Suppose you were to sit back and recall your most meaningful worship experiences.  Where would it be?  With whom would it be?  How did it come and under what circumstances did it arrive.  Understand, I’m not talking about your average experience here.  I’m thinking a way out there God moment.  A Holy ambush that left you weak in the knees and stuttering for words.  Speechless.  Confounded.  Beautifully torn to pieces.

When was that for you?  How was it for you?

A holy visitation is not something we soon forget, nor is it something we want to see slip away.  Rarely does it come at predictable contrived moments and rarely does it come in groups.  When we’re awash in a God moment, it rarely precedes our emotions, but instead leaves our emotions running to catch up…like a spirit-filled tsunami.  It’s a heart racing wide eyed stoppage of the time continuum when Yahweh taps you on the shoulder.

Once the tide has subsided and you begin to collect yourself…a new supernatural peace transforms everything.  You just know everything will be OK.  True worship brings true peace.  It’s a type of peace the word “peace” doesn’t adequately define or describe.  Calm, cool and collected.  Tranquillity Base – the eagle has landed!

Jesus told us it was coming: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.” (John 14:27)

This past week I had a chance to do something I love…go snorkeling in the Cayman Islands.  It’s a dastardly deed…that must be done.  As I was enjoying my last dive off a reef – a little school of fish called Sergeant Major were checking me out.  Beautiful and colorful reef fish, I swam on, my attention diverted to other fish and sights below.  After a period of time I began to notice one little Sergeant Major swimming with me.  And my little new found friend did so for the entire snorkel.  He never left my side.  Although I couldn’t always see him…he was there all the same.  All the way to the end.

Then BOOM…it happened.  My heart began to race and God caught me off guard.  That crazy little fish…became an instrument of God’s glory – and left me breathless, thankful and teary eyed.

And in that moment, He reminded me of something I had forgotten:

“And behold I am with you ALWAYS, even to the end of the age”.

The peace of God is a piece of Jesus.  Worship refines our sight and senses to the spiritual and re-tunes our heaven bound spirit.  Then, a glimpse over our shoulder leaves us astounded to see Jesus right there…to the very end.

He is always with us.  We have never been nor will we ever be…alone!

Magnum Opus, or “Great Work” is a tag bestowed upon the crowning glory of a composer’s work! It’s the crescendo or highest achievement of an artist within the span of a lifetime. It’s Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah.  It’s Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

The Magnum Opus becomes a mastery that outlives it’s creator and defines all other works still yet to come! In a way, it gives a glimpse of something bigger and brighter than the artist himself.
Upon the canvas of a newly formed universe, Creator God (Elohim) places His hand upon the dust of the earth and forms a new creature.  Then leaning forward the Spirit of God (Ruach Elohim) “breathed into his (man’s) nostrils the “Breath of Life” (Genesis 2:7).  The Magnum Opus…the Nephesh…the Solus…the Anemos.   Literally “the soul or spirit of God” resting in jars of clay.
From the moment God chose to ignite the flames of life within this temporary work of dust, He knew redemption would come by way of the cross.  Yet He chose to place His fingerprint on our innermost being and make us eternal…spirit…as He is Spirit.  Without Elohim’s Magnum Opus…there would have been no cross, no empty tomb, no second coming.
God’s Magnum Opus is housed in you! It’s a wonder of the ages that defines our today and secures our tomorrow. It’s the fire that erupts in worship, the tears that flow in thankfulness and the laughter that comes in moments of overwhelming joy! It’s the heaven born eternal treasure that brought Creator God to walk again on this earth…with a new name…known only to the redeemed! Yahweh…our Covenant God!
So…take a long look in the mirror and be reminded that you have housed within you the Nephesh…the breath of life…the spirit!
Maybe that’s what birthed the song for David:
“…Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my SOUL knows it very well” Psalm 139:6,14
So let a song rise from deep within you today! Sing! For your soul knows it very well!

I must make a confession.  It’s not easy to face the truth – but I need to tell you: I’m a closet science geek.  Ever since I was a kid, I wandered what made things work and how it really all fits together.  In our home, if I get a hold of the remote in a quiet moment – I always check out the Science Channel; The Universe and especially Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.  Lisa and the kids have a consistent roll the eyes and “how boring” every time I land on one of those programs.  I love it…they hate it.

So, why does it beckon me and peek my curiosity?  Really it’s quite simple – all of God’s creation, even through the language of science exclaims His presence and prominence.  From the existence and birth of time to the edge of the universe – all things find their place in Christ.  And not everyone sees it…but it is very clear none the less.

Colossians 1:15 & 16 is a great passage that sums it all up: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones of dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.”

Yes!  Can I get an “amen”?
For you see – this is part of the gospel – that all things find their beginning, their purpose, their true meaning in Him.  All things invisible…nuclear to mammoth…are defined by Him and set their course by His very word.  When science extends it’s reach to the distant stars, hidden galaxies and super novas thousands of light years away – He is there…peering back.

The visible is easy.  With our eyes we perceive His fingerprints.  From the rising sun, to the colors of fall, to the songs of praise in the hearts of His redeemed.
But don’t forget about the invisible.  The very hidden powers that bind us together find their meaning in Him.  Those electrons, neutrons, and atomic neutrinos find their meaning in Him, were created through Him and are for Him.

That means you too.  You find your meaning in Him, through Him…and you were made for Him.  Look for meaning in the house you buy, the car you drive, the clothes you wear – and you will become spiritually bankrupt.  Look for it in those whose approval you seek – and you will be eventually devastated.
So choose wisely.

Know that His is the ultimate, highest, magnificent and grandest pursuit of your existence – and that for which you were designed.  Choose to look for the invisible as well as the visible.  Don’t settle for less and run hard towards the remarkable life.
Then and only then will you see Jesus…everywhere and in everything.  And nothing will ever be the same…