Worship is not just a feel-good session singing praises on a Sunday morning. It is a lifestyle. The true essense of worship is a desire to please God in all that we do, say or think, it permeates our attitudes towards everything, everybody and every event, big and small.

"Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose - and all of this gathered up in adoration."

William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (1942-44)

Speaking The Truth

Someone sent me this email and I'm sharing it here:

THE WORLD

"When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:



"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good", but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare..
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot anti-abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!"

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest.

In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively.

The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India , Africa and Korea .

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, "The Rest of the Story," and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and whole-heartedly become our desire so that we again can be called: "one nation under God."

I Would Like To Hear From You

Hi all, I've a very analytical younger son who's always musing over things. Lately, he has put this up in his blog, "An Interesting Argument", and I'll be grateful if any of you would drop by his blog to leave your comment and advice. He is serving in the Children's ministry. Thank you. :)

And here's a snippet from his post:

I could probably go on, arguing for ages about how worship is always an inside-out process, not outside in. But instead of doing that, let me leave an open challenge. If anyone of you still think that the outside-in approach is still correct, logical as it may sound, convince me with the word of God. Show me where in the bible such an approach can be supported. Please don't repeat some Christian-sounding argument (the type with absolutely no scriptural basis) or present a who-said-what.

Anybody want to come back on what I've just said? Pick up the gauntlet. I humbly wait to be corrected. I have thought long and hard, and I have yet to find a strong-enough biblical argument in what I am challenging.

Don't Love Me So Much!

"Please don't love me so much 'cos I'm afraid to hurt you again!"

These words came from a young lady whom I'm mentoring at work and encouraging in the Lord. She has told me this before, and has again reminded me today after a rough patch we've been through recently.

I'm a little amused and bewildered. Oh yes, it's a challenge loving and taking care of her, yet I'm sure that the Lord has entrusted this task to me.

I don't exactly know her expectations, 'cos I'm actually mentoring another young man at this point in time... She seems to miss me terribly, and yet asks me not to love her so much??? So, what should I do, I'm asking God and myself???

When You Were But A Puny Little Fellow

When you were but a puny little fellow,

they'd spent much time teaching you how to use the spoon and fork,

teaching you how to put on a shirt, tie your shoe laces and button up,

teaching you how to wash your face and comb your hair,

teaching you how to wipe your nose, and your butt,

teaching you about life.

Remember the song that you took so long to learn?

Remember your incessant challenging questions?

So ...

when they grow old,

when they can't recall things, or can't catch up in speech,

when they repeat a past moment of glory for the nth time,

please be patient with them.

When they've forgotten how to tie their shoes,

when they begin to spill stuff onto their clothes,

when their hands tremble as they comb their hair,

please don't hurry them,

because as you grow up gradually,

they'll grow old eventually.

They will be contented as long as they are near enough to behold you,

it'll bless their hearts,

when the day comes when they can't stand for long or walk without aid,

when you hold them tightly, and walk closely besides,

just like

the good old days, when they held you closely by their side...