Yesterday we defined worship as giving worth to God, or in other words, acknowledging he is at the center of our lives, or we want him there if he isn’t.

Worship is about practicing God’s Presence.  We can forget God is there in our busy lives, and something tangible can help.  A friend of mine mentioned Elf on the Shelf on Facebook.  Elf on the Shelf is a small elf doll that parents are supposed to hide somewhere in the house every night, claiming he is a “scout elf” who reports back to Santa.  The elf becomes a visible symbol for small children who might forget that Santa is watching.

Worship is meant to be a visible symbol for those of us who might forget God is watching.

In the busyness of our everyday lives, we cannot always remember that God is with us.  In spite of our best intentions we may find ourselves living and acting without regard to the fact that God is present in every aspect of our lives.

Sometimes we think something in our lives is coincidence, but God is actually doing something incredible.  Sometimes we will find resources are suddenly supplied that we needed, and will think it was luck or our skills, when it was in fact God’s provision.

We want to develop an increasing sensitivity to God’s presence with us. We know that we develop skills and get better at things by practicing: an old saying reminds us practice makes perfect.  It would be more truthful to say that practice reinforces, but in this case reinforcement is good enough. We need a way to reinforce our awareness of God’s presence in our lives.

Question: When have you seen God working in the last week?  What seeming coincidences were there?

Reminder: Earlier in this series, we saw the importance of reading the Bible together in sync, so our new daily bible readings start today in our mobile app and web site.

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - October 16, 2013

Wednesday - Change It - Friends To Family

This week we’re exploring this idea of “people of peace”. Jesus sent his followers to various towns, and asked them find people of peace and go deeply in relationship with them, and not to go from house to house. This was selective by design, and Jesus is okay with that. Jesus focused on his 12 disciples, and sometimes even smaller groups, through much of his ministry. Here he sends 72, not 72000. Jesus sends them to focus on one family in each town. Go deep into relationship with them. He even says, if things don’t work out, move on. But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. (Luke 10:10-12) There can be all sorts of reasons why someone doesn’t want a close relationship with a follower of Jesus. The authors of “The Art of Neighbouring” suggest they may be: Too busy Wary of certain people Already relationally full At a different stage of life Afraid of exposure They may not be your person of peace. Not now, or ever. They may be someone else’s person of peace! But if they welcome you, are hospitable and friendly, invest in them, and they will invest in you. Sometimes it’s obvious, but if it is not obvious, pray, and just dive in, meet people, see who pops up as generous, caring, patient, and hospitable. Question: Who do you think might be a person of peace in your neighbourhood?

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