Building Faith : Heaven on Earth

You know how you get a massage and there's that one spot on your back that needs a little more work than the rest, or that shoulder that gets a little out of alignment? You know, sometimes it just takes a different kind of attention or effort to get that spot back to "just right"?

The hand will receive and respond very differently than the ear, although they both may get the same message.

That's much like the body of Christ.

I know I thrive on a lively worship service, one where I may stand on my feet and lift my hands. Just as I worship my most comfortably in this way, my great grandmother prefers a church that sings old hymns and only stand when the ushers are coming to pick up the offering.

You know what I've discovered?

That it's ok.

It is ok that people worship differently, because we all serve a God who wants and desires our worship. If that worship comes from the inner most place of reverence to Him and we are seeking Him through it, what does it matter if we are standing, siting, or kneeling before Him?

This realization, the one that says worship for everyone doesn't always have to look like my personal worship, this is something God first started showing me soon after I fully committed to living a life that that honors Him.

I love to see Him continue to show me this as I embrace cultures across the world or just a different type of church right here at home.

My flesh can be quick to say "this is not my thing. I do not worship my God like this." But how quick the Holy Spirit is there to remind me that I can choose to worship Him anywhere, any time.

It is a choice I make everyday.

Will I walk out this life, worshiping The Lord in all I do, or just when I enter a comfortable environment? Will I press into Him in those moments of discomfort, to find He is the ultimate comfort?

Will I ask Him for grace as I am finding myself filled with a righteous anger when someone suggest America is "the best place on earth", limiting Gods ability to claim other people groups or nations as His own?

I love America. I really do.

Lately God has shown me just how much my love of this country or this flag has limited my ability to see His plan for me beyond these borders.

I do not want my vision for myself or my idea of what this life should look like to place barriers between me and the plan God has for me.

I am thankful for mornings that remind me of who He is, and just how vast His abilities are. The Lord loves to hear His people call upon Him. He desires us to do so in a selfless way, a way that truly gives Him all of the Glory.

The best part? It is okay if it looks like this...