holy1fire: Joy in Your Presence!

You will make known to me the path of life; in Your Presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

[Psalm 16:11 NAS]

For the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

[Romans 14:17 NAS]

A friend's feedback challenged me to clarify that last week's posting ("Joybusters" 3/19/11) is not a list of prerequisites we have to work to remove in order to experience God's joy. The Prodigal Son [Luke 15:11-32] returned to his father's house and was met with outrageously undeserved celebration; his elder brother, who'd been working hard and not disobedient, was the most joyless person in the story. My friend pointed out (and I readily agreed) that it is our experience of Father's Love that brings us joy, regardless of our condition, and it is that relationship (not self-effort) which ultimately leads to "cleaning up our lives" as we experience greater closeness with God, and... still more of His joy.
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I mention this because - although my list of "Joybusters" was intended to suggest some areas we might need to allow God's Spirit to address if we find our connection to His joy somehow "clogged" or hindered - I was reminded this past weekend that worship may be our most direct way to connect with Father's heart, and worship seems to flow most powerfully when relationship with God is our #1 priority. I related this to what my friend had said a few days earlier about lives changing mostly in response to Father's Love: intimacy with the Father, and the manifest Presence of His Spirit, can blow any number of hindrances out of our way like spiritual "dynamite" (Greek dunamis = "power," as in Acts 1:8 "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you").

I spent a large part of last weekend (March 18-20, 2011) participating in a wonderful worship event called "Fire on the Altar" - 50 hours of worship & intercession, led by a group of young "musicianaries" including Sean Feucht, Rick Pino, Kristine Mueller-Dimarco, Jason Lee Jones & the Richest of Fare band, and (this guy is almost 60, but Rick Joyner calls him "the oldest living teenager" so the word "young" still fits:) Leonard Jones - hosted by Immanuel's Church in Silver Spring, MD. I've listed websites below with more information on these ministries & events, which bring hundreds and even thousands of people across denominations to worship together for an extravagant length of time. (I was able to attend about 14 total hours over 3 days in person, then enjoyed the last 3 hours at home via live streaming on internet.) The primary objective of this weekend was hosting the Presence of God. No agenda other than spending time in God's Presence, worshipping and enjoying Him.

Friday, Saturday & Sunday nights were filled with excitement, dancing & shouts of joy, although a different kind of joy - more quiet adoration & surrender - refreshed those who came to worship in the afternoons, when a couple of female voices with guitar or keyboard accompaniment replaced a stage-full of guys with electric guitars and drums. (Sorry, Jessie & Stephanie, I missed your 3 to 5 a.m. Saturday set, but I'll bet it was captivating & sweet!) Musical styles may differ, but God's Presence and His Love are healing balm & strength for everyone who loves and rejoices in Him.

So I don't have a long list this week, except the links below (some of these guys write great blogs, and their music is spiritually rich & wonderful) and a strong encouragement that, if these folks or anyone like them holds a worship event in your area, or you have access to participate via internet - or if your church has a similar event or "soaking time" or anything that encourages entering in to the presence of God through corporate worship (& yes, we can and should worship & enjoy God alone at home or anywhere we are) - I'm just saying, don't miss these opportunities. God can change our lives in just a few moments or hours in His Presence, in ways we could never accomplish on our own.

"This is the place where heaven kisses earth

and we are changed..."

-- lyrics by Jason Lee Jones

More than anything else, Jesus is worthy of all our devotion - even extravagant expressions of love, honor & praise. In our busy North American culture, where time is one of our most precious commodities - giving God our time may be one of the most "costly," precious acts of worship we can bring. Like the woman who broke the alabaster box of perfume worth a year's wages and poured it over Jesus' head, wiping His feet with her tears & her hair, until the fragrance filled the house (this story is recorded in all four gospels: Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, Luke 7:36-50, John 12:3-8) - Kristene Mueller-DiMarco's lyrics speak to me of "wasting ourselves" on Jesus in this way. And check out the links, blogs, CD's & Sean's book below - these guys do a great job of inspiring us to worship Him.

"All My Devotion"

Song by Kristene Mueller-DiMarco

Beautiful Man, Beautiful God

You're more than worth my time

You're more than worth these longings of my heart

left unfulfilled... for a time

And I know You don't come as easy as some

But I will watch & pray, I will watch & pray

Take it all, take it all

Just give me Jesus, just give me Jesus

Take it all, take it all

Just give me Jesus, just give me Jesus