Regarding worship.

Well, I just need to say that I've spent a lot of time thinking about worship lately. I had a good discussion with my fellow youth leaders, and I also talked to a few dear friends who I respect deeply. It's neat to see how everything I've been learning lines up. I just want to enumerate a few of the main ideas. I hope when you see this, it isn't all new, but rather it is a refreshing reminder. :)

What is worship?

There are many Biblical examples of worship including bowing down (Genesis 24-26), professing the truths of God (Matthew 14:33), Glorification (Psalm 29:2), falling on our faces (Revelation 11:16), and fasting and praying. (Luke 2:37). However, worship can be summed up pretty well in this one verse; "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." (Romans 12:1)

According to my cute little pop up dictionary (Oxford American Dictionaries, incase it matters. :P), it is "The feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity." I really like that definition, though I feel it'd be more accurate if they were to replace OR with AND.

According to John Piper in his book Desiring God,

Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth. It is not a mere act of willpower by which we perform outward acts. Without the engagement of the heart, we do not really worship. The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of the feelings and emotions and affections of the heart. Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead.

Isaiah 29:13 supports Piper's definition.

“And so the Lord says,
‘These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.’”

Bear in mind that Jesus quoted this verse to the religious leaders of His time. They LOOKED like "real" worshipers on the outside, but they weren't really worshiping. Worship is an outward expression of an inward feeling. Without the longing to see God and to follow Him wholly, our “worship” is nothing more than trite ritualism.

Why do we worship?

Biblical reasons for worshiping include these: He is good and His love endures forever (Psalm 100), He is Holy (Psalm 99:5), Jesus commands us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30), In Him all things are created, and He is supreme (Colossians 1:16). And of course, because of His death and resurrection--His victory over sin (which I never got a specific reference for, because really the entire Bible is a testament to this. Without the resurrection the Bible loses its meaning).

The Bible is full of reasons why He deserves our worship, but worship must not be done out of duty. We need to wrap our heads around the idea that God not only DESERVES our worship, but He also DESIRES it and delights in it. Within the past five years of my life God has been increasing my desire to worship Him. It’s come to mean so much to me. It’s only recently that He’s begun showing me how much it means to Him. Worship is not about us. It’s the irrefutable recognition that we are His—that everything is His. I feel like realizing this is revolutionizing my view of worship. I've been like "Man, worship makes me feel so good", and now I'm excited to worship so I can bring HIM joy! Imagine that! The mighty, awesome God DESIRES our worship. worship is about Him. I want to make Him happy with my worship! :)

Why does God desire our worship?

He is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). By the way, jealous has multiple definitions. My dictionary had one definition that was prefaced as being "of God". God's jealousy was defined in this way: "demanding faithfulness and exclusive worship”. Now, exclusive worship means YOU ARE NOT WORSHIPING ANYTHING ELSE. Most people think that's easy... like, "Oh, well, I don't pray to sun god Ra or Baal or nuttin' like dat so I'm good". But really, if worshiping is living our lives for something as defined in Romans, we can "worship" ANYTHING that we sacrifice our lives for! of course, it won't be true worship, nor will it be fulfilling. However, it will still separate you from Him. A servant cannot serve two masters.

Secondly, He loves us. The scriptures of God’s love for us are many (John 3:16, for instance), yet we cannot even put the perfection of His love into words. However, we can more clearly understand human love. Even in our imperfect love we desire love in return. God wants us to love Him. Our worship is a complete surrender to Him. What better way to prove you love Him than to surrender everything to Him? It is our true and proper worship (See Romans 12:1 again). After all, Jesus first surrendered everything for us.

We have a choice. We can choose to worship, or not to worship. However; dutiful, ritualistic worship is not really worship at all. When we choose to worship, we need to do it with joy and humility. We need to want to see Him. We need to realize that it’s all about Him and not about us. So shut your eyes, don’t think about the people around you, don’t think about yourself, and simply think about Him. Think of His perfect love, and that despite everything you’ve done, He still desires you to worship Him.

Man... God is amazing. :)

Hello!

I miss this.

I really don't have much to talk about. I've dealt with some tough things, and sometimes writing here would help me gain a better understanding. Right now, I'd say life is really going quite well. I have a few friends who are struggling with things, and they're who my heart cries out for now. I am not currently worried about myself.

I do miss everyone though. Everyone is so busy.

And I REALLY miss photo adventures.



...and don't think that my life is all rainbows and ponies or anything. I still have quite a bit of things to work through. I'm just finally realizing how important it is for me to trust and not lose sight of the One who gave me this life. I dunno.

I really am not sure of much beyond my joy. I've many questions.

Who am I?

Alright, how many of you are familiar with the Johari Window? Probably most of you. if not, look it up.

Anyway, according to Johari, there are things about myself that I don't know that others do... and I'm wondering what insight any of you might carry. So... if you're willing, tell me about Greg Shirk.

Honestly. I'm not looking for anything specific. I just want to see what y'all can come up with. Surprise me.

...even write a funny story. I don't care.

I'm just feeling a bit down. I could use the cheering up. :)

Responding to a broken heart?

Yesterday I was working with a friend of mine. She's a very nice, fun sweet girl. She's a lot of fun and often has a smile on her face. Yesterday her eyes were dark with sadness. She had her arms over her stomach like she had a stomach virus perhaps. She looked ill. I asked her what was going on--if she was okay. She really looked terrible. She told me she was not alright. I asked her what was wrong. She hesitated...

Then she said "My boyfriend broke up with me".

I told her I was sorry. That's all I could think to say. I didn't have a chance to speak with her after that because we were busy. But every once in I while I happened to glance her way and see the pain in her eyes.

I realized that in all my life I had never seen anyone affected quite that deeply by a break-up. I'm not sure why... I've had close friends who've broken up before. Either they were ready for it, or they just weren't around me when they were hurting... or they hid it well.

That's not relevant. What I'm curious is how one should respond in a situation like this. Was my response appropriate? I mean, I didn't really have a chance to say more anyway... but what if it happens to someone I'm closer to? It broke my heart to see her that way... and she's a person I see only at work. I mean, she's a great person, but our friendship really isn't that intimate. I mean, How close can you be with someone you see only at work? ...because that's how close we are.

My heart aches for her right now. I don't know when I'll see her again, but I hope she has a smile on her face.

Anyway... what I'm most looking for is this:

How would you respond? I'm curious.

I haven't posted in a long time.

I haven't been that busy.

I've been quite good, actually. :)

God's been great to me. I've been able to focus on others more. Maybe that's why I don't post as much. This blog is all about me, after all.

I just get a joy out of writing, but haven't felt the need recently. I'm sure someday I'll need to again.

But until then.

Thank you.

All of you who read this regularly--you're good friends.

You're some of my best, actually. And I appreciate you a lot.

that's all for now. :)

Dear friend...

I'm sorry, but I'm just not convinced you care about me at all. Your words feel empty and don't match your actions.




Is it EVER appropriate to say that?...

Even if your heart aches?

Come now, kumquat.

Small. Orange. Beautiful.

I hold you in my hand.

I look at your exterior.

Unlike the rind of others;

Yours is sweet, delicious.

But I know your secret.

Beneath your sweet exterior,

You house something less than desirable.

Acetic bitterness;

a sour core.

The complementary juxtaposition-

It causes dissonance.

Sweet or sour, please choose one.

It would make life much simpler.