Thanks for stopping by. On every mission trip, i experience God. When i can, i capture the moments with my camera.
My goal for the Infinity in Focus blog is to share those special moments with you. My love for mission trips, photography and Jesus, Combined. That, my friend, is a win!
https://www.infinityinfocus.net/god-in-focus-blog/this-is-not-an-instapot
She Came to Worship....For Real!
i walked into church in a small village in India. It was buzzing with excitement because the Americans were visiting. The children smiled shyly, the men tried not to stare and the women graciously presented us with flowers.
There were some very important people in the congregation that day and everyone wanted to make sure that they were duly impressed with what was happening.
But not Yashwant.
She wasn't fazed one iota by the foreign visitors. She was on a mission. Like all of us, she entered barefoot. But while the rest of us milled around making preparations and taking in the people, the culture, and life in a simple Indian village, SHE made a beeline for the center (and only) aisle of the humbly appointed church. And about halfway down the aisle, she stopped and bowed low. It wasn’t a fleeting, obligatory prayer or a quick Hail Mary.
It was clear, that in the presence of the crowd, she was alone with God. It was as if she didn't notice the rustling children, the adults making final preparations or the foreign visitors. She was there to for one reason. Unhindered by the chatter, laughter, and background noise, she had a single purpose. Worship.
Hijacked!
i love interacting with and experiencing various cultures, but this woman ruined my observations and interactions. In a God ordained moment, i was transported in time from the Indian village to a crowded home and gathering of men about 2,000 years ago. In my mind, this humble woman was Mary and she gave me a momentary, albeit incomplete, glimpse of what it must have been like for her as she lavished the oil from her Alabaster box on Jesus. But, before i could turn to the scripture or further explore the scene as it developed in my mind, it was hijacked and taken hostage by an inconvenient and troublesome question.
"Loretta, have you ever been so focused on worshipping God? Focused enough to bow low in a crowd and just worship.... before the invocation, before the praise team, before the gospel cheerleader shames the congregation for not actively participating, before it was 'time' to worship? Have you ever walked into church so focused on Me that you were oblivious to all that was happening around you?"
Crickets....and uncomfortable silence....
I am not calling you to stand out just for the sake of standing out. I am not calling you to be a spectacle or make worship a performance. I am inviting you to honor Me and to worship me because of Who I Am. She did not remove her shoes like you.
She. has. no. shoes.
She walked a long and painful walk to be in my presence. She is poverty stricken and ill. Yet, she bowed, not asking for shoes or healing or food. She bowed to worship Me. She cried out in her heart…….
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
Psalms 63:3,4 (NLT)
I, the Spirit of God implore you to worship God. Really.Worship. God.
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