Worship a Decision?
Is worship a decision that we make? I've heard it said that it is. I'm not convinced though. I understand the reasoning behind that thinking though. The idea that worship has a lot to do with our heart attitude and our motives, and I believe those are decisions that we make. So if we do something with the right motive to glorify God, it is then worship. If we have the right attitude, it's worship?
Here's where that falls through for me. Is it possible for someone to do something wrong with the right attitude? Maybe out of ignorance, or lack of experience or maturity. Or maybe they were decieved. I have done that. I have called things worship in my life that I now don't believe they were. But at the time, I believed I had the right attitude.
Who defines something as worship? Us and our attitude? I think God does. Sometimes people ask me, "How was the worship today?" My response is, "You'll have to ask God about that one." God defines the terms of worship. Jesus said that God is looking for poeple to worship Him in spirit and truth. That's another topic, but I believe that Jesus defined the terms of what we call worship.
Had a great discussion about it with a few students lately so it's been on my mind. Any other thoughts?
Hit and Run
I hit a parked car today...yeah, pretty much. I was backing out of a space at the Kirkland Guitar Center, which has a terrible parking lot, and then I barely rubbed up to the corner of another car. The car was like half out of their slot. If they were parked right, I would have had no problem. But they weren't and before I knew it, I was backed into the corner of their car. The car was pretty beat up and like 20 years old and rusting. I couldn't really tell if I even marked up the car since it was in pretty bad shape.
So I was in a situation of charactor building. I was in a hurry to get back to the office for a meeting. Should I stay? Should I look for the owner? It looked like a starving musician's car so I was pretty sure they were in Guitar Center. Do I leave a note? Do I just take off? They would probably never know.
I decided to leave a note on their car with my phone #. They called a couple hours later. I was so nervous when I didn't recognize the # calling me. The last thing I need is for someone to try to get more $ out of me than their car is worth. I imagined it being a pain bringing it to different body shops and getting quotes. All the time...all the money. Well, when I answered, the dude just said that he couldn't see any damage so don't worry about it. Man what a relief!
Have you had a similar situation? What would you have done in mine?
Fullness of Christ
Pastor Jim's sermon this weekend was impactful (plus he was really funny.) It was a reminder if the importance of community growth. Ephesians 4 says, "From him (Jesus) the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." The body builds itself up. I don't build myself up and let you build yourself up. Pastor Jim concluded reminding us that our relationship with Jesus is personal, but not private. It was never meant to be private. We are meant to grow together, and I would venture to say that we cannot grow in isolation.
Since we are meant to do this together as a body, Paul goes on to give a lot of practical advice in Eph 4 about how to get along together. "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." That is part of the supporting ligament that holds the body together.
Is experiencing the fullness of Christ then dependent on other people? Is it dependent on the people who I don't understand? Is it dependent on people I don't get along with? Maybe that's part of experiencing Christ. Maybe that's part of dying to ourselves.
How then do I build up the people around me? What is my part in this body? What's yours?
Am I a thief?
So...here's the thing. One of my neighbors, I don't know which, has a wireless network set up. And their network goes into my airspace in my apartment and my computer can't help but pick it up and connect. And so I use it. I actually pic up like 4 or 5 networks, but most people block theirs in our complex. Now I figure that if they didn't want anyone to use it they would encrypt it, but this one doesn't, so I use it everyday. I'm not going to pay for my own network when I can use this one. Some have told me that I'm stealing, but I don't see it that way. Is it stealing? Am I a thief? What do you think?
