Fearlessly Courageous
From the Desk of Dennis Piller
7 6 2023
Do Christians have an end zone dance?
I think they do…but to those who are sitting on the shoreline catching only the splashing of its water… should. We see the bravado of athletes’ celebratory dance after a score in football, hockey, soccer…in every sport…
this explosion of joy in their moment of glory.
You will see more than a few who point upwards toward heaven…to God himself, this is for you that I am offering the fruit of my best for your glory. You gave me my talent, whatever it is, you gave me the will and the courage to be in this end zone with a chance to dance. YOU! Yes, the world is also celebrating me but I want them to know that I am offering this up to you as the reason I am even here.
The Holy Spirit changes us, empowers us, encourages us, and gives us direction both on the inside and the arrangement of opportunities on the outside to serve him by serving and loving others. He changes us, in how we think, and what our dreams of. He illuminates a vision that we come to embrace as an honor. A dance? Yes. He gives us a joy and an appreciation of what He does for us, Giving God the glory the spirit man sees as a privilege. The natural man is all about himself. He dances too but it’s all his glory. MINE! I earned it. I worked for it. I sacrificed for it. I did it!
As Christians, as people living by the spirit living for God… he tells us to dance.
Let your joy be known.
Phil 4:7 says
“Be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. Let your joy overflow! And let gentleness be seen in every relationship, for our Lord is ever near. Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing”.
King David brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem with great pomp and circumstance with revelry, a parade of musicians and dancers with him in the lead dancing his head off. His wife thought he was sorely underdressed and making an obscene spectacle of himself. The world celebrates the strangest things…sometimes the foulest, offensive, and even demonic. But often look at our end zone celebrations in sports or with a song as we attempt to glorify God as offensive and should be done in private. The world always wants its time and doesn’t resist any attempt to shame us in our dance for His glory.
Leviticus 23 describes the Sabbath together with seven feasts, namely; the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of the Harvest, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. These are indeed a spectacle of end zone dances all pointing back to the King!
They are essential to understanding the 7th day of rest after God created the universe. They are celebrations commemorating the creation account in Genesis and the history of the Exodus so we would remember what God did…How he delivered and put on a spectacle of miracles. But too many of us have a hard time not just remembering the Lord’s Day, but celebrating it.
We too often go out of habit but have lost our joy.
Jesus celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles in (John 7). He celebrated Passover as His “Last Supper” (Luke 22) (think about that) and even directs his followers to remain in Jerusalem for Shavuot (Pentecost) after he leaves them (Acts 1).
Zephaniah 3:17 TLV says, “ADONAI your God is in your midst— a mighty Savior! He will delight over you with joy. He will quiet you with His love. He will dance for joy over you with singing.’ End zone dances? God created them and dances over you and me with the joy of a father. His love is so encompassing it will quiet you in your moment of duress with his love and gentleness. Isn’t that something to celebrate?
The worldly man looks for a stage, a sport, a vehicle to showcase his talent and his dance but God presents to His children… Himself…’ The hope of glory…the bright and morning star. We are changed from the inside out when we are born again. We were gifted His Holy Spirit to live in us and we are changed over a lifetime …we want to obey God…live for God…celebrate God and in the midst of that serving heart we are rewarded with understanding the truth of Christ which ushers in a revelation of joy as we get a glimpse of Gods glory…His goodness…It just overflows
because there is no holding back the tides of His love and goodness.
Wherever you are in your walk with Christ there is more…there is joy in your everyday living, in the ups and downs and hecticness of our existence, there is a peace that passes understanding and an end zone dance of joy for who He is and what He has done. Learning to walk in the strength of that truth… the revelation of that love…is the work of his Holy Spirit.
Jesus Was Crucified on the Day of Preparation for the Passover. John also mentions that Jesus was crucified on “the day of Preparation” (John 19:31), that is, the Friday before the Sabbath of Passover week (Mark 15:42). There is a depth of truth even in that horrific time for Jesus that should take us to a place of celebration, realizing the price he paid for the revelation of that joy and hope.
Prepare you this day who you will serve…We should have an End Zone dance even when we don’t score or are facing the darkest trial…because he is our Hope and Salvation for all eternity. We win. Invite him into your day…ask him to show you through spirit eyes all of these things we take for granted so that we might see even a glimpse of the richness of his Glory and the hope of our calling.
Crowder Let It Rain
