O how to describe the indescribable?

Love. Love is something that nowadays is so misunderstood, so underestimated, so taken for granted and so lost in meaning and substance. It is something that has become so far from its actual true meaning and is used in such wrong ways so as to practically mean nothing at all.

When did love ever become synonymous with sex? When did love become a word thrown around as easily as hate and anger? When did love become an excuse for out of wedlock children and domestic violence? When did love become a never ending game of “how many times can I do it before someone gets pregnant or catch an STD?”

Sadly, these times have brought with them disgusting things that have led to such an acceptance of everything morally wrong and unjust. One trip to and from work here in New York City will show you the epidemic levels of teenage mothers and fathers. One trip through subway platforms will show you a countless number of teens all over each other, lying to each other about loving each other, while one week from now, they’ll both be doing the same to someone else on two different platforms in order to hide from each other so as to not be forced to tell the truth.

The very definition of love in this society is so lost that it makes you wonder and may drive some to even dream of what true love could really mean. I had just a similar thought recently as I thought and reminisced within myself about what the meaning of love really is. I thought of those things as I thought about the two people in my life that I must say I am in love with. YES, I'm in love with 2 people. With both, ever so deeply am I in love and in fact find that without one, I could not have the other!

Who are the two people I'm in love with? Well, anyone who knows me well enough knows pretty darn well, but to those who don’t, I will tell you, but only after describing how both of them, if put together characteristically, define the meaning of true love. In no particular order: Loving, caring, redeeming, forgiving, sensitive, strong, understanding, patient, kind, motivating, true, correcting, stern, careful, open hearted, consoling, affectionate, tender, considerate, receptive and on and on I could go.

Who are these two people for whom my heart beats, my blood flows and my very being jumps of excitement to be within arms reach of? First and foremost is my savior, my redeemer, my Lord and my best friend, God. To him I can’t help but thank for the second, because if it were not for him, I would have never met the other. That other person for whom my heart jumps and skips beats for like a little kid on a massive sugar rush is non other than my beloved other half and also best of best friend Kayla. She’s my lil butterfly and I simply MUST thank God for her. God allowed me to meet her and in the time we’ve known each other, unlike anyone else, has even changed the way I look at certain things in life.

How has true love changed me? True love makes you think before doing something that may hurt the one you love. It makes you look at all the wrong around you and makes you think about how lucky you are to have that love. True love makes you easily see how time is mere fiction, simply making you want to pause time so that when you’re together it may last forever. When your apart, true love makes you think of nothing else but wanting to be with that person and in fact makes you crave to be with them.

So now, to finish up, I simply ask a few questions… Christ gave up his LIFE because of his love for you. What will YOU give up for him? Do you crave being in Gods presence? Do you still feel that love, that life changing love that you felt when you first met Christ? Do you think about how important God is to you before doing something that will hurt God’s heart?

Some won’t be able to come up with a true answer, so I don’t expect answers, but if you DO, then comment below…

Be blessed…..

-Eli W

Too loud? Never loud enough!

I am a guitar player. I am also a drummer, bassist, and singer and am learning keyboard. The music I predominantly play is of rock origin. So is the music too loud sometimes? Some would respond with “yes”. I say, it can never be loud enough.

I'm not saying that music always has to be crazy loud. What I am saying is that whether the music is quiet or loud, YOUR music must be loud!

Worship isn’t a music type; it is a way of life. My question is “how loud is your worship?” We serve God and are able to get into the depths of his presence because of the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross. When we look at the bible, we find that the people of Israel feared God speaking directly to them because his voice was like thunder. Because of that, they told Moses to go talk to God as a relay for his voice. With the sacrifice of Christ, we are now able to enter into the holiest place, the place where God’s presence can wrap around you and fill you and work in you.

God however, doesn’t change. He was, is and will forever be himself. His voice is still one that makes the earth tremble upon its knees and makes the sky light up with lightning. When God speaks, sure he speaks and has always been able to speak in the quiet and even in the silence, but when he speaks with voice of thunder, how do we respond? Do we respond quietly, not even using a bit of strength to respond back to him with praise and worship? Or will we respond with a worship that will equal the earths trembling and the lightning of the sky?

Will our worship be one that will OVERCOME the noise of this world to proclaim that The Living God, creator of heaven, earth and all that was and is to come, is sovereign over all things and is worthy of all the honor, praise, glory and admiration? YES.

The world is headed on a downward spiral of sin, hate, darkness and death. Even in the midst of all that, the remnant, the final regiment, the last of the worship warriors MUST stand, must shout, must scream out and attract the very Glory of God! We must shout till our voices are gone and our knees grow faint and until every ounce of strength is depleted. We must cry out until the sound of heaven pours down, fills this earth and opens a doorway for Gods light to shine upon this earth, making all darkness flee.

We must be loud, we must be daring, and we must be the church of the God whose voice is thunder. We are the children of the most high God, the priests of the Holy king and co heirs with the Son whose blood was spilled for the salvation of those who believe.

WE MUST CRY OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We must cry out till the sound of heaven is all we hear.

Be blessed today and thank you for reading =)

- EliW

Nitro coaster…

Nitro is still one of the best and to me THE best coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. Its rises and dips are gut wrenching and the initial climb hill is massive. As you guessed it, I recently rode Nitro and have something a lil deeper to say about it =)

Roller coasters are amazing pieces of machinery. They are invigorating, scary, suspenseful and crazy fun. No matter how many times you get on the same coaster though, if the ride is nicely designed, its fun every single time you ride it. The climb of the ride scary, the speed tantalizing and the view at the top is incredible. So why am I writing about Nitro and other coasters in general? Here is why…

There is a coaster that we must get on in life. Sure you can go to the amusement park and walk around, eating candy, scared to get on anything and getting full on stuff and eventually leaving the park having paid the $50 ticket without reaping any of the benefits, or you can ACTUALLY experience the Great Adventure. You can go and get on the lines of the great rides that take you up and down, but always leave you with a sense of satisfaction at the end. Yea it takes some time waiting on line before you can get on, but you take that time to look at the height of the coasters hill. As you get closer and closer to the ride, your heart speeds up, your excitement level rises and you can’t help but get completely excited at the ride as you hear the people getting on who are screaming of excitement.

The moment comes when you sit in that seat and you find yourself climbing that hill. You're looking all around at the awesomeness that it is, after paying the price of admission and waiting on a line that seemed to take forever under the afternoon sun. Then you get to the top of the hill and the ride begins. It pulls you side to side, takes you up and down, twists you around and when it comes to the end, you realize that waiting on line was worth the wait. Here’s the funny thing…

Nitro has always been the same ride. The rises and drops have never changed, the distance it travels has always remained the same and yet every time you get on, you feel the same excitement and thrill that you felt last time you got on. The same goes for the plans that God has for each one of us. You see, Gods plan never changes in outcome. His plan is to excite us and prosper us in joy, peace and happiness. His plan is set upon his guided track that will never throw you off in a way it’s not meant to. His plan is always on track. The only things that matter are whether you decide to go, pay the price and wait for your time to come for that great adventure to begin or will you stay off the lines, simply having paid the price of admission, but not paid the price of preparing for any of the plans God has for you.

Here is something else… You can pay the price and be in the park or get on the rides and end up going home at the end, or you can do what many people do long the way in their Christian walk. The get on the ride, but refuse to abide by the laws governing the ride. The employees tell you exactly what you need to do when you sit on the ride. “Pull the harness all the way down to secure yourself in the seat”. You can choose to listen and be secure in your seat, or you can sit in the seat anyway you want, without properly securing yourself, thinking you can make it through without following all the rules. The end result is that you DON’T go home in the end. You get to the top of that hill and when the ride pulls at your body, your lack of having put God’s directions inside and over you cause you to be thrown from the ride, off the tracks and you end up, having had a promise of a great adventure, on the ground either dead or close to it.

People, we must pay the price at the gate, leaving behind anything that may make it difficult to get on God’s amazing plans. We must pay the price of preparing and waiting upon God for the right time. We must have God’s rules and words within us and upon us so we can be secure in every part of his awesome plan. We must not be content with simply paying the admission; we must go there and experience God’s GREAT Adventure.

Be blessed!

-EliW

What kind of connection do YOU have?

Nowadays, there are many methods by which to connect to the world around us. In the area of the internet, there are many types of connection services. The two generalized ways are the now non preferred method of dial up service and the now considerably better broad band type service. My question to you is: what type of connection do you use to communicate with God?

There is the antiquated dial up service. It’s the method of communicating to and with God on a need basis. When you need to connect or want to, you must initiate the call because it’s not an “always on” type connection. The only connection to God occurs when you find the need to connect in order to try to find what you need to download. The service is slow however, because the connections bandwidth is limited.

The better connection is the broadband connection. With broadband, it’s a connection that is always live. It never goes down, unless there is some kind of disruption of the line. For the most part however, with broadband, when you need to go online, BOOM, you’re on! Here is the thing though, with broadband, the connection is always on. When an update has to come in from God, it’s connected and automatically updates. When your spirit needs to send a message to the heavens, it sends it without waiting. When a new “God cast” or message from God needs to update, boom, the download comes in without a second though. When you need to search for an answer or a need of any kind, the service is fast and your download gets sent immediately.

So the question I pose to you is; what connection are you paying the price for? Are you paying the minimum price and using the “when YOU want to” dial up service, or are you paying the price for the “always live”, “always on” broadband connection to God? Are you doing what must be done in order to have a quick response from God for questions? Are you using that connection to send positive reviews of praise and worship for the great connection, or are you passing on praise and worship reviews because your dial up is too slow to both ask for downloads AND keep a reviews page up at the same time?

I pose these questions to you today, as I have been posing to myself in the last few days. Are we willing to pay the price for a broadband connection to God? Or are we paying the bare minimum for the slow, tedious dial up service?

I don’t know about you, but I want me some always on, always live, fast downloading, quick response, uninterruptable connection to the very heart of God.

What will YOU choose?

Hanging on by a thread…

            I've come to see and realize so many things in such a little bit of time. I've been able to see that sometimes life leaves you literally hanging by a single thread, a single reason or the very last bit of a purpose that we have been given.

            This world has a way of pushing people to their limits. It tries to sway our minds and a belief towards what IT says is right and what it believes is ok. The reality is that we live in a world that call bad what is good and call good all the things that are wrong. It’s not to say that we can all be perfect as we, as humans, are capable of failure, but we are also capable of amazing strengths, even when we are pushed to the edge and to the very last threads of our beliefs.

            We must be the people of God, the children of God that we are called to be. We must stand tall in the midst of the mixing of morality and immorality that this world loves to do. We must place our hearts and beliefs in him who created us and set us upon this earth to live for him. God formed us with his very hands and from his lungs breathed life into us. He took us from the clay and gave us life!

            Should we side with this world and fall into conformation and remain only barely holding on to our beliefs, passively, by one last thread? Or should stand for the one who formed us, gave us life, set the universe into motion with just his words and the one who shed the blood of his son to wash away the sin past, present and future of man? Will we also idly stand by as the world attempts to disregard and make common the things that God has called abomination?

            We must stand and fight. People, we MUST stand and fight, not letting down and not letting ANYTHING get by us. We must stand and fight against the plans of the enemy, to reinstate Gods plans in our lives, communities, family and the world. We MUST stand and do what we have been called to do and one of those things is to live in holiness. If we serve The Holy God, then we must ALSO live holy lives. We will make mistakes and all, but if we stand firm upon the rock of our salvation, repent and turn away from sin and live for God and God alone, then we can experience the holiness that God requires of his children.

            Friends, we must stand and fight for what we not only believe is right, but what we know is right because it was spoken through the very lips of the living God.

 

I’ll leave it up to here. I pray many blessings over you and pray that God illuminate the path ahead and help you up when you stumble or fall. Be BLESSED!

 

-Eliw

Reborn

You made me, formed me and breathed life into me,

You gave me life, strength and purpose.

I was an earthen vessel, perfect and unique, blameless but for the sin born into me.

For man had sinned and upon his heirs, laid the burden of disobedience and death.

You gave us law, seemingly impossible, but ultimately righteous,

A code that if followed would certify us and yet leave us hollow.

But your plan was amazing, the redemption of creation,

To give unto us a perfect blood, blameless and sinless

Completing and astounding, penetrating and healing

The life of your son given, his perfection forsaken,

To the depths he descended, to the destroy the hinges,

The gates of hell obliterated, the keys of life retaken

For I once was born, deposited into this world,

Its stains entered and upon me, decaying the great creation

But your blood it did rebirth me,

Cleansing and rejuvenating, refreshing and never ending

Poured out over me, my sins are sunken,

Hidden beneath the tides, but your love now fills me

Where once there was death, now there is life,

Where once perfection was forsaken, now redemption and salvation

Is the key to your presence, where now I can sing a song never written

The song of emancipation, liberation and deliverance.

For once I was born unto death, now I am restored,

I am alive,

I am REBORN

How did we get here?

How did we get here?

Where God is shoved out of every aspect of society simply because of those who don’t believe?

Where children die by their own hand because of bullies overflowing with hate and bias?

Where a person is looked at as crazy simply for standing up for what they believe in?

Where laws of nature, implemented by God, are ignored with the end of creating a barren society?

Where 1000 people can’t pray to God because 1 person doesn’t believe in God?

Where loss of finances is reason to end the lives of an entire family by the hand of one of their own?

Where people die of cancer because the medication is too expensive for them to pay?

Where a country founded upon the laws and principles of the Bible is notable for its immorality?

Where people worship money as god instead of worshiping God who owns all the money?

Where we invade Iraq, who wants us out, while we ignore Darfur, who is begging for help?

Where pursuing happiness is the opposite of morality?

Where speaking the truth about sin makes you a crazy fanatic?

Where you can celebrate satanic Halloween in schools, but can’t put up a Nativity scene or say Jesus in school?

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

God calls us the light of the world…

 

Its time to shine. We MUST shine. We MUST.

Thoughts of the Friday kind =)

<3=)

True love is patient & kind,

Comes with no pressure & gives none,

It’s completing & increasing,

Unrelenting & never ceasing,

It’s powerful & intriguing,

Careful & weary,

It’s amazing & exciting,

Seductive & enchanting,

Wonderful & endearing,

Cheerful & smiley,

It’s blushing & quivering,

Goosebumps & hair raising

<3=)

Got more to add? Comment below!!!

How individuality got confused with conformism…

Lots of people seem to get annoyed and bothered while others enjoy a good laugh when I go all “anti apple” and “anti Ipod”. Truth is, I AM anti apple and anti Ipod. The debate of why I'm anti apple does go deeper than JUST that company and its products. It’s a general ideology that involves a whole lot than just a crappy MP3 player or an overpriced line of computers.

In the society we live in, we are constantly hammered and badgered by ideas of individuality and uniqueness. These ideas stem from political views to religious views and even as far as what people wear. The thought and idea that everyone can be who they are and can live how they want, are a fundamental ideology that is and has been pushed very hard into mainstream media, fashion and even religious views.

Here is where the problem lies. All these ideas being pushed forward by society have simply led not to individuality, but conformism. For example, let’s take a look at one of the major “fashion” and personal electronics fads, the Ipod. The Ipod is a portable media device. They can play music of varying formats, videos, pictures and on some models, can even surf the web. It however wasn’t the first MP3 player, and it is very far from being the best.

I don’t have an idea of how many MP3 players are on the market, but I know that the one that has the most market grab is the Ipod. The Ipod is of such prevalence, that it has become synonymous with the MP3 player. Here are the facts however. The Ipod is an MP3 player of significantly low specs. Its one of the worst sounding MP3 players on the market, only recently intergraded FM radio, has forever been tied down by such things as digital rights management of tracks bought by the user, has a history of significant battery issues and doesn’t even have the customizability of most MP3 players.

What the Ipod HAS had is a large amount of advertising by its parent company. Its commercials are attention grabbing and seem to always point out every single benefit of owning one, except for the fact that all the reasons to buy one, have nothing to do with it actually being a good MP3 player. In fact, the standard Ipod headphones are one of the worst sounding on the market. In most tech circles, it’s a known fact that if you still use the regular, white apple ear buds, you are at a massive loss because they truly are the worst ear buds to come with a high cost device. I’ll give an example. My Creative Zen X-Fi MP3 player came with a pair of sound isolating $40 ear buds. A pair of ear buds that would be able to give the listening a true feeling of the enhanced sound capabilities that player has. People however STILL buy Ipods, even though in reality, they aren’t worth half of what they cost! In fact, as a final blow to the Ipod, they recently showed off the new Ipod shuffle, a little player whose buttons are on the headphones. Apple charges $79 for it when it ONLY costs apple $23 to manufacture!

It’s a logical process and idea that companies tend to go for getting as much money from consumers as possible as apposed to consumer loyalty, and so I'm not surprised to see that apple has not a single care for any of its customers. In an interview once done with Steve Jobs, the co founder and CEO of Apple, when asked about why Apple comes out with a new Ipod line every few months, his response was “if people want the current technology, then they just have to spend money and buy the newest we offer”. Sadly, for someone who has been an innovator and a pioneer in technology and computing, Steve Jobs has shown that his love of money is considerably more important than his care for his company’s loyal followers.

This ideology however can be found in many things in society however. For example, the acceptance of gay and lesbian ideas as a “life style choice”, the acceptance of pre-marital sex and the defiling of the concepts of marriage, life, right vs. wrong and so much more. It is now accepted to choose whatever you like, whatever your heart desires, no matter how twisted it could be. The reality is that sin is sin. Individuality has been transformed by society, into conformism. You're now allowed to do what you want, how you want to, as long as it is aligned with what society thinks. To think or even speak against homosexuality makes you a close minded freak. Speaking about morality and what is right, makes you wrong according to society. Speaking against abortion, fornication, adultery and drug use makes you an outcast.

People, conformism is NOT individuality! Siding with the false individuality of society is simply siding to say that what is right is wrong! Individuality is about being able to express your thoughts and your feelings without being outcasted by anyone who thinks different. Recently, a minister was blasted on for “hating gays and lesbians”. The person, an openly gay “minister”, could not understand the other minister’s belief, which was “I don’t hate gays and lesbians. I love them and so does God, but I cannot and God does not turn a blind eye to the sin and abomination of his creation that is homosexuality”. You see, the gay minister stated “Jesus didn’t say anything about homosexuality” but he DID say “Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the scriptures – either Gods law or the prophets. I'm not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after the stars burn out and the earth wears out, God’s law will be alive and working” Matthew 5:17 (quoted from “The Message” version)

With that said, anyone remember Sodom and Gomorrah? They were two cities that were destroyed with fire and brimstone because man had turned to their wicked desires and sinful ideas. So what now? We must turn, turn away from society’s view of individuality and turn to the TRUE individuality. Let the world call us outcasts and haters. Let the world push us out and away. I am an individual, entitled to my belief that God is real, alive and that what is wrong, no matter how appealing and how “accepted” and “normal” it is, is WRONG. I refuse to believe that homosexuality is something that people are born with. I refuse to believe that marriage is a union between anything but a man and a woman. I refuse to believe that ending the life of an unborn child is acceptable when it was a “mistake”. I refuse to believe that living for God makes me stupid or close minded. I refuse to conform to the “norms” of society that tells me that unless I conform to it, I am NOT an individual. I also refuse to believe that the Apple Ipod is the best MP3 player on the market.

Sure, this blog has gone a lot deeper than just a personal electronic item, but its message still stands. If siding with society is being an individual, with its tolerance for sin and it’s defiling of what is morally right and what NATURALY right is, then ill have no part of it. I am a member of the kingdom of heaven, a child of the living and only God, saved and able to come to hi, through and by Grace, which is attainable only by being washed in the blood of Christ, who gave his life, taking upon him the sin of the world.

I understand that maybe a lot of people will find a reason to be insulted or bothered by what I've written. However, I will ask that you realize for a moment that in the same way that freedom has been given to all to speak their thoughts and opinions, I also have that right and it will not be constrained by what is the opinion of others. You may love the Apple Ipod, but you’re allowed to! If you like them, then go ahead and use them, that’s your right, but don’t blast me for NOT liking them and instead liking a player of superior quality and lower price. The Ipod may be expensive, but so is living according to society, whose cost of living is rewarded by eternal damnation. However, living according to God and abiding by the laws of his kingdom, a relatively small price to pay, is rewarded by an eternity in heaven and that’s without mentioning the benefits here on earth of peace in the midst of turmoil, endless supply of our needs and joy in the midst of the toughest of situations.

With that said, would you rather be a false individual who follows the norms or this society? Or would you rather be an individual from society and life according to what is morally right and just by living for God? Just like buying a truly better MP3 player, the price is SWEET and the reward… Eternally GREAT.

So… what will YOU choose?

- EliW

Chronicles of a modern day Levite

Volume 1; Issue 3

 

Overcoming our vision, in order to see what God wants us to see

 

            How difficult it is in this world and in these times to focus our vision on what we must truly focus on, not what we see, but what God wants us to see.

            We live in a time where I have found that when its time to go to church, it’s like a safe haven from the turmoil of the world and the strife of the daily life. As much of a haven as church can be, once in that haven, there are other things that must be overcome. We must overcome the things that latch on from the world, but also, we must overcome our own emotional issues, social issues and we must clear ourselves of the things that could interfere with our ability to worship and give our BEST to God.

            While sometimes it is and will be easier than other times to get into worship, we must look at that time of worship as a time to put all those things aside in order to give God what he deserves. The reason is because God wants us to spend the worship time focusing on what he wants us to see as apposed to what we see in this natural world. God wants us to see HIS prosperity for us in health, family, love, joy and even financially, instead of seeing sickness, worry, financial collapse, family breakdown and the roaring immorality of this world. God wants us to trust in him. He wants us to not just worship him, but also BELIEVE all the aspects of that worship. He IS mighty, he IS powerful, he IS the one who provides for our needs! Not simply the financial needs, but our need for love, joy, health, family, friendships, strength, food and LIFE!

            The times we live in purpose in themselves to deteriorate our trust in God and try to obscure our vision so as to see nothing but the mountain. God, on the other hand, simply wants us to see, through him, that the top of that mountain is much a worship breakthrough away. The mountains are NOTHING, when you look at them flattened by the very words of the one who will NEVER take you through a path that he has not prepared you with strength, joy and anointing, to get through.

            Take that time of worship and use it to refocus and clear your spiritual vision to see that NOTHING in this world can separate you from Gods love, which is the source of every single thing that he has done. From the foundations of the universe, to when he left his fingerprints on you after weaving you together, he has done it all out of love, love that the world will never know…

 

Be blessed and check back again this coming Friday for yet another Chronicle of a modern day Levite…

 

<3=)

 

-EliW

Chronicles of a modern day Levite

Volume 1; Issue 2

 

The week goes by, but the worship never ends.

 

            Ask almost any person in a church and they will usually respond with the same answer. What is praise and worship? Most will answer “when we are singing in church on Sundays and Fridays”. The sad truth is that this is an unfortunate belief and the scope of what worship is for most Christians. It is sad and regrettable since the very creation of man was for the PURPOSE of worshiping the creator of heaven and earth.

            Many see the musicians and worship leaders in churches as just musicians and worship leaders. They are the ones given charge of leading a congregation of a group of people into worship at church. Is worship just a few songs that lead the way into the word to be preached? The answer to that, if you ask a true worship leader is “no!” I say “true” worship leader because I mean those who live according to what it is that they do. I don’t mean the ones in church that are, for lack of better or preparation, are thrown into leading a few, hurried songs to get that time over with.

            Like I stated above, any true worship leader’s answer to that question would be a straight NO. You see, when you begin to take the position of “worship leader” seriously, that is when you begin to learn something that ALL Christians should know, understand and comprehend. The reality is that worship is not a few songs, a few hallelujahs and a couple of moments of chills and goose bumps. Worship, as it was first conceived by God, was a way of LIFE.

            As a Levite, those who live to worship God, I have learned that singing songs and playing an instrument is but a microscopic part of worship. It’s not about nice songs, or nice instrument solos or the like, but rather a way of life. Worship is about living so as to make every moment, every action and every movement, something that will give glory to God. Worship is about lifting God up at every moment of every day. Worship is about giving glory to God through the storms of the week, through the struggles of the days and the trials of the night. Worship is about doing EVERYTHING in a fashion that will undoubtedly give glory to God.

            That doesn’t mean that we (Levites) don’t make mistakes, but we are called to be separated and to live not FOR worship, but IN worship. Every new week and every new day brings a new trial and a new struggle, but through it all, our lives must be worship to God. Heck, just standing in the midst of adversity can be worship. Standing tall and against sin, overcoming the enemies plan and surviving the attacks of this world can be worship, if we live IN it.

            Levites of old, who serviced in the temple, were a separated people. They lived, ate, drank and even bathed “temple”. Their lives were, by inheritance, focused entirely on the life of worship and service to God. They were the ones who handled the worship for the people and led the people into worship. Sure, now a days, we need NOT a mediator to reach to God other than Christ and the Holy Spirit since the veil of the Holy of Holies was torn when Jesus died, but the desire and mission of the modern day Levites should and MUST remain the same as those of old. Again I say, we aren’t perfect, but we can all, “Levite” or not, LIVE in worship to God.

            We must put away the concept of being a Christian when we are at church and we must begin to lead our lives in worship. We must all be Levites unto the Lord, living in worship and service to the one who created us with his very finger tips, in his image and likeness and who breathed life into us. We must live separate from this world while still in it. We must live in worship. We MUST live in worship.

 

In the next issue, overcoming our vision, in order to see what God wants us to see…

 

-EliW

Chronicles of a modern day Levite

Volume 1; Issue 1

 

A special Sunday, a united purpose.

 

            They are all there, some talking, others praying, still others simply waiting to begin. We are preparing, united in the back hall, talking quickly, reminding each other of what we are about to do, putting aside the things that may be bogging our minds and hearts and getting ready to pray.

            Any and all conflicts amongst us are put aside; all annoyances outside of us are put aside as we clasp hands to pray simply to ask God to use us to lead the congregation into worship. We pray that God have his will, that he move in the midst of the hearts and all those who are there. We can here the service beginning as we reach the end of our prayer, ending with thanking God for the drummer, the violinist, the guitarist and the keyboardist, thanking God for giving us the gifts and talents that he has given us.

            We head back to the sanctuary, take our positions at our instruments and begin to play. The mood is one of rejoicing and celebration as the day happens to be Easter or to some, resurrection day. Panning from right to left over the congregation, I see familiar faces and some unknown to me, but in the faces I can see such a range of feelings. Feelings ranging from stressed to blessed and knowing it, upset, peace, anger and love. As I become aware of it all, I simply think “God, move in this place, change the hearts, allow us to be your instruments”.

            The music begins, the praise and worship begins. The music just begins to flow, the lyrics flow through and immediately, the atmosphere is transformed. The songs, ranging from English to Spanish, combine as one big praise and worship. In the midst of the whole time, you can see the enthusiasm of the people and also the change taking place because of the change of atmosphere. The atmosphere becomes so thick with Gods presence to the point of being able to hear the voices of angels as they begin to sing along and you can feel the energy in the air as the praises and worship goes up and Gods presence comes down.

            The session comes to a close, with the ambience so full of God’s presence. We slowly trail the music off and put our instruments down. The stress of the moment is over and we are ready to sit and receive God’s word. What began with a list of possibly difficult drum beats, reminders to be aware of each other and the constant need to stay focused on that we are there to lift God’s name up, ended with the feeling of having overcome all the atmospheric opposition and all our own personal stumbling blocks and got to feel God’s amazing presence.

            That Sunday may have started with some stress and worries, but it ended with victory and blessing. Nothing stood in our way and we marched forward with the very purpose that drives us; we are Levites, separated and devoted to worshipping God.

 

In the next issue, the week goes by, but the worship never ends…

 

-EliW

Writings of the Wednesday kind…

So I awoke this morning and upon waking, I noticed that though I felt like I had gotten enough rest, I still felt sluggish. In fact, throughout the entire subway ride home, I fought hard as heck to keep my eyes open EVEN THOUGH I was standing up. Crazy as it may have been though, I DID notice something spectacular.

As I was standing there, I didn’t put a thought to the fact that it was considerably cloudy outside. What I did notice though was when the sunlight broke through the cloud cover and just illuminated everything. It reminded me of how sometimes the clouds from the storms that come into our lives can bring us to a state where we just assume the clouds are always there. We become so complacent with the cloud covers darkness, that we just look at it as a given, or as just a general fact of life.

The truth is that YES, storms are part of life, however we must NEVER forget the fact that though the clouds are there, the illumination of God, his pure light is what we have to focus on, ask for and sometimes even plead for to come and BREAK THROUGH those clouds. We cannot walk through life assuming that the cloud cover is just a fact. We MUST walk through life KNOWING, TRUSTING and believing that the sun’s light WILL break through the clouds and darkness. We must live WANTING God’s light to break through and illuminate, making the clouds darkness flee.

We must accept the fact that we live in this world. We must however realize and know that as children of God, followers of his ways, saved by grace and washed in the blood of Christ, we must live, not accepting the darkness that is around us, but accepting nothing LESS than living so the darkness would have NO PLACE in our lives. Striving for God’s light of truth to not only shine INTO us, but also reflect from us so as to be the light of the world that Jesus Christ said we are in Matthew 5:14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand, SHINE! Keep open house; be generous with your lives, by opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up to God, this generous father in heaven”

We must step out of the darkness and NOT accept it, but instead ACCEPT that God’s light in us is what SHOULD be the standard upon which our lives are founded. We must do this, not just for ourselves so we could live completely guided by the unfailing and never wrong illumination of God’s light, but also because we must be the ones who reflect God’s light into the lives of others, illuminating their path so they could also seek to follow that same light.

Dear reader, we are the light of the world, but we must FIRST be illuminated ourselves so we could be placed upon God’s hill, where we will reflect his light of salvation into this world of darkness. STRIVE to allow God’s light to completely illuminate your life. Accept NOT the darkness and make God’s light the foundation of your life.

Be blessed and be illuminated...

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