Worship: Encouragement Part II

I don't know about you guys, but recently I had one of those days when I was really needing some encouragement and finding it difficult to simply ENJOY and have my time with Abba rather than see it as (sadly) one more thing to do in the day. So, I offer you a few more thoughts on worship from Celebration of Discipline (by Richard Foster). May your day be brighter and you be spurred on to good works!

- Amanda Kay Johnson

Many times you will not "feel" like worship. Perhaps you have had so many disappointing experiences in the past that you think it is hardly worth it. There is such a low sense of the power of God. Few people are adequately prepared. But you need to go anyway. You need to offer a sacrifice of worship. You need to be with the people of God and say, "These are my people. As stiff-necked and hard-hearted and sinful as we may be, together we come to God." Many times I do not feel like worshiping and I have to kneel down and say, "Lord, I don't feel like worshiping, but I desire to give you this time. It belongs to you. I will waste this time for you."

Isaac Pennington says that when people are gathered for genuine worship, "They are like a heap of fresh and burning coals warming one another as a great strength and freshness and vigor of life flows into all." One log by itself cannot burn for very long, but when many logs are put together, even if they are poor logs, they can make quite a fire. Remember the counsel of Proverbs 27:17 that "Iron sharpens iron," and even rather dull lives can help each other if they are willing to try.

Holy obedience saves worship from becoming an opiate, an escape from the pressing needs of modern life. Worship enables us to hear the call to service so clearly so that we respond, "Here am I! Send me" (Isa. 6:8). Authentic worship will impel us to join in the Lamb's war against demonic powers everywhere --- on the personal level, on the social level, on the institutional level. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is our Commander-in-Chief. We receive his orders for service and go "... conquering and to conquer ... with the word of truth ... returning love for hatred, wrestling with God against the enmity, with prayers and tears night and day, with fasting, mourning and lamentation, in patience, in faithfulness, in truth, in love unfeigned, in long suffering, and in all the fruits of the spirit, that if by any means [we] may overcome evil with good. ..." In all things and in all ways we do exactly what Christ says because we have a holy obedience that has been cultivated over years of experience.

Willard Sperry declares, "Worship is deliberate and disciplined adventure in reality." It is not for the timid or comfortable. It involves and opening of ourselves to the adventurous life of the Spirit. It makes all the religious paraphernalia of temples and priests and rites and ceremonies irrelevant. It involves a willingness to "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and as you sing, psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Col. 3:16). So, go, even if you don't feel like it. Go, praying. Go, expecting. Go, looking for God to do a new and living work among you.

Worship: Encouragement Part I

When I was a part of the Brooklyn MC, my life group was reading Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster (which I highly recommend). Well, I finally got back a copy of the book from the library today and offer you this humble gift from what I read today ...

Jesus answers for all time the question of whom we are to worship. "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve" (Matt 4.10). God made clear his hatred for all idolatries by placing an incisive command at the start of the Decalogue. "You shall have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20.3). Nor does idolatry consist only in bowing before visible objects of adoration. A.W. Tozer says, "The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him." To think rightly about God is, in an important sense, to have everything right. To think wrongly about God is, in an important sense to have everything wrong.

If the Lord is to be Lord, worship must have priority in our lives. The first commandment of Jesus is, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12.30). The divine priority is worship first, service second. Our lives are to be punctuated with praise, thanksgiving, and adoration. Service flows out of worship. Service as a substitute for worship is idolatry. Activity is the enemy of adoration.

A striking feature of worship in the Bible is that people gathered in what we could only call a "holy expectancy." They believed they would actually hear the Kol Yahweh, the voice of God. It was not surprising to them that the building in which they met shook with the power of God. It had happened before (Acts 2.2, 4.31). When some dropped dead and others were raised from the dead by the word of the Lord, the people knew that God was in their midst (Acts 5.1-11, 9.36-43, 20.7-10). They gathered with anticipation, knowing that Christ was present among them and would teach them and touch them with his living power. When more than one or two come into public worship with a holy expectancy, it can change the atmosphere of a room.

Live throughout the week as an heir of the kingdom, listening for his voice, obeying his word.

With much love - Amanda Kay :)

Hebrews 10.24 - And let us continue to consider how to motivate one another to love and good deeds.

The Changing of Seasons

As quickly as June and July passed, August here dragged and dragged and dragged on and then came the sudden changing of seasons. Literally overnight the weather went from high nineties with a continual mugginess pervading the air to mid or low sixties with a biting crispness in the wind and air. That change ushered in thoughts that I had lived in NYC for one whole year and that my favorite season had arrived! I have loved Autumn since my childhood.

As a whole, the summer was quite interesting shall I say. It was a time of inspiration for my writing and poetry. It was spent doing and seeing things that I came to New York for. It was a time for growing relationships with friends here and better understanding male-female friendships and relational boundaries. I came close to having my first boyfriend. And, it was a time of immense pain and emotionality that has carried over to September. (There is so many intricate details I could give to explain those prior sentences; if you want to know more just ask as sharing in mass just seems the wrong forum.)

I’m starting to get more emo as I write this now, so please pardon. I am still jobless but have interviewed to teach music and art to kindergartners and first graders at a brand new school in Brownsville, Brooklyn. It is about ten minutes from my current home. I will be moving though to another borough, Queens, in about two to three weeks. I feel that the job is mine, but there are still hoops to jump through which I don’t enjoy going through. I don’t know how many of you knew about my other interview in The Bronx for a position at a K-8 school, but I didn’t get the job because expected positions never opened up. I would have been working at the same school as my friend Nathan. What a pity, but it is for the best.

Aside from moving and waiting on this job, the month will be busy with lots of events. I am in a walk and run on 9/27 to raise money to eradicate the trafficking of children as sexual slaves. NYC probably has them as one of the airports here is a known entry point for sexual slaves and human trafficking. I am trying to raise $150 total. If you’d like to contribute you can click here. Even if you don’t contribute financially, I ask that you pray for myself, the walk and run, and the eradication of those trapped in sexual slavery. I will also be going on a few trips/retreats with my church to scenic spots nearby which seems very needed right now in my life; being in a quiet, beautiful spot with lovely nature surrounding me always is a place I experience God and his joy.

I really believe that coming to New York City about 13 months ago was and is definitely part of God’s plan for my life though this has been a very hard first year in many ways and an especially hard past month. I can see so much growth and maturity in me spiritually-speaking. Being here shows me my giftings more clearly and allows for them them to be used and naturally strengthened. I am glad to have learned and experienced unconditional love from my Abba and friends on deeper levels. I am glad to be living my dreams here and understanding more clearly who I am as a person. I miss my family and other friends though very much and look forward to the day when we can visit face-to-face with one another again and yall can give me some much needed hugs. TTFN. :)

The World's Richest People Are In Haiti (Scholarship Contest Essay)

100 Word Abstract:

This essay highlights the writer's life changing experiences in southwestern Haiti during July 2008. The writer offers the reader two atypical solutions to poverty --- openness of mind and unconditional love.

100 Word Biography:

I am 29 year old teacher and writer who generally spends her summers traveling the globe. In July 2008, I traveled to Haiti. My experience was life changing. Winning this contest would be another life changing experience and provide the opportunity for me to get a masters at New York University so that I can continue teaching in New York.

The World’s Richest People Are In Haiti

by Amanda Kay Johnson

Entering their world ... I was about to enter their world ... in Haiti. I would spend six days loving on and caring for children of all ages in an orphanage in Desourcee, a southwestern village. I went with excitement and an inability to speak much French. Little did I know it, but they were about to change my world.

I don’t really remember having any expectations for my trip before going but simply an open heart for the people there. I had read or seen news stories of Haiti many times. They all lead you to believe that the people are some of the world’s most destitute, that the country is full of voodoo, and that the countenances of people living there are as bleak as their country is barren. These are not the thoughts that I would take back with me when I returned to America six days later.

I know six days can seem like a short time; yet for me, they were a vast expanse of hours and minutes. In that time I lived with, played with, sang with, and worked alongside bright spirited people who were full of warmth and hospitality. Their smiles and happiness seemingly never ended. In Haiti if people have food or money, they share it with their family (which are usually very large, say eight to ten people) and their neighbors. Haitians that are in America work not only for themselves but also to send money back to folks in their homeland. They have joy and contentment with few material possessions. Seeing all of this challenged me personally to continue to be nonmaterialistic and to continue to give often to others.

In the orphanage and village of Desourcee I met many children. I saw that the people gravitated consistently towards the blondes. I however, am a redheaded girl. I tried to put that observation aside and love on the people well. One day I met a girl about two years old named Francessca who was underdeveloped and still unable to walk. The little girl and her mom came to see old friends but chose to also love me. I was amused that her mom lovingly walked up to me, gave me a kiss, and immediately placed her daughter in my arms though we were complete strangers. Through this interaction and others later on in the week, I learned just how tremendously open and loving the people are here. I was struck that they are much more close knit than American families and really take care of everybody.

There were other things to learn such as it being quite the myth that the people of Haiti have bleak countenances. On the day I interacted with a church there, the large mass of people sang with an abundance of voices that abounded full force from their hearts and danced joyfully to the steady rhythmic pulse. They truly worshiped God brimming with happiness and hope that their needs would be completely met. During this interaction, I was able to share with the people who had gathered that I truly found Haitians to be inspirational people. To me, they are the richest people I’ve ever met because they have learned to find contentment not in stuff but in helping others, sharing, and living simply! Haitians embody to me love, friendliness, and openness to others.

On another day while in Haiti, I traveled with others to the mountainside. During my bus ride I saw houses walled in by gates topped with broken glass, trash everywhere, and people abounding in or near the streets. Although these scenes contrasted my American city, I realized that I didn’t feel like I was in a foreign country. That feeling of “home” abided within me throughout my stay. Though cultures and languages were different between myself and those I interacted with what was mutual was the idea of genuinely accepting people for who they were. I really think that me trying to approach things with a local Haitian mindset helped me also keep that feeling of “home.”

So what lessons do my stories and six days in Haiti offer towards eradicating poverty? My time overseas convinces me that openness of mind and unconditional love for others are pivotal. Without both I think any practical actions toward helping those living in poverty can only be empty and heartless. People, especially those in poverty, must be treated with dignity; thus, to offer a “solution” but not empathy is meaningless. Can simply entering their world with the heart belief that you are both equals be the pebble that sends forth ripples upon the global pond and erases financial despairity? Perhaps it is far fetching, but I say “yes!”

Help eradicate slavery in our day!

Dear friends,

I am going to be in a walk and run on 9.27.09 here in NYC to raise money to eradicate the trafficking of children as sexual slaves. Currently, over 2 million children are enslaved around the world including in EVERY one of the 50 United States! It is surely happening here in NYC as JFK Airport is a known entry point for trafficked sexual slaves.

My total goal for both the walk and run is $150. To make a safe and easy online donation go to either of the addresses at the end of this message which will take you straight to my fundraising pages. If you would rather donate by check, please make the check payable to SCTNow, write my name in the memo section, and mail to: SCTNow, 414 West 51st Street, New York, New York, 10019.

Thank you for considering to support me and the Stop Child Trafficking Now campaign. If you have any questions about SCTNow, please contact me directly or visit www.SCTNow.org. I understand too if cannot give financially and ask that whether or not you give some of your money that you pray for myself, this walk and run, and for those trapped in sexual slavery.

Warmest regards,

Amanda Kay Johnson

http://sctnow.donordrive.com/participant/amandajohnson-stiletto
http://sctnow.donordrive.com/participant/amandajohnson-tgc