All In

1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! 2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! 3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! 4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! 5 Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! Psalms 150:1-6 (NKJV)

If I could travel through time--you know, time machine and the like--I think that I would travel back to the time when Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem. Solomon had the Ark of the Covenant and all the holy vessels from the tabernacle brought to the Temple. The nation of Israel gathered outside the Temple to watch the procession. In that procession were the singers of Israel and 120 priests with trumpets. started with a short speech (short sermons, hurray!) and then it was time to worship. Let's pick the narrative in 2 Chron 5:13,14. When the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord,saying:"For He is good, For His mercy endures forever," that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

I've yet to be a service where we were over-taken by a visible cloud of God's glory...but, you have to admit, that would be really amazing, fantastic, overwhelming, and incredible. Recently, I was in a service where the congregation was singing the song, "Surrender." We came to the bridge which states in first person: "Like a rushing wind, Jesus breathe within, Lord have Your way, Lord have Your way in me. Like a mighty storm, stir within my soul, Lord have Your way, Lord have Your way in me!" Inside of me I felt a freedom to worship and a freedom from all the cares of the world, and I was overwhelmed by goodness and the power of God. I would suggest to you that what happened when Solomon dedicated the Temple and what happened when the Holy Spirit visited the Upper Room on Pentecost was happening inside of me.

I love the old Promise Keepers t-shirts that said, "Real Men Sing Real Loud!" That's me--when I sing, I'm all in. When I worship, I'm all in. When the band is cranking, I'm all in. I am a part of the joyful noise that touches the heart of the Father and I'm not waiting for the rocks to cry out...as long as I have breath I am going to Praise His Holy Name!

Prayer: "Dear Heavenly Father, I know that You desire a people who will worship You in spirit and in truth. It is my heartfelt desire to be in that number. I pray that I would worship you 24/7, and that my Sunday morning worship would be extended throughout the week in all of my activities. Do not let me lose my passion and may You always be my first love. Amen"