As I embark upon returning to where I last left off back in the Spring, I wanted to recount the essence of worship.  Worship, I word that frequently gets misconstrued with music, and lyres, and those big riccola horns being played from the mountain tops amidst vast valleys of lush green landscapes that you would find in a Travel Ireland commercial.  Worship extends the pararmeters of any expectations exhuded by mankind.  Worship is the essence of the Spirit taking precedence over our personal agendas, what we ancitipate, hope for, desire.  It supercedes all limitations.  No matter how much we feel in control of those moments that are nothing shy of the Spirit’s annointing, the Spirit takes us on a journey of the soul where we surrender the reins, and fall to the mercy of His leading.

Two weeks ago, the Holy Spirit showed up in a way that I never was aware of up until that point.  To put it lightly, it is like a person that has grown up in a small town their whole life and has countless experiences, memories, and stories that attribute to their knowledge and concept of their surroundings.  If someone was lost or looking for a particular location, this person would know how to direct them in the fastest way possible to get to, or get out of any situation.  No matter how much this person feels like they know the grid of the town and has jogged every side street, there is still more to see, more to experience, more to feel.  It is like someone revealing a secret path, unbenounced to this person that can take them to the highest point to overlook the town people.  The Holy Spirit takes us to new heights in order to expose us to a fresh perspective of His mercy, His grace, and His love.

The only precursor is for us to unplug the self.

I was asked to help out on the worship team, Wednesdays each week are used to rehearse the songs and come up with innovative ways to facilitate an ultimate atmosphere that will lead others in greater communion with the Spirit.  I was running an hour late to rehearsal, as you might expect, quite flustered.  I hate being late.  I began the time pleading for the forgiveness of other members present.  My mind was already unplugged from the leading of the Spirit.  I had also just returned that afternoon from a staff retreat to the mountains where I had overexhuded my voice on multiple occasions, and to my dismay, my voice was strongly considering using the last of its personal days to take the rest of the week off.  I came to the realization that we would be holding rehearsal without the aid of a sound man, nor the vocal support that I needed from using the sound system… we would practice, unplugged.  In retrospect, this was indicative of the Spirit preparing me for what was ahead.  I went through the songs that night singing an octave lower (usually what I do when my voice is tired, not to mention Stephen on the stomp box compensated by singing through the songs for me).  We made it through, and I would contend, just barely that night.  I left feeling apprehensive to the weekend that seemed to be moving full speed ahead towards me.  The next few days I succumbed to worry and stress, and overage drinking of herbal tea products to nullify my frustrations previously experienced.  Oh the experiences and revelations of the Spirit that I overlooked in my cynicism.

When we subscribe (plug in) to all mental cognitions of the sinful nature and attend physically to the flesh, we unsubscribe (unplug) from the reality of the Spirit, and His yearning that we know Him fully, a knowledge that is unequivocal to anything else.

Sunday morning, the Spirit showed up in my life, rather I showed up in the Spirit, and I left forever changed with a fresh perspective of his forgiveness of sin in my life, a renewed sense of his redemption, and the outlook that life is always supposed to be like this, plugged into the Spirit and unplugged from the self.

Yesterday, upon departing from my group counseling course, I found myself lost in thought, lost in space, lost (coldplay fans who are so inclined- I have included these parentheses to include an exclamation point “!”).  I was troubled by how scores received on an assignment, negative feedback received from a supervisor, or any other conceived roadblock in life that may juxtapose one’s intended pursuit for more a profitable, beneficial, or successful life condition.  We all travel towards a goal, to fulfill a dream, towards an accomplished end result, but there are health related matters, grades, evaluations, finances, among an assortment of other things that keep us from meeting these goals in our timing, or from ever reaching the goals altogether.  Oh, yeah, and a lack of FAITH is probably the biggest thing that keeps me from growing and excelling.  FAITH.

If God is the indeed the Undisputed Champion of the World, and what I mean by this is He conquered death, He brought us into existence, He wakes us up in the morning, He is the tick of our financial and health clocks, HE, HIM, is the denominator, the underlying factor, the overarching theme.  HE.  If He has shown such effort, such love, such diversity, such depth and distance to provide life, existence, and being, HE will surely see to it that He fulfills His plan in the life that He gave to us.  Would you agree?  With that said, there is something beautiful that can be observed through suffering and trials, the very circumstances where we are being run through the gamette.  Everything works to the good of those that work towards the good of committing a life devoting to pursuing the One that pursued us in the first place.  His love for us is undisputed, the way He died for us is undisputed, the very means that He created us from dust is undisputed, his omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresent characteristics are undisputed.  Nothing alters His control and authority and very existence.  In the same light, His light, nothing can draw us away from Him fulfilling the very purpose in our lives that He has set us out from the beginning of time to complete in order to advance His kingdom.

Since He is undisputed, our existence is undisputed.  It is only in times that we doubt, that we deny, or disclaim Him that we dispute His undisputedness.

In leaving class last night after receiving a once perceived career-altering grade, really provided new insight from a life-altering God that has never lost before, and will never lose the capability of using ordinary people for extraordinary measures.  If I never make it through grad school, I consider it all gain since He is the one that provided me the opportunity in the first place.  Consider things in your life that you’re working towards.  What if the means to accomplish such goals were suddenly stripped from you?  Would you consider it all lost, or great gain?

Don’t doubt, devote, and He’ll show you what’s next.

Afterall, He’s undisputed.

Consider the centrality of the space station in the midst of countries that rival one another based on conflict and debate regarding their own power and safety.  Many of these participating countries that fund multi billion dollar space research excursions also have embarked in the nuclear arms race for manipulation of the hemispheres.  So what is it about the international space station that allows us to work together, per se, towards clarification of the unknown?  What is it about the outer depths that countries agree to share this outer space cubicle?  It is the mutual drive and respect for one another’s efforts towards unveiling the future of our existence that countries are willing to operate side by side.   Outerspace has no concept of gravity or war.  Outer space is spiritual.  There is something spiritual about the international space station as well.  As space teams assemble and set out on expeditions to better grasp the darkness that encompasses our earth, whether they intend to or not, their race towards discovering life forms, planets, stars, meteors and other celestial bodies is really about discovering God. 

Like the international space station, God is the unifying theme of believers around the world.  Whether we set out upon a personal or group-led pilgrimmage, we will never grasp the multitude of dimensions that make God who He is.  Contrary to Americans hailing today’s astronauts as heroes upon their safe return to Earth, believers are celebrated in their first and final voyage from Earth to touch God.

Many times, I find myself moping around with injury.  I grow impatient in the adversity of swells, sores, and strains.  I have two options.  I can let the injury define myself as a roadblock to slow all aspects of my life down, or I can find a greater purpose and drive to focus more attention on things that I sacrifice to go for a jog.

What travesty that would be if God, in planning our existence, individually, were considering to provide each one of us with just one passion in life.  If mine was running, I’d fail to exist.  But this is far from the truth.  For as diverse a population He has painted on across the universal canvas, He has given us many different drives and passions to pursue.  Life is far from over when we face a roadblock in pursue a particular dream.  Rather, we are given a greater understanding of what path we are able to pursue.  Our reaction in the face of adversity is are the very moments that make life-altering impacts on our lives.  Not in times where we get comfortable.

Consider the things in your life that you’ve had to give up temporarily or eternally that have provided you a new awareness about the wide stroke of opportunities that God has painted you with.

I face heat from friends and family, and I also deal with an internal struggle to get to the bottom of why I conduct my life in this fashion.  I also have found that whenever I travel to a place to visit a loved one, I anticipate a deeper connection made between us.  When it occurs, the mental and emotional translation inside is interpreted as my need to move back to that place because I miss the relationship and the beneficial circumstances.  If only I could be in all places at once, I could maintain all relationships and not be so concerned with “missing out.” 

Since I live in a land of growing up, I am learning how important it is to be intentional to let these loved ones know how much I think of them and care for them.  It takes little effort to maintain the long distance through emails, texting, written cards, and phone calls, but why does it seem like such a chore at times? 

In the same way, I like to recount upon the life of Christ.  He traveled the distance of modern cell phones by means of His sandals.  He met peole exactly where they were in life to let them know how much they were loved, and how much worth and purpose they had as an individual.  Imagine- a political campaign of love where the politicians of the modern era are forbidden to use present day technologies or social mediums to spread the word around. 

Christ calls us daily, no matter how far we feel away from Him, to remind us of the cross, grace, forgiveness, peace, and love illustrated. 

How far are you willing to go to reciprocate that love back?

Those living in their mid 20′s during the 80′s showed sheer courage, in retrospect.

Many of us still require a GPS for a morning commute that we’ve had for over a year.  Facebook and Myspace attempt to connect people from high school and college, but on average, it has been used to birth a wave of stalkers who look to keep tabs on the “one that got away.”  I miss the days returning home from an afternoon playing hoops on the blacktop, to mom informing me that I had a message from Josh on the land line.  People are spending much more time indoors and online.  There is innocence in a life unplugged and uninhibited.  The digital age has allowed me to take a back seat in the lives of the ones I love rather than to write a letter to them via the pony express, or make the drive to spend the weekend face to face.  No doubt about our progressive culture and the need to move forward to increase productivity, but I get the feeling that in moving forward, we forget the primitive upbringings that we’ve come from.  Everyone assumes that if you have a cell phone or can connect to the internet, you use them.  You overuse them to get your money’s worth.

The digital world reaps gizmos and gadgets that can be surrendered without much damage or loss suffered.

I know that a life without Christ would be a personal life of despair and hopelessness.  He is the navigator of life, and a life without direction is no life at all.  A life unimaginable.  There’s no life away from Him.  Purpose is in the pursuit.

Next time you lose service, or get kicked off of your parent’s internet (because they still have dial-up), consider how we are protected by a God that never loses service or suffers a power outage.  A God that stays consistent in His love and provision for us regardless of the innovations that change the way we see the world between decades.

Don’t lose sight of the way He sees the world: a society with potential to be forgiven and free, forever!

We live in the spiritual age.

Either way, God has created us to be emphathetic beings that respond naturally to emotion.  To delve deeper into the human psyche to draw conclusions and pinpoint the statuses of the conditions of the soul.

Christ cried… rather, wept.  Some believe Christ wept in response to the death of Lazarus, a dear friend.  Others believe that Christ responded to the weeping of those around Him as to share their hurt.  I believe it to be His expression of relating with the hurt of the friends who were near during the passing of Lazarus, an extreme hurt for the death of Lazarus, and a hurt for the human race past, present, and future.

Christ is empathy.  Christ is emotion.  Christ is passion.  For everything we have felt that has brought us to tears… Christ has felt.  Christ, as human, walked earth, so that we might all walk heaven.

Painting?

Journaling?

Taking Photos?

Running?

Engaging in Philosophical Discussion?

This beautiful disorientation is indicative of a personality that sets you apart from the rest of the world.  Yes, there are millions of people that consider themselves photographers, and 5.3 people will buy their very first camera by the time I finish this blog (a farce statement, added just for amusement), but no one person sees the same exact things through the eye of the lens.  Really, think about this.  Where a mother vacationing at the beach takes a picture of her children on the sand to document a memory, another person sees shadows and sun rays, and a great amalgamation of colors, when taken at a the right shutter speed and obscure angles, will make a person’s heart jump out of their chest in sheer emotion.  And who’s to say that we experience a photograph with the same emotions and passions that were intended by the artist?
We all bring something fresh to the table of life that characterizes who we are as individuals.  Take a zebra for example.  They all look strikingly similar to one another, but the mother can always differentiate the one’s that belong to her.  The same concept applies with Christ.  Being the creator of all things good, all of our physical and emotional characteristics, He can differentiate between the skills and abilities that He originally created us with.

The one thing that puts me in a consciousness coma is writing music.  I spent 4 hours last night, which really felt like a half an hour that I spent sitting at the piano recording various parts that eventually were pieced together that made a song.  I had no compositional road map that would ever leave me to believe that I would end with the song that I did.  Once I had one track laid down, I would play with the assortment of effects, each one insightful of a new emotion completely different from the last.  If I were to change a particular effect, the product would take on the shape of a completely different song.  There is nothing that I want to change about the song even if someone was to listen to it and tell me that I should have used a particular effect or instrument, or written different lyrics.

Just the same, there is nothing that God would change about our composition, NOTHING.  He is flawless, and has created us without blemish.

Remember the next time you ‘come to’ from being comatose, consider the Spirit of Christ alive inside of you, and He takes great pride in His handiwork.

For the times that we get lost in time, understand that He has never had concept of time: He has always been and always will be immersed in His love for us!

the chorus goes as follows:

I finally found where I belong, I finally found where I belong, in Your presence.  I finally found where I belong, to be with You. 

We live in a world where the social climate encourages multiple memberships.  Churches, recreational sporting teams, the rotary club, YMCA, country clubs, alcoholics anonymous, etc.  Consider all of the memberships due to your name and why you are a part of them.  Are you a member of a church just because you go there once a week?  Do you partake in a city softball league just because you miss the glory days of playing baseball in high school?  Why is it that you go to the YMCA?  Is it just about the work out equipment? 

Whether or not you are willing to admit, the main drive behind memberships is to experience a sense of belonging.  We all want to feel accepted.  We were created with an internal intuition to connect with other members of the human race, and one of the easiest ways is sharing in these subgroup commonalities.  But what happens when one struggles with connecting with others?  We see loneliness across the world.  Take a second to look into your daily life functions: lunch rooms and restaurants, schools, hospital rooms, cubicle businesses, and even churches, loneliness and neglect dominates our culture.  There are people in our society that cannot connect with others on their own, but look for the invitation to be connected with.

When was the last time you approached someone in your day-to-day who appeared to be one of the many people who aren’t given the chance to feel this sense of belonging?  If two children are born from the same mother, they gain membership of the same family.  If we were all created by the same Creator, doesn’t that mean we were all birthed into a global membership even before our umbilical cord was clipped?  So why is it that we face such a universal epidemic of disconnectivity?  If we realize that it exists but fail to work towards ridding our society of it, we become partakers in spreading the virus.

If Christ started the insurgence on the cross of giving all the chance to connect with Him eternally, and evade separation and condemnation, how are we living as a part of the insurgence to connect with others in hopes to connect them to Christ.  Belonging and connectivity have been terms that have always existed, since God is love and love has always been.

A challenge a bid you, is a challenge I bid myself.  Greet a stranger you pass on the street.  Strike up a conversation with someone you share a bus route with.  Share in current events with somone that you recognize at the YMCA each Monday night.  Invite the woman in the back pew to sit next to you and your family.  Sit with the freshman who eats by himself during lunch. 

You’ll realize that in your pursuit of connecting with those who are least likely to be connected with, you’ll gain a greater understanding of just how far Christ was willing to go to connect with us… the least likely at one time.

Know where you belong, and know that you do belong.

engines revving, people roaring

red, yellow, green.

what is in the destination?  is there one without the preparation?  in the same light, how can any one person anticipate victory without risk?  the imperative to life’s accomplishments is high risk.  growth does not occur without continual drive to failure.  this sounds incredibly contradictory.  many people watch drag racing for the potential crashes, the flames, the explosions, concussions, and life being placed on the line on live, daytime television.  would the risk be as high if no one seemed to care?  if television ratings weren’t high enough in contention with a bowling tournament, it would not exist on live broadcast.  who do we play up to?  of course, from a young age, the story goes where the boy attempts to impress the girl in jumping his bicycle over a plywood ramp, to land wrong and scrape both knees, palms, and chin.  this only serves as fuel for the next jump set at an even more perilous angle, and probability to attempt from further back in the cul-de-sac to get maximum air.  alright, if it’s not for female attention, it’s for attention period.

the point is… without risk, there are no accomplishments.  we take risks on a daily basis, whether the risk is time, reputation, or physical/mental condition.  the higher the stakes, the bigger story of success.

education, professional careers, family plans, assets, physical stamina, paycheck = accomplishments of selfish ambition because they exist in a finite realm.  all these things won’t matter once we transition into the realm eternal.  when all things are considered, celebrity lifestyles, the ones that generate the most attention on in a material-driven society, really operate on a temporal scale.  why is it that people work towards attaining this goal of fame and fortune?  i personally want to use my energies in working towards something that will last forever, don’t you?

I want to operate my life based on the urgency of life and death, love vs. condemnation, unity vs. eternal separation and anguish.  the qualifiable vs. the quantifiable.  In sharing my faith of Christ and His story of love, grace, and forgiveness unconditional, I risk reputation and acceptance, but what will it take to understand that my prerogative temporal when not aligned with Christ.

the lights flash from red, yellow, green.  Life has begun.  What is the greater objective that I am working towards before my  light turns back to red?