Shawn Cannon

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:2

This verse has great impact in my life. I was running away from God for so long. Once I finally stopped and began reading His Word, my mind began to focus on Him. My mind was and is being transformed to be more focused on things not of this Earth. The things this world has to offer may be exciting and bring joy to my life, but it is a temporary joy. Jesus brings me a permanent, everlasting joy that some may not understand. I am not perfect and never will be. I will still falter, I will still sin. The biggest change is that I do not crave the stuff anymore. I don’t need the latest computer or phone or car. I am more than happy with what I have right now. God has provided more than I will ever need and He continues to provide.

I was reading an article titled “Idolatry in Corporate Worship” and this section stood out to me:

“Our leaders don’t always pick the songs on our playlist. And they shouldn’t. The best music for congregations serves both the lyrics and the unity of the congregation, not our personal likes and dislikes. No song needs to keep us from glorying in our Redeemer. We gather with the body to edify one another. I bring more glory to God by rejoicing that others in the church are benefiting from a song, even if it’s not my preference.”

How many of us have been guilty of this? How many times have we turned our noses down at the song selection for worship time at church? We all have our preference for music styles, songs we like, etc. But that is the danger isn’t it? It should never been about what we like or prefer. Our mind should be in the process of worshiping our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It does not matter what the songs are, who is singing it, if that person was flat, if the guitar was out of tune. Listen to the message behind the song, meditate on that and see God through it! Even if you do not like the song, if someone in the congregation is blessed by it and comes to a saving relationship with Jesus, it was all worth it!

I am by no means perfect when it comes to this but I am trying to remember this. I encourage you to do the same. You want your worship experience to be amazing? Focus on Jesus through it all. Isn’t that why we are there in the first place?

Article: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/idolatry-in-corporate-worship

I know a lot of you (if you are on Facebook) have seen my progress updates for reading the book “Crazy Love”. I am not finished with it yet but I encourage you to read it. I just finished Chapter 9 and it has amazing stories of believers and what they have done to further God’s Kingdom. They all gave up so much to gain everything! A man named George Mueller sticks with me. He became a Christian while in college (early 1800s). He moved to England with his wife to become a preacher. Instead he saw all these orphans all over the place. They decided to start an orphanage and they did it all with no money. They prayed for God to provide and He did! They never earned any money of their own. God provided it all through donations from many people. Every penny (pound) went to help those in need. ALL of it was accomplished through prayer and faith!

Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. -Leo Buscaglia

This one really hits home for me. Up until about a month ago I had been running away from God. One of the ways I was doing this was by making excuses not to be in the choir at church. Every chance I got I would say I just need time, I don’t enjoy the music anymore, I just want to sit in the congregation with my family. I was not giving back to God at all. Most of you know that God has given me the talent of singing. It is a gift that I know that I should not hide away. I know that I will not hide behind excuses again. Singing is something I enjoy so much and I did not realize how much I missed it! Now I will sing His praises every chance I get!

You may be asking what I mean by the long road ahead.  Well let me give you some background.  I am not sure how many of you know that I am a born again Christian.  I have had my ups and downs in my walk with Christ but the past 3-4 years have been the darkest and the lowest part of my walk than I can ever remember.  Things were on the up and up, financially and family wise.  When things are good, my tendency is always to say, “I did this!  God did not do anything!  I can do it all on my own!”.  That mantra has been what I have followed during this time.  Slowly but surely things began to slide with that mentality.  I had my eyes always set on what is the new thing I can buy.  Oooh!  Look at that shiny new computer!  Oh man I need those 32″ monitors!  The list could go on and on.  Needless to say, using credit cards and charge accounts became my life once again.  I realized on Sunday while at church that I was at a precipice, about to fall off into the abyss.  God spoke to me, urging me to realize that He was there and always has been.  It hit me like a ton of bricks.  I have not been turning to Him, talking to Him, leaning on Him to get me through it all.  Worry had become a daily thing although I would never show it to anyone.  Now I am not worried any more because I know God is in control.  Some decisions will have to be made to get a handle on all the debt we have racked up over the years, but I am content that whatever is decided will come from God.  Now I know that I have a lot of friends that do not believe in God and may laugh and scoff at this post.  That’s OK. I love all of you no matter where you stand spiritually.  But I know I am not the only one that has struggled in this area.  I am hoping this post will help someone else going through something similar.  So what do I mean by the long road ahead?  Healing and following the right path is not a quick or short process.  It takes time.  A long road may seem like forever, but all good things take time and I know as long as I lean on God the ride will be easier.