“Thanks be to God who leads us into victory!” What victories are you in need of today? Each of us have struggles, some of these struggles are things we much endure, but it doesn’t mean God can’t provide a measure of victory in the midst of our struggles.
Do you need to surrender control today? Perhaps it’s time to allow God access to your struggles…and He can give you some measure of victory right now…if you let Him.
-Just a thought
This song has been running through my head all night and all of yesterday. We sang this song on Sunday, but it has just stuck with me. For me, music speaks…for me not a day goes by that I don’t find myself breaking out in some sort of song. It’s just my temperament I guess.
But singing songs of praise isn’t the only form of worship to God is it? Music is a very easy conduit that brings us into worship though doesn’t it? It can transform a humble chapel into the very throne room of Heaven, and connect with in ways with the Savior. Worship is so much more than just the songs we sing though. Mere words cannot express who God is, and how we are called upon to bring Him glory. But that doesn’t mean we ever stop…after all the creatures before God in the heaven are singing His praises never ending (Rev 4:8).
Our worship is all about God and what He has done for us. If it becomes mere performance and we lose the emphasis of authentic praise then we ought to re-evaluate our intentions in His sanctuary. When our songs become anything less than praises to Him, they become empty words that only edify our old selfish spirits. That may sound harsh, but that is the reality of things.
Worship isn’t just for Sundays:
Truth be told, we come on Sundays to get reconnected to God, but we shouldn’t unplug ourselves from Him as soon as we shake the Pastor’s hand and exit the building. In fact His praises should be evident in all that we do, through-out our week! Worship takes on other forms in the work place and on our drive to work. How we relate to others around us can be evidence of our Worship to Him. How we respond when others attack us or cause us difficulties is also further evidence of that same worship of Him.
Why Worship in every aspect of our lives?
Because if we believe in a living and active God who created everything and wants to be apart of our lives then shouldn’t we also invite Him into our work week and into our homes? When we do so, we begin to see the full spectrum of the kind of worship that is required of us. Don’t just hang up your worship with your Sunday suit and tie, only to sit there until the next Sunday morning. Take His praises with you every day! He wants that kind of love relationship with you! He deserves so much more than just an hour a week!
Worship…is not just reserved for Sundays…worship is reserved for everyday!
Some thoughts on grace today…after all, isn’t that what Christ’s redemption story is all about? We are those who spurned God, rejected Him, sinned and fell hard…we damned ourselves. We held the match while the bridge burned all the while smelling of gasoline…so to speak. Christ came so that we might once again have hope of Eternal life. When Christ died, the bridge called grace was built and lowered for us once again. Did we deserve this gift? No! But grace is still given to us, despite our stubborn, stiff-necked attitudes.
Turning the tables:
Who in your life needs some grace today? If we are to receive grace from God, then aren’t we to in turn extend that grace to others? Extending grace to others isn’t for the weak of heart…it takes real guts, courage and fortitude. Extending that grace to those who have spurned you, mocked you, disliked you, ‘un-friended’ you, doesn’t mean you should expect that grace to be reciprocated back…it simply means you love them despite their indifference, and act as Christ would act…you may be the only reflection of Christ that they ever see. Extending grace, means you live consistently within that love and grace regardless of who it is that grace falls upon.
Candidly
the candles burned down low
time seemed to flow
far too fast.
Awesomely
I crashed and burned
the tables turned
and the dreams changed
into nightmares…
without a care
the walls caved in
exposing my sin
and I was left
with nothing.
How can these
heartaches
mend again?
How can shattered
pieces
be glued back
together?
The cracks will still
show
when the light
is right
but candidly
these candles burn
too low.
Painfully
the seas all
capsize my memories
my logic flees
and all that’s
left is
second hand sympathies.
Why can you see
when blindness
takes the heart of me
when the pain
is more to me
than just a heartache?
Is there freedom
inside?
Some place to
hide?
I’m waiting for
these storms to
subside
maybe
maybe
one day…
but not today…it’s my shipwreck!
I find it seriously ironic that many writers of love songs or love stories are good at the concept of but not in life experience of love. Is it their deep desire to find love that keeps them writing even after so many failed attempts at it themselves?
Not to be cynical or sarcastic but why do we keep listening to their music when what they speak about isn’t practiced? It’s like going to a college professor who teaches medicine for open heart surgery…they just don’t have the practical experience where as a seasoned cardiologist in the field performing surgery every day would be so much more reliable.
Real, true, authentic love isn’t for the weak minded or weak of heart. Writers may ponder its existence and miss their opportunity all together. I don’t profess to know all there is about real love, but I do experience it every day with my wife and my kids…and it’s amazing and yet difficult at the same time.
We will always hear the siren call of those writing about love but never actually living it. It might be just me, but I would prefer to live it rather than profit from it as a profession.
…and they lived happily ever after… 😉
It’s April 1st today. Obviously the stores are all preparing for the next big holiday and opportunity to make money.
The Easter bunnies, Lilies and other ‘seasonal’ items are on sale at severely discounted prices…it’s a steal! But the thought came to mind this morning, are we giving up on Easter?
Not so much the Easter eggs or the fancy dresses, but rather the the implication of resurrection in our lives. Our culture moves at such a fast pace that Easter is literally and figuratively yesterday’s news and we move on to the next best thing. But are we missing out? Are we losing the true meaning of Easter when we cast our vision on tomorrow and miss out on the sacredness of Jesus’ resurrected ministry before the ascension?
I think the answer is yes. I reminds me of driving on the highway. I like to speed a little, and down I go on the highway making good time, and once in a while I will drive right by an exit that I’m supposed to take. I have to keep driving up the road, which is out of my way and make a u-turn at the next exit to reach my destination. So it is sometimes with us, who are immersed in our cultures. We get up to cruising speed, we’re really speeding through life and we miss our exit. We miss the destination all together if we’re not careful. The danger is the meaning of the resurrected Christ vanishes in our fast paced lifestyles.
When Jesus said I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10) He wasn’t just saying words to make us feel better, He truly meant them! We can have new life, new hope, new peace…but if we speed by this wondrous event at the speed of light we may never grasp it.
It may be Monday, the day after Resurrection Sunday, but don’t be too quick to move onto the next best thing. Take some time today to reflect on Resurrection, Eternity, Heaven, God’s Kingdom here on Earth! Take your time, ponder it, and allow the peace that passes all understanding fill you today. Don’t give up on Easter just yet…matter of fact, don’t give up on it at all. This event was epic, never duplicated again and Christ invites us to the empty tomb today to participate in this resurrected life and to live it abundantly.
Written a few years ago:
Easter Recap
Our church had a great Easter Sunday this past Weekend. Our SONrise service began at 8:00am, and we had about forty minutes of worship and a devotional. The power of the Holy Spirit was so wonderful to experience. After our Son-rise service, we had breakfast which was followed by our Traditional Easter Service . We were wiped after yesterday but God was awesome, hearts were touched, mine as well.
In reflecting on what Easter means to me, I have come to the conclusion that even though there are those who come to our churches only on holidays like Easter it still gives us the opportunity to plant seeds in their lives. At first I used to be very judgmental towards them, but the more and more I have been reading and praying the more I see that it isn’t about church…its about daily life. Sure we could look down on the “occasional church goer, we could confront them, make them feel guilty about not coming; but what will that do? Maybe some would get that message, while most, if not all would never returm (or take years to come back)
Now I know going to church is important for spiritual growth, but it takes sometimes huge steps for people to even grow to that point. Many are still (to quote one of my favorite movies: What about Bob) baby steppin’ it. They haven’t quite gotten to the point of seeing the need for weekly fellowship with other believers. So in their baby steps coming to church even on a holiday is a huge step.
As Christians who are maturing in the faith. planting the seed is our part (not putting on a guilt trip)…the Holy Spirit does the work, we just need to be consistent in our ministry and in our lives. And therein lies the paradox sometimes. Our lives and ministry can’t be divided where one ends and one begins, they are the same, it’s just that the hours intersect between work and home and that makes the difference. But within those segments of our lives: work, home, leisure: is there consistency? I would say sometimes it’s a fifty/fifty toss up. But we certainly have room to improve, and within those improvements the seeds that the Holy Spirit allows us to plant are so much more fertile.
Of course three things that I have continually been convicted on are these:
1) It’s the Lord’s Ministry – not mine.
2) When Victories come – He gets the credit.
3) I need to be thankful in ALL things – even the rough times.
So the next time you start to get annoyed as we all sometimes do with the “Holiday Christians” remember your job is to plant the seed, let the Holy Spirit do the rest. Just be consistent in your faith journey and see what happens.
-Just a thought.(written and re-edited by me (scott strissel) taken from my web site on Xanga: Salarmy -2007)
It’s Saturday. The day after crucifixion, Jesus’ death. Can you just imagine all of heaven, holding their collective breath? The Angels’ anxiously awaiting, anticipating what is to come? Did they know what God had in store for Sunday? Were they party to the entire plan? The hosts of heaven gathering at the tomb, gathering unseen among the disciples, who are in hiding. Imagine what is unseen in the spirit world, as Jesus descends into the deep, setting the captives free and unleashing redemption through the veil.
This Saturday lull before the storm of victory makes us wonder what the metaphysical world looked like on such a day. What battles were fought. The might of God unleashed on the fallen ones. How awesome the power of Christ would have been to behold…it would have probably killed us, who are human, to have witnessed this might. For even Moses had to cover himself in the sight of God…so too Elijah.
It’s Saturday, probably the day within the Resurrection story that the unseen and the hosts of Hell were shaken to the core by the Son of God. This epic battle…Satan standing no chance against his very own Creator. Death, though the gate by which Christ entered, had no more power on Him than all of the demons of hell…He was not their equal, He was so much more than created…he was Creator vanquishing and unleashing those imprisoned.
There is very little within scripture to tell us of what took place on Saturday, but if Sunday is any indication of what took place, all of the demons along with the father of lies himself must tremble with fear when they consider what is to come when Christ returns again.
It’s might be Saturday on this holy week, but resurrection is just around the corner…resurrection and victory for all who would follow after the Christ. For all who would identify with the cross will find an eternal hope and a resurrection unlike any other known in the universe.
One day
Life became
Death
Breath became
Stilled silence
Calm
Became storm
Whole
Became broken
Wounds
Became fatal
One
Solitary
Day
Sure Judgement
Became Salvation
Real punishment
Because absolute
Redemption
One day
Innocent
Became guilty
Perfect
Was painted
With the blood
Of others
The burdens
Of others
One day
Became everyday
Every promise
Every day hope
Every day
New life
Reborn
Reanimation
Of the dead
One day
Became
Our tomorrow
Instead of
Our past
One day
With Christ
Will open
Our hopes
Transform our
Brokenness
Restore our
Reflections
And make us
Complete
Again.
On the walls of our living hang pictures. Not just any pictures or pictures of people we don’t know but pictures of my family. My Mom and Dad are there, my Wife is there, my children are there and other extended family members. This wall is dear to me. Not because it holds up a portion of the house that houses my tv, but because within these pictures is captures a moment frozen in time. A moment in which my family are smiling, looking silly, perhaps with teeth still missing as kids, but moments that have come and gone. Sweet moments, joyous moments and I treasure them in my heart every time I see them.
Today is Good Friday. Probably not exactly a joyous moment when we reflect on Christ on a cross, bloody, beaten and dying. It’s not a pretty picture to behold. We probably don’t have pictures of Jesus this way on our wall, in full color naked and bleeding on the cross. Perhaps you have some crucifix’s a portrait or two that resembles his death on the cross, but I doubt that it’s an unedited portrayal of his actual death scene…which I imagine was extremely grizzly to behold. Yet there is something joyous within this moment in our Savior’s death. It’s not that He suffered, or that finally they caught those two criminals hanging there next to Jesus, but it’s the fact that sin and death were nailed to the cross with Christ.
Our sin, our eternal death was taken from us by Christ on the cross. With the shedding of His blood, which was perfect, we now can call on His name and our sinful ways can be atoned for. We have one who intercedes for us before the Father. This portrait is the best we have ever received…ever! Eternal life is ours, death conquered, and hope available to the entire world all because of Jesus.
My photos on the wall are awesome, I love my family and I love my kids…but this life we live has been extended and eternal life granted to us, including my loved ones because of what we celebrate today…Christ crucified.
Question: Do you identify with this crucified Christ?
I hope and pray you do, if not perhaps it’s time to consider what life is about, where you’re going at the moment and if there is meaning to what you are doing today.
Pastor's Ponderings 