My Utmost for His Highest / April 16th

I just had to share this, it comes right out of the devo book My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers.

John 12:36 "While you have the light, believe in the light . . ."

We all have moments when we feel better than ever before, and we say, "I feel fit for anything; if only I could always be like this!" We are not meant to be. Those moments are moments of insight which we have to live up to even when we do not feel like it. Many of us are no good for the everyday world when we are not on the mountaintop. Yet we must bring our everyday life up to the standard revealed to us on the mountaintop when we were there.
Never allow a feeling that was awakened in you on the mountaintop to evaporate. Don't place yourself on the shelf by thinking, "How great to be in such a wonderful state of mind!" Act immediately - do something, even if your only reason to act is that you would rather not. If, during a prayer meeting, God shows you something to do, don't say, "I'll do it" - just do it! Pick yourself up by the back of the neck and shake off your fleshly laziness. Laziness can always be seen in our cravings for a mountaintop experience; all we talk about is our planning for our time on the mountain. We must learn to live in the ordinary "gray" day according to what we saw on the mountain.
Don't give up because you have been blocked and confused once - go after it again. Burn your bridges behind you, and stand committed to God by an act of your own will. Never change your decisions, but be sure to make your decisions in the light of what you saw and learned on the mountain.

dead in the pews

So last Sunday, I believe it was, an older gentlemen in town passed away while attending Sunday mass at the Catholic church. As I spoke to a member of my church about what had happened, they exclaimed how that would be the way to go, right there in church, where you're supposed to be, doing what your supposed to be doing; yet I couldn't help but see something different. By no means am I trying to down play what happened or disrespect anyone, but the only thing I could see was a sad illustration of the state of many church goers; to be dead in the pew.
I believe that for many who go to church, it is nothing more than their weekly ritual. Something they have done since they were children and so it continues to be just that, something they do. For others I believe they go to church out of a sense of guilt, with this idea that if they aren't in their pew on Sunday morning then God wont bless them on Monday. For these, I believe it can be said that they are dead in their pew, or at least they might as well be.
I Do Not believe that this is what God desires. God doesn't want people coming to be with him out of a sense of duty. He doesn't want them coming to Him out of a sense of fear, or guilt. What God wants, what he has always wanted is fully engaged relationship with people who want to be with Him. I can't help but wonder how many church goers are dead in the pews just waiting to be buried.

misplaced passions

I can't help but wonder at times why people can't seem to get passionate about the things that truly matter. We went to a hocky game in Waterloo last year where we sat beside an older couple who never misses a game. I've been to rallies where huge crowds of people get seriously crazy about the idea of making a fortune in no time at all. People laugh at me when they ask what sports team I follow and I tell them I'd rather watch cartoons. If you are anything like me, I praise God that NBC and ABC have started posting past episodes of shows like LOST and HEROES on their website, or I might never leave the house. I have just been struck this morning by how out of wack this truly is!

As I lead the final song this past Sunday morning, it struck me as sadly funny that (at least from appearances) the majority of the people looking back at me would have rather been anywhere else than where they were. Here we were singing a song of praise about how we want to sing and shout Hallelujah to the Lord, and people looked as though they were going to fall asleep standing up. Now don't get me wrong, I realize that not everyone is as emotional as I can be, I realize that sometimes Saturday night can run late and Sunday morning comes early, but where is the passion of our beliefs? Our faith should be something that we are prepared to die for, after all, a song I once heard claimed that if it's not worth dying for, it's not worth living for; and yet we can't even muster up a little enthusiasm about it? I wonder if it's just that people don't understand what it's all about. That has to be it and my heart mourns for them. They will never know what it is to fully give themselves to something that has eternal value!

I feel like there is more to say about this but I can't find the words.