The church has been lulled into cycles of repetition, borrowing pagan customs and sentimental traditions that obscure the gospel. But the Word of God cuts sharper than any ritual. Here are four truths that stand immovable, each one a pillar of the greatest story ever told.
Christ was born once.
The incarnation was not a seasonal myth or a cycle to be replayed every December. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). That moment in Bethlehem was the opening act of redemption, the eternal God stepping into human frailty. He came once, and that was enough. To rehearse His birth as if it were an annual event is to reduce the incarnation to pagan repetition.
Christ died once.
The cross was not symbolic theater—it was the decisive sacrifice. “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Pagan gods die endlessly in cycles, but Christ’s death was final. It satisfied the wrath of God, fulfilled prophecy, and broke the curse. There is no need for repetition; the penalty has been paid in full.
Christ rose once.
The resurrection is the hinge of history. “He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4). Unlike Baal or Sol Invictus, Christ does not rise each year with the sun. He rose once, never to die again. His empty tomb is the triumph that validates our faith and secures eternal life. This is not seasonal hope—it is eternal reality.
Christ forever reign.
The story does not end at the tomb. “He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:25). His ascension enthroned Him, and His reign is ongoing. He is not a Babe to be revisited each December—He is the King who rules now and will return in glory. The finale is not nostalgia but the appearing of Christ in power.
Admonition
Stop rehearsing pagan cycles. Stop lighting candles for what has already been fulfilled. Preach the gospel: once born, once slain, once risen, now reigns—soon to return.
Take your worship experience to new heights by incorporating the use of powerful RESTs! Let’s explore the most effective ways to incorporate RESTs into your worship routine. These insights will help you connect with God on a deeper level. Create a more intimate atmosphere. Draw closer to the Holy Spirit. Discover the secrets to elevating your worship. Take it to the next level. Whether you’re a worship leader, musician, or simply a passionate worshiper, this post is for you! Get ready to transform your worship and experience the presence of God like never before.
Learning to play the rests
Have you ever felt like your worship experience is just going through the motions? Like you’re singing the right songs, but your heart isn’t really in it? I think we’ve all been there at some point. The good news is that there are ways to break free from that rut. You can take your worship to the next level. That’s where RESTS come in. These are moments of pause. They allow for reflection and create a connection with God that can transform your worship experience.
We face a significant challenge as worship leaders and congregants. It is about creating engaging experiences. These experiences should truly connect us with God. I’ve personally faced this struggle. It’s easy to focus on the production side and lose the heart of worship. Sometimes it feels like we’re just trying to get through the service without any major hiccups. But that’s not what worship is about. It’s about creating a space where we can encounter God in a real way.
So, what holds us back from having those kinds of experiences? For one, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. We keep doing things the way we’ve always done them. We are afraid to try new things or take risks. Or maybe we’re just not sure where to start. Whatever the reason, I believe that incorporating RESTS into our worship can help us break free from those limitations.
Another challenge we face is finding ways to keep our worship fresh and exciting. As musicians, we love to play our instruments. We express ourselves through our instruments. But anyone who has ever played in a band or orchestra knows there are times you are not playing. You experience measures of rests. While you are not actively playing, you are still contributing to the total performance and overall experience. Your silence allows the other voices to be heard more clearly. There might be a nice quiet violin movement. Or an oboe lament could be played. The soaring sound of a piccolo might be featured. An acoustic guitar might be included in a worship band. The effective and deliberate use of rests add, not subtract from a musical experience. So why don’t we pause more in our time of worship? Why are there no rests in our services? Why must there always be some sound and no time for silence?
1 Kings 19:11-12 NIV
[11] The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. [12] After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
Elijah had hid himself in a cave for fear of retaliation from Jezebel. While hiding in the cave the Lord came to him and asked him why he was there. Elijah offered some lame excuse. He started to pity himself. He thought he alone was responsible for the people to obey God’s Word. The Lord instructed him to go out and stand on the mountain top. He was to be in the presence of the Lord, for He was soon to pass by.
Elijah did as he was instructed. First, there was a strong wind. A rock and roll show was taking place. The whole mountain was shaking but the Lord wasn’t in the bluster. Then came an earthquake but the Lord wasn’t in that either. After that a raging fire but the Lord wasn’t in that either. After all the bluster a gentle whisper. Worship sets can be exuberant with thundering drums and raging guitars. Oftentimes, God is not in it. The preacher preaches a rousing fire and brimstone message but heaven remains silent. Perhaps we need to rethink our need to be seen and heard. Instead, we should stand in silence. We should wait to hear a gentle whisper.
I’d like to share a powerful testimony with you. I know a church that was struggling to connect with God in their worship. They felt like they were just going through the motions, and their services were feeling stale. So, they decided to try something new. They started incorporating more RESTS into their worship – moments of silence, reflection, and connection with God. And you know what? It completely transformed their services. People were encountering God in a real way, and their worship experience was taken to a whole new level.
That testimony is a great reminder of the impact that RESTS can have on our worship. By incorporating different moments of rests in our worship time, we can create a more dynamic atmosphere. This approach makes worship more engaging. So, I encourage you to consider how you can apply this principle in your own life and times of worship.
Thanks for joining me on this journey of discovery! If you’ve been inspired by this message, I’d love to hear about your own experiences with RESTS in the comments. Don’t forget to check out my other posts for more worship insights – I think you’ll find them really helpful.
This has been a View From the Nest.
Do not forget to comment, like and share so others can receive a blessing. Selah
Most would agree that traffic lights exist to create order at busy intersections. They don’t think, adapt, or show discernment — they simply function. But what happens when the systems we’ve come to depend on go offline?
That’s exactly what I witnessed one day: two traffic lights out on a heavily traveled stretch of road. According to conventional wisdom — and the traffic engineers who installed them — their absence should have caused chaos. Instead, something extraordinary happened: peaceful order emerged. Drivers slowed, considered others, and moved cautiously through the intersection. No honking, no wrecks, no gridlock. Just mutual respect and personal responsibility.
What a picture of what’s possible when people operate not by rigid control, but by internal conviction.
🔥Spiritual Spark
This moment reminded me of the difference between law and grace. Laws are good — needed even — to teach boundaries and consequences. But they’re passive tools. Grace, however, is active. It empowers. When the light was out, drivers leaned not on a device but on discernment. Similarly, when we operate under grace, we move with humility. We act with caution. We have a shared awareness that we’re not the only ones on the road.
God didn’t create us to be micro-managed. He gave us the Holy Spirit — the ultimate inner guidance system — to navigate life with wisdom.
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” — Jeremiah 31:33
This new covenant re-centers our spiritual flow not around blinking lights and external control, but around responsive hearts. The civil cooperation I witnessed at the failed intersection mirrored a kind of Kingdom living. Each person was yielding, aware, gracious, and sober-minded.
📖Scriptural Infusion
Let’s layer in a few more connections:
Romans 8:14 — “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” → Spirit-led believers aren’t reckless; they’re responsive.
Galatians 5:22–23 — “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance… Against such things there is no law.” → When the Spirit governs, the need for excessive regulation diminishes.
1 Corinthians 10:23 — “‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial.” → Freedom without wisdom is a collision course. But freedom exercised in love builds a civil and spiritual society.
Reflection Question for the Ride: When “the lights go out” in your life, how do you respond? When systems fail, how do you react? What do you do when you’re left without outside guidance? Do you lean into the Spirit within, or do you panic without?
You were made for more than controlled stops and starts. The traffic of life might be dense, but grace empowers you to move with purpose, empathy, and faith.
This has been “A View From the Nest” please like, share, and subscribe to our newsletter for more Sunday Drive Devotionals.
> “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” —1 Corinthians 7:23
I stood in the airport of the so-called “free world,” holding a valid, state-issued driver’s license… and somehow, it wasn’t enough. A gold-starred “REAL ID” was now required for domestic flight—not as a suggestion, but as federal mandate.
Never mind that I’ve paid taxes, followed the law, verified my identity a dozen times over. Without that special endorsement, I was told I needed to return with more documents, more fees, and more evidence—just to board a plane in the country of my birth.
And it hit me: freedom in America now comes with a price tag and a paper trail.
Meanwhile, individuals who break immigration laws, many charged with violent crimes, are not only released into our communities, but in some cases celebrated. Protesters march for their freedom. Pilgrimages are made to their holding centers. And the law enforcement officers tasked with keeping order? Swatted, demonized, pelted with rocks and policy restrictions.
We’ve flipped the script. We now punish the obedient while shielding the rebellious.
🪧 No Kings They Cried
This isn’t just bureaucratic madness—it’s biblical déjà vu.
When Jesus stood before Pilate, the crowd cried out, “Not this man, but Barabbas!”—choosing a convicted insurrectionist over the sinless Son of God. And when asked who their king was, they shouted:
> “We have no king but Caesar!” (John 19:15)
Justice was sacrificed. Innocence was criminalized.
The guilty walked free, and the righteous was condemned.
Sound familiar?
Today, policies are being written that mirror that same spirit—calling good evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20). They release chaos and restrain integrity. Law-abiding citizens are treated like potential threats, while true threats are dismissed for the sake of political expediency or cultural appeasement.
It’s happening again. And the people cheer while the truth is bound.
👑 The King Who Paid It All
But there is a King—one who doesn’t demand a laminated card, a fingerprint, or a gold star to accept me. He requires something far greater: perfection. And knowing I could never achieve it, He paid the price Himself.
The flight I’m ultimately waiting for won’t depart from Gate A12. It won’t require clearance from TSA or documentation in triplicate.
My name isn’t written in a database in Harrisburg—but in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Stamped not in ink, but in blood.
Yes, there’s an entrance exam. It’s called repentance.
Yes, there’s a Judge—but He’s also the Advocate.
Yes, there’s a reservation—and it’s already sealed.
I am cleared to fly, not because Caesar says so, but because Christ declared it finished.
🔊 The Trumpet Sounds Will You Heed the Call?
Let’s be plain: when a nation restricts the righteous and releases the lawless, it is no longer governing in justice—it’s ruling in rebellion.
This is not freedom. This is fiction.
And to those who cheer for those who break law while punishing those who uphold it, may I humbly offer a checkup from the neck up:
You are living out the second crucifixion of righteousness—and calling it justice. You are freeing the insurrectionists of our day while kneecapping the peacemakers God appointed.
God help us if we remain silent.
📯 Sound the Trumpet—The Gate Is About to Open
While America lights its skies with fireworks and boasts of freedom, let this message ring louder than any cannon blast:
> Caesar may demand your papers. Christ demands your soul.
> And only one of them can offer you true freedom.
I will not be shackled by systems that punish citizenship while promoting chaos.
I will not trade in a crown of life for a gold-starred card.
When that trumpet sounds, I won’t be stalled at security.
I’ll be in the air, caught up, clothed in glory, and carried by grace.
Because when the Son sets you free—you are free indeed.
🕊️ Let every chain be broken, every truth proclaimed, and every trumpet sound.
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GO AND BE A BLESSING THIS FOURTH OF JULY! LET FREEDOM RING!
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