Leaving your glory

So I really really like the church I've been going to up here...remember how I said that I would find a best church ever for me right now in the moment? Well, I think I've found it. It is a cross between my best church ever St. Andrews and my best church ever FBC Salisbury. It is a community church, which is an interdenominational church, that is a little unconventional in the way they do things (in my opinion) but it, I can tell, is grounded in the scripture and God is definitely there. The church itself is an hour and a half long but really doesn't feel that long at all. There is music first and most of the music there is like rock band style with electric guitars, drums, keyboard, etc not a choir...although this week they did some traditional hymns with a rocked out style and it was cool. Then there is offering/prayer/announcement time. Then the sermon. Then there is more music time where you can either pray, dance, sing, sit, give more money, etc. The one major thing I don't agree with in this church and still want to get more information about how they think it is Biblically grounded is how they do their communion. They just have tables set up and you go and pick it up yourself and take it. There is no blessing or preacher or anything, if you want it you just take it. I'm not sure about that. But I will find out more about it and let you know. Unfortunately the new members orientation thing is December 4th which is when I will be in Salisbury....so I probably won't find out then...haha.

Anyways. I haven't done much since I last blogged. I've been struggling with pain and fatigue pretty severely, but last week was huge for me, I did a ton of stuff. Plus, I need to rest up for all the driving to Salisbury I will be doing next week!!! Wow, can't believe it will be next Tuesday that I head out to Salisbury, seems so close! Yay! Saturday, I really don't remember what we did at all...which makes me think it was nothing. Sunday was busy. I went to church, then after church they had a luncheon for prospective members and visitors that I went to (they had a baked potato bar...I could eat it...bonus points), and then I went to my mom's church to eat lunch there for their homecoming that they were having that weekeend. That was a potluck and I could eat parts of it...score for 2 church meals in one day! Anyways...after that I was completely exhausted and we ate leftovers. I have been doing bad on the cooking, I didn't cook tonight either we ate blt's and cottage cheese...yum. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some strength gained back and I can cook something. Then of course thanksgiving is coming up and that will be awesome. I haven't gotten to be with my blood family for like a long time on thanksgiving and haven't got to be with my extended blood family in probably over 10 years for thanksgiving. I can't wait to be with everyone on the holiday!

So, as I was saying earlier, the church I have been going to is pretty awesome and is a cross between the 2 churches I used to go to. The music and small group set up is like St. Andrew's and the deep preaching is like FBC Salisbury. Well the guy that has been preaching has been doing a sermon series on All For Glory. This week it was called All For Glory: Attitude. It talked about how one of the main reasons that people don't go to church because of the attitudes of Christians and how they have some of the worst attitudes out there and are so down and pessimistic and judgmental all the time. I know this is me sometimes...but I hope it is not me all the time. But Scot, the preacher, talked about how we have to solve this by leaving our glory. The ways that we do this are to be like minded--which does not mean that we have to agree with each other all the time, it just means that we have to share the same love. As long as we love Christ, we can be like minded. See Phillipians 2:2 "...being like minded, having the SAME LOVE, being one in spirit and purpose." We also have to be humble. Which is where I definitely struggle. I am not a humble person, I am a selfish person that doesn't want to burden people with my stuff and needs to be humbled to receive and to give. In the same way. I know that makes no sense but it's true...even though I don't want to receive, I do take a lot from people anyways. I complain to a few certain people all the time, I always feel bad which makes it hard for me to get out and fulfill my purpose. I miss the days where I felt good and could go on and please everyone's needs and requests they had of me. But that isn't being humble either...that is is just being a yes man and feeling obligated to do something. I'm working on being more humble and am decently moderately humble I feel like, but no one could ever be as humble as my Jesus, I hope I get close one day though. Then Scot said that we have to look out for others. We have to look to the interests of others (see Philippians 2:4) This kind of goes along with the being humble verse.

Then he spent time in the characteristics of Jesus that are described in Philippians 2:6-11. One part that really struck out to me is "Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." This really struck me because we, as humans, strive to make ourselves out like gods. Not God, gods. But we are always trying to one up everybody, trying to get the bigger this, the better this, the brighter future. We try to win whatever argument, conversation, etc that is going on. We all do it, don't even try to convince yourself you don't. At some point you try to be superior in your human experience, don't lie to yourself. Anyways. Jesus, my Savior, who actually IS God and IS the Savior of the world and does deserve to be the best, brightest, whatever made Himself NOTHING. He made Himself human, and not only human, but a servant. My Jesus is the most humble person in the world, universe, etc. He is the one who deserves all glory, laud, and honor, and made himself basically a piece of trash or something. Cleaning the feet of people, born in a manger, He is lowly in world views. Why wasn't He trying to keep up with Joneses'? Maybe because He knew there were far better things to come and that He had to be a humble servant to make those things happen. Maybe we need to be more like Jesus and leave our glory behind, especially in this holiday season coming up. We need to be more servant like, more humble, look out for others more, and be like minded. Remember, being like minded does not mean agreeing with everyone just seeing what they have to say with the SAME LOVE as Christ. Surely we can do this...I know it will be hard. But Scot said Leaving all our glory would be a beautiful thing...and I'm all into beautiful things right now so I am gonna work on leaving my glory. I know I will fail every day, probably every hour...but I'm gonna try to leave my glory for Jesus...I hope you will too.