singing and the ways we worship Him are genuine. I don't think broken sound systems and guitar strings are coincidental. I think that's God's way of telling us to pay attention. To realize that the lyrics we sing go far beyond music of any form. They are fragrant and cherished offerings to our Father, the ultimate audience.
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