In your presence there is fullness of JOY

Ok, so I've had this on my mind since Sunday. I've been meaning to blog about it. But...just haven't gotten around to it. And I figure that today is a good day for it considering the fact that I'm anything but joyful today. (just ask the boys...)

Anyways, I got the privilege of singing on the worship team again this Sunday. MAN do I love doing that! I guess I didn't realize how much I missed it. There's just something about serving God with the gifts He's given you that brings this sense of joy that can't be explained.

Which leads me to the point of this post. =) I kinda wonder if anyone noticed me smiling like a geek, to the point of giggling during the worship portion of each service. For some reason, I was so overwhelmed with the fact that the GOD of the universe loves me and allows me to worship Him.

We're in the middle of our Third book this year "Desiring God" by John Piper. It's deeeeeep stuff. =/ My head feels like it's gonna pop when I get done reading the chapter and it's all I can do to contain my thoughts into a one page report. Then we get to our discussion group and I can't seem to organize my thoughts enough to state my opinion on the book. It really is quite the site. =)

ANYWAYS, Last weeks chapter was on worship. And I really feel like that's what brought about this giggle-fest on stage. We mainly just talked about how the fact that GOD loves us and chose us should drive us to worship Him.
But worship is SO MUCH MORE than good harmonies and hands in the air. It's a lifestyle. It's the realization of the immense glory of God that drives us to praise him. John Piper says- "Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship"

One section of the book that totally blew my mind talked about worship as an end in itself. I guess I've never really thought about this before. =/ But, we don't worship as a means to something else. Worship is an end in itself. Nothing beyond worship can be sought as a higher goal.
"Worship is a way of reflecting back to God the Radiance of His worth. This cannot be done by mere acts of duty. It can only be done when spontaneous affections arise in the heart. And these affections for God are an end in themselves. They are the essence of eternal worship."

Saint Augustine said this, the highest good is "That which will leave us nothing further to seek in order to be happy, if only we make all our actions refer to it, and seek it not for the sake of something else, but for its own sake."

Piper goes on to talk about us being far too easily pleased. He says "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like and ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea."

Yikes.

So...the problem with our worship isn't that we are asking for too much...but that we aren't asking for enough! We've gotten used to such pathetic, short-lived pleasures that our capacity for joy has shriveled. And so our worship has shriveled.

My favorite section of the chapter is the last one. (And NO it's not because I was sick of reading...and these chapters are freakin long...I really DID like the last one best!)

ANYWAYS, Piper explains that as humans, we have capacities for joy that we can't even imagine. They were MADE for the enjoyment of God. And GOD has the power to wake them up no matter how long they've been hibernating. =)

The key: "Pray for His quickening power, open up your eyes to His glory. It's everywhere."

Psalm 19:1 says "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."

*sigh*

So....jeez louise....I have no reason to be cranky today. Thank you John Piper (and Jesus) for reminding me of this. =)

In other news: The xxxposed series at Jubilee has been AMAZING! Seriously, amazing. I would encourage any and everyone to listen to it online. You can find them HERE Or on iTunes-Jubilee church's podcasts.

Umm....other than that, been busy with reading and random year team tasks. AND for some reason, there seems to be an abundance of "Girl's night" activities happening lately. And I kinda like it. =) Between face masks, eyebrow destruction, and discussing putting sparkle paints on the roads to improve visibility of lines when there are puddles, there has DEFINITELY been some bonding moments. =)

I leave you with this thought: God's good, all the time. Enough said.

Love and miss you guys!
Brit

P.S.
I am SOOOOOOOO excited for the Equipped for Mission conference at the end of this month! My mom and sister are coming to visit...and it's going to be a blast! =)