Two Journal Entries

I have a journal that I often write down quotes, thoughts and prayers in.  A few weeks ago, around Pentecost, I was praying that God would give us renewed life as a church (a common prayer of pastors around Pentecost).  I then had a thought that I wrote down:

“We, as the Church, have a sense of appeasing God, but do we have a sense (or an expectation) of meeting God?  It’s as though we think our worship services are broadcast to heaven rather than God truly being with us – in our midst.”

This past week, thinking ahead to this message (#2 on Fervency) and rereading what I had written, I added:

“When we think that way, fervency wears us out.  We think we need to build ourselves up and be excited enough to get God’s attention, but that is a pagan understanding and practice.  The prophets of Baal did that on Mt. Carmel.  Our fervency in worship – our joy, excitement and exulting is not a broadcast to heaven, but a response to God being present.  We are not working up an encore (cheering loud enough that the band comes back out to play another song) we are responding to God’s presence with us through the Holy Spirit.  Fervency is not a tool, but rather a result.  It is a response to seeing reality.”