The Right Kind of Worship

When Jesus talks to the Samaritan woman He says, "true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." I wonder if I'm offering this kind of worship to God.

The first thing I do everyday is to brush my teeth. I can't start my day without brushing. I brush for around two minutes and before I realize it, I'm finished. Another important part of my routine everyday is to meet my chirpy buddies in the bus on the way to college. If I was on holiday, then I have to speak to them over phone at least. Now the process of meeting my friends and talking to them is routine, but it doesn't stop there, it is an experience. A beautiful one.

When I go to sleep I don't dream about the smell of the toothpaste or the mouthwash; but rather I dream about the new joke that my friends would have to tell.

It is very important that the first thing we do every morning is to read God's Word and pray.Though I am not always very regular, I cherish the times when I go to God in the morning and say; "I so happy to know that I'm important to You. Everything that's important to you, is important to me, I surrender this day to you!!!". Certain days would be so beautiful, that I would spend the whole day dreaming about the time I had in prayer.

But off lately I've been thinking, my meeting with God in the morning, my times of worship; Is it an experience? or Is it like "brushing"? Am I doing because I have to do it or because I love to do it?Do I pray because I love the experience of talking to God, or because it is a task on my routines check-list?Am I conscious every moment that I spend in prayer or is it finished before I even realize it?

Have you become emotionally unstable?Are you struggling with other relationships? Are you suddenly becoming increasingly judgemental?Do you see any major negative behavioural changes in you? Are you increasingly being confronted with fear? Then I guess its time for a ' MASTER check-up' .

If JESUS no longer fascinates you, and 'salvation' no longer fills your heart with gratitude, then you need to sort things out, and find out what's going wrong where.

God detests superficial worship. And if we've got into any kind of pattern, we need to cry out, " Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me"(Psalm 51:11) and see to it that we're out of it before it annoys God any further.

"At least I'm praying every day.. Isn't that good enough?" " Not at all.. Jesus did not die on the cross to get us to be glued to a routine. This paramount sacrifice was done so that He can have a thriving relationship with us, share His heart and transform the dying world through us. But when we start becoming satisfied with a superficial 'hi-bye'. None of the intended purposes of God are fulfilled in our lives.

Making a relationship beautiful, requires hard work.Maybe, I could tell you some things that I've tried whenever I've felt that my connection is starting to deteriorate;

• Avoid talking unnecessarily with everyone else until my talking with God resumes to normal.
• I try writing love songs to Jesus (I don't know poetry or much of music!!!) so that I can arouse my flesh to submit to God's spirit. (Only God can hear these songs!!)
• Consciously start conversations with God while commuting, or in the bath, or doing something wherein your not totally involved.
• I put up posters on my room.
• Listen to good Christian music.
• Meditate on the Majesty of God and His Sacrifice for the sake of love.
• I meditate on the stupid things I've done in the past, and wonder if I can really afford to continue to ignore His great love towards an insignificant, imperfect person like me.
• Every time I say Hallelujah or Praise the Lord, I pause for a moment and think about a specific gift God has given me and I praise Him for that, in particular. This keeps me from vainly repeating these profound words of worship.

Doing these stuff only acts like a catalyst to ultimately get us to the Word and back to our knees with a renewed love and a fresh commitment. When God sees the kind of effort that we put in, He will honour us, and strengthen our relationship with Him.

Talking about work.. God put a lot of effort to make the relationship right.. He gave up His Life.

Do we deserve this?
Are we giving Him the attention and honour that He really deserves? or Can we?

Isaiah 29:13
....These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me....
Psalm 4:5
Offer sacrifices in the right spirit,and trust the Lord.
1 Corinthians 3:10
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

There's no recession HERE......

I hate shopping!!! but few days back when I was walking past a busy street known for its extravagant shopping malls , I decided to do some window shopping, I looked at a Ralph Lauren Stretch Wool Executive Suit....I froze. It looked too good to be true..and imagining me in it....How I wished I could travel into my imagination and indulge in it for a while!!. I tiptoed into the showroom with my rather simple unbranded jean and khadi kurtha and asked the pretty looking lady in the best accent I could make up "How much does that cost?",bang came the reply, "Rs.21,334 ma'm" I hid my shock, disappointment and dismay with a broad smile and a very polite 'thank you' and left the building.

I've always doted on Mercedes cars. While I was walking back, I was envisioning myself, a Ralph Lauren suit, a Gucci handbag,a Carlton London footwear, a Rolex watch, in a white Merc, without erasing my elite figure from memory, I went home and googled the brands to check out the total price on the tag... it was a staggering Rs.40,96,908. Thank God we can dream for free..!!!

I've exaggerated a bit, but most of the young earning population today are very brand conscious.We want to adorn ourselves, with the best in the market and posess the most elite gadjets. But sometimes, we're so carried away that we don't mind being in debt, just to satisfy our craving for luxury.

Inflation....wherein the value of money has decreases. If you were able to buy 10 things yesterday with 100 Rupees, an inflation allows you to buy only 2 things with 100 Rupees. Today India is facing a seven year high of 8.75% inflation.

Economists would describe many causes like; The increased oil prices and the sub-prime crisis in the USA which caused the dollar recession.The root cause for all this in simple terms is, excessive demand and wasteful spending.

The utility of a bag is to carry some stuff, it should be reasonably strong, and look decent, I could buy a good one for Rs.150, but a branded bag would range from Rs.2000 to Rs.32,000. Now, This is wasteful spending!!. The summation of unhealthy spending habits in the world today, results in a slowing down of the economy, during when unemployment increases, giving opprtunities for anti-social activities,heinous crimes, hunger and death.

God said it right, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil..."(1 Timothy 6:10).

The governement could change the fiscal policies, monetary policies, cut taxes, and do all the stuff possible, to stop the financial condition from worsening. It would stabilise, but it would'nt remain, its bound to happen again and again. Because, whatever change is being brought up, are only cosmetic changes, they will soon wear out. Any really effective solution can only be brought up by an attitude change, which is birthed out of a change in heart. A change in millions of hearts.
Millions of hearts that are touched by Jesus Christ.

"Don't fall in love with money. Be satisfied with what you have. The Lord has promised that he will not leave us or desert us." (Hebrews 13:5-CEV)

I believe that that the way I spend my money, speaks about my relationship with God. God holds us accountable about how we spend our money. How we spend our money, depends on how much we want. How much we want is dictated by the desires of our flesh. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God"(Romans 8:14).That means, we should not be lead by the cravings of our flesh.

If we boast about being children of God, then we should comply to the higher standards set by God, and not by this world. ...."Who gave Himself up for our sins to save and sanctify us, in order to rescue and deliver us from this present wicked age and world order, in accordance with the will and purpose and plan of our God and Father" (Galatians 1:4).

No matter what's 'in trend' today, if its not required, I don't have to buy it.When I say God has a plan for my life, it also means that He has a specific purpose for my finances, I need to focus on God to find out what He wants me to do with my finances and not devote my finances to indulge my desires. This is sin. God hates it.

This world is doomed to be destroyed, and so is your flesh, if I want to make an investment that will draw huge returns, I need to invest it in the Kingdom Of God.

Mathew 6:19-20
Don't store up treasures on earth! Moths and rust can destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them. Instead, store up your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy them, and thieves cannot break in and steal them.

Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.

The prepared path

Campus interviews.. the buzz word of the hour .India has become the second largest pool of engineering and software personnel in the world (17 million people by the end of 2008)*. Colleges and universities compete with each other to get their students to be recruited by the famous industry names. Every year they lure thousands of students into their colleges by flashing fat numbers of the percentage of students recruited and the compensation (ranging from 2.5 lakhs to 8 lakhs per annum) offered to them.At the beginning of the final year, the big names arrive, and when you get yourself into one of these names, a sense of achievement takes over.

I want to be a part of these big names too. I'd love to see my strengths unfold to action. I'd love to be actually being able to buy something and say 'I bought it'. I'd love to say 'I'm working in ----------- as a ------------ expert'. I'd love to see something actually being born out of my creativity. I'd loved to be called as an earning member of my family and be a part of supporting my selfless family. I'd be proud to put my own tithe offering in the church....

I'll stop here and get captain imagination to come back to planet earth otherwise he'll get you to think that I'm starting to get crazy.

God led me to make a commitment to Him when I was 15 years old and I drew my own path to fulfill that commitment. I worked on a strategy that seemed logical to me to accomplish the vision that God had in mind. I asked God to implement my plans so that I could effectively execute His vision. No prize for guessing!!!....I failed miserably. Maybe not 'miserable' in the way the world looks, but it crushed my spirit. I lost the passion that I had towards my commitment, and I started concentrating only on my 'net worth'.

But for God, your net-worth means nothing; its your 'self-worth' that matters because the price He paid for that was the death of His Son. For everything else there's 'MASTER' card. No interest costs, No annual charges, No hidden costs, No operating costs!!! Totally funded by the 'Treasury of the Almighty King'. So God began meticulously working on my self-worth, God used my crushed spirit to teach me about Him and about me. He showed me my life. He was refining me like a silversmith would refine silver, with utmost care, because He knew that if He left the silver in the flames for a little longer, it would be destroyed. God's not finished yet.. but a part of His work stands complete; and I can see some of the sparkle.

Now when I stand in the threshold of yet another transition, suddenly my past haunts me. Though I'd learnt a lot of things that I'd never have learnt otherwise, the experience of being divorced from your dreams is rather painful. I love God with all my heart and I don't want one thing to happen from my life that He does not approve of. He owns my life not once but twice; once when He created it and the second time was when He bought it by the blood of His Son. For a moment, I forgot that it was this painful experience that got me to enjoy a different level of relationship with God. My past took over and fear gripped me.

While I was brooding over this, and honestly opened up my heart to God, He spoke to me very clearly through a church sermon, "Do not consider the things of the past.. Behold I make all things new." The voice of God spoke to my heart.

Usually when there is a promise the best strategy to see it work in your life is this.. "Obey the command preceding it and wait for the promise to unfold". I've been obedient and now I'm waiting for God to open new paths so that I can fullfill my commitment and accomplish His vision. No heartbreaks this time!! because now its His plan and therefore His providence. Is this going to stop me from dreaming? Nope!! not all..... I have the freedom to dream provided I've given God the eraser and the pencil. Moreover, I can never have a dream that is better than God's plan.

Maybe there's something in your life too that's coming back and discouraging you. Those were the flames God used to make you shine. The devil's scheme is to make the memory of those flames to shame you and suck your energy and faith so that you won't move forward. Get back.. God has unimaginably great things in store for His shining silver.

For all of you out there getting ready for a head start in your career...All the Best!! God be with you!

Isaiah 43:18-19
Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing…

Malachi 3:3
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD, An offering in righteousness.