Over the past few weeks I have been thinking about what to
write when it came time to be the “blog writer.” After much prayer and personal reflection it
became clear that I should share some examples of true worship that have
inspired me.
In our Sunday school class we have been reading and studying
the book “Unfinished” by Richard Stearns.
This book has been great and has driven home the fact that God is not
finished with us, and that we are all created for a special purpose in God’s
plan. In chapter four, Richard tells a
story of being part of a special worship service in 2010 while he was in Haiti. On the front bench were six amputees…men,
women, even a little six year old girl.
All of these people had lost a limb eleven months earlier in the
devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake.
One of these women was named Demosi.
Demosi led the choir and praised the Lord even though she had lost one
arm and one leg. Demosi led the choir
with energy and clapped her one had to her shoulder to praise the Lord. What an inspiration. Demosi praised the Lord with all she had,
what’s your excuse for not worshiping the one who gives you life?
About seven weeks ago I had one of those freak
accidents. I was working at my in-laws
and needed to get in the downstairs garage but the door stuck. In an effort to open the door my hand slipped
and I stuck my arm through a thick glass window. When I pulled my arm back out of the glass I
said, “this ain’t good!” As I looked down to see what the damage was, I
realized I could see the tendons in my left wrist and I knew it was
serious. I ultimately had cut three
tendons in my left wrist and had to have surgery to repair the damage. But God is good! I have not been able to use my left hand for
the past several weeks but last Wednesday I finally got to remove the brace and
begin to use my hand for “light” duty.
During this ordeal I kept being reminded of Demosi and her story assured
me that I still had a reason to praise and worship God. You see I’m convinced that God spared my
life, the surgeons said that I missed the main artery in my wrist by 1mm,
that’s mighty close. Now every time I’m on stage, I have to ask myself the same
question, “what’s your excuse” for not worshiping, I have no excuse and in fact
I have a stronger reason to worship because God has chosen to leave me here for
a reason.
There is a young 19 year old boy who lives in Virginia. His name is George Dennehy and he was born in
Romania with no arms. George was adopted
by a family in Virginia who has adopted a total of 9 children with serious
birth defects. Throughout George’s life,
and the life of his adopted siblings, his parents have told him that “God made
you this way and you have a purpose”.
George started playing the cello and he also plays the piano and guitar
and he said that he realizes and knows that everything has a purpose and he now
wants to be a worship leader at a church.
George’s talent is amazing, and truly God given. To see him playing the guitar with his feet and singing Hallelujah, brings tears to my
eyes. Of all the people in the world who
could be “justified” for having an excuse not to worship, George would be close
to the top of the list, be he realizes that he doesn’t have an excuse. You see there is no excuse that will hold up
on judgment day for not worshiping our Savior Jesus Christ.
Here is a link to a video clip of George playing and singing
Hallelujah.
Here is a link to George’s story.
In Luke 19:37-40 the Bible says, “When he came near the
place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of
disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all of the miracles
they had seen. Blessed is the king who
comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to
Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet,
the stones will cry out”. (NIV)
I believe Jesus is saying in these verses that because He is
who they say He is, He is worthy of their praise. You see, Jesus is God and He is worthy of all
praise. If we do not praise God then His
very creation will praise Him. You were
created for a purpose and Jesus is worthy of our praise. The next time that you are in a worship
service and the Holy Spirit moves you to raise your hand, or shed a tear, or
shout to the Lord, let it go, truly let go and give God the glory that he
deserves!
What’s your excuse for not praising the Lord? You really don’t have one!
In Christ,
Geoff
Singer/ Bass player when I have a good hand
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