Rest in Messiah

Today I had the honor of being involved in something great: a Jew and an Arab, worshipping Christ together.


It doesn't get much better than that!!

I am a Jewish believer in Jesus. I've been to Israel, and I can tell you that the tension in the air there is palpable -- all the time. Jews, Arabs, Christians, Jewish Christians... They've all got their issues with one another and they are all in "survival mode" at any given time. Fear and hatred can permeate life over there -- as evidenced by the extensive security checks at every public place, the racist bumper stickers, and the hushed but serious warnings against going into certain areas.


Don't get me wrong, Israel is a beautiful place! I love it, and I frankly get "homesick" for it on a regular basis! But the remnants and reminders of war are everywhere. The threat of war is everywhere. And the strife -- well, it's everywhere.


I would be lying if I said it didn't affect me, when I was there. I couldn't help but feel a sense of solidarity with my Jewish people, and a loyalty to the nation of Israel. I would be lying if I said I didn't absorb some of the anger and hatred that was in the air. I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel uncomfortable at all going to a Middle Eastern restaurant back here in America, which was owned and operated by Muslims.

But what I realized, shortly after coming back from Israel, is that while my sense of allegiance to my people was not a bad thing in and of itself, my loyalty was FIRST to Christ. I may physically have a Jewish lineage, but my spiritual lineage is Divine. I have been born again, and that not of man, but of God!


It is true that God chose to reveal Himself through the Jewish people, and it is true that our Messiah is Jewish! But ultimately, His purpose is to draw ALL people to Himself, making Jew and Gentile one. The message of God's redemptive plan through Y'shua (Jesus) transcends all people, all cultures, all languages, and all races. The solidarity I feel with my Jewish people may be a normal human response to racial persecution -- but it is, in fact, human. It is carnal. It is not of the Heavenly Kingdom, of which I am a princess (since it belongs to my Heavenly Father!).


Many Jewish people who don't accept Jesus as Messiah argue, "The Messiah was supposed to bring peace. Where is the peace?" Once on an interview on national television, the Executive Director of an organization that brings the Gospel to Jewish people responded, "Peace begins in our hearts. It begins with our relationship to God. If we have peace with God, then we can have peace with each other."


As a Jewish person, it would be very easy for me to buy into the devil's lies about Arabs -- or about any other race of people, really. It would be easy to subscribe to the messages of hatred and resentment that try to permeate my thoughts, at times. And I am sure that my Arab friend, who sang with me in Arabic today in Chapel as I sang in Hebrew, can identify. But I am thankful that he and I have peace with God and each other through Jesus -- and because of that, God Himself enables us to reject the racism that has been a part of our cultures for generations!

In a time of such tension and unrest in the Middle East, what a beautiful picture of peace and rest in Messiah: a Jew and an Arab, worshipping Christ together.

AMEN!

God bless you,
SWCgirl

Excellence

On the 22nd of February I went to a Praise & Worship Workshop given by our Praise Band Director, Tracy Williams. Tracy is an accomplished guitarist, having played with and toured with many well-known artists like Gladys Knight & The Pipps and Bernadette Peters. His passion now is to see genuine musicianship merged with genuine worship in the Church, and through a series of circumstances (the type of which you look back on and say, "That was totally God!!"), he is now an adjunct faculty member of our Music Department.

Tracy has a new vision for church worship. Well, actually, it's a new vision to revive an old vision! He explained that, years ago, The Church used to be the place where creativity and "high art" were made. Over time, we've "lowered the bar," as he put it, so much that now most of what is played in modern churches lacks true musicianship, creativity, and inspiration.

I'm sure there are some who would argue otherwise. But whether you (or I) agree with him is not the issue. The issue is, as Tracy said, "It's okay to be excellent."


Excellence, when pursued with a humble heart, can be a form of worship unto God. How many parents want their children to live up to their full potential? I would have to say, if they're good parents, ALL of them! Why should our Heavenly Father feel any differently about us? If you parents paid for your college education, wouldn't you want to thank them by working hard at it? Wouldn't you want to make them proud by doing the best that you could?

So, excellent musicianship in the Church is not a sin -- unless, of course, it becomes an idol or a source of that ugly thing we call pride. But Tracy's workshop reinvigorated my desire to reach the full potential that God has placed in me. One way I am pursuing that is by going to college. I am not just working to get a piece of paper that will potentially make me more money; I am pursuing an education in the things that God has called me to do. I am going to Southwestern, specifically, because I want to see (through my teachers and fellow students) what it looks like to be an excellent musician/scholar/teacher/(fill in the blank) within the context of an "intentionally Christian" life!


We all know that the Kingdom of God is a upside-down Kingdom; or rather, the kingdom of this world is backwards from what God intended! For example: I used to think that an excellent performance trumped an excellent character! This is typically what we see in the world. But, since coming into a real relationship with the Living God through Christ, I have begun to understand that God is primarily interested in my character! My character is developed through an intimate relationship with Him. Ultimately, excellence in other areas is actually a by-product of that character; it is a response to God's great love and grace toward me.

What about you? Are you working to reach your full potential, for the glory of God? What things in your life are helping you reach that potential? What things are hindering you? Are you caught up with "performance" (music, grades, sports, being a "good Christian")? Or are you caught up in your wonderful, exciting, dynamic, and mysterious relationship with God?

I'd love to hear your feedback!

God bless you,

SWCgirl