Where is God found?

Since the second generation from creation, men have needed to call on the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26). Since then we've needed to pursue him to find him. "God's presence is everywhere, but why can I not find him, and stand in his presence?" Because our paths wandered away from him. Our hearts turned away from worshiping a God who is creator, warrior, lover, and many other attributes. Our hearts turned to worshiping ourselves and seeking to satisfy our own desires.

We became so consumed with ourselves that God grieved even making us. He flooded the earth, wiping the slate clean, save for a few who followed his heart (Genesis 6-9). Men began to multiply again and we chose to build a tower to place ourselves in the heavens as high as God (Genesis 11:1-9), the desire that caused the first rebellion with Satan when he chose to rebel as God's holy angel (Isaiah 14:12-15).

Finding God requires setting aside ourselves.

"Why have we fasted, they say, and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?" Isaiah 58:3

Isaiah goes on to explain the words of the Lord. The people fast and seek God, but they turn on themselves. They seek him for their own means. Fasting is more than a discipline of setting something aside to spend time with God. Fasting is setting aside self, of placing God and his heart over anything else in our lives.

Isaiah 58 outlines that true fasting is caring for people the way God cares. Enough to take action. People like to remain ignorant of the downtrodden. I don't believe this is out of greed so much as it is to avoid the uncomfortableness of facing those less fortunate and being faced with a choice to change our agendas, to give up something so that others might have.

Truly finding God requires setting aside self. The friends I think of who are more filled with God's presence are those who have committed themselves to those less fortunate. Who allowed God to change their entire lives, their dreams, their careers, who follow Christ when he walks down a back alley, into the homeless shelters, to other countries where only bottled water is drinkable, electricity a rare commodity.

God is on the move, but if we set out to carry everything we currently own with us, continue to have our desires filled, well there's only so many places a Uhaul can go. God requires us to travel more lightly, promising to reward our hearts in due time if we will wait upon him.

Simply Worship

I just finished listening to a message by Louie Giglio titled "Simply Worship". For those of you who don't know, Louie is a song writer. He writes praise songs such as "Holy is the Lord", and many others for Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, David Crowder Band, and began the Passion Conferences and tours.

In the message, Louie talked about worship, the many different styles from the hymns of old to contemporary praise. Then he explained what true worship looks like. I can't begin to cover everything his message covered, but if you get the chance to check it out you should. Here's what stuck out to me.

When we go to sunday morning worship, passion, overflow, etc we like to walk in and think, I hope the worship is good this morning or evening. Man it'd be awsome if they did some third day or hillsong. We walk in and begin to look for what God is going to do for us. Is this worship? Hearing a meaningful song? Being able to sing along or clap our hands to something upbeat?

In Isaiah 58, God speaks to the prophet Isaiah. Once again Israel is seeking the Lord, and are wondering why God is not listening to their prayers and their fasts. Among God's answers to them, He says in verse 3 "Yet on the day of fasting you do as you please" and that God did not intend for fasting to last for one day, which many of the Israelites considered sacrifice enough.

Then down in verse 7, God lays out what fasting, and what i believe worship is.

Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked to clothe him, and not to turn away for your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly appear, then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say Here am I.

Last wednesday I had a meaningful day of worship. I spent an hour alongside fellow beleivers praying at the cupola asking for God to work on our campus. Then I took a friend over to wal-mart. Then came back met with a guy I'm leading 2:42 Bible Study with to lay out our next few weeks of meeting. Then I headed to overflow, then aftwerwards to baptize a friend who had made the decision, and then we went out to IHOP for his first meal born again, and spent an hour there just talking about the Word.

I didn't say all of that to boast. But i remember feeling at the end of the day, "How great was today? God really blessed me today." The reason i see now, is because i poured myself out to God that afternoon and evening. I gave myself solely to Him, and to His agenda, and what ever i wanted to do, I set on the back burner.

Paul said the same to Timothy is one of his farwell letters:

For I am being poured out like a drink offereing, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:6-7

Worship is devoting our lives to God. Allowing ourselves to be completely spent for the one who was pierced, crushed, wounded, and ultimately put to death. Jesus spent three years before that moment, fasting, praying all hours of the day, healing the sick, one after another after another, teaching his disciples time and time again. Never once did Jesus decide to take a vacation on the beaches along the mediterranean, or to sleep in a king's palace.

That is the life of worship. A life that God smiles down upon. A cry that He will always answer.

I spent the last 27 hour fasting. No food just water, a little apple juice, and some smoothie. Did good up til this point. For now I'm going to declare this fast a good first step into the discipline, and declare it over. The reason for my fast, I'm going to continue to pray over. But I'm going to pour myself out to God through service and ministry while I seek direction on a mission trip oppourtunity I'm considering. I'm going to try the model in Isaiah 58 and truly fast, and our myself out for others.