What's in a Name?

Ecstasy (n)- 2. Excessive joy; rapture; a degree of delight that arrests the whole mind; joy may rise to ecstasy. (Websters 1828 Dictionary)
Doldrums (n)- A sate of inactivity or stagnation.(Dictionary.com)

Saturday, January 12, 2008

He's Been Faithful




I just finished the book He's Been Faithful by Carol Cymbala. What a great book! When my Pastor's wife, Rhonda, loaned the book to Kayla and I, I was a little hesitant. Great, I thought, another book I'll have to read and try to remember things out of for the purpose of discussing them. Oh, was I wrong. This book spoke straight to my heart about issues I've been facing in my life. It also opened my eyes to some of the phrases I've always said mechanically and caused me to really understand them!




I'll share one of the convictions God gave me while reading this book. I'm involved in the music ministry at our church. Granted, it's not a huge ministry- we have three guitars and me on the piano and we lead the congregation in worship through song every Sunday morning. I've always just gone up front, played the hymns and worship songs, and then sat back down. But there is sooo much more to leading the people in worship. You have to be worshiping God yourself in order to really lead others to do so! Duh! But I hadn't been doing that. I just thought, if I look worshipful, then it'll be alright. I need to come to church prepared to give my heart to God fully in worship and not worry so much about hitting wrong notes, God will take care of that. And when it's all said and done, who will really remember how well I played? No, they will remember how they worshipped God!




Here are some great quotes from the book:




"If you really want God to use you, then you have to be willing to follow Him into uncomfortable places and to do things you simply can't do on a natural level.... He chooses the weak to display His strength."



"Our complete dependence gives God full reign to glorify Himself without our feeble self-efforts getting in the way."



"The sacrifice of a totally yeilded life is the highest worship we can ever offer God."



"When our lives match the lyrics, then we are truly singing."



"We experience Hi nearness, blessing and help, not when we are rehersing our doubts and complaints, but when we are offering up our praises and thanksgiving."



"Our place is in the background so that God can get center stage all the time."



"We are called to die to our selfish plans and desires so that Christ can live in us. As we do this by God's grace, we will inevitably discover the fulfillment and joy we are trying so hard to find."




Those are just some of the quotes. There are many more that I would like to share, but really, you should just read the whole book. Let God use it to speak to your hearts too!

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