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Did you ever seed or pit fruit fresh from a tree?  I’ve had more than my share of experience in that regard.  We had sour cherry trees in our backyard as a kid, and it was always my job to take a pie plate full of those nasty cherries (I still can’t eat anything but sweet Bing cherries), and a big hairpin, and dig through, taking out all of the seeds.  More than once or twice, I found a bonus…a worm.  Yuck, right?  And it was amazing how the cherry looked normal on the outside, but the inside was completely hollow, wasted, destroyed.

Well, this past week, my laptop (the computer I keep all of my work, research, blogging, and more on) received its own special little guest…after thinking about it, it wasn’t such a LITTLE guest.  It somehow got a worm virus, and slowly but surely, without my knowing it at first, all of my work of well over a year was eaten away.  Gone.  Sucked down the gullet af this nasty worm.  And replacing everything, plus cleaning out all of the worm was like a work of totally new creation.  What work and what a mess getting through it all!

It reminded me of verses in Luke 12 (I believe somewhere around the 33rd verse).  Now it talks of a moth here, but a worm can be just as destructive, or sometimes more, can’t it?  Where are our treasures stored away?  Store all of our true treasures, those things that are eternal, with the Lord.  Had I backed up everything on my laptop on a flashdrive, or a “super drive”, there would have been so much less of a problem.  But I stored all of my thoughts, my novels, my research, my blog “pre-work”, etc. on a little laptop alone, and the worm stole its way into the drive and stole everything it could.

Where are our treasures stored?

More tomorrow…

We haven’t had a devotional for a while on here, and I found one written by a pastor (worship pastor) friend of mine some time back…

Philippians 3:7-8 ESV

Athletes have a phrase they often use to describe their intensity of play. It is “Leave it all on the

field.” The idea is to give it all you’ve got. All the conditioning, weight lifting and studying the play book

have brought you to game time. Preparation is over; it’s time to give 100% on every play the entire game.

There is no holding back or saving it for later.

Most of us would not recognize the Apostle Paul as an athlete, but in the game of life he was one on

those who left it all on the field. He chose to abandon popularity, position and power to gain an eternal

prize.

The American Heritage Dictionary renders this meaning for the word abandon: 1.To forsake; desert.

2. To surrender one’s claim or right to; to give up. 3. To desist from. 4. To yield (oneself) completely, as

to emotion.

What better word could describe the life the Paul? What better word could describe a person whose

one desire is to live a life of worship? Paul went on to say in Philippians 3 that he counted all his gain as

rubbish that he might know Christ. His one desire was to have intimate fellowship with Christ.

A life of worship has deserted all other ways of living to have an intimate relationship with Jesus. It

has forsaken all that is familiar to walk by faith. It has surrendered all rights to have its own way and has

yielded control to the one who formed it.

Once we have abandoned (past tense verb) our old way of life we are called to abandoned (adjective)

worship. What is abandoned worship? When abandoned is used as an adjective it means shameless; thus

we have shameless worship.

God is calling us, his bride, to a life of abandonment; to set aside all inhibitions we have about the

way we live and respond to his love. God is calling for abandonment when we get up every morning and

go about our daily lives. He is calling for abandonment every time we gather with believers to worship

him. No more “playing it safe.” It’s time to be reckless with our lives and with our worship. It’s time for

the bride of Christ to leave it all on the field.

Have you made a commitment to live a life of abandoned worship? Have you “left it all out on the

field?” Ask the Father to show you what you need to abandon to live a life of abandoned worship.

 

Shari again…The old song used to say “Leave it there, leave it there, take your burdens to the Lord, and leave them there…How hard is that for all of us to leave the troubles and sins at the altar and truthfully and completely worship the Lord.  I know lately it has been difficult for me, considering some seriously devastating trouble our church has been going through.  But “leaving” is the answer.  Jesus takes those worries and problems and difficulties and sins and throws them into the sea of forgetfulness….he places them as far away from each other as the east is from the west, and HE remembers them no more.  We have to teach our minds, through His strength, to do the same.

Some connected Scriptures to use as you study this are:  I Corinthians 9:25-27; Hebrews 11:35-38; 2 Samuel 6:14-16; and Luke 7:37-38.

 

Blessings…..more later…..

Shari

I have some updates from all over the realm of gospel music today.  Some are from a great webpage called Gospel Pundit that sends me daily updates on black gospel music.  There are fantastic articles there, along with some videos that rock the house!

Gospel Pundit has let me know that Karen Clark-Sheard (one of my personal favorites…I sing a lot of her stuff in church) is putting out a new solo CD, and should be out by January 2010.  It will be on her new KAREW recording label.  The first recording out for that brand-spanking new  label will be a Christmas album by the Clark Family.

Here’s a video with some awesome worship for you:  try catching Youthful Praise, led by David McClure, with their latest worship song, “Incredible God, Incredible Praise”.  Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv7a9DhW2gs.

One of my other favorite sources for updates is television’s Gospel Music Channel.  Now that I have only cable (Hear this, Time Warner!!!!!), I’ve lost my ability to watch, but I get daily e-mail updates from them.  Come on, cable companies…..let’s add this channel to the basic set-up.  It is too good to skip!!

Gospel’s version of American Idol is over, and the 2009 winner is 33-year-old Virgin Islands-born Tony LeBron.  Check out GMC’s website and youtube for clips of the finale.

GMC have been searching for former Christian artists…kind of a “What are they doing now?”  I had to mention their first one featured, because I have a personal connection to this group:  4Him.  Marty McGehee was one of my buddy’s in college, and we have kept in touch over the many years.  He put out a solo CD on his own late last year, which is awesome, and he and wife Cheri had a brand new baby this spring, a little boy.  Kirk Sullivan and Andy Chrisman are both church worship leaders/music pastors, but Kirk is working on a possible solo CD.  Finally, Mark Harris is running busy with his “Elevate Worship” Clinics.  You can get updates from the guys at andychrisman.net, martymcgehee.com (and tell him Shari Ewing sent you!), and, of course, 4Him.net.  Kirk and Marty are also on facebook.  By the way, the guys did do a brief reunion this past spring as part of K-Love’s cruise.  Their performance, as I heard it, was outstanding and drenched with God’s Spirit!

Couple of quick notes that I get from friends:  https://shop.kutless.com/ is clearing out their warehouse at a 65% savings.  Plus, the new and phenomenal Gaither Vocal Band is finishing the editing on their first live video as a new “Reunion” group.  It was recorded in San Antonio, and I’ve heard that everyone needs to keep their eyes open for its release!

Some words:  my husband and I just officially became pastors of a very small church, where God is getting ready to do something.  One thing that we’ve known before, but that we have been reminded of in the past few days:  when you are in God’s Will and His way, the devil starts doing push-ups and working overtime.  Our services were blessed by a precious presence of God yesterday, but some things happened during the service and followed were only from the heart of satan.  They were hurtful, and they kept me up most of the night.  But God is reminding me that satan knows where God is working, and he knows that time is getting so short.  God has been literally telling me, “I’m up to something!”  And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that satan doesn’t want God’s plans in our church to go through!  Pray for us and for our spiritual battle, will you?

Som great lyrics from five years back.  MercyMe (2004) from “Bless Me Indeed”:

“Lord, I cling to Your heart.  Your love is what I need.  All great things come from You.  May Your greatness fall on me.  Open wide my horizons to share Your name!”

Blessings….more later…..

 

Shari