LizChatter

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Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. Proverbs 1:10 My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them. John 3:20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  Romans 13:12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Many Christians understand worship as a specific time in the scheduled gathering of believers when the band plays, and someone at the front of the gathering leads the congregation to sing, lift their hands, etc. The word "worship" is so often used to describe this time of the gathering together that the general understanding of the word has seemingly shrunk to meet the most common uses of the word.  Sometimes church leaders will use the word "worship" to describe a posture of the body, but even that still limits the fullness of what worship really is. Blame English language speakers, if you like, as English words are reassigned meanings by various generations and often used in ways that limit all of what that word could relate. So here’s a bit about me… I am called a "worship leader" so I know reference that is being made when terms like "worship service", "time of worship", "worship leader", are used. In fact, I use thes...

My glasses broke! My  rose-colored glasses are broken!!  Could I borrow yours?  You don’t have rose-colored glasses, you say?  Oh, well then - good for you. I jest! I had no literal pair of rose-colored glasses.              __________________________________________________________ Have you ever gotten news that was just really, really super good? Well, recently I got a piece of news that was super good. The sense of relief I felt at hearing the news was nothing short of an answer to more than 12 months of quiet prayer and earnestly seeking the Lord. Not everyone shared my sense of relief. In fact, some stated publically that they were saddened by the news. It was another opportunity for me to see how our personal history/personal experiences influence perspective; good, bad and neutral experiences directly influence our perspective; whatever the circumstance may be. The information was posi...

So many times I have misunderstood, or not even realized that there was a purpose for times of storm/uncomfortable and even painful times in my life. To use the word 'misunderstood' is a bit on the lite side of where I actually find my attitude during a storm. The range of my emotion is almost unlimited. I have gone through all the usual feelings: abandonment, humiliation, loss, fear, anger, bewilderment, etc. I'm sure that you can identify... right? So at what point do those feelings change? For me, it's usually in the hindsight phase. You know, after some of what I've faced begins to make sense. I am not yet adept at plugging into my well of faith and positivity during the big middle of a heavy, heated storm. God knows me well though and without fail, He will send one of his faithful servants to speak truth, truth of the matter, truth about the storm, into my spririt. I'm so grateful to Him! If you are a Christ follower and you are facing a storm, in the m...

Have you ever stopped to take a critical look at the relationships in your life? If so you'll remember the feeling of dread when you come face to face with the fact that some of your relationships are unhealthy and even harmful. The feeling of "whoops" comes in when you realize that unhealthy relationships are most often developed when we are in an unhealthy place ourselves. Many times the person with relationship issues is able to identify that their unhealthy relationship is a by-product of seeking to end their own loneliness. If you have not been through this process take note: It is not easy to evaluate relationships ! Because of our own fallibleness it is hard to evaluate relationships. Can we determine that someone or some relationship in our life is unhealthy when we ourselves are sometimes struggling and still in the growth process? Yes! We can and should. Knowing how you fit and where you stand in the hearts of those people in your life is an important part o...

Inside my life/outside the walls When I talk about “going to church” what do others hear? Do they hear talk of an exclusive club that has mystical traditions? Does the average American think of ‘going to church’ as people being dressed unusually well or hearing about an unreachable God? Do they immediately dismiss the idea of church because they feel that they don’t fit a certain image? What flashes through someone’s mind when they hear of ‘going to church’? I guess a lot of what they hear is indicative of our heart attitude when we talk about “the church”. As for me, when I say “lets go to church” what I’m saying is “lets go to the place where we meet with other people interested in participating in corporate worship (singing, prayer, Bible study and fellowship)." However, the church is a more than a place, it’s much more than a tradition, and it’s more than the particular group of people that I worship with. The Church is a living, breathing unit that is comprised of indiv...