The great chasm

I have been on a renewed journey in recent weeks, all beginning when my wife showed me a video of a woman experiencing a miracle by God that saw her son come back from a coma. I do a lot of media advertising as part of my job as Worship and Creative Arts Pastor at Bethel Church in Medford, Or, and during my viewing, I found myself silently mocking the production of the reenactment, and linking the testimony along with it.

I was immediately convicted of my arrogance, and realized somehow I had allowed life's experiences to "jade" my outlook on God's miracles and those who would testify of them.

Since that moment, and my subsequent repentance to Christ, God has given me a renewed hunger to see and experience His Spirit at work in my life and others. I'm not trying to be weird or strange, I just love God with all my heart as He has done so much for me, and know the possibilities with Him are endless.

In John 11:39, 40 Jesus was about to raise Lazarus from the dead (One of His most incredible miracles!), and asked those at the tomb to "Remove the Stone". He then said to Martha, who had been giving Him the obvious information that Lazarus would be stinking after 4 days, "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"

He then proceeds to raise Lazarus from the grave. Wow.

The key is..."If you believe", then you will see God's glory. Actual belief and faith in God is a step forward from where we are. It says, "I don't care what people think or say, I am believing what God says." That is where we begin to experience the reality of Christ and what He is willing to do in and through us.

The difference between casual agreement with the Bible and the things of God, and actively pursuing Him, is like a huge chasm, because God does something supernatural when we get serious with Him. He takes us from a natural place where we only see with earthly vision, to seeing everything clearly from His viewpoint. That's when life really begins. And something else automatically happens when we have an encounter with God....Sweet, uninhibited worship.

Tripping the light fantastic!

Hey...welcome to my blog! You probably have questions about the title, so, to satisfy your curiosity, here's my thought process with it. To "trip the light fantastic" is "to dance nimbly or lightly, or to move in a pattern to musical accompaniment." As we all go through this journey called life, it is an absolute adventure, and this phrase, for me, captures the excitement, mystery, heartache and joys of this amazing opportunity that God has given to us. It speaks of unknown adventures, approached with curiosity, hope, creativity and an expectancy to see God invade our world. It's an exciting life with God at the helm!

I will be speaking to you about worship to God, and my thoughts on a closer relationship with Him. I'm a creative guy, so I tend to look at things from that viewpoint. God is awesome, and He has made us to be creative individuals, each with our own twists and turns. Because of Him there is no limit to what we can accomplish, to His glory.

There is a scripture in the bible in Romans 8:28 "For we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God and to those who are called according to His purpose." As we get to know Him better though the Word of God (Bible), prayer, faith and obedience to Him, we begin to see Him working in,through and around us. God will open our eyes to the circumstances, chance meetings and strange coincidences that we encounter which all bring Him glory. As we pray with faith and seek His face, He will cause "all things to work together for good". Life becomes absolutely exciting as we see the Holy Spirit orchestrating life before our very eyes.

So...when we come together for a worship service or home study, we are so filled with His goodness, love for others and filled with an expectancy to experience Him more and more, that our worship times become electric and full of passion! This is the life we've all been looking for...a life full of hope and expectation!