Worship

A friend just recently emailed me asking my opinions about worship. After doing a bit of study on it, here's what I came up with.

Worship. I've had a few talks with people in the past about worship, and have heard different ideas mentioned here and there but not much. So I will just give you my thoughts on it and maybe have a look at a couple of bible passages to see what they say. (I thought I may as well do a bit of a study on it now that I'm thinking about it). I have no idea how this is gona look when I'm done but here goes :-) A couple of definitions of worship are:
a. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.
b. The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed. The definition doesn't really cover worship in terms of worshiping God, but it does express the emotions or attitudes that I would want to associate with worshiping God. If we compare the above definition to that of praise... Praise:
1. Expression of approval, commendation, or admiration.
2. The extolling or exaltation of a deity, ruler, or hero.
This gives me the impression that praise is more talking about the voicing of approval,admiration etc whereas worship goes deeper, involving our emotions and attitudes.
Kinda gives me an understanding why singing in church is called praise AND worship..

To me, worship is primarily thanking God. It is also a way of submitting to God and his will, and showing our willingness to follow him and do our best to keep his laws and commands. As the definintion says, its a way of expressing our love, reverance, and devotion to THE deity, or deus(God) not A deity or idol/sacred object. The important thing for me that makes worship what it is, is the attitude that goes with it. In the bible, worship is often associated with offerings or gifts (1 Ch 16:29), this speaks to me of sacrifice or giving something up. In fact in Romans 12:1, it says "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." Another thing associated with worship is bowing down, or kneeling (Ps 95:6). John 4:24 says: "God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth."
These passages give me the impression people who are submitting to God, and want to serve him. Those who worship him must also be sincere in their worship as the passage from John indicates. This is definitly the kind of attitude that I would want when worshiping God.

The reason I say that thanking God is the primary purpose of worship is because of WHY we worship. We worship God for a few reasons;
1) Because he created us. In my mind thats a pretty obvious reason to worship him, because without him we wouldn't even BE here! I've heard that said enough about my parents, but with reference to God it means a bit more, because he also created our parents, and our parents parents etc etc. But more than just causing us to be here, He actually designed each and every one of us (I can't actually comprehend the idea, but I do understand that its a BIG thing) and on top of that, he designed and created a whole world for our benefit. Complete with monkeys, tigers, and the elephant shrew (quite a funny looking animal).
2) He's super cool. I don't know about you, but I can't think of any other beings in existence that are actually THREE beings, but still one... Having that kinda skill has got to be worth something!
3) He's top-dog. From my personal experience, God rules the roost (or universe, if you wana be picky) and basically controls and has an involvement in everything. (I'm not saying he causes everything, thats a different topic really).
4) Probably the other biggest reason besides (1) is the fact that he saved our collective asses by sending Jesus Christ. He not only creates us, but when we set ourselves on a collision course with oblivion, he sends his ONE and ONLY son to die on a cross to redeem us. I can't really think of much worse than sending your own son away, and then watching him die. (Good thing he's all powerful and can bring people back to life). To think that God, who lacks nothing, chose to sacrifice so much just to save a bunch of rebellious, hypocritical lowdowns blows my mind.



Different ways of worship. Well, to in my opinion, there are heaps and heaps of ways to worship. Singing in church is probably the most obvious ones. Prayer is a big one, and I don't just mean going to prayer meetings! Prayer can be done at any time, about anything. An example from my life is thanking God for an amazing sunrise in the morning when I see it from work (about the only time I'm ever up early enough to see it..), or for my friends, my family, or when I dedicate my life to him again thanking him for redeeming me, anything really.

A conclusion I've just come to while writing this, is that worshipping God can be done in the way you live your life. If you are trying to live a life that is pleasing to God, for example trying to carry out his will and to be more like Jesus and you are doing so with a sincere heart, that is worship too. Because doing so will involve sacrifice, a 'bowing down' of sorts as you submit to his will. It will also require devotion, and love! Love born of knowledge of what Christ did for us and who he is. Love is an amazing motivator, and what better way to express such a love than to live your life in a way that God would want.

I think thats me... Hope it wasn't too confusing. Felt like I went on a bit of a tangent every now and again.
What are your thoughts on worship? Feel free to leave comments with you ideas...

It's all in your head.....

This would most definitly be one of the most confusing subjects I have yet written about, or even thought about. Especially since I don't really have any idea as to where I'm heading with this....

I can't even remember when or where I started thinking about this, but I do remember it was something to do with being spaced out and staring at the clouds (Don't ask). I was thinking about the human mind in general, and it kind of just dawned on me how amazing our brains really are. Humans spend a large portion of their lifetime just trying to come to terms with themselves and their own potential, and also in a way trying to conquer their mind so that they can unlock that potential. In this blog, I thought I would just share with you some of the thoughts and ideas I had and try to show you how much your mind really can affect you....

The first thing that occurred to me when thinking about 'The Mind', was quite unsurprisingly, The Matrix. The main theme I take out of that movie is the fact that if you truly believe you can do something, then you can!! For example, once Neo (the main character) had realised his true strength and ability, he started flying! I guess that is a rather extreme example, but it is in a way a reflection of the real world. I'll explain a bit later in the blog.

One thing that popped up in conversation a few days ago was tastes. A friend of mine commented on how tastes can vary hugely from person to person and under different circumstances. I thought that I would attempt to elaborate on that. Every person has different tastes, some people are picky (I am such a person), and others have the amazing ability to be able to eat whatever is put on their plate (Rather in common with my father and brother) And of course there is really nothing wrong with that. In my opinion, tastes are mental, in other words, what you taste, or think you taste is the result of your brain telling you what you need (in terms of sustenance), and how important it is for you to get that sustenance. Different tastes might come from events that happen to you - for example if you are in the desert and dying of thirst, even disgustingly muddy water will seem pure and perfect, but if you are bloated with water, then it will taste terrible. If you are hydrated and balanced, then it will taste average. It is similar with fizzy drinks. If you start drinking coke, the first few glasses are really nice. But as you go on drinking, it begins to lose that taste and, by the time you get to the end of the bottle, its really not that nice. Taste could also be related to your personal experience. I am a picky person when it comes to eating food, but I believe a lot of my 'dislikes' are a result of having certain foods (such as olives, pumpkin etc) forced on me when I was younger. Because of that, I rebelled and decided I didn't like them. My brother however, has always been able to eat everything, and as far as I know has always been like that. Part of it is his attitude that its all food, and he is quite proud to be able to eat anything! He has mentally overcome any ideas in his head that say he doesn't certain foods, and as a result he finds that everything he eats actually tastes good.

I am a great fan of music. I like anything from opera to hard rock. Really any music involving great talent or ability. I also very much like to sing along to music, but the problem with that is the fact that I really don't sound good. In fact my friends will probably tell you that I sound downright terrible. Sometimes I realise that it would be a really nice thing to do to spare their ears, and so I sing in my head. I'm sure some of you who have read this will relate to what I'm saying, and if you don't, give it a try! You see the great thing about singing along with music in your head is that you can sound almost as good as the artist singing it! (sometimes even better than the artist...) The point I'm trying to make is the fact that you can get into the music just as much when you're singing along to it in your head as if you were singing aloud, and it sounds even better! (to your own ears, and probably those around you as well). Once you are practiced at it, you could believe that you are actually singing aloud, and while you sing along in your head, mentally filling a stadium with the sound of your well-practiced tenor, not only will you have heaps of fun, but you may notice that your friends stop leaving the room every time you turn on the stereo.

I have just highlighted and touched on a couple of things that hopefully show just how useful and diverse our minds can be. But the one area that I believe from whence we can have the biggest impact on our lives and the lives of others is faith. The bible says that if we christians have faith in God the size of a mustard seed (which is pretty darn small by the way), then we could move mountains! I don't know about you but I reckon that would be kinda cool. If we have even the smallest amount of faith in what God can do, we would be an unstoppable force of goodness.

A couple of years ago, I heard a story from a couple in my church about a man in africa who had gone to a healing meeting. This was a meeting where people went for prayer and healing, whether it be mental healing or physical. This man had a brother at home who was sick and dying, and after he saw people getting healed from all kinds of sicknesses and ailments, he left the meeting, travelled half of the night back to his village, put his brother in a wheelbarrow and took him to the meeting. Now the distance from his village to the town was so great that by the time the man arrived at the meeting the next morning, his brother was dead. The fact that his brother was DEAD, like, didn't even have a pulse and rigor mortis (when the body gets all stiff) was setting in didn't deter this guy. He went into the meeting and said something along the lines of "I want prayer for my brother, I want him to be healed." So the leaders and people doing the praying went and prayed for this mans brother, and he came back to life. THAT is faith. Even when his brother was dead, he still believed that God could and WOULD heal him. And he did.

We as Christians can do anything if our faith is strong enough, and there is no doubt in our minds that God will do it for us. Both you and I are capable of such miracles. All you need is faith, and a desire to do good.

Courage

This is an extract from a book that I've been reading recently called Wild at Heart. It is (mostly) about males and how to discover their true masculinity through God. Great book, I encourage you to read it. But anyway here goes:

'Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. "He that will lose his life, the same shall save it", is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an Alpine guide or a drill book. The paradox is the whole priniple of courage; even of quite earthly or quite brutal courage. A man cut off by the sea may save his life if he will risk it out on the precipice. He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch of it. A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for life with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not merely cling to live, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine.' (G. K. Chesterton)

John Eldredge, the author of this book, says just before this passage; "All men die, few men ever really live. Sure, you can create a safe life for yourself....and end your days in a rest home babbling on about some forgotten misfortune. I'd rather go down swinging. Besides, the less we are trying to 'save ourselves', the more effective a warrior we will be. John isn't suggesting anything like going round killing people before we die, or 'live on the edge' with fast cars or party pills and such. He is talking in christian, masculine terms. He wants us to be warriors for God, and to do that, we need real courage.

Lessons in Life

I've been thinking about this topic for quite a while now, but forgive me if it's a little hazy.

I guess the phrase "lessons in life" can be defined rather easily: Lessons that people learn throughout their lives. But it opens the door into a very broad and, as far as i know, unexplored area of meaning. Every time someone learns a lesson about something it increases their knowledge, and most often people change their views and actions in accordance with what they have learnt. These lessons help that person develop, grow and enhance their personality or the way in which they view the world.

The lessons can be about anything and everything, and everyone learns them some time or another. The lessons that are noticed are usually the big ones, for example the consequences of certain bad (or good) actions, or the emotional fallout that can occur from something happening in an important part of our lives. The lessons I want to talk about though, are the small ones.

We learn hundreds of lessons about life and the way things work and what different people are like every day. Most of them we don't even notice! Once I started thinking about it, I noticed how much I learnt just by biking home from school, or from having a conversation with one of my friends. Many of the lessons we have learnt before, and are just relearning, for example relearning that it's generally a good idea to duck when biking under trees with low over-hanging branches (one I'm afraid to say I've had to learn many a time). Other lessons that we might learn is how certain people react to certain jokes or conversation topics. If they react in a bad way then we know not to talk about it around them again, or if it particularly amuses them then we know that it's something good to say when they're feeling down. I've found that I watch people a lot, and I like to watch what they do and then try and figure out why they do and for what purpose. And from that I nearly always learn something about types of personalities or something about that particular person. I learn at least twenty things about different people and different personalities every day.

The important thing I learnt about these 'small lessons', is that they are very important for our personal developement. Every single one of these hundreds of lessons that we learn has the potential to change the way we are now or the way we will turn out in ten years time.

There is only one drawback (if it can be called that) with these lessons. Even if we don't realise it each time we learn a lesson, it still does something to us to change the way we are. But if we take notice each time we learn a lesson, and with God's help try to implement it into our lives, we can gain ten times the amount of benefit from it! Even having to duck every time we bike under a tree with low over-hanging branches - it will benefit you in the future (trust me on that one!)

I'll leave you one last thought. Imagine if, for every single lesson that you learnt every day and with God's help put it to good use in your life, you earnt one dollar in your heavenly bank account. Just think how rich you would be once you got there!

Personalities

God created every single one of us as individuals, with our own looks, our own strengths, and our own personalities.

Every single persons personality is so hugely different it's beyond our comprehension (bet you havn't heard that one very often). But these days there are so many personality tests and categories that group people together in different groups. I used to love personality tests, because they were always so true about me. Every single time I would think 'yeah, I am this and this type of person', and I would go around thinking that there are lots of other people like me out there. But then the other day I realised how much I don't like the thought of being the same as so many other people. So I started thinking about these peronality groupings and what the bible says about our individuality. It just didn't fit for me. Then today, I was thinking about how sometimes people find it so hard to understand me, and I said to myself 'If I'm supposedly grouped into a particular personality type, then why do people find it hard to understand me? I mean, the personality descriptions are so small and simple!'

Since then, after having thought about it rather a lot, I came to a conclusion of sorts. I realised that, even though I might fit some personality types perfectly, I'm not that at all! Because although I show most of those certain characteristics, I have so many hundreds more of them that correspond to other "personality types".

People's personalities cannot be grouped and understood by some characteristics that they show, because they are far, far more complex than that. If you want to learn about or understand a person and their personality, you're not going to be able to do it by reading a description of their personality type, or even some things you have seen them do. You will need to watch them, interact with them, and be as perceptive as possible into the way they act, move, talk, and respond to any kind of situation. You will never be able to understand everything about someone's personality unless you do ever single activity in this world and get into ever situation that could happen. That is, of course, impossible. But the point I'm trying to get across is the fact the more time you spend with a particular person, or watching a particular person in different situations, the more you will be able to understand about their personality.

NOTE: If my blogs are getting too confusing or hard to understand, please please let me know, so I can try and make them a bit less 'deep'.

Escaping Sin

My very good friend Karl mentioned this on his blog (to which I now have a link). He was talking about how it is really hard not to sin when thinking about not sinning. His example was this:

"Listen to me now: Don’t think of the number eight. Don’t think about it. Careful…don’t think about the number eight! What are you thinking about right now? That’s right - the number eight."

I'm in a rugby acadamy, and not long ago we had a few sessions on a topic similar to this one. What we learnt was a way to get your mind off something that is distracting you or impeding you from any task that your trying to complete. It is a little bit complicated and I can't remember it word for word so please bear with me.

The first thing that we got taught was that humans can have up to seven pieces of information going throught their head at the same time. And if for example someone is about to take a conversion in a rugby game, but one of those seven pieces of information is the thought "I must not miss, I must not miss" (in other words a negative thought) then there is a high chance that whoever is taking the kick WILL in fact miss.

We also got taught an interesting (though confusing) concept. Take the numbers one to ten. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10...These are your concentration numbers. Tell yourself that the numbers 1-4 are negative, and relate these to thoughts about the past (e.g. A player taking a conversion thinking about a past kick that he missed). Also, relate the numbers 7-10 to negative future thoughts (e.g. A player thinking about what might happen if he misses the conversion). Now the numbers 56 (in the middle), is the desirable concentraion numbers, it is the "now". When you are in the "now", you are only thinking about the task you are about to perform, not about what has happened, nor about what might happen, but what IS happening. The whole aim of this excercise is to put your concentration numbers into the "now", where you arn't under stress or plagued with temptations or distractions about what is going on around you - your mind is clear and open to other (possibly less harmful) thoughts.

The way that we got taught to do this, was to take a scene. ANY scene. But one that you will never forget, it could be anything - the best moment in your life, a moment that you dream of constantly, anything whatsoever that you will be able to remember on demand. Now what you do, is relate the number 56 with that scene. Keep putting that scene through your head, and when you do, bring that scene to life - make it as if you are there, as vivid as possible. Think of the sounds, the smells, the colours and textures of that scene.

That is the basic principle of the whole excercise. But it won't work unless you practice it. Find a quiet space where its just you, and keep practicing going into that scene, and try and concentrate JUST on that scene even for a milisecond. When you come out of it you should notice that your mind is clearer and you can focus on other things more easily.

As you practice more and more, you will need to start practicing in harder conditions. For example go into a park and practice going into that scene and concentrate entirely on that scene for as long as possible. If you're doing it properly, you shouldn't be able to hear any other sounds or be thinking about anything else.

Some of you may not be able to do this, and that's perfectly fine. But for those of you who can, it can be an awesome help when you're struggling with a temptation of simply struggling to concentrate on a specific task.

It's worked for me.

Conscience

Everyone has a different type of conscience. Some have a strong conscience that doesn't let them do anything risky for fear of a bad outcome, and then theres others who don't have much of a conscience at all and will do almost anything unless there's a definite chance of getting caught.

I personally have a reasonably good conscience. Although quite often I do struggle a lot with things that don't seem too bad and I think to myself that 'its not that important', or 'they won't notice'.

What I wonder about most though, is how do people with weaker consciences refrain from things that could potentially be sinful or dangerous to them and others?

As always I will say that you can ask God. Because he provides the answers to everything. But another simple solution is, when confronted by temptations to do something that could very possibly be wrong (even though it doesn't feel too bad), is to simply think about something else! Think about what you had for dinner and how it tasted or what your plans are for the day. If you manage to get your mind off whatever your struggling with then your sorted! It's just a way to try to prevent yourself from sinning.

Emphasis

I started thinking about this after reading one of my great friends blog's on the 'F' word and Faith. This got me thinking about how much people do swear these days and it reminded me of a conversation I had with my uncle and aunt over christmas.

We started talking about how often people swear these days, and then got onto the subject of emphasis. Swear words are generally for emphasis. But when someone uses them excessively (which seems to happen so often these days) they seem to lose their emphasis. Personally I don't swear. Instead of swearing in situations when most other people would, I use words like 'darn' or 'goodness'. It's my own preferance and it seems to carry just as much if not more emphasis than any swear word!

The other thing about it is that people have noticed the fact that I don't swear. It's an uplifting thing because people notice and see it as something different and good. I don't see myself as being any better than them at all, it's just the way I am. The reason that words like 'darn', 'ahhh', or 'flip' are more effective for putting emphasis on something is most likely to do with the amount of use. Since swear words are used so often these days, the other more tame words become rare. And therefore when they're used, they are noticed more and hence carry more emphasis.

The point I'm trying to make is that you don't need to swear to put any emphasis on a point your trying to make! Use other words that people arn't used to hearing much so that they notice it and your words can carry more emphasis.

The other bonus is that it's an easy alternative to sin, which I believe swearing is. And I'm sure God would appreciate that.