Worship--the center of all we do

No matter what we are doing or what is going on worship of God needs to be in the center of all we do. As my dad goes in for a second pacemaker procedure I stopped by the chapel at the hospital to take this picture to remind me if that. Forming a circle with my index finger and thumb I centered it on the cross hanging in the chapel.

This was my way of reminding me that no matter what is going on in the center of all I do must be worship. The praising of God, thanking Him for all He has done, and giving adoration to my Lord and Savior needs to be a top priority in all I do. It doesn't matter if we like the situation we are in or not we still need to worship the Lord to pay our respects to our Lord and Savior.

Worship isn't reserved for only the good times in our lives, anyone can do that. It is not based on how good things turn out for us. Worshipping God during the tough times puts our focus where it needs to be and it shows God no matter what we love and adore Him.

Sarah or Mary

With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible! Jesus from Matthew 19:26




In the book of Matthew after Jesus made the remark that it’s easier for a camel to go thru an eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to be saved His disciples were stunned. “Well then who can be saved?” they asked. Looking directly at them Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”



In other words, Jesus was telling them that there was only one way to be saved and that was thru Christ. Not even the richest of men, the poorest, the most famous, the least known, the most kind, or the meanest person could do it. It’s done thru Christ. With God all things are possible.



From there the disciples or anyone else hearing this message can both accept and believe it or they can laugh at it and brush it off. Laughing at it as Sarah did when she found out she was going to have a baby in the future. When God heard her laughing He said, “Why did Sarah laugh? Is there anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you next year at the appointed time and Sarah will have a son.” End of discussion. Sarah will have a son. PERIOD.


This same firm answer is what was given to Mary when she found out her and her cousin Elizabeth where both going to have sons. The angel told her, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Instead of laughing at the news Mary told the angel, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” Wow, totally different than Sarah’s reaction.

We need to stop and examine our own responses to this statement from God that nothing is impossible to Him. Are we a Sarah or a Mary in how we react to the news? Do we laugh in disbelief or walk forward in faith and say, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be as you say.”


Too often we twist and turn something that needs to remain straight forward, the fact that nothing is impossible to God. We figure if nothing is impossible to God then why doesn’t He do this or why didn’t He do that. We get skeptical when it doesn’t turn out our way and we go off pouting and doubting the truth behind the fact that not anything is impossible to God.


Too easily Satan plants a seed in heart that we nourish with our doubts as we reason that evidently something is impossible or God would have done……….and the cycle of doubt starts all over again.


It’s time to move forward in faith and know in our hearts that nothing is unworkable, unattainable, without a solution, impossible to God. We need to stop looking at the “things He should have done” and look at the things He is doing now that is beyond all comprehension on how it can or has been done.


We are talking about the One who created the earth, who put the sun and moon in their places to never go off duty. That created seasons to come and go each serving their own purposes. That made it so a sperm and an egg can come together to create the tinniest of a little person that grows into a full grown body of a man or woman.

Nothing is impossible to God when it comes to doing His will. God doesn’t work for us we are His servants. He will do what He needs to do, not what we “think” should be done. Our job is to have the faith needed to believe that He can do the impossible. To be like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as they faced the fiery furnace. What they said to king Nebuchadnezzar was, “We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it and he will rescue us from your hand O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Another big WOW!

The three of them knew that nothing was impossible to God. They knew God was more than capable or able of saving them if it was His will. They were okay with that as they went on to say, “Even if He doesn’t we will not serve any other God but Him. PERIOD. End of discussion.


What kind of message or example are our lives giving out to those around us? Are we being a Mary or Sarah, a Shadrach or Nebuchadnezzar? With my breast and bone cancer God is able to save me from them but even if He doesn’t I will forever serve and worship only Him.

With God all things are possible and because of who He is and what He has done for me I’m more than willing to wait for the impossible to become possible thru Him.




Our host this day is Urailak at livingforGod. You need to run over there and see how God is doing the impossible in other people’s lives.

**Immediately after posting this I got a phone call. Not one of good news. As I dropped to my knees I prayed to the God of the possible as I know with Him all things are possible and here was my test to prove it.  Did I write what I meant, did I mean what I wrote. I thanked Him for being the God of the impossible. I told Him I'm willing to wait for Him to do the impossible in the life of my loved one. I told Him even if He doesn't do what I think He should that I will praise Him anyway because its His will not mine or anyone elses that matters. I serve the God of the impossible in which into His hands I place my loved one once again knowing they will get the best of care. These tears that are drowning my face are not tears of disbelief in God's ability to do something but ones of sorrow that there is such evil out there for us to face. Evil we have brought on ourselves thru the sin in our lives. How can anyone take such pleasure in such a horrible thing. WITH God, WITH God, WITH God all things are possible even the conquering of evil. Especially that! Yes God, I believe.

Real or Plastic

So with a painted grin, I play the part again, So everyone will see me the way that I see them…Are we happy plastic people, under shiny plastic steeples, with walls around our weakness and smiles to hide our pain, but if the invitation’s open, to every heart that has been broken, maybe then we close the curtain, on our stained glass masquerade…. Casting Crowns in Stained Glass Masquerade~ by Casting Crowns lyrics from the songStained Glass Masquerade

When I read these lyrics from Casting Crowns they make me think of two things, the issue of hiding behind and the one of covering up. There was a time in my life when I came to church on a regular basis a broken woman. It was a weekly event because my week, month, and year was full of nothing but brokenness. My trip to church was my opportunity to gain back some of the strength life was draining from me throughout the week. Tired of always finding myself in tears, crying in the halls, bawling in the bathroom I would often try to put on what I called a “front.”

One evening as I was having a hard time keeping that front or painted grin in place at the church’s Thanksgiving Dinner celebration I asked someone next to me, “How much of a front do people want?” Stunned by the question I asked I had to answer it myself. Although people might not realize it there are some who like others to put up a front. After all, by doing so when they don’t deal with what is going on in their lives then I don’t have to either thus it prevents fewer interruptions in the perfect church services, the quiet evening Bible study, and social event of the year, the annual dinner.

The other way to view this is behind the cover of makeup. The physical preparation of going to church, at least for women, can often dominate over what is done for our spiritual preparation. For every physical feature of the face there seems to be some kind of makeup we can use to enhance it to make them look good. Once we get to church we find we’re not finished yet as we add the final touch, the painted grin. Sitting within the walls of the sanctuary we appear as happy plastic people under shiny plastic steeples, the perfect little angels lined up in pews of angels.

In spite of all our efforts of putting up a front and covering our flukes and flaws so others can’t see them God sees it all. He already knows what is behind curtain number one, the make up job, the plastic grin. The church wasn’t meant to be the place to hide, to cover up, to sneak in our flaws, and be phony for the day. It needs to be a place where brokenness is repaired, healing is discovered, makeup is not needed, and shortcomings are overcome as forgiveness, repentance and self-improvement are found.

Praise the Lord for those who see past our masquerades, who don’t fall for our cover jobs. People following in God’s footsteps who are not going to give us a chance to choose between real or plastic like some “paper or plastic” store clerk in a mall.

We need to be real people, dealing with life’s real problems, using the real church to help us through. When properly assembled God’s church is a place where plastic needs to be melted away and painted grins are replaced with real ones. No more makeup, no more fronts.

© 2010 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing