Keeping It Wild

by Candace Cortez

One of my favorite things about God is that He never runs out of ideas. Looking at the faces of people as they pass by me in a store or on a street, I am amazed that God has it in Him to design, create, mold, each set of eyes, each different shaped head, and each heart full of layers we can’t fully grasp even within ourselves. God is a wonderous creator. In the unique way we were created, I believe each believer has a specific gifting that delights God when it is used in worship. I believe there is a way that I can worship Him, that nobody else can, and it is delightful to God, while simultaneously I can sing with the angels who will sing “Holy Holy Holy” for eternity. I believe God hears and loves all of those voices. I believe you have something to give to Him that is different, specific, and a sweet aroma to Him. The thing that unifies us, believer and non-believer, is that we were made to glorify Him.

Even though I know and believe all of that, after following the Lord for a while, it’s possible to find yourself in a spiritual rut. Numerous times, I have experienced a distance from God’s perceivable presence, even though I was doing all of my normal prayer, worship, and Bible reading times. This always brings at least an eyelash worth of doubt: is this all real? Is God there? Does it matter?

This morning I read the story of King David in the Bible, in 2 Samuel 6, when the ark of the Lord was on the way back into the City of David. David was so thrilled to have the presence of God back in his camp that he worshiped, danced, praised until his robes fell off. There was no other time in scripture that describes David’s worship exactly like this. There were times he sang, there were recorded times of playing instruments. There were examples of obedience and times of humbled repentance. I believe this dance is an example of how David kept it wild. He did not allow his worship style, habits, or timing to be solely dictated by past experiences, present pressures, or hopes for his own advancement. The recorded nature of David’s praise to God is dynamic, mirroring the dynamics of God Himself.

God has it in Him to listen to the same song on repeat by the angels and make billions upon billions of different faces and spirits. Yes, sing the songs you know and love, but also, take time to intentionally breathe creativity into the ways, postures, and places you give honor and praise to the Lord. Keep it wild! This will not only add some fun to your walk with the Lord, but you will also keep from getting too deep in the rut. Staying out of the rut will combat the doubts and lies of the enemy that sneak in during distant times.

I’m not an expert, but here are some ways to switch it up, if your creative worship wheels are rutted too deep to begin. 

• Read the Bible outside (Preferably with a view! Hello, mountains! God likes long walks on the beach.) to give a backdrop to the One who made it all.
• Gather a few friends and sing some songs, pray for each other, and ask some of the more challenging faith questions you’ve had rolling around in your heart.
• Turn off your phone! Spend a crazy amount of time listening, reading, and writing the things God does when the distraction count is significantly lower.
• Go to a store with a monetary gift, and pray for someone to bless in Jesus name.
• Write down your personal testimony. Sometimes we need to think about all the things God has done and actually write those things down!
• Make something! Anything! God is an artist and likes when we act like Him. This can be a blanket, a painting, a cake, or a plan.

It’s ok to push ourselves outside of our comfort zone, or even our talent zones. Just because you are not talented in a specific way to worship, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it out. The author of 2 Samuel didn’t tell us that David danced well, we read that he danced with all his might. Stay engaged. Remain faithful. Keep it wild!

Give Thanks

by Tim Howard

This week many families and friends gathered for a Thanksgiving Day celebration. Our country has set aside one day on the calendar each year to remind us of the importance of giving thanks.  One day to press the pause button and say: THANK YOU GOD for all you have done.

Among many statements found it the Bible about thanks and praise, David said in Psalms. 92:1 “It is good to give thanks to the LORD.”

 It’s good because it opens the door for a heart of gratitude to grow within each of us. Giving thanks is something you say and do but gratefulness is a condition of the heart. An Attitude of Gratitude flourishes when life is lived with thankfulness.

Not only this but it also replaces the ugly sounds of criticism, sarcasm and complaining with the reverberation of joy, hope and appreciation. Granted, there’s much to complain about but when you realize over half the world earns less than $2.00 a day; no more than 5% of the world population owns a home and the majority don’t have a car to drive, maybe we have more to be thankful for than we realize.

 People who complain and criticize on a regular basis are not fun to be around. Thankful people, however, bring a fresh perspective because they focus on what they have and don’t worry about the things they have yet to obtain. They bring joy because they choose to fill their mouths with positive things rather than the negative.

Jesus asked a very important question worth answering when He was on His way to Jerusalem. The narrative is found in Luke chapter 17. Jesus spoke a word of healing to ten people stricken with leprosy and here’s what happened: “And as they went on their way, the leprosy disappeared. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God, I’m healed!” He fell face down on the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done… Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where is the other nine?

Good question? Why don’t more people give thanks? Maybe the nine didn’t return because they chalked it up to being lucky or a coincidence? Failing to realize God’s involvement stifles thanksgiving.

Then again, maybe they were so caught up in the present moment and their new-found health they simply forget the goodness of God.

It’s easy to lose a spirit of thanksgiving at any time – but be warned - the consequences are not very positive. Romans 1:21 declares: “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, so they became futile in their views of life, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Thanksgiving will blow the clouds of darkness away and keeps the lights on. Only then - will a person see life through positive lenses.

As I celebrated Thanksgiving a couple of days ago – my family and friends took time to express thanks to God. I personally don’t thank God for everything because some things are evil but I have committed myself to giving thanks in the midst of everything.

This is something I endeavor to do 365 days a year – including Thanksgiving weekend. I hope you do as well.

Give Thanks

by Tim Howard

Maybe this isn’t true for you but when the fall season begins and November rolls around – my thinking begins to revolve around Thanksgiving. For me, it’s not just about a one day event to celebrate with family and friends but a month long endeavor to give thanks for what we have. Each year at this time I make a dedicated effort to remind myself of all the things I possess that money can’t buy and then verbalize my thanks. Sometimes I say thanks to God directly and other times I share my thanks with people. Every time I do this – without fail – I realize I am rich. You don’t have to have a stockpile of money, investments, a 401K or a lot of stuff to be rich or thankful!

As a young boy my parents taught me the words: ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You.’ Please is a request and ‘thank you’ is the proper response when you receive that, which you requested.

I in turn, as a parent have tried to teach my children and now my grandson the same three words. I realize they are more than mere pleasantries when spoken.  They plant seeds within a person that can activate and shape a positive attitude.  Saying “please” can guard you from an attitude of entitlement and keep you from developing a demanding spirit.  Expressing thanks in verbal form can develop a grateful heart and create a spirit of appreciation.

In this season of Thanksgiving it is easy to lose a sense of gratitude when we forget how blessed we all are.  This is precisely what happened in the Old Testament when people forgot God’s goodness. Psalm 106, beginning in verse 12, God summarizes this unhappy time in history by saying:  "They believed His promises and sang His praise."  That's the good news!  "But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel."  They didn’t give thanks!

Their forgetfulness closed the door to thanksgiving and opened the door to a spirit of complaining and criticism.

Years ago Jay Leno wrote a satire on complaining: “Are the American people complaining because they have electricity and running water 24/7? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?  Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in recent years?  Or perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.  You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.”  Maybe we have forgotten how blessed we are!

It’s not just the Israelites in the Old Testament – All of us are prone to forget what we have. The antidote for spiritual forgetfulness is called praise and thanksgiving.  Praise and Thanksgiving is a discipline - a deliberate focusing of our thoughts on things we have rather than what we don’t have.  When this is practiced, an attitude of gratitude will be present and the atmosphere around you will change.

We would be wise to train our minds and hearts to express thanks – all the time – Starting now!  Let this month be a month of praise and thanksgiving. We have much to be grateful for!