A life of worship Acts 28.16-30
9/22/2009 4:43:17 PM
Acts 28.16-30 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2028.16-28.31;&version=31; - Paul arrives in Rome~ Good Day~ Have you ever been in "a moment' and you have this sense that THIS, THIS VERY MOMENT is sacred, and you don't want it to end? Then, you have a taste of the passion of the early believers.


Acts 28.16-30 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2028.16-28.31;&version=31; - Paul arrives in Rome~


Good Day~


Have you ever been in "a moment' and you have this sense that THIS, THIS VERY MOMENT is sacred, and you don't want it to end?

Then, you have a taste of the passion of the early believers.

Have you ever thought now THIS, THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!?

That is how it is when the Holy Spirit fills you up. . . full to over flowing.

I hope that the pages of Acts have spurred you on to desiring to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. . .

that you have had your appetite whetted in such a way that you will desire to stay in the center of His will for you,

and continue to stay vital in your faith in God, though it requires courage and tenacity.

Acts comes to a conclusion after 28 chapters, and while Paul has reached the end of the line at Rome, the story is far from over. The Gospel continues to spin out from there; the church has gone on to this day--through you, me, and believers around the world. (How do you think we're doing growing the church--the body of Christ-followers--in 2009?) It seems like we have lost so much fervor as compared with that young Jerusalem church. . .


And so I asked the Lord, "How do we keep what we have learned from the book of Acts--from the lives of Peter, Stephen and Paul-- alive? How do we love like they loved and took care of each other" 'Seems like the Father said to me, "You will do that through worshiping Me with all that you are."

And so I now ask you, "Are you a worshiper?" "Maybe. . . what do you mean by that?" (not wanting to be tied to any weird stuff) Well. . .

a worshiper is someone who lives life with the purpose of honoring God--lifting the work of his hands, the resting of his cause, all as a sacrifice of praise to the living God. Oh, not just Sunday mornings, but he lives his life as one continuous piece, an offering to God of all He has placed in our hands. She doesn't look at worship as something she does in a building on Sunday, and leave it at that. Worship is more than a set of activities like singing and going to church! Rather, we live life fully, striving for holiness in honor to God. . . this is worship--and it involves the connectivity of all things.


The 'players' in Acts knew how to pour out their lives as an effervescent expression of their love for Christ. They left nothing on the table. When the Holy Spirit came and infused the church with power from on high, they were never the same. This is what we want to take and embody from our study of Acts. . . I think we want to be sold-out worshipers, seeing our lives altogether as what we offer up to God. Paul "got" this. He wrote to the church at Rome, "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." Read it again, won't you? Romans 12.1. Individually, we offer the sacrifice of praise with our whole selves.


Lord, teach me the right way to live in freedom~

not freedom to live in whatever manner I choose,

but freedom to live the way You have always wanted me to live.

You have set me free from sin; now teach me to flee from sin.

Teach me to walk in the new way of the Spirit.

I want to know You more. . .

Help me to love You better.

May I never bring shame or disgrace to the name of Jesus;

rather, may I point the way for others to meet You and

receive Your gift of grace as well.

Amen.


Well, here--this song, "Awesome" and its accompanying video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MJeanAe9GQ&feature=related - will remind you of just how incredible is our God. How He loves us. . . let us live our lives in demonstration of how we love Him. . .

Christine