holistic Worship
I had a burst of excitement this morning, one of those moments where many truths hit you in to one momentous jolt of heart! As Mike talks with me about Worship and Change, and reading his latest paper on counseling that confronts religious dualism, I am jumping with joy that I get more of the gospel!
Change happens in some ways layers at a time over time. In our community, there is a lot of teaching and biblical plea to address heart and not just behavior. But, they are connected not separated parts of who we are.
For me to see what I worship- my idols, my straying heart, is to address the spiritual part of who I am. As I repent of sin, acknowledge who I am in Christ, I can rejoice of his grace! Out of that joy of right worship, my heart is shaped, and the other parts may be affected. The heart is connected to the body.
Proverbs 14: 30 A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
The heart is connected to the mind and strength.
Mark 12: 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
To worship Christ, I don’t just worship with my spirit, but as my heart is joined with Christ, through progressive sanctification, my whole self is made holy!
Holistic:(from ὅλοςholos, a Greek word meaning all, entire, total) is the idea that all the properties of a given system (biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave.
My whole self, holistically worships, thru repentance and progressive change.. I am already holy in Christ, free, forgiven, His blood covers every part of my pain and sin. Yet, I still work out my salvation with fear and trembling, not because I am unsure of His grace, but because I know Christ’s grace covers me. I am humbled by the battle over my flesh so that I never take his grace for granted. My wretchedness shows me what to rejoice over. I rejoice in Christ and the grace and love he offers.
“There are other parts to being human. In Eric Johnson’s book, “Foundations for Soul Care”, he proposes four “orders of meaning” They are all interrelated and touch on one another, but they are hierarchically ordered. That means that some of them are more significant than others. His orders of meaning in order of the greatest to least significance: spiritual, ethical, psychosocial, and biological. Just because, these are distinct orders doesn’t mean they are disconnected from each other. For example, if I repent of sin at the spiritual order, that will have cascading changes throughout the lower orders, possibly even to the point of rewiring neural networks in the brain at the biological level. Going the other way, if my brain suffers injury, that would undoubtedly impact the higher orders that are built upon it; I may become more emotionally volatile which becomes a temptation to sin in my anger.” -Mike Wilkerson
Holistic Worship is the seeing myself in Christ, whole and new. Until we are glorified with Christ, we have to contend with our fallen bodies, depraved hearts, and minds affected by sin. In Christ, we have freedom, joy, calling, adoption, and GRACE in the midst of suffering. Jesus Christ took the punishment for our sin and only by grace did he do this! And I am in awe and fully boast in Christ!
Galations 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
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Restoring Worship
What is worship? For the last 6 months, I have been sharing my heart regarding my struggle to worship God in and thru my work. Hence the name of this blog. Understanding how to steward God’s gifts and worship Him with my work is my journey.
What are your associations with the word- worship? Do you think (music)? Or all things spiritual? Well, we are all worshippers. Worshippers of Creator or Creation. Do we worship God or the things he made? He is a loving and jealous God who wants me to continue to see my stream of idols that replace him. But, repentance is NOT just seeing idol and throwing it away. God wants me to see it, confess it, worship him instead, then see that thing redeemed. So, the glutton learns how to eat again without sin- but as an act of worship, of freedom. For me, I don’t just confess my independent streak in my heart and despise my competence and strength. Repentance is still being strong and competent but as a dependent on God worshipper.
Worship isn’t just getting rid of idols. It is rightly restoring the created thing in its place. So, that my heart worships God. He alone is to be worshipped.
Pastor Mark preached about worship this past Sunday. As I sat next to my husband for the sermon and singing for the whole service (baby Lydia made it in the nursery the whole time for the first time!), I was so grateful for good biblical insight about worship. Grateful to God for scripture to speak to me. For the Lord to show me how my heart turns so quickly to idols instead of Him in worship.
And it is so worth watching and having a soft heart before the Lord to reveal idols and help you explore what worship is to you. Enjoy!
At the end of the sermon, take special note of the questions that dig at your heart. He asks some great probing questions for seeing your idols.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (1)My Journey to 30.
I am 30 years old today. I feel tearful today, reflective, as I ponder the work of Jesus in my heart. I celebrate his redemption. Thank you for celebrating with me as I tell a story.
My Journey…
Looking back to a distant story, I see sadness and grief -for a little girl who was left alone to grow. She was lied to, spit upon as though a fool, and handed over to enemies. She is but a fuzzy memory. I cry for her confusion, for her innocence, her betrayal.
I see a glorious Redeemer snatching this girl up, hiding her under His wing, wiping tears from her gentle cheek and securing her in his love. I see her take a breath for the first time. She is safe. He is her new Father, who will never leave, and a parent who always tells her the truth.
She endures the lie for a life- with her redeemer comforting, protecting her heart, giving her what she needed to survive.
Then, I see this growing up girl shaking that Redeemer’s hand off of her hand, as he tries to walk with her as she grows, she knows he loves her, yet she has a better way to deal with her pain. She denies his presence, and in His face she mocks him with her independent and arrogant passion to be “somebody.” A proud vow to be a good person.
Faithful as the Redeemer always is, he hangs back and lets her discover that she is in desperate need of Him. She turns and sees him standing there, arm’s open. She runs into his arms, repenting of her foolish pride.
I see this girl, now grown up, straining forward not looking back, pretending that she wasn’t that little abandoned girl, she pretends and continues to strive for peace, yet it is half hearted. Her Redeemer again faithfully holds her hand and shows her her heart and to walk in both the knowledge of her pain and suffering and her repentance of sin, that she is a whole woman, and her pain is not ignored. She grieves for the first time, thru her weakness, her desperate need.
She is running, she has a group of people with her. A fiercely faithful Godly man with his hand in hers, women running behind her, and four little children, running on the sidelines. She isn’t alone. She realizes that she needs them. She is weak with delight and her heart is softened. Her Redeemer is always there, always giving her direction on where the journey is going. She doesn’t doubt him or shake his hand off anymore. She can breathe deep breaths of relief that though she tried, he hasn’t let her make him leave her.
The miracle of her heart and her healing is only her redeemer’s work, she calls his name as much as she can! She runs, she journeys, she sometimes doesn’t even see the road, yet he guides her.
She trips over rocks and falls down as the journey has unexpected twists and hurdles. The Redeemer has taught her to look up first before she picks herself up and look for his hand to help her. She cries that He never leaves, no matter how many times, she forgets to look for his hand.
Her sin, her heart, are constantly being forgiven, and loved as she journeys. She runs, trying not to stop. She isn’t alone and will never be. She can always trust her Redeemer. His love is steadfast and pure.
Thank you, Jesus for Redeeming ME. I can breathe now. My heart is overwhelmed at your gift to me.
I praise you, my redeemer, for saving me from myself. and blessing me beyond what I could ever dream. 30 years down, many more to go, for you Lord Jesus to get your glory.
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