Voice Your Opinion

One of the shortest and most powerful quotes I heard the other day came from a comment to my status, which at the time was "Kristine is in a "I WILL voice my opinion" mood. Who should I talk to first?"

This was the comment: "God."

Wow. How true is that? So many times I know I want to take things into my own hands and tell people they're doing something wrong. But that isn't my place. God has promised justice to those that offend and oppose us. It is not my will, but His justice that is fair and truly just.

I was ready today to speak to a lot of people on how they've hurt me, how they've hurt themselves, how they've hurt others. I guess you could say I was going to "lecture" and "preach" and YELL. But you know what? It is not my call. I have no right punishing or yelling at someone just because they have hurt me. Just because things still hurt.

So what can we do? Well, we can voice our opinion to God. Because the more we talk to Him, the more we understand Him, and the more we act like Him.

hmm...Who should I talk to first?

"God? It's me."

This is How We Do It - Worship

"Worship = Declaring the very nature & character of God. It is natural, instinctive, & immediate. When we see the glory of God, we already know what to do and how to do it. Worship."

I recently went to a Worship Workshop at my home church. The worship pastor quoted this last phrase, and it just powerfully struck me. Worship music is my passion...my way of communicating with God and feeling His presence. But music is not just a "way of communication", but a way of LIFE. Worshiping God should be as natural (if not more natural) than being alive itself. Why? Because it is that great GOD Who is keeping us alive.

Better yet, He isn't just keeping us alive...He is taking both small & big steps to plan our lives and put it all together like a puzzle. I love how Psalm 33 puts it:

The LORD foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of His people. The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. ~Psalm 33:10-11

If you were to read the introduction verses in this Psalm, you would find that the whole point of this Psalm is to show WHY we need to praise God and HOW we need to praise God.

But really- shouldn't it be so natural to do so?

I have been having conflicts with my work schedule and wanting to be on the worship team. I knew that if it was God's will, He would put me on the worship team, no matter what my work schedule looked like. Today, I found out that my good friend will work for me every Sunday if I can work for her every Saturday. I love it. PRAISE GOD, for He has blazed the way in which I can attend church AND play music!

And what happened next? I naturally and instinctively and immediately praised God.

Because that is how worship works.

Like Being In Love...for the First Time

"I have this passion and desire to learn and know him! Looking for him after class, watching him out the window, seeing how he worked with other people, smiling with every laugh.
And all that time....falling more and more in love with him."

All of us remember those first days of "love"--when you see a person you're interested in, and you begin to learn them inside out. There is so much passion to truly know that person. I remember cherishing every moment of those days-- using all my heart to please the one I love.

Now, you know that I am indeed going to use this quote and tie it to God, so here it goes!

I've been going through the book of Deuteronomy (which indeed is an EXCELLENT book of the Bible). Moses is continually reminding the people not to forget what God has done in the past...that first Love. Check this passage out:

Deut 11:1-7
1 Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.
2 Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;
3 the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country;
4 what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the LORD brought lasting ruin on them.
5 It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the desert until you arrived at this place,
6 and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them.
7 But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the LORD has done.
(NIV)

God brought them through SO much! And yet they were so quick to forget His love. (Later on Moses says they need to teach their children too. I love that passage.)

Take a moment to reflect on what God has done in your life. Have we forgotten His love? His faithfulness? His mighty hand?

The book of Deuteronomy is always showing me how important it is to follow His commands and remembering His love for us. I know that often I enjoy in the great pleasures of life...but slowly fade away from His love.

Remember loving for the first time? There is Love that I need to still be pursuing DAILY. As if I was in love again for the first time...