Worship Blog 101

Worship is the thing we do.
Worship defines who we are.
Worship depicts the place (of our heart) - where we are.

Bottom line: Worship is a posture of the heart. A decision made. A choice to exalt & lift His name on high.


Okay, let's get into is a little bit; we worship because we were made to worship. God, who created the heavens & the earth did make us in His image which is great, but along with that He gave us one powerful & yet amazing weapon. The ability to worship.

The key here is that we begin to look like what we worship. Which is why, when believers worship Him. Then we begin to be like him. NOT be Him, be like Him. The temptation is - sometimes, even though we don't realize it, to want to be worshiped. Just like it happened to the devil. The problem with the devil was that he was a murderer from the get go. So essentially, his future was shot from the start.

And see, the beautiful part of our story is that our future is NOT shot. Our future is bright! God, making us in His image. He has given us the ability to choose. We choose to worship Him. No matter what. That's a choice that no one, not even the evil can take away. We may lose our houses or our health, we may lose those nearest to us; but somehow we cannot ever lose the ability to choose to worship our creator.

Two main ways of how real worship is done.

One: In Spirit.
Two: In Truth.

One main reason for our inspiration.

A heart of thankfulness. Recognizing what He has done. Salvation He fills us with Power, He gives us His Grace, His Faith. He fills us with His Spirit. He gives us all that we need. Therefore we bow & lift our hearts in song & worship Him. When we begin to get to know Him more, a desire to worship Him will grow. You cannot worship what you don't know. Get to know Him. 

For me, I am most free, when I worship Him. I can get lost in a couple of words that describe Him over & over - because He is good. Really, He commands our love & devotion because He is very passionate about us. He loves us. And desires that we go ahead & experience His Joy, His Life. His Power, His Love!

So, when we choose to worship Him, things not explained begin to happen in the spiritual realm. Beautiful things really. Crazy things like: Freedom, Joy, Peace, Hope that fills our hearts, & the list goes on & on. Things that are counter opposite of the world. Instead of control, fear & manipulation. We get all these things that represent the essence of who He is. So it's quite an amazing thing overall. We worship Him, we become like Him. Look like Him, talk like Him, love like Him. We then sacrifice like Him. And see, I deeply believe a supernatural key for us to enter into His presence personally but also as a body of believers is to apply Romans 12:1 in our lives.

1And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

In Spirit & in truth. This is how to worship Him. This is the way to worship Him. Let's do just that!!!

Prayer:

Father, thank You for all that You have done. We do bow our hearts & present our bodies a living sacrifice that is pleasing to You. We honor You & worship You. And receive the calling you have given us, to worship the one & only true God. And let your light shine through how we worship You always!! In Jesus' name. Amen.

Hear the Call...Like The Woman At The Well Did

Listening to iBethel.tv as I write this...

Ring, ring, ring -- ring, ring, ring -- common' -- is someone gonna get that!?? Yep. We've all been there.

Busy. Please leave a message at the beep!

Overworked. I don't have time for that right now...fill in the (blank).

Yes, if we all had more time. If we only had more hours in the day, then we could do so much more!!!

Well, does any of this sound familiar? It may. Or it may not, but my guess is - that yes to some degree or another we have all felt slightly over booked. And maybe not as energized as we should. But what I want to do is be able to -- if you allow me -- to take you on a journey of worship. On a journey that allows you to take flight to a place, where maybe it's not visited by as many as it should. Not because its for a special person per say or a select few, but simply because we may sometimes not really know the way. Let's take a closer look at a familiar story that is found in John 4. Where Jesus, meets a woman. And the woman hears the call.

So the story unfolds a bit like this. Jesus & his disciples had been traveling & ministering. They were busy doing God's work, but there in the midst of life & their ministry. There is a divine appointment. A call that needs to take place. Here in this passage a phrase sticks out at me...

It's found in verse 4, where it says, He had to go through Samaria on the way.

Why did Jesus, the Son of God have to go out of His way - stop what He was doing - go and visit a place that was not so convenient? Location wise, because it was out of the way, and also because it was a place where Jews considered it a socially misfit thing to engage with its inhabitants - the Samaritans. To me this sentence sticks out simply emphasizing the will of the Father. It was God's will that Jesus would stop by Samaria & allow the woman to know Him, to have an opportunity to answer the Savior's Call with conviction. So much so, that instantly she becomes a fired up evangelist. Let's take a look at the account: (Jn. 4:4-24 NLT)

He had to go through Samaria on the way.  Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.  Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her,  “Please give me a drink.”    He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.  She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied,  “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?  And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?” Jesus replied,  “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.    But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” “Go and get your husband,”  Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said,  “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!” “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet.  So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim,  where our ancestors worshiped?” Jesus replied,  “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem.    You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews.    But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.    For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (NLT from www.Bible.com)

Bottom line. The woman hears the call. Answers, the Savior of the world after she hears him calling her. Calling her our of darkness, out of mediocrity, out of a place of religion. Out from under there & into a real relationship with Himself. Into the way of worship, not the place of worship. But simply Jesus teaches the woman about the posture of the heart & how it needs to be when approaching God. Thirsty, in need of Him. Knowing that He satisfies. And it must be done with protocol - in Spirit & in Truth. So as she hears the call - to repent of her sins & trust in Him, the Son of God...the Messiah who saves. She also realizes that He is worthy. Worthy to be praise & worshiped. So she begins to worship Him out of an obedient heart after Jesus asks her to "Go and get your husband." She goes on, and brings an entire city, because she wants them to encounter what & whom she has encountered there at the well. She hears the call.

I guess the question would be? Where are you? Yeah, physically, yes emotionally, & spiritually. Where is the Savior finding you at right now? Do you hear...can you hear His call? I know you can. His voice is loud & clear. We who are His people, His children are able to hear Him calling because we are His. (see John 10:9-10) Being His, gives us a place of belonging. You & me now belong to the family of God. When we believed in Christ as our Redeemer. Yes, everything changed. And at His word, everything can continue to change -- again & again. And again, once we hear His call. Once we hear Him calling out to us & we answer it with a fullness of heart & a complete surrender to His voice. Hear The Lord calling? Then its time to answer.

He is mighty to save. He is ready & willing to deliver us from sin. From the heavy load we've been carrying. Whether for the first time, or for the one thousandth time...He wants to reach out to us. Let's dare to believe in a God who is good. In a God, who is interested in His creation - those made in His image. Yes, friends - God loves us!! And He is always calling us to Himself. 

Prayer:

Father, let us Lord, hear your call. Open our ears, our hearts, our minds, & let us ever turn to you in such a way. That every negative thing is yours. And every glorious promise is ours. Let us walk in the light of Your countenance. And let us hear the call of our beloved. Jesus. That we give you all the glory & all the honor, in Jesus' name. Amen.

God Will See You Through

Listening to the Elevation Network as I type these words...

God will see you through. Sometimes I think we'd rather not have to go 'through' whatever it is that we are going through. Ha, nice try - but in His mercy He loves us too much not to allow us to go through things, or "trials" as mentioned in scripture. Simply because He is more interested in us being more like Him than like our broken selves.

A few days ago, I got to praying this:

"Oh Lord, may people only see you when they see me." 

Or something like that. And after I heard myself say it aloud, I kind of freaked out a bit. Not because I don't desire to look more like my Father, but because the process sometimes can be just that...a process. I guess not so pleasant at times, mainly cause it involves dying. Dying to self, as our LORD Himself admonishes us to do, by taking up our cross & following Him.

These words - "Follow me." rang in the ears of twelve simple, common, folk like you & me. Twelve regular Joe-s that would one day help change the course of history forever. They took up their cross, drank from the cup of the Master. And fulfilled God's purpose for their lives to their generation. These honorable Christ imitators had to go through their fair share of difficulties. Some of them, really most of them; would end up going to their death as martyrs for Jesus. I'd say, that qualifies them as a people needing God to see them through it.

See, the Psalmist says it like this in the 23rd Psalm verse 4:

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, 

I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. 

Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. (NLT)

He gets it. He knows that God will see him through. Saying it a little bit differently, here the Psalmist is indeed saying that the "darkest valley" is only but temporary. Perhaps, a blip of time or rather a longer journey. Irregardless, the place of pain, the dreaded trial is but for a moment. God will see him through. God will see us through. So even though we may walk "through" the darkest valley - oh yes. We shall not fear, because "God with us" Emmanuel is always faithful - He is always with us. In the text, he keeps on going & declaring...

Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me

Wow, now there's a promise. It's very comforting to me to read this. Because when I read this I get a sense of God being near. God being close. Down there, that place of horror, that place of despair -- when it seems like the light of day may never come. Yes! He will see you through. He will see You through. He will see You through. Even 'til the end. 

You & I have two simple choices. Stay in faith or not stay in faith. So what if _____ (fill in the blank) doesn't happen & I believed for nothing. Then what 'preacher'? Well, great question -- but what if you stay in faith, & the miraculous happens. Now, I'm not saying that it will always work how you'd want it to work when you stay in faith, but what I am saying is that your faith is the precious pearl here - worth the refinement that happens when we go through the thick stuff. I believe that no amount of faith is wasted. Never. I believe that God uses it all for His glory. Sometimes it's painful, sometimes it doesn't feel good. But it is always, I repeat always towards the good plan that God has for us as His children. See Jeremiah 29:11.

He is good. He is good to all. It is who He is. What we are going through, or have to go through, or have gone through does not change who God is. He is the same yesterday, today, & forever. This is the God of love who loved the world so much so - that He would dare send His willing & obedient Son to die to redeem those who believe in Him. I know, and am confident that He will continue to be good to us & see us through. Many of times, we are crying out & saying 'God I just need a break, please give me a break!' but rather we are most in need of a breakthrough. And guess how the breakthrough comes? By staying in faith. That subtle confidence that helps bring God's grace to carry us through. His grace is enough. God will see you through. Stay in faith.

Prayer:

Father who art in Heaven. Hallowed by thy name, Your Kingdom come, in my life. Your will be done. Thank you that You give me the daily bread that I need, the daily mercies, the daily sustenance to help me go through whatever I need to go through. Lord, help me to forgive those who hurt me, or sin against me as you do the same for me when I hurt you & sin against You. Lead me not into temptation but deliver me from the evil one. For Yours is the Kingdom, the glory & the power forever & ever. Amen.

With Love. And thanks for reading along. 

Blessings,

Daniel 

Listen to this Blog as an MP3 here.

The New Year...After a Run

So it seems to take me about a year to write a blog, ha. Hopefully, that will change from this point on!

So I just got back from a run, and well got a chance to think freely and meditate on some words a friend wrote on facebook, it went something like this:

All successes and failures in life are temporary. Don’t think of every failure as a loss. If we succeeded in everything we pursued, how would we ever grow to be something greater? You must look a little deeper to realize what you’ve gained when you feel you’ve lost it all. It is in the times of desperation and despair that we find ourselves again and realize our dire need of Him. Denise Carter

When I read this it put something in me. I mean, a seed that will not go with out bearing fruit. The point that I am wanting to share and make is this, that as I've been going and going about life. I have come to one conclusion- We need God!

That's really all there is to say about that. God is so so merciful that He would allow us to go through trials and tribulations, run into walls, etc. For us to realize that we need Him. With out Him, we are nothing. What I mean when I say that we need Him, is to be in love with Him, not only because He commands it, but because He knows - loving Him- wholeheartedly is the very best thing we could do in all of life. Loving God, is different from just knowing Him, because when you love Him, then you can actually be known by Him. That's a different story.

That in the end. He says, "Well done good and faithful servant." And we enter into His eternal rest and joy!!

Tonight, as I was running. I saw two things about my heart- the first is, the weakness of it, in my desire for Him. As the great writer of old, C.S. Lewis puts it, "Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak." And two- how if I'm not careful, if we're not careful, with our desires in our hearts, we can go astray so that our focus is not on Him, as our first love. But in His mercy -- He draws us and He woos us in, back to Himself.

The most important thing we need to do is - to love Him with all we have - heart, mind, soul & strength. Not just get through life - and be moral, be a good servant/good Christian, but to be empowered to truly love Him and to truly be loved by Him. That is what marked David's life, and one of the reason's why he was called, "A man after God's own heart." God will always be there to carry us through, by faith in His Son and by the Grace that has already been given to those that believe in Christ and Him crucified. We ought to have this mindset, that my life is no longer my own, but Christ's.

Really-- what are my light afflictions compared to the very weight of glory that awaits us!?

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” 2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV

Yeah, I also learned another thing that may be old knowledge per say- but truly what we think on or what we let our thoughts be, on a constant basis is what we will end up living out in the end. If thoughts of self piety, and defeat or even the "I am the victim" type of thought pattern- then that is what we will live out. Instead, we ought to have thoughts of victory and of a blessed mindset. This way, as a child of God and of His Kingdom- we will see that, God is in control - He holds it all together and will certainly perfect His work in us. Faith will again fill our hearts, so that they would not be troubled anymore - but be full of peace and we would enjoy Him forever!!

Grace and peace to ya!

Daniel Castaneda

http://twitpic.com/3nq188

Write Everyday Down - Birthday Blog

I'm happy to tell you that God is still the same yesterday, today, and forever! He has never changed-- and never will. Part of me wanting to write this down is to simply put my heart in here.

As I was cleaning up after a nice festive evening with family and friends. The melody for this song came to my head- "Write Everyday Down" by Jason Upton. Its a special song-- in many ways, but especially because it causes a reminder to live everyday for what it is-- today, one day at a time. :) Work was great today, but coming home to see people who got together and took some time-- to write a little piece of their time- into mine. Thank God.

My heart always seems to be stirred a lot particularly every September on the fourth day! I always have a very close and personal reflection with God-- and always seem to get a bit more perspective and insight from the LORD at this time every year. I don't know why, but it seems like my heart looks back at the years-- and I always have a spirit of gratitude that begins to stir.

What I am truly excited about is, His love. It never fails nor does it faint. And as I do get older every year--thankfully, I realize more so that He is truly God. His sovereignty is absolute.

Psalm 135:6

"The LORD does whatever pleases him,

in the heavens and on the earth,

in the seas and all their depths."

So I thank God for all that He has done--and all that He will do. It also feels great to have little reminders of how His love continues to reach to me-- daily. That being said, I am glad and grateful for all those who reached out to say Happy Birthday today! Thank you. Whether many people do or not, the point is that it counts every bit. Even earlier--as I read some of the facebook posts. I was in awe and felt blessed.:)

And I'm also happy to tell ya, I did have a nice cup of coffee and cake ealrier!! Sweetness baby!!!

Much Love people,

Write Every Day Down.

Blessings,

Daniel C.

AKA "Black Hawk" at work. Ha.

New Year 2010

I don't really claim to know everything. Even though at 4 years old--I went up to my mother and told her---"mom, I think I already know everything--uh, except how to multiply and divide." Ha--what? --that was prolly what she was thinking. It sounds pretty funny now--but I think I actually really felt that way....I guess we can sometimes think we are somewhere that we are not--and keep on living that way. Its more of a fantasy than a reality. Maybe that is why the Bible says to us to "be ye sober" in everything. It's like saying, don't really live in the twilight---as it seems to be the popularity of our culture. The New year, comes with so much promise--it can be scary at times.

My thing is really to be free. Maybe its part of my DNA/personaltity, but mainly I feel---if my life is no longer mine, but to the One--God--I gave it to. When the Bible declares that "it is for freedom that Christ has set us free" I want to say that is exactly how I want to live then. For freedom's sake, not to be enslaved in bondage with fear, anxiety, or anything else. So yah, then, He will handle it all. It's like--we are in for a wild ride--and its all to be enjoyed as we go after it. After---the new year, the promises, the resolutions, go after....what? Well--go after it means to go whole-heartedly after what the LORD has placed in front of us. Its like a race, a course that He has set out--and its up to us to go live it out. To me, I think is brilliant. The Master Craftsman--has created a course that is charted out for us---meaning this New Year--a year full of new epsisodes, new adventures, new life lessons to be learned, etc. Its like the course gets more and more interesting as we're on it.

Ok, so maybe I'm babbling on...but I thought that was the point of a blog. Perhaps---one should take a scripture of the Bible and stand on it. We say, well resolutions don't really work, yareyareyare----true. But on the other hand--a Word from the LORD surely does. Take Ps. 65:11--what an amazing scripture. It goes like this---

"You crown the year with your bounty,

and your carts overflow with abundance."

And then, begin to stand on it. So in other words--it is God whom shall pour out and release with power His blessing and His glory to fill the whole earth. It is in His interest to make sure that His own are taken care of. It shall be so---we can just rest assured that it will happen.

=) I'm all smiles, because of the goodness of the LORD> This year shall our best year yet!! We will be more effective with our ministry, we will succeed in everything we set out mind to do and do it as unto the LORD> we will proclaim with more boldness the Gospel--and this year will be different. This will be the year of the LORD!! 2010--here we come!!!