Is it possible to feel God?Written by Terry Dashner
F F C…PO Box 1586…Broken Arrow, OK 74013…Pastor Terry Dashner“Feeling God” “…true religion, in great part, consists in affections.” Jonathan Edwards Here’s a controversial statement made by pastor and author John Piper: “Throughout Scripture we are commanded to feel, not just to think or decide. We are commanded to experience dozens of emotions, not just to perform acts of willpower.” Piper goes on to say, “God commands us to bear no grudge (Leviticus 19:18). The positive side of not bearing a grudge is forgiving ‘from heart.’ This is what Jesus commands us to do in Matthew 18:35: ‘Forgive [your] brother from your heart.’ The Bible does not say, make a mere decision to drop grievance. It says, Experience a change in heart. The Bible goes even further and commands certain intensity. For example, I Peter 1:22 commands ‘Love one another earnestly from heart’ (RSV). And Romans 12:10 commands ‘Love one another with brotherly affection’ (RSV).” At Faith Fellowship Church we strive to worship Lord with all our might. What that means is this: We not only worship God with all of our mind, but with all our heart and soul as well. To worship God with “heart and soul” elicits an emotional response. The Bible says that we are to “shout unto Lord with voice of triumph.” At FFC we are so grateful to God for victory He has won for us that sometimes, during songs of praise, we stop and began to shout! Yes, it can be disconcerting to some, but very pleasing to God. That’s all that matters. The Bible also says that we are to “clap your hands all ye people.” This act, of course, is done as “unto Lord.” When an entire congregation claps their hands, to me it sounds like roar of ocean. I believe that clapping hands by many becomes sound of one voice of praise to God. And, I believe it is a “joyful noise” unto God. The Bible says to “let everything that hath breath, praise Lord.” I breathe God’s air, and I also praise Him with my “whole heart.” The musical instruments in our church produce sounds by vibrations which are carried across room by air. When vibrating sounds strike my ear drums, they start vibrating also to give meaning to sounds. I not only hear sounds, but I can feel sounds throughout my body. I share this by way of example, not because you need a scientific explanation of sound, but because you may want to know how it is possible for everything that draws air to praise God.
| | What an Awesome GodWritten by Terry Dashner
Faith Fellowship Church…PO Box 1586…Broken Arrow, OK 74013…Pastor Terry Dashner“Awesome God” “The heavens are telling of glory of God; and their expanse is declaring work of His hands” (Psalms 19:1) (NAS). I read John Piper’s book, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, (Crossway Books, revised 2004) and I think I shall never be same. Allow me to share some of his comments regarding glory of God. Enjoy. The heavens declare God’s glory. It’s all about glory. The Hubble Space Telescope sends back infrared images of faint galaxies perhaps twelve billion light-years away (twelve billion times six trillion miles). Even within our Milky Way there are stars so great as to defy description, like Eta Carinae, which is five million times brighter than our sun. Sometimes people stumble over this vastness in relation to apparent insignificance of man. And it does seem to make us infinitesimally small. But meaning of this magnitude is not mainly about us. It’s about God. Think about this. The reason for “wasting” so much space on a universe to house a speck of humanity is to make a point about our Maker, not us. “Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these [stars]? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing” (Isaiah 40: 26). We are all starved for glory of God, not self. No one goes to Grand Canyon to increase self-esteem. Why do we go? Because there is greater healing for soul in beholding splendor than there is in beholding self. Indeed, what could be more ludicrous in a vast and glorious universe like this than a human being, on speck called earth, standing in front of a mirror trying to find significance in his own self-image? It is a great sadness that this is gospel of modern world.
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