Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I met with the Master inside the warm farmhouse today and I when looked out to see what kind of morning He painted this morning, all of me Surrendered to all of Him and my Time with Him was all about Praise. I usually have many things to take before the Throne of my God, and I have lots of needs to pray for, but today, all my Heart could do was Praise Him for all that He is and all that He does for me. Eventually, I opened a hymnal and I sang a few old-time hymns to the Lord of my Life without making a sound. God doesn’t care whether I can carry a tune or not, but He does care about my Heart and He can see my Heart singing with Love for Him without me even making a sound. It makes my heart swell with love to hear a child singing a song just for me…why would it be any different for my Father? I think it must make God smile when we meet with Him with Praise in our Hearts without an agenda or a list of things we want from Him. Don’t you think about things like this too?

I understand the need for there to be order in the churches to some extent – especially with so many demanding it – but we put God in a box when we put order and schedules ahead of Him. It’s sad to know that if you dare to quit worrying about pleasing the people, the people quit coming. I wonder if people realize that when the focus shifts from pleasing God to pleasing the people, God might just quit coming too…and sometimes He does just that. Church is just part of the Sunday schedule for lots of people and they want to know they can plan on what time they’ll set free to go about their day. If the service takes a little longer than “usual”, the church staff will definitely hear about the delays on Monday morning. Everything is timed to perfection…time for 3 or 4 songs…time for a few announcements… time for an offering or communion… and finally, time for the Pastor to speak. If the Pastor is speaking for God, I wonder what it would look like if God spoke to the Pastor’s Heart for longer than his allotted time? What if the second or third service ran overtime because God had something special to Say to His People? As long as we keep God on OUR schedule we’ll never know the answer to that because today, pleasing the people is taking precedence over Pleasing the God of all Creation. Heartbreaking…

Yes, church services today are fine-tuned and well-oiled and most of them run like clockwork just like any other well-managed business. But I wonder what would happen in the orderly church if our disorderly God showed Himself there one Sunday? What would happen if the Holy Spirit decided to move in a Mighty Way and disrupted order in the process? Would He be told that He needs to be on the schedule if He wants to Speak just like everybody does? How many people would be tapping their feet or looking at their watches impatiently as the service went into overtime? How many people would complain as the Praise songs seemed to have no end? How many people would be more focused on the pot roast in the oven or the long lines at the buffet than the Blessing of some Extra time in the presence of the Living God? When God shows up schedules have no significance whatsoever, and when God shows up there is no longer “order.” How many people professing to be HIS people are a whole lot more concerned about “order” than they are about seeking His face? How many people actually long for Him to show up and Disrupt the order at all? My guess is that most people would prefer a scheduled visit to an impromptu Showing by the King. Sad but true.

I’ve seen what happens when we stop trying to please the people and focus on Pleasing God instead…HE SHOWS UP like never before! I’ve seen what happens when someone is so moved by the Spirit that they break out in song because they can no longer contain their Love and excitement. I’ve seen what happens when a Pastor preaches in the Spirit with no regard for the schedule because He’s too Lost in God instead. I’ve seen what happens when Truth is preached with more concern over feeding sheep than filling pews. I’ve seen what happens when the Pastor’s watch beeps to notify him that his time is up. I’ve seen “sermons” closed out unfinished in order to not upset the “flock.” I’ve seen churches split over the type of music – the quality of the musicians – or the length of time we sing to God. I’ve seen notes of correction handed to a Pastor at the end of a sermon more times than I can count. Sadly, these people will SAY they want to see revival but they need to be careful what they wish for! Revival is gloriously “disorderly” and schedules don’t come into play when people are “lost” in Jesus. But as long as we’re intent on people-pleasing to keep the pews and the bank accounts full…as long as we’re running church services like a well-managed corporate meeting…as long as we keep the God of all Creation in a box, we won’t grow – we won’t see people come to their Faith – we won’t hear a Testimony of the power of God – and we’ll rarely see a baptism – and we WON’T see Revival. Is law and order really worth that to you?

The “order” of my time with the Living God was altered this morning, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It didn’t matter what I “usually” do or how I “normally” spend my time with Him. What mattered the most was that I had a Heart full of love for my God this morning, and I wasn’t looking to Him to do anything for me. I Praised Him. I sang in my Heart to Him. I told Him how much I love Him. I gave Him thanks upon thanks for all that He is and for good He is to me….and He showed up this morning in a Mighty Way.

.

So, is God on your schedule, or are you on His?

“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me” – Psalm 13:5-6