Celebration

Today's spiritual discipline was Celebration. The focus of the devotional was on the different ways that we could celebrate God as a form of worship. Most typically, people worship corporately with a tithe of their time and money and singing of praises to God. I find that although worship through song is enjoyable and very good, it seems to be used as a shallow substitute for worshiping God with our lives. Daily devotions are a form of celebratory worship. We meditate on God's word -- which shows its value in our lives -- and we praise God for who He is, which is evident throughout the scripture. We worship by allowing His Word to change our lives, to make us see things differently than the world and to make different choices and participate in different forms of entertainment than the world. If the celebration of who God is and what He has done in our lives does not prompt us to worship Him with every aspect of our lives, then we do not truly understand how completely awesome He is. As it says in James, he who looks intently into the word of God and does not do what it says is like a man who looks in the mirror, and going away completely forgets what he looks like. The celebration of who God is should also be a celebration of who we are in Him, because our lives should reflect God's character and His love.

Reflection Questions

Q: How is your celebration enhanced or curtailed by your ability to remember the past, live in the moment or anticipate the future?
A: My celebration is definitely enhanced by all three of those kinds of thoughts. Remembering the past proves to me that God is a loving God worthy of being praised and that he has a plan for my life. Living in the moment allows me to forget my past mistakes and my inability to control the future and focus on making the conscious decision to live in the center of God's will right now. Anticipating the future excites me because I know that God has a plan for my life and I can't even begin to imagine the amazing things that he wants to do through me as well as how much I will grow closer to Him.

Q: When you see others celebrating God in a way that is new or foreign to you, what goes on in your mind and heart?
A: I am revitalized. It is awesome when people celebrate in different ways because it shows that there is not just one way to worship. It delights me to know that there is no end to God's love, and neither should there be an end to the yearning to seek new ways to praise Him.