The Heart of Worship

At our church, we love to sing a song called “The Reason.”

 Some of the most poignant lines are these:

Everything that I have, all my worship I bring

You’re the reason I live

You’re the reason I sing

As we sang this song recently, I thought about those lyrics, and what they might mean to the ones singing them.  I thought about the fact that worship is something we can all bring – we don’t all have the same gifts, skills, and resources, but we can all bring our worship to Him. 

But what does it mean to “bring all our worship?”  Jesus said, “…true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship him” (John 4:23).

Worship is a heart speaking its full surrender to the Father.

Worship means giving him our devotion, our very hearts. 

Worship is the adoration of One greater than ourselves, and our submission to him.

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So, worship is something we can all bring, but do we?  Do we offer our hearts, our minds, our lives, in this way?  Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through him then let us continually off up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” 

“Praise” itself demands a sacrifice.  True worship requires a laying down of our will to his, our pride to his glory, our dreams to his plans for us.  

I hope we can say together, “All my worship I bring.”

Michelle Dowdy

Transformation

Transformation

“…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2).

Being a living sacrifice means continually, daily offering all we have to God.  His Word is the only thing that can bring about transformation in our hearts and minds.  So what does that look like, what do we do to make this a reality in our lives? 

I listed some of the verbs – action words - in Romans 12.  After you read the list, I encourage you to read Romans 12 and ask yourself how you see your role in the Body of Christ.  What are your gifts?  What are the things that people notice about you that you do well, and how can you use those things to glorify God by serving the Body?

Here are the verbs:

Transform

Renew

Rejoice

Pray

Contribute

Bless

Weep (with those who weep)

Live

Use

Serve

Prophesy

Teach

Exhort

Lead

Feed

Outdo

Overcome

Written by:

Michelle Dowdy

HE KNOWS WHERE THE FISH ARE

HE KNOWS WHERE THE FISH ARE

Have you ever pondered the fact that God is a multiplier?  From the first acts of creation, he made living things with the ability to recreate themselves.  He put something of His creative power in us as human beings made in His image, allowing us to participate in the creative process.  “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it,” he told the man and woman in Genesis 1:28. 

Over and over in scripture God takes what we have, sometimes the little we have, and multiplies it: the loaves and fish, the widow’s oil that never ran out, the church that was born at Pentecost, and on and on the list could go. 

In the story of Simon and Andrew in Luke 5, after teaching on Simon’s boat, Jesus tells Simon to “Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch.”  Simon said, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!  But at your word I will let down the nets.”  The story continues, “And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.”

They had been fishing all night and caught nothing.  But Jesus knew their need, and I can’t help but think he delighted in blessing his new followers in this way.  No doubt it was the largest catch they had ever hauled in. 

A Multiplier. A Giver. A Provider.  It is His very nature.

He knows what you need and how to get it to you.  He is still in the business of making much out of little. So the next time you doubt it, at His word, push out into the deep and let down your nets by faith.  Watch Him multiply, and give, and provide.

Because He knows where the fish are.

Written by:

Michelle Dowdy

When Does God Say Yes?

When Does God Say Yes?

It’s always one of the big questions in the Christian life – why does God seemingly answer some prayers and not others?  Those far more wise and educated than I, have sought to answer that question, but still we wonder and grapple with why catastrophes happen to good people, and why God, at times, appears to remain silent in our own personal tragedies.

But we must remember that there are certain prayers God will always say “yes” to.  The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 3:17, “All the promises of God find their “yes” in Him (Christ).”  Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises of God.  And he always says “yes” to his promises.

What does He promise?

To be our:

Comfort

Shield

Peace

Protector

Deliverer

Savior

He is all these things and so much more.  Lately I’m learning that the real miracle in any situation is His presence in our lives.  All of us will experience disappointment, hurt, hardship, or sickness to one degree or another.  But whether an illness or a situation is removed, or whether we walk through the valley of the shadow, we have the gift of His presence, and his promise to be with us always (Matthew 28:20).

So the next time you wonder if God is hearing your desperate prayer, remember you can count on the fact that He always says “yes” to His promises, and cannot do otherwise.  Of that you can be sure.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in times of trouble.  Psalm 46:1

Written by:

Michelle Dowdy

The Hook

The Hook

It always happens after the decorations are taken down - you see that one lone ornament hook that somehow missed getting put in its proper place during the hustle and bustle of getting the decorations put away for another year. There it was, lying there sad looking - left behind - a reminder of the celebration gone by. Once attached to a sparkly ornament, but now separated from what gave it purpose. How many lives are like that, I thought- living on the memories of yesterday, left behind, either by people or by circumstances, no longer engaging in life, separated from what gives true purpose. 

The new year brings no shortage of resolutions, and opportunities to look at our lives and dream about ways to make them better. But one of the greatest things we can do in 2023 is to connect with that which gives us purpose, that which joins us with something bigger than ourselves. The situation with the Pandemic we have been living through for the last few years seems to have disconnected us in many ways from what is primary - our connection to others, to family, to the local church. 

This year, above all else, let’s resolve to plug into those relationships and people that help us fulfill our purpose. Reconnect with your church if you have been away for a while; there are people who are waiting to welcome you with open arms. 

1 Corinthians 2:27

-Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 

Written by: Michelle Dowdy

What Are You Holding in Your Hand?

What Are You Holding in Your Hand?

What do you have that God can use - that He wants to use?  There can be two ways of thinking about the answer to that question which are problematic and probably all too common. You may think that what you have is not enough.  On the other hand, you may place a very high value on things you have to give up.   So, what you have to offer may seem like nothing – or it may seem like everything.  

Like Moses, you might be prone to lay out your excuses to God for why you are ill suited for a particular assignment from Him.  If you know about Moses’ story, you know Moses implored God to use Aaron for the job of freeing God’s people.  Moses was “slow of speech” and was focused on his inadequacies, but

God reminds him that He has made all people as they are for a particular purpose.  The Lord said to him,

“Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind?  Is it not I, the

Lord?” (Exodus 4:11).   God can take something the world sees as weak, and use it for His glory.  “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.  He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27).  If there is anything I have learned about the character of God, as I look through Scripture and observe the lives of people I know, it’s that He loves to do this.  He loves to use the unlikely, the weak, the ordinary, to accomplish the extraordinary. 

Also in this passage, God told Moses to throw down the rod he was holding in his hand.  Moses did and it became a snake – Moses ran from it, but then picked it up as he was instructed to do.  The rod was a very important thing back in those times.  Shepherds used their rods to bring correction to sheep, to keep the sheep together, and for protection.  Maybe Moses was hesitant to even throw down the rod in the first place.  What he was holding in his hand was precious to him.  When he does throw it down, it becomes something scary, something that didn’t look like a blessing, that much is sure.  In fear he picks it back up and it turns into a rod again.  This sign was given so that Moses could perform the wonder in front of Pharoah, that he might see and know God’s power.  

Whether you think you don’t have what it takes to accomplish big things for the Kingdom, or whether you’re holding on too tightly to what you have in your hand, what is holding you back from being all that you can be, from doing all that you can do, from truly fulfilling your purpose on earth?  Is it fear?  Is it doubt?  Is it love of money, status, or comfort?  He wants it all and can use it all for his glory.   As the old song says, “Give it up, let it go, throw it down.”  

By: Michelle Dowdy

Prepare Him Room

Prepare Him Room

Christmas is a season of preparation, when you think about it. All of life, really, is about preparing ourselves for the next “thing,” the next phase. When it comes to Christmas, though, there are many things which must be done to prepare - we think about the food, the gifts, the scheduling of all the favorite activities and family get togethers. We make changes to our normal schedules to accommodate the things unique to December.

Over 2000 years ago, the world had been preparing to receive a gift. To fulfill the promises revealed through Prophets of old, a Savior came, not as a mighty military or political leader, but as a baby. Mary prepared her heart for this baby, this Promised One. And on a night like no other night, light broke through the darkness and all the promises of the ages were fulfilled.

Are we ready? In the midst of all our hustle and bustle, will we take the time to be still, to prepare our hearts? Will we ponder His coming, His living, His dying, afresh and anew? I pray we will.

Let every heart prepare Him room.

Michelle Dowdy

Praise Before Petition

Praise Before Petition

I don’t know about you, but about this time of year, I am so ready for the change of seasons.  I am ready not to be hot, and not to copiously water outside plants. I look forward to cooking the soups I love that are associated with cooler temperatures!  I love the “drawing in,” the coziness, and the ubiquitous pumpkin spice smells and products. And I love the fact that we focus on being thankful during this time, which leads me to a question I’ve been pondering: How often do we begin our prayers with our “list” in hand and immediately dive into our requests? Before we petition God, have we first thanked him for our salvation, for our health, for our blessings, and our very lives? Have we spent a moment in adoration of His greatness and His goodness?  

If your children are older, think about how special a phone call is from them.  But what if they only called when they needed something?  Wouldn’t it be strange if you picked up the phone and they immediately started telling you all the things they needed without a greeting, without any preamble? 

While we can draw many parallels between a parent/child relationship on earth and our relationship with our Heavenly Father, we know that unlike any parent on earth, God is HOLY.  He wants us to approach Him as Father but He is also WORTHY of all of our praise, and he deserves it. “Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” (Psalm 145:3) The Bible says “God inhabits the praise of His people.” (Psalm 22:3).  In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul writes, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  It’s literally his will for us to rejoice before him, to be in a continual state of prayer, and give thanks no matter our circumstances.  

“Come let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” Psalm 95:6

This season, let us enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts praise, and let us remember that praise, then petition, is the proper order. 

 Written by: Michelle Dowdy