Out of the Norm

There is a particular lake near where we live that has lots of alligators in it. Whenever we go by the kids always look to see if they see one. Today, as we were going by I said to the kids "look and see if you see any alligators". Madison got excited and said "Look, there's ice!" Speaking to her like a little child I said "There is No ice in that water" Then I looked - there was ice in the water. Granted, not a lot. It was only in the small puddles right at the bank, but sure enough - today we didn't see alligators, we saw ICE! Definately out of the norm!!

Matt and I had some time to talk a while back about church, our role in ministry, and what we want to accomplish (only with God working through us, of course). The main thing we talked about was how we DON'T want to be in the "norm". For the majority of churches, I think we have become more focussed on what WE want than what God wants. We talk about style of music, how to do outreach, what about visitation, how should Sunday School be done, should we dress up or make people feel welcome by being comfortable, etc. Of course I have my own opinions on all of those things. And 2 people who both passionately love God can even disagree over their own views of how God would want things done. When we put our own selfish desires aside, and let the Holy Spirit move us, then we will truly experience REAL worship.

Matt and I came up with a purpose statement... (church should be) Where real people, experience real worship, of the real God.

Real people - we all fail, we all have sin, we all are selfish at times, hurt at times, happy at times, etc. And we should be there to love those who need to be loved, rejoice with those who want to share in their joyous times, grieve with those who are hurting, and we should be REAL about it all. Not fake words and emotions, but real, sincere love for people just like us.

Real worship - can be with many different styles of music, with many different ways of accomplishing it; but what it really gets down to is Focussing on the One who is deserving of all our praise, putting ourselves aside, and giving ourselves to Him.

Real God - even in Bible times there were people who worshipped false idols and false gods. But in todays world with our technology, these false gods and false religions are spreading at record speeds. All the while, the world is hurting, longing for the only real God who is the ONLY one that can complete them, fulfill them, and save them. We need to share God with the world. Not our watered down version, but God for who He is, always has been, and always will be.

Sometimes weird things happen, things that are not normal, like seeing ice in a Florida lake instead of alligators. Weird things happen all around us all the time, sometimes there are weird people too - lol; but while the world may change, and our views of normal are always subtly changing, God will never change. My prayer today is:

"God, please help me to be real in my relationship with you; and help me to be real in how I share you with others. If others see the real You in me, they will want to know you for themselves. Help me to be real in my love for others, real in my worship of You, real in our church, and real in this un-real world. Amen."