Obedience
I have to say, some days I find it very challenging to just work.
I'm a work-aholic.
But then there are other days, like today, right now, this moment for example,
when Christ lays something on my heart, that I am simply blocked from any amount of concentration whatsoever until I follow through with what He's tasked me to do.
If you've read the post below this, you know that my little girl gave her heart to Jesus on Sunday, and I was given a great gift of being there to baptize her as her daddy. If you've talked to me recently you know that I'm still on that mountaintop, grudgingly not yet ready to come down from that moment. You'd know that if you knew me.
But, what you don't know is the lesson that He brought home to me about obedience.
Sunday morning, I woke up, and I just wasn't in the mood. I didn't feel like church, didn't feel like people, didn't feel really anything. I was still recharging from the wedding on Saturday and I just wasn't back to myself yet.
I knew the church worship leader was expecting me to sing, but....sigh....there'd be plenty of other people up on that stage, they didn't really need me.
I sat down in my semi-cozy chair at my semi-cozy desk with my semi-warm cup of Joe, and opened up some pictures to work on for the rest of the day....yep, feeling like a work day...
Then I felt that little tug. Faint, almost not even there, because my senses just flat weren't firing on all cylinders, but still there it was.
You should go.
Yeah but still...you know this is pretty good Joe.
You know you should. It's what you need to do.
Fine, you know what, whatever. I'll go, see if they even need me up there. They won't, this fine cup of coffee will be cold, but hey...sigh.
Okay. I'll go.
I told my wife I was heading to church, half expecting the puzzled question mark on her face, because she knew I was present but not yet accounted for. But regardless, off I went.
I walked in to church and they had no guys to sing, so I picked up a mic. Then, since I was there early, one of the moms asked if I'd brought my camera, because her daughter was being baptized. I had about 3 minutes before church started and ran home and grabbed it.
Because I was there and had my camera, I got to witness when the pastor gave an open call for anyone to be baptized, and their standing in the line to get in were 2 good friends of mine and MY daughter. I climbed in the pool with my little girl and listened to her give her life to Christ, and I got to help her down under the water, to watch her come back up.
It was a tremendous blessing that I very easily could have simply, flat out missed.
Imagine if we could all be Ebenezer's and get to see the different impacts our choices make on our futures... I'd have begged on my knees to go back if I could have seen the two roads in front of me, and I'd chosen to stay home.
My wife shot with my camera some of the most precious pictures I'll ever have in my life, the images in the blog below this one.
Anyway, passing it on to you folks. It's not in our ability. It's not that you should go to church or that you need to find the 'right' church, not that you should be on some worship team, just a reminder to you and to myself the importance of being obedient to Christ. At work, at play, when we're alone, wherever. His blessings are the only thing we're really giving up if we aren't willing to be available.
I'm a work-aholic.
But then there are other days, like today, right now, this moment for example,
when Christ lays something on my heart, that I am simply blocked from any amount of concentration whatsoever until I follow through with what He's tasked me to do.
If you've read the post below this, you know that my little girl gave her heart to Jesus on Sunday, and I was given a great gift of being there to baptize her as her daddy. If you've talked to me recently you know that I'm still on that mountaintop, grudgingly not yet ready to come down from that moment. You'd know that if you knew me.
But, what you don't know is the lesson that He brought home to me about obedience.
Sunday morning, I woke up, and I just wasn't in the mood. I didn't feel like church, didn't feel like people, didn't feel really anything. I was still recharging from the wedding on Saturday and I just wasn't back to myself yet.
I knew the church worship leader was expecting me to sing, but....sigh....there'd be plenty of other people up on that stage, they didn't really need me.
I sat down in my semi-cozy chair at my semi-cozy desk with my semi-warm cup of Joe, and opened up some pictures to work on for the rest of the day....yep, feeling like a work day...
Then I felt that little tug. Faint, almost not even there, because my senses just flat weren't firing on all cylinders, but still there it was.
You should go.
Yeah but still...you know this is pretty good Joe.
You know you should. It's what you need to do.
Fine, you know what, whatever. I'll go, see if they even need me up there. They won't, this fine cup of coffee will be cold, but hey...sigh.
Okay. I'll go.
I told my wife I was heading to church, half expecting the puzzled question mark on her face, because she knew I was present but not yet accounted for. But regardless, off I went.
I walked in to church and they had no guys to sing, so I picked up a mic. Then, since I was there early, one of the moms asked if I'd brought my camera, because her daughter was being baptized. I had about 3 minutes before church started and ran home and grabbed it.
Because I was there and had my camera, I got to witness when the pastor gave an open call for anyone to be baptized, and their standing in the line to get in were 2 good friends of mine and MY daughter. I climbed in the pool with my little girl and listened to her give her life to Christ, and I got to help her down under the water, to watch her come back up.
It was a tremendous blessing that I very easily could have simply, flat out missed.
Imagine if we could all be Ebenezer's and get to see the different impacts our choices make on our futures... I'd have begged on my knees to go back if I could have seen the two roads in front of me, and I'd chosen to stay home.
My wife shot with my camera some of the most precious pictures I'll ever have in my life, the images in the blog below this one.
Anyway, passing it on to you folks. It's not in our ability. It's not that you should go to church or that you need to find the 'right' church, not that you should be on some worship team, just a reminder to you and to myself the importance of being obedient to Christ. At work, at play, when we're alone, wherever. His blessings are the only thing we're really giving up if we aren't willing to be available.
2 Comments:
Hi Dan - I feel the same way about Sunday. What if we had missed out on that blessing? And if I had not gotten up on Fri night to talk w/you & Kari, the house on Sat might not have happened and we would have missed the blessing of a "relaxed" (so to speak lol) weekend with all of you. Makes us wonder what other "blessings" we deprive ourselves of on a regular basis...
Love ya Mom & Savine
Hey Dan,
That was a blessed Sunday that will be forever burned in our minds. How do you even go about explaining to people what it was like? You can show them pictures and tell them about it, but your right,...they really need to be there to feel the Holy Spirit flowing thru. You never know what is going to happen on a Sunday morning....and do you really want to miss it? It could be something life changing.
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