Thoughts from the Edges Preparing Our Hearts for Worship.

SATURDAY MORNING PREPARING OUR HEARTS FOR WORSHIP
Thoughts From the Edges – Pastor Calvin Cook

WORSHIP – EXPECTING MORE –
I watched a movie this week of a very well-known Christian song writer, performer Rich Mullins who lived a very indifferent life and died at a very young age. By an indifferent life, I mean, as God was working in his life and drawing this man back to the heart of God through all of life’s ups and downs, it seemed how he kept living on both sides of the spirit world. As I thought on this movie and Rich’s life, I found myself comparing my life to Rich’s life and how I and all of us, if we are honest do the very same thing often.
The optimization of living a best life is all over the map. We experience ups and downs, rights, and wrongs, before finally determining where fate will lead us. Our fate needs to be Jesus, especially when we come to Jesus and choose to follow Jesus, choose to be learn from the teachings of Jesus, choose to go where Jesus sends us, and choose to share this hope with others. (By the Way – the last sentence is my best everyday description of what a life in Christ should look like.)
I guess we don’t always live our life in a sense of expectancy. We expect that bad will happen, that there will be problems, that there will be pain but when it comes to living a life where we see God working, God moving, God showing up, we don’t expect that these attributes of God are expected.
This week I was drawn to 1 John 2:18-25 especially on this thought train verses.
“As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the son and in the Father. 25And this is what he promised us—eternal life.”
Here we then can have expectancy fulfilled that by keeping consistent in our faith, in being a follower of Jesus, in receiving and remaining in God, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) the expectancy of eternal life that has been promised will be received. The bonus in living a life in Christ is for the best life in this world as well.
This then should become our lifestyle – in worship. We are showing up or entering a time of Worship with expectancy of what God is going to do and how God is going to respond. How God is going to point us in the direction of life to the fullest. Not filled with the things of this world but the things of God.
As we come to Worship, either in receiving or being part of the team who offers worship as an offering to God, we should be expectant.
Expectant that the worship
“Coming Back to the Heart of Worship where it is all about God”
“where we are drawn close and will never be let go of by God’
“where we find redemption for the things that we have made of our relationship with God”
“where we will be refreshed, refueled, fed, and strengthened for the journey ahead”
“where we will find rest and comfort for the battles that have ripped our lives apart”
“ where we will be repentant of the ways we have hurt God and others”
And so much more, maybe you can add and share some expectations you have as you worship or prepare your hearts for worship.
As we come to worship, I stress come to worship with an expectancy of what and who God is and embracing the words from Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”