Worship

I've never really studied worship in much depth. I've heard a few teachings on it, but I never considered the topic important enough to study on my own. Now I'm finding that not only is it important, but it is central to life.

What is worship?

In our modern culture, worship is often associated with music and emotion. It's that thing you do before the pastor gets up to give the sermon. If that's your idea of worship, then it does seem easy to dismiss it as extra. But I think it goes much deeper than that.

I looked up the word "worship" in Scripture, and found that most of the time worship occurs at the Temple. At first, I couldn't see how this could help me understand worship. Israel offered sacrifices at the Temple--we can't offer sacrifices today. How do I worship without a sacrifice?

Take it back to the Hebrew though, and things become a bit clearer. The Hebrew word for sacrifice literally means to "draw near." The Temple was not built for sacrifices--the sacrifices were offered so that one could draw near to God at the Temple. Worship is drawing near to God.

How do we draw near to God? Well, if we look at the Temple again, I see four things: sacrifice, prayer, music, and awe. Sacrifice is pretty self-explanatory. The incense altar is closely tied to prayer and the daily prayers are recited at the times of the morning and evening offerings. Many of the Levites who served in the Temple served as singers and musicians. And awe--that's what happens when you see fire come down from heaven to consume your sacrifice.

Enough of the technical stuff (I love tying things to pictures and Hebrew words, but we mustn't lose sight of the forest for the trees). I've been learning lately how important it is to take some time just to worship God. This can be through music. I've made myself a playlist of songs that I can honestly sing with and that remind me who God is. It can be through prayer. Reciting the daily prayers from your heart can be an awesome form of worship. It can even be something as simple as taking a walk and standing in awe of God's glory. 

How do you worship? How do you draw near to our Creator?

Starry Night

I had more thoughts on this sleepwalking idea. There is a passage in Matthew about keeping watch and not falling asleep. It is near the end of the book, just before Yeshua is captured by the Roman guard.

What struck me the other day is that this all took place at night. Ok, so maybe that fact isn't meant to be a big deal, but I'm gonna use it as a midrash tool anyway. The sun doesn't rise when you wake up. We are called to keep watch through the night.

Through the night we have the moon and stars for light--sparks of eternity and the mere reflection of God's glory. But we must wait for the dawn. We must wait for the coming of our Glorious King. And it will be like the rising of the sun to one who has never seen day.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. 
(Psalms 130:5-6 ESV)

Waking Up

I've decided my last post (Sleepwalking) deserves a bit more explanation. A lot of it has to do with this book I read. So, here is my combo book review / blog post (more blog post than book review...but you should read the book).

The book is called "The Journey of Desire" by John Eldredge. I find I have a hard time describing this book, so I will defer to some of my friends:
http://www.emidrash.net/NewsLetter/February2012.pdf
http://brokenbarsoflight.blogspot.com/2012/01/great-honeymoon-in-sky.html

So, essentially it is about the Kingdom (and, in particular, our desire for the Kingdom). That's the message--what's been weighing on me lately. But, of course, life isn't so simple that you can just read and believe the message and then be good. No, you have to live it too. You can't just know you need to wake up--you have to actually wake up and stay awake. But it's hard because the blanket is warm and the pillow is so comfy...and just five more minutes...

You know...one of the most spectacular photos I have ever taken was when Dad woke us up at 5am on a camping trip. Sunrise is really an amazing show of God's glory. But you gotta wake up to see it.

Sleepwalking

Lately, I've felt like I'm in that state between sleeping and waking. Like there is something I am supposed to hear, something I am supposed realize--but my head is in a fog. Like God is trying to teach me something--but I am sleepwalking. Is there too much noise? Am I lost in my own worlds of my mind? Or am I simply waiting?

Back to School...Again

I have started school back. Well, kinda--I'm in my third week of school and between different canceled classes, I still haven't had a full school day. The slow start is nice, though. Gives me time to adjust.

My busiest class so far has actually been creative writing. Now, wouldn't that be something--if my elective course turned out to be the hardest. I really enjoy it though. I'm learning a lot about developing characters. For every page of story, there's about a hundred pages of backstory.

Story:
Emily misses Maggie

Backstory:
How old are Emily and Maggie?
How did they meet?
Why does Emily miss Maggie?
What do they look like?
What are their hobbies? Dreams? Fears?
What other friends does Emily have?
Does Maggie miss Emily?
...(I think you get the point)

Anyway, that's all I have for now. There's been a kind of void in my mind the last few weeks--I haven't figured it out yet. But it is impeding my blogging abilities.

Book Review: People of Sparks

People of Sparks

Jeanne Duprau

Imagine coming up from an underground city and seeing the sky for the first time. Everything would seem so strange, so new, so exciting. And survival would be a challenge.

When the residents of the underground city of Ember emerge from their dying home, they find themselves with no provisions and little knowledge of how survive in this unfamiliar post-disaster world. Fortunately for them, they meet the people of Sparks who agree to take these refugees in. That's just where the story begins, however.

The people of Ember are just over four hundred--the people of Sparks are just under. Food is precious, and with twice the mouths to feed, tensions build quickly. An accident occurs and the blame game ensues. The people of Sparks despise their ungrateful guests, devouring the food they worked so hard to produce. The people of Ember cry injustice when they feel they are being treated unfairly. And so it goes, back and forth, back and forth, escalating until the fire is out of control.

People of Sparks is actually the second book in Jeanne Duprau's "Ember" series. The first book, "City of Ember" tells how two twelve year old children, Doon Harrow and Lina Mayfleet, lead their people out of their dying city before it is too late and the lights shut off for good. I haven't read the third or fourth books yet, but I loved both "City of Ember" and "People of Sparks."

The books are written more for children, but I enjoyed them and the lessons are important for everyone. Finding hope in a dark world--that's what it's all about.

Crazy, Lazy Days

It's been a while since my last post. In all honesty, the book review was filler--my mind was pretty blank. These last few weeks have been pretty crazy and pretty lazy. Visiting friends, getting sick, watching movies and facebooking, blocking netflix and facebook. Oh, and yesterday was Peculiar People Day so, of course, my family had to celebrate.

School starts back in a week, so these crazy, lazy days must come to an end. I've got a short story to write, a website to touch-up, a paper to revise, and a life to live. And my brain is already suffering from laziness withdrawals (laziness is primarily a mental condition, rather than a physical condition). One day at a time...one day at a time. Goodbye, crazy lazy days! Hello Life! (help me, Father)