God in the Grave
One of my favorite parts of Sunday mornings is worship. I enjoy everything about it, especially if the team happens to play a few of my favorites. There are a few I currently have on repeat. One is Holy Spirit by Francesca Batistelli (and Jesus Culture) and the other is Forever by Kari Jobe. We did both of those songs this weekend and they really got me thinking. When we worship and pray and read the Bible, do we do so to a living God?
I don't mean is God alive or not. I happen to believe that He died and rose again on the third day just like He told His disciples. The way God kind of brought it to my attention was "Do you pray like I'm alive now?" If spiritually staggering is possible, I think I did so then. This isn't a new revelation for me, but something the Lord has to remind me of often and every time I am taken aback by it. Do I worship God like He is still alive? Do I pray like He is alive in me?
As Christians I think we let ourselves go through the motions of prayer and worship and just plain living in general. We don't stop to consider that Someone is giving us breath. Someone is providing us with a paycheck and food on the table. There is Someone listening to the rote prayers and monotonous worship songs we sing once a week. When we cry out in pain there is Someone listening. When we are happy there is Someone smiling along with us. When we think we are alone, there is Someone right next to us waiting for us to reach out for Him.
I think we live our lives as though Jesus never rose from the dead. Obviously He is still working in our lives, in the world, performing miracles and changing lives, but I think our eyes are closed to it. We have to choose to see that He is still there. Don't you think if we were intentional about reminding ourselves that we serve a living God that our days would look different? The next time we face a hard day at work, we could remember the resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit and have strength to finish the day. We would have courage to face the unknown. We would have joy in the darkness. We would have a hand to hold at all times of life, good and bad. I think if we started living as though we believed Christ were alive, we would see more of His working in our lives. We would be aware of the Holy Spirit's power in our innermost being. Our lives would be vastly different.
I don't think this is an easy behavior to change, especially when many of us have been living it for so long. But I wonder what would happen if we tried, if we reminded ourselves on a daily basis that Christ is risen. Guys, we serve a God who is alive! We worship and pray to a God who is alive!! The God of our salvation was not left in the grave and we were not left without hope.
I don't mean is God alive or not. I happen to believe that He died and rose again on the third day just like He told His disciples. The way God kind of brought it to my attention was "Do you pray like I'm alive now?" If spiritually staggering is possible, I think I did so then. This isn't a new revelation for me, but something the Lord has to remind me of often and every time I am taken aback by it. Do I worship God like He is still alive? Do I pray like He is alive in me?
As Christians I think we let ourselves go through the motions of prayer and worship and just plain living in general. We don't stop to consider that Someone is giving us breath. Someone is providing us with a paycheck and food on the table. There is Someone listening to the rote prayers and monotonous worship songs we sing once a week. When we cry out in pain there is Someone listening. When we are happy there is Someone smiling along with us. When we think we are alone, there is Someone right next to us waiting for us to reach out for Him.
I think we live our lives as though Jesus never rose from the dead. Obviously He is still working in our lives, in the world, performing miracles and changing lives, but I think our eyes are closed to it. We have to choose to see that He is still there. Don't you think if we were intentional about reminding ourselves that we serve a living God that our days would look different? The next time we face a hard day at work, we could remember the resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit and have strength to finish the day. We would have courage to face the unknown. We would have joy in the darkness. We would have a hand to hold at all times of life, good and bad. I think if we started living as though we believed Christ were alive, we would see more of His working in our lives. We would be aware of the Holy Spirit's power in our innermost being. Our lives would be vastly different.
I don't think this is an easy behavior to change, especially when many of us have been living it for so long. But I wonder what would happen if we tried, if we reminded ourselves on a daily basis that Christ is risen. Guys, we serve a God who is alive! We worship and pray to a God who is alive!! The God of our salvation was not left in the grave and we were not left without hope.
Love it!!!
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