routine is evil

I am a creature of habit. I love routine. I like sameness.

and that is anathema to spiritual growth and development...

simply put, routine is the antithesis of adventure.

and habit is the opposite of excitement.

and sameness is a spirit killer.

God calls you to a faith adventure, while routine calls you to comfortableness, rote memorization, liturgy and boredom... more often than not, I answer routine's call... and ignore God's.

and all of that leads me away from genuine, alive, 'Christ-community' living.

and THAT'S why so many of our worship assemblies are lifeless.... and our churches are dead or dying. because they are populated by people who are not on any type of faith adventure... instead they are filled with folks who, like me, are routine addicts. So we 'go to church' instead of 'being the church'. and, for a couple hours a week we act holy and sing the right words and recite the correct verses.... and punch the clock. and God is not glorified... He is sickened (see Amos 5) ...and we get emptier instead of filled.

our allergy to change will be our undoing.

our addiction to routine is the salve

that soothes while hiding the real illness.

and no, it's not about entertainment value. it's about challenge. it's about growth. it's about authentic Christ life. it's about letting God be in control and it's about letting His Spirit lead us...

and we are missing it. badly.

Every worship experience (public or private) should be alive, because it is supposed to be our response to the Giver of Life!

So how can we 'get out of the way' and let the Spirit lead? How can we remove ourselves and our habits so Jesus can work? What can we do to make sure God is glorified and Jesus is lifted up, and truly LIVE out our Faith Adventure?

surely there is a clue in our addiction to routine and allergy to change. for my part, I intend to run from routine and embrace 'newness' and change... maybe that's a step in the right direction...

Blessings!