May 24

Written by:
5/24/2010 12:02 PM 

When the music fades and all is stripped away...

Lyrics to a familiar praise song.  Today, the music is faded.  Yesterday it was blasting off the rooftop.  We had an amazing morning together at NVM.  I can’t express how moving it is to be able to look at everyone from the stage and see the total immersion of “self” into God’s presence.  Life struggles that threaten our time with Him are bound and rendered totally powerless.  In His church, among brothers and sisters in Christ, we are no longer failures, losers, wanna-be’s, and underachievers.  We are His.

 

But today, the music has faded.  The soundboard was packed up, pizza boxes thrown away, floors swept, and doors closed.  The guitars are silent.  The drums are unassembled.  My green microphone is packed away, no longer threatening any squeals of feedback.  I’m a little sad about this.  (I’ve already cried once today, thanks to my beautiful daughter’s phone call.)

 

So this morning I’m looking at the “what now?” part of life.  How do I keep that feeling of connection to God and His people throughout my week when I am not physically there at church?  I was reading my Bible this morning, and Hebrews 10:25 totally stuck out for me.  (I have it highlighted in yellow, so apparently it’s stuck out for me at least once before!) I looked it up online in “The Message” and it’s really powerful stuff.  The Message puts it like this:

 

^22-25So let's do it—full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

 

To me, this says that not only should we worship together and make that a priority, but we also need to continue that worship throughout our Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  We need to continue encouraging each other even after the doors close on Sunday.  Don’t misunderstand, though.  I’m not advocating a life of ramming your faith down other people’s throats.  That is totally ineffective and only serves to really annoy others. But, what I am saying is that as we go through our days, how often do we think of God?  How often do we connect with others to encourage them in their faith?  How often do we thank Him for the little things?  How often do we say, “God—you see that car that just cut me off?  I’m really ticked off about that.”  How often do we close our eyes, take a deep breath and listen for His direction?  Include Him in your everyday life.  Worship is more than just praise, prayer, and listening to a good sermon.  Worship is communion with God and with His people. So, incorporate a little more worship in your day by including Him in more areas of your life AND include Him in your relationships. Include Him in whatever you do and include Him MORE. 

 

The music from yesterday has faded, but He is still here, and so are the rest of us.  Let’s stay connected to both.