May 11th, 2017

I have learned that one of the most challenging things about following Jesus is distractions. Distractions can capture our minds, can get our eyes off of Jesus, can slightly get us off the mission of serving a Not-Yet-Follower of Jesus, can pull us away from encouraging a struggling brother or sister in Christ, can turn our willing hearts and minds to hard hearts and busy minds.

Regularly, I need to take time to just sing about Jesus, to praise Jesus and to worship Jesus. The Psalmists remind us that singing about Jesus can recapture our distracted minds and get us to refocus our minds on Jesus and His great commandment and commission. "Come before the Lord, singing with joy." Ps 100:2

The Psalmists remind us that praising Jesus is where we unite together to celebrate what Jesus is doing in our midst. It is a uniting and uplifting spiritual discipline. "Enter His courts with praise." Ps 100:4

The Psalmists remind us that worshiping Jesus is where our souls and minds spiritual connect with Jesus personally. It is where we forget about all the distractions and busyness and fully connect with Jesus. "Worship the Lord with gladness." Ps 100:2

May the following passage grip you to the point you walk through the singing, praising and worshiping gifts. May you get lost in the beauty, brilliance and power of the Lord.

John wrote, "I turned and saw the voice.

I saw a gold menorah
    with seven branches,
And in the center, the Son of Man,
    in a robe and gold breastplate,
    hair a blizzard of white,
Eyes pouring fire-blaze,
    both feet furnace-fired bronze,
His voice a cataract,
    right hand holding the Seven Stars,
His mouth a sharp-biting sword,
    his face a perigee sun.

I saw this and fainted dead at his feet. His right hand pulled me upright, his voice reassured me:

“Don’t fear: I am First, I am Last, I’m Alive. I died, but I came to life, and my life is now forever." Rev 1:12-20 (Msg)

Being found while being lost in the presence of Jesus,
Pastor Chris