He knows your face.

I spent some more time on my daughter, Annie's, portrait after my Perspectives class tonight. I miss seeing Annie since she lives in Richmond, Virginia. She is a very kind, sensitive young lady who is known and loved by me and even more by her creator God. He made her on purpose, and she is His artwork. He really knows her face!

I have a friend named Jan who was kind to me today. She said she was blessed by this blog. That just really encouraged me, and I thought in my heart how much glory God gets in any goodness in my life. Thank you, Jan and God.

Tonight, I cried on the way home from the Perspectives class. The speaker had so powerfully shared a different perspective on missions. I've made God into something less than who He really is. Yes, He has sent a savior, Jesus, to redeem us. But that one big fact is not the whole story. His story is huge. He is so much more than that part of the story. He wants our worship, and He wants worship from all the nations, all the people he has created.

What stood out for me tonight was - even when there was worship at the Temple in Israel, the worship was perfunctory. (As it can be with us.) The prophet Micah really spoke to this. God doesn't need a zillion sacrifices, fatted calves, our knowing a zillion Bible verses and proud of it, our pompous self-righteousness because we think we've followed the letter of the law and been a good little American Christian.

Then there is our "perfect" judgement of others who aren't in our group or church. God was upset back in Temple days about all this because, as Micah says, there was no personal kindness, justice or humility among the sacrificers. Hmmm. Ultimately, they were worshipping themselves or the rituals or their interpretation of the law and not giving true worship from their hearts to God. Was it just a job for them to worship? Hardly worship.

The speaker tonight ended with a John Piper quote, "Missions exist because global worship doesn't."
We have a famous, glorious creator God. He really knows and loves your face and my face just as much as my sweet Annie's face. I pray to be an instrument of His love, kindness, justice, mercy, wisdom and worship as a part of global worship for Him. He is just a flat out amazing God.