​Life can be a difficult and lonely journey.  As the recent pandemic has highlighted for everyone, fear can cripple and isolation can dishearten.  However, God often uses these places to reveal the holes in our hearts and the deepest longing of our souls that only He can fill.  And while trials and difficult times often accentuate this truth, we need God and the companionship and fulfillment that only He can give on a daily basis.

​In Matthew 6, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray and gave us the Lord’s Prayer.  One element of the prayer that I don’t think we pray enough is the second verse:  “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:11). 
 
How often do we pray that God’s kingdom would come to earth?  In my observation, it seems that we often pray the opposite.  We ask God to bless our kingdoms, to preserve our nation, or prosper our country.  While the Bible does tell us to pray for our leaders and nation, our number one prayer should be that God’s kingdom would be established on earth.  We are citizens of an eternal kingdom; therefore, our first priority and greatest desire should be for God to build His kingdom.

​Today, we are going to conclude our worship set focusing on God’s faithfulness through the storms of life and the fact that even in the fire and life’s hardest moments, God is always with us.  Over the last seven months, we have watched our nation spiral into chaos and division.  The increased pressure caused by COVID-19 brought to light points of high tension across our country.  Therefore, in the midst of all the unrest, tragedy, conflict, polarization, and loss, I believe that today’s song is especially appropriate for us to focus on and declare to ourselves, our families, and our communities.

After a year and a half of worship posts, I believe it’s time to circle back and discuss the reason why we worship and, ultimately, what worship is.  It is so easy to get caught up singing songs on Sunday or listening to music and lose sight of the reason why we do these things.  Our brains are smart and can sing along with a song without having to be consciously involved.  But in order for our songs to truly be worship, our hearts must be involved.  It is not merely a singing exercise but an opportunity to praise and extol our Savior. Therefore, let’s re-examine what worship is and why we do it.

​I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating the 4th of July! Though our nation seems to be spiraling into chaos and more restrictions, we still enjoy great freedom, and it is important for us to remember and celebrate them.  One of the many freedoms we enjoy here in the States is the ability to worship God without hindrance.  Many of our brothers and sisters around the world do not get to enjoy this luxury.  Therefore, we must capitalize on and fully utilize this privilege and not take it for granted.  

​We are at the end of June.  How the time has flown by these last couple of months!  It seems that even with the sheltering and chaos in our world, time keeps marching on at a blinding pace.  But God is still sovereign.  And as we hurtle through time and space—drawing ever nearer to Christ’s return—I have a worship song for us that will remind us of God’s faithfulness and the fact that though our world is changing, our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

​Welcome to a new month!  May is officially a month of new life and new growth.  Trees are blossoming, flowers are blooming, gardens are being planted, and sunshine basks the landscape.  Birds sing their songs of praise to God and fly about looking for food and fun, while butterflies flutter on the gentle breezes.  It’s a time of freshness and new beginnings.  While for many of us this is a different spring than we could ever have imagined, it can be a season of new beginnings for us too.  This month, we will continue to lift our eyes off our situations and circumstances and fix them on our precious Lord and Savior—the One who knows and holds the future, and the One who sees and knows exactly what we’re going through.  

​As we finish out this worship set focused on the love of God, I’m going to close with a song that has been on my mind and heart for the past couple of months.  It was actually the song that inspired this whole set and attuned my heart to meditate on God’s immeasurable love.  This song is “Love on the Line” by Hillsong Worship.

​As we come to the close of January and get used to the rhythm and routine of 2020, let’s not forget the excitement and anticipation we had at New Year’s.  Let’s not forget the resolutions, dreams, and goals we made at the beginning of the year.  And may we especially not forget the covenants and resolutions we made with God.  So as we wrap up our New Year worship set, I have a special song I want to share with you that focuses on our devotion to the Lord.

​As we march forward into the new year and make our new year resolutions and goals, let’s make some goals for our spiritual life also.  Let’s renew our purpose and commitment to Christ.  Let’s review and remind ourselves what a surrendered life to God looks like.  And as we do this, the natural outpouring should be praise.  Praise for all that God has done for us and worship as a sacrifice and offering of surrender.