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.

No Longer Slaves

Listening to... "No Longer Slaves" by Bethel Music on their latest recording (YouTube Link Here)

Wow. Just being reminded of this truth from husband & wife duo Jonathan David & Melissa Helser at Bethel Church in Redding, CA.

Chorus: 

No longer a slave to fear

I am a child of God

If this is not enough to awaken a heart of gratitude from the ashes that we sometimes find ourselves in - I encourage reading also through Colossians. I've recently been in this book & it has rekindled the fiery truth of the great mystery - Jesus Christ. Everything was done through Him & for Him. He is the Promise of long ago, now alive in me. And also - I've been reminded of who He is & what He has done. Oh yes, what God has accomplished through Him, is amazing. He has redeemed all of creation through the blood of His Son Jesus. Called us His own. Slaves to Righteousness. No Longer slaves to sin & darkness. But free in Christ, saved by Grace through faith.

The thing is we do get tired. Sometimes we forget to walk in Grace or we live life as usual, life as a casual thing. Our daily lives can certainly make us tired. I've come to realized that tiredness - is not a valid excuse that we can give to the LORD. For He promises rest:

Then Jesus said,

 "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, 

and I will give you rest. (Mt.11:28 NLT)

And maybe it is hard to hear this truth because certainly sometimes I know I may want to come to the LORD & say how tired I am. Too tired to engage Him, too tired to seek Him diligently...or just plain tired - period. This contradicts  His promise of rest, renewal, & strengthening that He so graciously gives (See Psalm 23, Nehemiah 8:10). The key is to stay in faith. Believe Him. Believe His word that He says who He says is, He is Enough. That He will do what He says He will do. He is Good. That He will lead us beside still waters, beside a peaceful streams. Believing what we have heard from Him.

Thinking about His promises makes me want to rest in His unfailing Love all the more. Rest in the truth that He has completed His work. All that is left is for me is to do is believe in Him & to walk in faith as a child of God. No longer a slave to fear... 

Fear of being duped into thinking that He is holding goodness back, thinking that He is not with me. When He truly is. For He promises to never leave or forsake us. 

Life can flow all the more differently, when we operate from an attitude of being from believing; rather than doing from seeing. Being meaning having a full confidence of:

• Being A Son/Daughter
• Being in Christ
• Being A Light that Shine Bright
• Being a Follower of Jesus
• Being More than a Conqueror

The Great I Am has promised His goodness. For God is Love. He is not a liar. He is gentle. He is kind. And He is faithful.

Prayer:

Father, comfort us with Your Holy Spirit. Show us more of who You are. Thank you for Your faithfulness & all Your goodness that You pour out freely on us all. Be with us even as we pray for You to have Your way. To take control of every situation in our lives. May Your will be accomplished in everything we say & do. In Jesus' name. Amen!

"Lord, Reign In Me"

So as I was sitting trying to get some paperwork done for work earlier today. I was listening to the song "Lord, Reign in Me" by Brenton Brown. And felt like there was something to say about it so I wanted to share it on here. It all started earlier this morning as I woke up, I felt an impression upon my heart to read Genesis 1-5. Why 1-5? Not sure exactly, but what I saw next through out those pages was rather shocking.

Reading the accounts of our ancestors from the beginning of creation, I saw a God who if anyone would have been busy it would of been Him, creating and orchestrating, structuring and putting in order a huge mess, such as the entire universe. But then, leading by example shows us how much of a priority it is to rest, and not just to stop. What He is showing us here is, to take time to rest in Him, to seek His face and marvel at who He is and how amazingly good and kind this awesome God is. Also, as I read a bit of commentary in my Study Bible, I also noticed how there can be two types of people. Those who are faithful to God and those who are not. It's simple, we get to choose what & where we set our hearts on.

Lyrics: 

"Over every thought, over every word

May my life reflect the beauty of my Lord

Cause you mean more to me than any earthly thing

So won't you reign in me again" Brenton Brown

What our hearts are set on matters, because this is the basis of having a single minded heart towards God. To walk uprightly before Him. (see Ps. 86:11 & Ps. 84:11) All of our affection and all of our attention should be held in highest regard towards God. He is supreme. He is absolute. He is power. He is Love. He is everything and all we need. He is our sufficiency. He is majesty. He is our God. Our Creator and we the created. We must wor-ship Him, ascribing our full adoration to Him first and foremost. In spirit and truth. This is more than just a nice gesture out of gratitude, but a calling for His creation. In order for us, as human beings who were made in His image to thrive; living life not just passing it by. Having that full and abundant life that Jesus calls us to, yes...it must be lived in Him. Not out of sync with Him, but in sync. Led by Him, by His Spirit (meaning His breath, His essence, the core of who He is, the Spirit of God in us, His Ruwach).

Christ is in us, and we in Him. I want to focus on the part that says, 'we in Him'. Surely we know the difference of being showered with water versus being submerged under water. Big difference here, and really that is the reality of when we are walking uprightly in Christ, dead to self. And alive in Him. No longer tossed to and fro, but with a single mindedness of heart, set on Christ. Set on His Word. Set on who God really is, led by His Spirit, when we confessed and believed that Jesus Christ, His Son, died as ransom for our sins and was raised to life on the third day, and is coming back for us; this faith in Christ has made us His Children and heirs to the Kingdom by His grace. Such blessedness, such joy. Man, I tell ya, there is nothing more exciting than a God who is coming back for what is His. Us. We His children. So, let us let God be God in us. The creator, ruling over us the created; and we loving Him all the more for it.

"Lord reign in me, reign in your power 
Over all my dreams, in my darkest hour 
You are the Lord of all I am 
So won't you reign in me again"


Blessings,
Daniel Castañeda

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.