I\u00c2\u2019m up early again this morning. I don\u00c2\u2019t have to be, but I am. It just is. I figured I might as well read my e-mail and catch up on some of the weblogs I haven\u00c2\u2019t had a chance to read in a while. Jason and Jodie\u00c2\u2019s wedding CD was sitting on my desk \u00c2\u2013 I remembered one of the songs that played from the CD during the reception. I was struck then, even in the midst of all the celebration, a quiet song, a worshipful song from Third Day \u00c2\u2013 \u00c2\u201cGod of Wonders.\u00c2\u201d So, I\u00c2\u2019m listening to the song.
\nI\u00c2\u2019m not sure how to put down in written form any of this stuff. Most of it is emotion, but the important thing is that which elicits the emotion. Not simply emotionalism, but the remembrance of being in the presence of God during the act of worship \u00c2\u2013 that sense of the presence of God being strong, real, manifest \u00c2\u2013 peace that surpasses understanding, joy unimaginable, better than the best dark chocolate. The Presence so strong you don\u00c2\u2019t want to move, you don\u00c2\u2019t want to talk, just be still and bask in the Presence of God that feels thick. The presence of the Spirit of God so real that no one wants to leave the place, like a refreshing far beyond anything experienced from the physical world. How I miss that certain kind of presence.
\n\u00c2\u201cGod of wonders beyond our galaxy \u00c2\u2013 you are Holy, Holy. The universe declares your majesty \u00c2\u2013 you are Holy, Holy. Lord of heaven and earth, halleluiah to the Lord of heaven and earth.\u00c2\u201d
\nGod, how do I do this? I don\u00c2\u2019t know how to do this? The beauty and transcendence of worship using all the senses is magnificent and honoring to a Holy, majestic, and worthy God, but without the interior sense of God\u00c2\u2019s presence \u00c2\u2013 not just in the bread and wine \u00c2\u2013 but here with us, surrounding us, enveloping us, manifestly present all about us is beyond anything seen by the eyes, smelled with the nose, heard by the ears, or bodily felt with hands or tongue. How do we have both \u00c2\u2013 the worship experienced within and without? The Via Media? Is it within the \u00c2\u201cThree streams \u00c2\u2013 one river\u00c2\u201d idea and experience?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u00c2\u2019m up early again this morning. I don\u00c2\u2019t have to be, but I am. It just is. I figured I might as well read my e-mail and catch up on some of the weblogs I haven\u00c2\u2019t had a chance to … Continue reading