My Master

The Lord has really been speaking gently to me about Him being my Master. It is such a rare word in our vocabulary these days. But it's been such a beautiful thing that the Lord's been taking me through; being able to call Him my Master.

He's reminded me of Mary, the mother of Jesus, saying yes to the Lord to carry and birth the Son of God. She said to the angel, "I am a hand-maiden (bond-slave) of the Lord, may it be to me according to Your word." She trusted her whole life and future into the hands of the Lord so willingly and so wholly! This is my statement to the Lord lately. That I would hear His instructions and that I would say without any hinderance, "yes!"

Christy Nockels wrote a song a few years back entitled, "My Master." I just now stumbled upon what she wrote about the significance of that to her. I could not have said this better, so here are her words:

My dad has been a pastor for as long as I can remember. One of my favorite messages that he used to share was from Exodus 21: 1-6. It's about Hebrew slaves and the process they would go through with their masters after they had served their time. Basically, upon the 7th year, they could go free, or choose to stay. He would tell about the process of the Hebrew slave choosing to stay with their master, even after they were free to go. The slave would publicly go before the community and declare, "I love my master, I will not go free". Then, their ear would be pierced, and the blood would signify a lasting covenant with their master...one made by choice and for all to hear.

He beautifully tied this to our relationship with Jesus, our Master, and reminded us that the disciples often would call themselves "bond slaves" of Christ. We have a will, but when we choose to align ours with His, this brings true freedom and love like we've never known. After he shared this message one night, he felt led to have our church respond in a very unique way... That night many of us lined the aisles of that old church and took the hand of one of the leaders and publicly confessed, "I love my Master, I will not go free". As a teen, that had a great impact on me as those words came from my heart and my mouth, and it still does to this day... Serving and calling Jesus "Master" doesn't' seem to be a real popular thing in this world to have rolling around in your vocabulary and in your everyday life. However, I am compelled to tell of the joy and freedom I have experienced in serving my Master. I will tell of His mighty ways, drawing near to Him and remembering what He has saved me from! Of this, I will forever sing!

Sometimes you need a push!

"Mommy, can you push me?
MOMMY, can you PUSH MEEEEE?"

I hear this question so frequently it's really ridiculous. I want to ask him, "Levi, can't you just pump your legs already?" But I know that at 3 1/2 he is not yet capable of swinging by himself, and he does need me to stand there and push him for about half an hour! But I do have the hope that someday, he'll be able to do it on his own.

I've been thinking about purpose and passion lately. It's been the theme of our church for a few weeks now. My pastor came up to me this Sunday before I stepped up to lead worship, and he said to me, "You are an original! Are you happy to be an original?" And he had me repeat after him that I am an ORIGINAL!

I can get trapped in the thinking so often that I'm not like this person, or this person...so where do I fit in? How can I camouflage myself, is the question I'm really asking!

I remember when I was in the worship band playing the keyboard and singing back-up vocals for years! Occasionally the Lord would whisper in my heart, "You are a worship leader, Anne." It was so quiet, and yet He kept reminding me of His dream for me. And my pastor would come ask me from time to time, "so when are you going to come out from behind the keys, and LEAD?"

It was a push.

I had no way of knowing how deep of a calling it was on my life until I finally lead a song one Sunday! And I loved it. But it was a slow process of uncovering my confidence, my talent, and my passion to be a lead worshipper. And it still is a temptation I fall into too frequently, to compare myself to the other worship leaders, the other leaders in the church, especially when I've just stepped out in confidence to lead the church.

But the Lord doesn't want me to be camouflaged in the church. His heart is for me to step up and fill the space that only I can fill in the church, in life, in my home, in my family. And I have recognized that since I've needed that push from the Lord and from my pastors and family, others around me need one too.

Who doesn't want to be believed in? Anyone? EVERYONE needs a push into their calling and their destiny until they can stand on their own with confidence! The church needs ORIGINALS, the church needs to be called into their giftings. Don't hold back your affirmation from those who are just trying something out, seeing how it fits on them. Give them a push that is backed by the Father.

Cease your striving, and know that He is God!

Right now in the world, "chaos" seems to be the best word to describe the current events unfolding before our eyes and ears. Earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, are the big obvious tremblings on the earth. But there are also social and political wars attempting to trample out the very belief in us that our Creator God is alive and good and that our Savior Jesus Christ is coming again. As a mother, I look at what's happening and can easily give in to anxiety and fear of what's to come upon us. And with the prophesies found in the book of Revelation, I know the church as a whole, across the whole world, will experience persecution like we've never known...while we hold unswervingly to the great Hope that our God wins the war.

Our God wins! Our God is greater than the enemy who stands to oppose Him and oppose us who believe in Him. I get so excited to really enter into the praise and lifting up of our God! I love declaring the greatness of Him in my home and with the larger church. It catapults me into real faith, not something conjured up by emotions, but something powerful and effective. Sometimes it's proclaiming faith in the Lord by speaking, but mostly the church is at its strongest when we are declaring his praises in song together. I know God has created us this way.

I've always had in my mind as I lead worship, that in the Old Testament, singers often went first before a battle. The singers went first! What a crazy idea. With this fact comes several questions. Did they wear armor? Were they just out on the front lines, vulnerable to the oncoming attacks from the enemy? Were they seen as part of the army? And what did they sing? This last question, can be easily answered in scripture.

In 2 Chronicles chapter 20, King Jehoshaphat was coming against a large enemy army. He had the whole nation of Judah come together in worship and praise of God before they marched out. And then before the battle, he "appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying, 'Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.'" And the Lord won the battle, by turning the enemy into confusion they killed themselves instead of fighting Judah! 

Darlene Zschech, a well-known worship leader and pastor in Australia wrote a book, Extravagant Worship. She has become one of the people I look up to the most, and fully respect. She writes in the second chapter,

When we, God's people, come into His presence with thanksgiving and praise, warfare is waged against our enemies, and our battles are won by the supernatural power of God. In the face of challenge and persecution, God's people are to unite and praise Him. The Enemy has no chance of winning against people who are consumed with praising God. There is no victory against those who rejoice in God's great glory. 

Later she defines praise, and distinguishes it from other types of worship.

Praise is not a "happy-clappy" song. Priase is not the fast songs before the nice, slow worship songs. Praise is a declaration, a victory cry, proclaiming faith to stand firm in the place God has given you. Praise is a proclamation that the Enemy's intent to plunder you will not rock you. Praise declares that you will not be moved by the Enemy's attempt to snatch you away.

In this time of constant battles, we as God's people cannot afford to keep from singing God's praise. It must become a continuous occurrance; within our personal battles, singing loudly with our children, and singing together as the Church...declaring the victory of our great God in the midst of an intimidating Enemy. We have so many unknowns before us and these unknowns can back us into the corner of doubt and fear. This is the time to live in the wonder of our God, who can handle every impossibility in our sight, and can make a way through the chaos to bring peace to His people.