Wednesday, August 15, 2007
i read this, and wanna share with you guys.
Isaiah 29
today, my sharing is simple. Heart of worship.
Israel is in sin. They have sinned against God, and God wanted to destroy them like how He helped them destroy their enemies! Such irony! The story goes on.
Isa 29:13 (NLT)
And so the Lord says,
"These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
How sad can this be, that the very basis and reason for worship is lost! There is nothing wrong with honoring God with our lips, but are we doing it out of routine? are we doing it because the guy on stage tells us how to do so, or is it your cell group leader teach you how to worship, by lifting your hands and singing songs to God, therefore you do it?
James 2:20 (NLT)
How foolish! Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
In the same way, deeds without faith is also useless. they have to go together, hand in hand, in order for it to be of use, to promote growth in you. Let me tell you one open secret. Service 2 is famous for doing, evangelism, discipleship, missions. But are we doing it for the sake of doing so, or are we doing it because our heart is close to God, and we want to serve Him?
Scroll down and refer to yesterday's sharing by brother Liangzhi. Before we do things, examine ourselves. Are we filled with the Holy Spirit, full of His compassion and love, before we do some of the things we do, such as discipleship? When we evangelise, do we do it for the sake of showing our cell leader, to expand the cell group, to have a disciple under you, or it is because you feel God's heartbeat, and long for the person to be saved?
Yesterday i went to Liangzhi's house to slack, and he told me something that sets me thinking. He went to his mother's church one day, and he saw an amazing sight that he himself cound not believe. When the church members are filled with the Holy Spirit, they begin dancing! Ok, not my style of dancing, but a very graceful dance. They are so filled with the Spirit that they just dance in His presence, because He is so good! What's more, those are uncles and aunties!! (sorry zhi, for calling your mum an auntie.) There are also people who bellow joyfully, the sound of their laughter carries no fear and intimidation, but of great joy and happiness!
Are you doing things because you are filled with the spirit? I'm not telling you to imitate them or me, but worship God in your own style when you praise and worship Him, with a heart of worship, not out of oblignation! drop the "oh, my cell leader is watching me, i better put on a show" mindset and get the "man, Jesus is so good that i wanna worship him!!" mindet!!
Let me make a confession. Even i have fallen into this sin of doing for the sake of doing. Before we do something, let's examine our hearts. Are we doing it because we have to put on a show, or are we doing it because we love God? Think and pray.
Lots of Love,
Ken Lim A.K.A Pui Lim
Scribbled by: Child of God @2:13 pm
