Made for Worship

Ephesians 1:3-14

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love⁵ he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. ¹¹ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. ¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

 I remember the first time that I read this passage. What struck me the most was that he predestined us to be His children, in other words He created us to worship Him. We then are born, given the freedom of choice and a heart full of desire to worship…how we fulfill that desire is up to us. Some of us figure it out quickly; others find ourselves in a pit of sinking sand continually searching for the next thing to devote ourselves to. Many of us never grasp that the emptiness that dwells inside of us is the absence of Him and that no man or thing will quench it. Deuteronomy 31:8 says, The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” I believe that what God wants is for us to acknowledge Him. I also believe by doing this we give Him the opportunity to reveal to us His endless love and allow us the opportunity to fully experience the type of worship that we were created for. So I ask you this (I ask myself this) is Jesus the center of your life or are we too burdened by the things that we have allowed to become our gods, our focus and ultimately our worship. Are we just flat out missing Him? I am really going to stick my neck out there and say something and only because I have experienced this so many times in my life. If you are not serving God then you are serving something. God is God whether we acknowledge Him or not. I believe that complacency is probably one of the devil’s favorite things. We get complacent, comfortable, or busy. We get the mentality that we are “good” people or we feel justified in not studying or reading our bibles and water down the need for church. Before you know it we find ourselves in a place of not needing Him and wake up one day to feelings of emptiness and sorrow and sometimes just plain loneliness. We eventually try and analyze why we feel this way and then wonder where God went. Have you ever heard the saying, “If you can’t find God? Then turn around.” You and I were made for worship (and I don’t mean just walking around singing hymns all day), we are given the freedom and opportunity to know Him. To experience the true endless, everlasting love. What else could be more important? Actually some of you may have just read that and thought that you could think of many things that are more important. If so, then you my friend haven’t experienced His relationship to the fullest. One thing I love about writing this blog is that it has so far been based solely on life experiences. Everything I talk about in here I have been through, every feeling, doubt and fear I know personally. I’ve said before that if we have to live this life out I don’t want to do it alone. Life many times is hard and unfair and for me down right scary sometimes. I’m so thankful that I accepted Jesus into my life and can honestly say He is more wild and crazy, fun and powerful than anything I have experienced before. As I sit here this Christmas Eve morning pouring more coffee into this caffeine filled body (never slept the two cups off from last night) I want to ask you this. Would you allow Him to be the one that fills your empty places, would you allow Him to reveal His love and compassion and be willing to experience a little worship with Him this Christmas? I always love when I get to experience a few things in life that I know I was just made for. Believe me if you are open and willing He will not disappoint. I can’t think of a better time of year (except everyday of the year) to start this. I hope that your Christmas is filled with the love and hope and message of Jesus Christ and if you are one who loves the thought of a do over you find that with Him. Someone once told me this and it healed a part in me that I still think about today (Lyndy do you remember this conversation?) There is beauty in our flaws. I think we can all be thankful for that. Merry Christmas everyone!

  Ephesians 1:17-23

¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰ he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

The Story...

I have to tell you that I am so unprepared for this today. I have no excuse other than I have been busy. Anyone else? I had the ladies Christmas party at my house on Tuesday and a husband that has been out of town for a week. I have also spent the last week decorating; Christmas shopping and baking…needless to say I have dropped the ball. I haven’t even cracked open my bible since Sunday. This has all made me think of how we lose focus this time of year. We run like crazy, get caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget what it is all about. Last night I took out my calendar and the list of “things to do” and started simplifying it. Did I mention that my son and my niece (well actually cousin) both have birthday’s this month too? Tonight I plan on sitting by the fire and reading the story of Jesus to my kids. I also found a nativity calendar that I ordered back when I was pregnant with Braydon and plan to set it up so daily we can talk about the arrival a preparation of Jesus and his birthday. I also thought about letting the kids take some of their money that they have saved and go to the store and pick out some candy and small toys to donate. Isn’t this what we should be doing? For me this is my favorite time of the year, I love the fast pace, the crowds and the decorations and let’s not forget the venti Mocha Latte’s. I am one of those that goes overboard on my house and gets a little out of hand in the gift category, I over extend myself and before I know it find myself wiped out before the day has even come. John14:6 says, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And thank you God for that. If it weren’t for this glorious day, where would we be? God loved us enough to do this for us, I love Jesus enough to celebrate his life and the life and freedom that he has given to me through his great sacrifice…this my friend is what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. Enjoy…

Luke 1:26-38

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” ³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[a] the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.” ³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Luke 2:1-20

¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Matthew 27:32-44

…³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Matthew 27:45-61

⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,^[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).^[b]

⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and^[c] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph,^[d] and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

⁵⁷ As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

Matthew 28:1-7

¹ After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Luke 24:44-53

⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰ When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. ⁵¹ While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. ⁵² Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. ⁵³ And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

He was pierced for our transgressions
He was crushed for our sins
The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him
And by His wounds, by His wounds we are healed

We are healed by Your sacrifice
And the life that You gave
We are healed for You paid the price
By Your grace we are saved
We are saved

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus…

The change of change

Something happened this last week that has flipped my normal routine upside down. Our mom and pop gas station that we have traded fuel at for the last 13 years has closed down. Actually, my mom bought there when I was a kid and Will has been there probably 16 years. I know this sounds a little much but I was devastated. There is never a trip made to Tomball that I don’t stop by, fill up, grab a hand full of honey candy and sign my name to an index card and when I have my kids we wave through the window and they sign for me. It’s small town and makes me happy. Now it’s closed. I fell the exact same way when I look across the street and Klein’s grocery is closed. I always did my Holiday grocery shopping there and loved to see their shiny trees and bells that hung from the light poles. Needless to say, I hate change. As I signed our last check for them yesterday something accrued to me. What if the apostles were the same way? I’m sure that Peter, Andrew, James and John probably set out every day with the same goal in mind. They probably used the same bait or traveled to the same location and spent the day doing what they knew best, they fished. When the day was done I’m sure they took their catch and finished out the day doing the exact thing they did the day before. Then one day a man walks up to them and says, “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Maybe they were so tired of doing the same thing over and over that the adventure of the unknown is what lead them to go,  or maybe it was just something about this man that they couldn’t turn down. Either way, they followed. There is a popular Christian song by Chris Tomlin that really speaks to me. The chorus says this, “Where you go I’ll go, where you stay I’ll stay, when you move I’ll move… I will follow you. Who you love I’ll love, how you serve I’ll serve, if this life I lose I will follow you. I love this song, but more than that I love how it motivates me. I know that if I follow Jesus it is going to require change (tired of my talking about change yet?) and as long as He is my leader I want to be willing to follow. After I gave my heart to Jesus I defiantly made changes, good changes…big changes. But what God is showing me now is the importance of change and how it is going to be a part of my every day routine. I spent so much of my life changing for people or things that cared nothing about me. Now I have Jesus who gave His life for me, who was tortured to wear the redemption of my sins, and yet I hesitate. Someone once spoke these harsh words to me, “Why are you so worried about looking like a fool for Jesus when you have acted a fool for Satan time and time again.” I have never forgotten it. I think we get the whole “I’m a good person” mentality and believe that it is enough. I’m sorry to say but the bible doesn’t stop there. Matthew 5:14-16 says, You are the light of the world. A city on the hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. – What if for just one week we prayed this scripture daily and were willing to be open in letting God use us. Would we be willing to follow? If you decide to do this I would love to hear what happens because I promise you if you are willing He will move you, I’ll share too. One last thing that I wanted us to do together is this. Post a comment that simple says what you are thankful for. At Thanksgiving we each had a number on the bottom of our plates. If you had 1.) you were to list 3 things that you were thankful for in 2011, 2.) was share 1 thing God had blessed you with this year, 3.) was tell someone in the room why you were thankful for them and 4.) was tell how you blessed someone else this year. It was so awesome! I think we forget, life gets hard and we sometimes think that there isn’t much to be thankful for. Of course all we have to do is watch the news or listen to missionaries to realize how much we really have. Here is mine.

Kristy Watts

I am thankful for this journey I call life. The good and the bad, the tears and the laughter and the healing hand of God. I am thankful for His grace and His mercy and His faithfulness.

As I type this I am listening to a gospel choir sing this song. Wish you could hear it too.

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Now by this I’ll overcome—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
Now by this I’ll reach my home—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Glory! Glory! This I sing—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.