I love what the Message says in John 1:23…in more conservative versions you hear John the Baptist say “I am the voice of one calling in the desert…make straight the way of the Lord.” Then you have the glorious Message version: “I’m thunder in the desert: ‘Make the road straight for God!’" I love that…THUNDER. Clear. Concise. No ambiguity.
It makes me think of our roles as worship leaders in the church…are we thunder in the desert? Or are we merely a voice, drowned out by all the other voices of our culture? Our people walk in each week and a battle is raging for their worship. A thunderous approach may be the very avenue needed to break open the haze of mediocre worship that their lives are prone to be characterized by. You can’t mistake thunder…especially a loud clap of thunder. There are times when thunder hits that it actually shakes my entire house, causes my dog to bark, and moves my kids to tears.
As worship leaders, do we come each Sunday wanting to thunder about the greatness of King Jesus or are we more concerned about “being heard?” There’s a difference. Our lives should thunder about the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That’s what we shout about…that’s what we sing about…When we stand on Sundays to lead people, it will be clear who we serve, and our proclamation can be a voice or a thunder. I want to live a life that thunders about the one whose sandals I’m not worthy to untie.
Great thoughts from Diane here...
ReplyDelete"I think blogging is great because people can collect their thoughts and write with good quality because it’s well thought out and edited. I can definitely write better than I can verbally communicate. But I think our well-thought out thoughts need to be better reflected in our daily walks. A lack of authenticity still abounds. I look forward to seeing people falling on their faces sobbing one day…when the “sterile environment” no longer exists or whatever the reason is. Life is hard. It is so wonderful to see someone broken and then healed. It’s so vulnerable and raw. I love that"
Wow! Thanks for the reminder babe. The moments I find when I am truly consumed by the awesomeness of the “thunder is when I have lost myself in reckless abandonment to him. Everything else fades away. This is my prayer and something that I long to experience more and more of in my worship!
ReplyDelete