I Want The Good Stuff!

Don’t be drunk with wine... Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18

I recently heard that worship leader, Roger Hodges, said that “too often the church is accustomed to getting drunk on the cheap stuff.”  Pretty provocative statement, don’t you think?  His point was that we settle for too little in our worship experiences with God.   We’re satisfied with only a portion of what God really wants to give us.  We get so excited about and satisfied with the little that we have that we don’t seek God for more.


The Holy Spirit has been moving in a powerful way at Christian Life this year.  The power of God is evident each time we gather together in His name.  Each weekend I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in our midst.  I sense there is both an excitement and expectancy in our church.  I don’t want us to settle or feel like we have arrived.  Let’s press in and seek God!  


Let’s expect revival in our hearts and in our church!  Let’s believe God for even greater things!  Are you with me?  Let’s be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit!  I want the good stuff!

Worship & Prayer

For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!

Jeremiah 2:13 (NLT)

Worship and prayer are essential. They connect us to God. Without worship and prayer in our life we are on our own. We will try our hardest, maybe do our best, but it won’t be enough. We are broken people. On your own, you will never be able to be the person you were created to be. For me, in order to be the disciple, husband, father, pastor, teacher, neighbor, friend I am called to be, I need to be connected to God who mends my brokenness with his grace and love and then fills me with His living water! We must walk in God’s wisdom, strength, courage, new life, victory, etc. and not our own.

This week worship and pray and meditate on what Jesus tells you and me in John 15:5-8...

“...I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. “

Worship

Worshipping God is our highest calling and nothing pleases God more. The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks “What is our chief end?” It's “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Here are a few Bible passages about worship for you to meditate on this week.

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Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 1 Chronicles 16:9
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Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. 1 Chronicles 16:23
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I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvelous works. Psalm 9:1
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Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. Psalm 30:4
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You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy. Psalm 30:11
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But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. Psalm 59:16
• Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker. Psalm 95:6
• We will bless the Lord from this time on and forevermore. Praise the Lord! Psalm 114:1
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Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1
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Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" Revelation 5:13