Good morning cyber-friends!

I heard this cool quote on the way to work today: "Worship isn't about whether you liked it or didn't like it, but it IS about what God thought..." or something to that degree.

When I read the book, When People are Big and God is Small, I was at Winter Camp (2002 - remember "Sisters of the Stump"?). What hit me when I was reading that book was who is my focus when I worship. In this instance, we are talking about praise & worship time (singing). At camp, during worship, folks would be dancing around in their places, raising their hands in worship of God, etc. I never grew up in a congregation where hand-raising during worship was practiced. Actually, it was kinda frowned upon. Hand raisers were (imagine a low whisper here...) "them thar charismatic", "holy rollers", hippie Christians. Can you believe that?

You know, we sing songs to the Lord about "bowing my knee", "lifting my hands", and mumble through the songs without any body movement response at all. Why is that? If we love God, if we have the joy of the Lord, if we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us - why is our worship so mournful?

The Reformation brought about a new way of singing and worship. For centuries before the Great Reformation, the church used to have choirs who sung to the congregation, while the congragation looked on and listened. The Reformation turned that around. The congregation was told, now you are the choir and God is the audience.

We are told to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. We need to care more about God hearing us than the person next to us! We need to sing from a heart full of praise and adoration of the Lord God...the very Creator of us...the Lamb of God...the One who made it possible for us to be a new creation.

We sing and praise an audience of One. Who is your focus when you sing? Are you singing unto the Lord or to hear your own voice? I have to apologize now if I belt out a praise song and I'm off key or a touch too flat...but I love God. He is my focus when I'm singing. Maybe, if you sing better than me...my lack of talent will encourage you to sing a bit louder. But, neverless my noise will be joyful.