Saturday, February 19, 2005

give it your all

What do you and I give our all to? For instance here in northeast Ohio, even with the bummer years we have had lately, folks are passionate about the Cleveland Brown's football team. And if someone tells you they have a tickets and ask you if you would like to go to a game, we will change our schedule to get to the game. We will give our spontaneous "all" for the Cleveland Browns.

That's what the worship of God started out to be. People would give up everything else in their routine to be part of it. It was the center of their life. And if someone asked them to come to worship, they dropped everything spontaneously wherever they were and shared in the praise and glory of God.

At our church we have had a five year "discussion" about pews. Whether we should take them out, replace them with new pews or replace them with chairs. At one point someone said it would be over their dead body the pews were taken out. I responded that then we should take down the cross in our sanctuary and replace it with a pew since we were more life and death focused on the pew.

What is it that you truly worship...are willing to give your life for...fall on your knees in humble and penitential all?

Comments:
Oh, pew!!!!
This is not a profound comment,just a practical one.
I think the chairs are comfortable, especially for someone like myself who is arthritic. I can't imagine wanting those hard-backed uncomfortable things back. Maybe we could keep a few for those who want the pew.
I just like to invite people to try the chairs.
Thanks,
Clare
 
On to a more relevant topic to this blog. What do you give yourself to?
I have been reading a lenten devotional based on the prayer, known as the St. Patrick's Breastplate. There is a hymn based on this prayer, which starts I bind myself today the strong name of the Trinity. The poet goes on to bind himself to Christ's Incarnation, Baptism, His Cross of Death. Other verses mention apostles, prophets,angels, all good deeds done unto the Lord.
I bind myself to the virtues of thelit heaven...the stable earth, the deep salt sea. And finally to to the power of God.

In other words, the poet binds himself to all of salvation history, to the world, and to the providence of the almighty.

I am preparing to make a covenant with this church soon, and in doing so I will be reaffirming my faith in all of the above, in the Body of Christ as incarnated in Fairlawn West. I am hoping you will earnestly pray for me as I pray for you.

I haven't all of the answers. But I do value this community as one who is not afraid of the questions.

Thanks,

Clare
 
Most of us are willing to give some money or give a few hours here and there, but few if any of us are willing to give our all to God and Jesus. We won't give up our house, our savings, our kids college fund. Jesus told the young man if you're not ready to give it all up, you're not ready to follow me. This may be why the church is growing in the poorest countries. They don't have much to give up in the here and now for a place in the hereafter. We get stuck in the here and now. the here and now is no where near as great as the hereafter!
 
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