Living Life to It's Fullest - My Act of Worship

I meant to get a blog posted, but as some would say, "I had too many irons in the fire." Many things have occupied my time these past two weeks,  but now I am back, and have caught up reading my friends blogs. Today, I want to respond to my son's blog that deals with commercialism, materialism and religious holidays. It is sad that so many of our holidays especially those observed for religious purposes are seen as Hallmark holidays, a means for commercial promotion. However, I do not believe we can just blame government for the loss of the true meaning of our holidays and the reason for their observance. How do I see holidays? I see holidays as events that I may or may not participate in based on my choosing. 

However, I like celebrating anytime. I will tell you up front that I am about living life to its fullest, and holidays just give me more reason to celebrate.   Being in community is very special to me, and we (Joey and me) spend many days before each holiday putting our house in order just for that purpose. I do many things to "set the stage" for everything I do, as a sister blogger, Robin, would say. Cleaning and putting up the old and taking out the new. I love decorating and setting the stage for the holidays, all holidays. We intentionally make room for family, neighbors, church family and anyone else we can con into our space. We take every opportunity to speak into others lives the very thing that brings meaning into our lives, Jehovah God, and his son, Jesus Christ. You cannot come into our space and not be presented with the fact that God and Jesus are a part of our lives.  That is my worship to God. Let me explain.

What constitutes worship?

1. We are made to WORSHIP God and God alone. Romans 12:1 tells us to "Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." How do we do this? We deny ourselves and put God first. This calls for a disciplined, self-denial lifestyle. I am not saying that I am a worship is perfect in God's eyes but my heart's desire is to please him.

2. We are to LOVE God, and God alone. When it comes down to what really matters with God, Matthew 27:37-40, the bottom line is this, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart....This is the first and greatest commandment..." Mark 12:30 says to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength." 

 

3. We are to LIVE for Christ and Christ alone? " The Bible also tells us that, "The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives.' Psalms 37:23 How often have you just sat and watched your child at play, even as it slept. Did your child have to grow into a mature adult before it could bring you pleasure. Hardly not. With the exception of sin, God planned us and enjoys watching everything we do.

4.  We are to LOVE others, and without love our worship is void? "...A second is equally important (to loving God): Love your neighbor as yourself. All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." Matthew 22:37-40  Paul explains this by saying, in 1 Cor.13:3, "No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. 

With this being said, I use everything God has given me to worship him and to love Him and others. So the heart of the matter is that if we are not intentional about how we worship, we just might wind up worshiping our material things, our children, our churches, our money, our clothes,our country, etc.  By being intentional we can accomplish good in the midst of the world's goal of commercialism and materialism, or even in its goal to stamp out any remembrance of God or Jesus Christ. 

PS -  Yes, I worship God on Sunday mornings as most other Christians do, but I do not limit my worship to cooperative worship.

I serve a Risen Savior. He is not dead, He is Alive. I am alive in and through him and I am going to live life to it's fullest. This is my act of worship. How do you worship God other than Sunday morning worship?

 

Want Outward Beauty? Start on the Inside

How much time, and money do you spend on appearance? I must confess that I can pull myself together if needed in about 15 minutes. However, I like to have about 30 minutes to an hour. That is if I have already taken care of the nails, shaving, washing hair, skin buffing, eyebrows, etc. All that is done at other times. 

Recently Joey and I joined YMCA. You know how that works, You pay $$$ per month for the use of their gym equipment. So you spend at least 30 minutes but more like 1 hour plus 3-5 days a week working and sweating to rid ourselves of what Chonda Pierce  calls the mushroom top. 

On top of all that we live in a culture where billions of dollars are spent yearly on health and beauty aids. I spent some time at our local pharmacy and one could literally spend their paycheck if they purchase  all sorts of "remedies" for fat, cellulite, wrinkles, nail fungus, unwanted hair, and yellowed teeth, that is on the market to make one look young and beautiful. Do they work??? Maybe, maybe not but we always hope that a new formula will be created that will form the magical transformation. 

Well we are talking about our outward appearance not to mention all the stuff we spend to detoxify our system, rid our arteries of cholesterol, give us extra energy, help our eyesight, aid in digestion and elimination of food. 

What is so interesting is that the outward appearance of a person may not reflect what or who that person really is. I heard a quote once,  "Beauty is as Beauty does," or "Beauty is only skin deep." I Samuel 16: 7 God says to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance of his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

What about the inward us, who we really are. How much time do we as Christians spend in keeping our spiritual self healthy and becoming. Would I be wrong if I suggested that most spend any where from 1-3 hours a week which consist of  corporate worship at church on Sunday and Wednesday. For some they find time to squeeze in maybe a 10-15 minute devotion each day of the week to add another 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Have you ever known a person whose outward physical appearance was not so appealing yet they were a beautiful person. Then you have seen a beautiful physically attractive person with a terrible attitude and character be just obnoxious and difficult to be around. Wouldn't our world be different if we spent as much time on the inward as the outward?

As you begin this new year, consider spending time on the heart things, those things that will develop faith and character. I am The Daily Bible: In Chronological Order 365 Daily Readings. What have you found that is mysteriously making your spiritual heart more beautiful?