Most churches are working like a big machine, multiple pieces working together for the machine to move as one, that seems all fine and good, except for the fact the Jesus is one of the people sitting at the table instead of the head of it all. These churches are allowing Him to speak His mind, even thoughtfully considering His opinion and sometimes using His ideas, but that is all, the machine must move and go smoothly without being disrupted!

The second image I saw was Jesus himself with a small building in the center of His chest, that is the church that moves and grows in Him. But this is a difficult place to get to and stay in, those dedicated to dwelling in Him must pay the price to be there, so there are very few churches in that place.

As I began to type this up God also revealed to me that this is really how we live our lives and run our families, it is difficult to walk in the heart of Christ and it takes commitment and a willingness to lay yourself down, but the joys and rewards are so worth it.

Every congregation has choice to make whether to keep things easy and not make waves or ruffle feathers or to call it’s membership to a higher place…which are you? Are you willing to choose the difficult road like Christ did for us?

Leading Worship is about the moments when the presence of the Lord is heavy, the people are worshipping and you feel that oneness of spirit, it is absolutely an undescribable glimpse of heaven.

Leading Worship is about being a servant of the Lord and of the people, it takes much, much more to be a worship leader than just being able to sing well or play an instrument well.

Leading Worship can take you to a new level of intimacy with the Lord and it can also make you aware that what you DO know is only a tiny percentage of who He really is.

Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord. Psalm 89:15

These words set Asa on fire for the Lord and he began a cleansing of Judah of pagan idols, they did restoration work in the temple, and they renewed their covenant to the Lord…”All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the LORD gave them rest from their enemies on every side.”(15:15)

Many years later Judah again was threatened by Israel, but this time instead of praying to the Lord, Asa stripped the temple of it’s gold and silver and paid a nearby Pagan nation to drive Israel away…(?)…immediately the Lord again sent a Prophet to inform Asa of his mistake, Asa did not take too kindly to the warning and threw the guy in jail, one of the last thing it says about Asa is this…”In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the LORD’s help but turned only to his physicians.” (vs 16:2)

How do we go from the mountaintop to the valley? In this case, it seems that Asa’s pride kept him from doing the right thing or even from repenting when he was confronted with his mistake, King David had that same opportunity and chose repentance, we also have that choice. It is easy as a believer to fall into complacency and even pride after a time. Often we become over-confident and put aside prayer and bible study, not intentionally, but out of the routine of life. We often think that because we go to church, volunteer, or had an amazing experience with God 6 months ago then all is well, but it is a trap of the enemy and too many of us are Christians only when the troubled waters come and that is why it may seem like we are always in the troubled waters. The Israelites needed manna everyday in the desert, God kept them in a place of needing Him, which kept their focus on Him…OH, but He so desired to bring them into the place of milk and honey, the place of blessing!!

God so desires us to dwell in that place of blessing with Him, don’t ever be afraid to turn back to the Lord after a mistake, in Christ there is always victory!

“For the LORD delights in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.”(Psalm 149:4 NLT)

The first key to overcoming sin is knowing ourselves and our enemy. The second step to overcoming sin is confession, the third key that I think is most important in overcoming sin is knowing who our God is and the power He has to deliver us.

When we sin, we must be quick to go to Christ in repentance and prayer.  If we have wronged someone as a part of our sin, then we must ask for forgiveness from that person. These can be some of the most difficult things to do. In the story of King David in the Old Testament, he committed a great sin when he committed adultery with Bathsheba,  the sin grew as he tried to cover it up and eventually was guilty of causing the death of her husband in the process (2 Samuel 11-12).  When the prophet, Nathan, confronted David about what he had done, his response was, “I have sinned against the LORD.” David didn’t try to make a bunch of excuses, he immediately repented. David understood that God knows our hearts, and He loves us in spite of knowing it all.  God does not bless us for our decisions, he knows they are faulty, but He does bless us for our confession and acknowledgement of our sin, that is why confession is so important.  Christ has the power, He carried our sin to the cross and only He alone can wash us clean.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

Psalm 40:2

The word of God is clear on this,  Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:16 I will admit that it is difficult to find someone you can trust to open up to, but God commanded it because confession serves a purpose and once you experience the freedom it brings, then you will begin to see the power of God move in your life.  So look for that person, but use wisdom in doing so, a pastor, a friend, your spouse, the retired widow down the street, a co-worker, if you sincerely desire to talk with someone, the God will lead you to the right person. Many, many people spend their entire lives bound up in something negative just because they can’t bring themselves to ask for help. Don’t be a person of secrets and hidden sins, as we see in the news every single day, those hidden things can destroy people’s lives.  For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. Mark 4:22

So trust in the Lord when He says to confess and  know that He is trustworthy and He can heal and forgive…

Learning to overcome sin in a world full of it is a difficult thing, but it can be achieved by walking with Christ and learning from scripture. There are 3 things in scripture that are essential to overcoming sin, these are things that I know have worked in my own life and are very basic.  Jesus says in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

1.  Know your enemy and know yourself- The enemy has as strategy to destroy your life, so you must have a strategy as well.  Stepping over into sin most often starts with something small, but once it has gotten a hold of your heart, it is very difficult to break away.  Learn your own weaknesses, ask God for help through prayer.  Stay away from those little things that may drag you into a place you don’t want to be.  Drug addictions, alcohol, pornography, adultery, disobedience, etc…all of these things start with one, small introduction before they grow into addictions. There is always that moment at the beginning of a mistake where you have a choice to say no and walk away or to dive in. We have a way of minimizing sin or justifying it to ourselves because we don’t want to say no…  SAY NO!

In 1 Samuel, David made a big mistake, he looked at Bathsheba a little longer than he should have. If he had just turned away and went about his business, things might have been a little differently. Although God forgave him of his mistakes,  the sin had been committed and there were severe consequences that came with his actions. He caused a man’s death, lost a child, his son tried to take his kingdom and eventually his kingdom did split. (2 Samuel 12)

When we have a taste of God, a real touch, then we become addicted…we want to seek out that feeling or that touch that we have experienced before.  “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. ” (Matt 13:44)   When that desire is focused in the wrong direction, it still works the same and we look to the things of the world to fill that void.

My kids always say, “Well, it’s just….” or “It’s only….”  For example: “Mom, it’s just a movie” or Mom,”It’s just a video game” I always want to reply, “OK, well it’s just a machete’ that I want to use to hack my arm off!”  That is not a good way to convince me that it is o.k.  Are you going to say, “Lord,  just let me sin for 3 hours, then I will never do it again?”  If you are trying to justify something to yourself, especially in the company of peers, then you need to stop and evaluate where you are and what you are getting ready to step into.  Although it may not seem that huge at the time, you could be staring into the eyes of the one decision that could alter your path forever.*

I want to leave you with one long thought…

(VS 1) Oh, be careful little ears, what you hear (repeat)

For the Father up above, is looking down in love,
So be careful little eyes what you hear.

(VS 2) Oh, be careful little eyes, what you see, (repeat)

VS 3) Oh, be careful little mouth, what you say, (repeat),

(VS 4) Oh, be careful little hands, what you do (repeat)

(VS 5) Oh, be careful little feet where you go (repeat)

(VS 6) Oh, be careful little mind what you think (repeat)

(VS 7) Oh, be careful little heart what you love (repeat)

*note:  I just want to add that God is a God of forgiveness, He always takes you right where you are and can wash you as white as snow. The point I am trying to make in this post is that our actions always have consequences that can effect the lives of everyone around us as well as those we have not even met yet. We are in the hands of Christ, but we still hold a measure of our joy within our own hands by the decisions we make.