Modern Worship or Hymns of the Faith?

Worship music has always been a sensitive topic. People preferring one genre over the other: Modern worship vs. Hymns of the Faith. Too loud vs. Too Dead. Old stuff, new stuff. Drums, no drums. Dancing or no dancing. Or... "Our church has a young generation, and it won't relate to that stuff.", vs. "Our church has the mature, wiser, and older generation. They give tithes, so we need to cater to them."

If we start to focus our energy, and give our worship to the One who deserves our worship, then the previous paragraph will not be an issue. It will never exist.

We forget so easily why we do these things. We forget so easily why these songs were written, and who it was written for. If we can just remember that worship is NOT ABOUT US, BUT ABOUT JESUS CHRIST, then we won't have these petty arguments of selfish 'preferences.' Instead, we'll focus on who we are worshipping.

Worship music is just a tiny part of the giant picture of True Worship. The worship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Letting Go Of Desmond Hume

Sometimes I deny that I actually like to watch chick flicks. Yes, I said it. I do like to, sometimes. Hey gimme a break, I said 'sometimes.' Why do I like it, sometimes? Well, it reminds me of sweet times I have with Debbie (You can grab your barf bag now). It also gives me some pointers and tips on how to say/do something nice to her. Ok enough about that. This wasn't the point to this blog.

It's actually easy to deny things from ourselves. Well, again, sometimes. Just like the other day, I deactivated my Facebook account, and that was pretty easy. Though I claim to not be addicted to it. We can deny ourselves other things like, food, when we are on a diet. Or even TV shows, especially when it consumes our time (Sorry Desmond Hume. I had to let you guys go there for a few. You too, Stanley.). And of course, countless other things.

Deny yourself. I'm gonna "cut to the chase" here. Being a Christ-follower actually involves denying yourself completely. Christ requires that from me as His follower. Not necessarily isolating yourself from the world, and because of that, you will grow spiritually. Denying yourself means a willingness to obey His commandments, serve one another, and suffer... Even die for His sake.

Jesus said, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Mark 8:34)."

That's what it costs. Being a Christian is not some cheap, single, down to a little prayer-type of decision. Being a disciple, a Christ-follower, costs you your own life. Jesus never said your life here on earth would be better or easier when you follow Him. Look what happened to Paul. He got beheaded. Peter. Crucified upside-down. Stephen, was stoned. These were among others.

Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Taking up your cross, means, to the point of death, if necessary. Nothing held back.

Jesus said, "Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:38)." Those who reject these demands of discipleship prove themselves to be ashamed of Jesus Christ and the truth He taught, thus not redeemed from sin at all.

That's what's required of His followers. Nothing less. Jesus gave His life for you. For me. Nothing less. Paul says in his letter to the Church at Rome; For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Jesus offers forgiveness. He offers a life full of joy despite hardships. He offers eternal life. Follow him. He says, "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it (Matthew 10:38)." Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow Him. Find life in Christ.

Twenty Four Hours

Alone on the road for about sixteen hours. That's plenty of time to think about the past. Choices made, actions taken. That's also plenty of time to consider future choices, future decisions, and future actions. That happened almost four years ago.

In a few weeks, I will have this opportunity again. Only this time, I will have twenty four hours alone. From Dallas to Los Angeles. Early morning drives, late night stops, and numerous bathroom stops. I'm really excited about the trip, but I'm pretty nervous as well. I'm not so much nervous about the distance, or the reckless driving around me. Not so much about the loneliness, or about getting lost. But about leaving what I was comfortable in. Leaving what I knew. Leaving this place where I believed God had called me to, at one point. Leaving a place I considered to be home.

My reason for the excitement? In about twenty two days, I will have a new place to consider home. New people to minister to. New friends, of course not forgetting the old, and a new church. But what gives me the most excitement, and joy, and happiness, is the day I see Debbie smiling at me and saying, "Welcome to your new home state!"

Philippines, West Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, New Jersey, Michigan, Texas. Another long-distance drive. Another trip. Another transition. California.

Reason Enough...

Life as we know, is full of transitions. It can be a transition from one grade to another. Or maybe one schoolgirl crush to another. It can be a transition from one ministry to another. One state to another. In my case, it's the latter two.

A few of you know about my past, my past of living in five states in the last 5 years. Some may say that this would be an incredible experience. Some may say that it would be too unstable. Others would say, that it would be rather difficult and lonely. All these thoughts are true. At least I would think so.

So... Another transition in my life is arriving. And this will go down in my life's history as the toughest, biggest decision I will ever make. I'm not a great writer. I don't know all the rules and regulations, but I hope I am keeping you interested.

Recently, I turned in my resignation letter to the church I have served with, for the past three and a half years. I served as the Worship Pastor of this church, which is located here in Dallas-Fort Worth. It has been a crazy year! I have been praying long and hard for this move (I wish my parents were both still alive. How I wish could give them a call, and ask for some advice. Something.). But somehow, I could not arrive at a decision. I couldn't move forward. For a few great reasons, I kept telling myself that it wouldn't be the right decision to leave. I knew God had brought me down here to DFW, from Jersey. Without a doubt. Practically speaking, I had to resign. That should've been reason enough actually. But it wasn't.

Late 2009, I started some conversations with this girl... Fast-forward: She's now my girlfriend, given straight from God. I'm moving to California, to start a new life, a new ministry, and a new chapter. She was reason enough.