Getting rid of spiritual clutter…and having authentic worship!

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I went on a retreat this past weekend with my dear sisters in Christ from my church.  What a weekend!  Besides the amazing fellowship and time away to refresh and renew, we had a great speaker for the weekend.  She was dynamic, inspiring, and full of challenging teaching.  So challenging though at some points, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor to grasp it all.  She spoke of so many scriptural truths, yet it was a clearly Calvinistic approach to scripture and theology; something I am not very schooled in.  I found myself thrilled to be challenged, yet also my head was spinning from so much information…and questioning so much theology.

There was also great time of fellowship with so many sisters in Christ…But there was also one  part of the weekend I will never forget.  It was the most amazing time of worship I have ever had in my life.  At the end of the weekend, the worship leader’s teenage son joined the stage.  In previous years he had performed with them, but this time he was unable to for the weekend because he had other commitments with a worship band.  So he got on the stage and explained where he had been and how he had a great opportunity to worship with a youth group the previous evening.  Then he played his guitar and began to sing.  This was the most pure, authentic moment of worship I have experienced.  He sang, and he worshipped.  He was so truly worshipping that at one point he had to stop, tears were streaming down his face, and he was beaming with smiles.  The women continued the words for him, and he just wept.  I was brought to tears and loved every second of that experience.  To truly feel the presence of God and the true worship of our Lord.

I left the retreat with so many thoughts spinning that today I went to see my pastor to discuss many of the things that were on my mind.  He put me at ease and helped me to realize that there are those certain points that matter.  That Christ died for our sins, and we are forgiven if we believe.  That these core truths are what matter and to get caught up in all the extras can be confusing.

I want simple truths.  I want simple, true, authentic worship.  I want to simply live for Him, and not  over-analyze.  We must be careful in the world we live in, to not get caught up in legalist thinking or doctrinal arguments.  We know the core truths and we must get rid of the clutter that can fill our minds and cloud our beliefs.  We must cling to Jesus, cling to  the truths of Scripture, and concentrate on our relationship with Him and answering the call that He has given us.

I am always in awe of how many books are out there to teach us how to “be Christians.”  Sure so many are valuable in many ways, but  we need none of it, if we have the TRUTH of the Bible.  Being in the Word everyday, and focusing on relationship with Jesus as well as prayer are the most important things.  We must be careful of the spiritual clutter that can make us feel like we need to act a certain way or follow certain rules.  We must practice a true authentic relationship with Christ.  We need to simplify our minds as well as our physical surroundings!

Like that moment of pure worship at the retreat…where no one is judging, and no one can ever take away that pure act of worship.  Where you can cry your eyes out in awe of the Lord, and be surrounded by a fellowship of believers, lifting up the words for you when you can’t…THAT was like a glimpse of heaven….And inspires me to further, simply live for HIM!