Unashamed: I Worship Jesus Christ
Unashamed.
Google defines it as “expressed or acting openly and without guilt or embarrassment.”
Embarrassed about my Lord and Savior? Never.
Oh I’m sure there were instances in the past when I held back or shied away from sharing my spiritual beliefs…from speaking the name of Jesus…from full disclosure of my life in Christ.
But you know what? Not anymore. Sure, I mess up, fail, and sin. So, I pray for a show-and-tell life. That my words tell others who I worship and my actions show others who I worship.
Still, sometimes we fall prey to the mindset that only church or “Christian” events or missions—where it’s “appropriate” and even expected—as the places for unashamed worship.
Unashamed in Life
Instead, it’s about out there in the real world, on the job, on social media, and amongst unbelievers—some may even be antagonistic toward Jesus and toward us.
Since I’m a pastor’s wife, in women’s ministry, a speaker and writer, I come under attack. Often, this spiritual warfare brings me to a crossroad where I choose to either stop or keep going.
Like this…
Jesus Christ.
King of Kings.
Lord of Lords.
Jesus Christ. King of kings. Lord of lords. Share on XI was accused of saying “dumb things,” of “blasphemy,” and “building a platform” for myself. On another post about Christ from my blog last week, a man stated, “Keep your religious bull_____ to yourself.” Then he signed it “God.”
Unashamed in Worship
Will this stop me from expressing or acting openly without guilt and embarrassment about Jesus Christ? No.
Because it’s not about building a platform in my name. It’s about the name of Jesus. And not about my glory, but about His glory. He is worthy!
Worshiping Jesus (across all areas of my life) demonstrates that I trust who He is and what He says. A rightful exchange happens when the worshiper lays down glory and exalts Jesus as the worshiped One.
And then I’m amazed by Christ. In awe of Him. The greek word for amazed means flabbergasted or knocked from a standing position.*
So, if I’m knocked from a standing position, I’m low. Falling on my face to worship and adore Jesus. And I’m shoved further away from the spotlight. The way it’s meant to be.
No matter what we strive for in our life’s pursuit. No matter what hurts or setbacks come our way.
And no matter what attacks we endure, we stay unashamed of who we worship. Jesus.
I lift Jesus up and worship Him. Unashamed to lift my hands or voice in private or in public. Unashamed of Jesus Christ. #worship #unashamed Share on XUnashamed of Jesus Christ
“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” Psalm 95:6 NIV.
“Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth” Psalm 96:9 NIV.
“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness” Psalm 29:2 ESV.
Unashamed worship: glory, honor, and holiness belong to Jesus Christ alone. #worship Share on XUnashamed Prayer
Prayer from the 2014 Passion Conference:
Jesus, may it be our prayer, wherever you’re calling us, whatever you’re calling us to, that we would be a people that know what it is to follow. To step into the great unknown to be the people you’ve called us to be. Not people chasing fame, in and of themselves.
Success or greatness for any other reason than you called us to be great. You’ve called us to do great things for Your name, God. To live not for the applause of men, but for the applause of One.
We surrender. For the greatest of all is the servant to all. The greatest call God you exemplified is Jesus on the cross for us.
So we surrender. Jesus, we give you all the glory, all the honor due your name. We lay down our hearts. We lay down our lives.
* Accessed from First 5 App, Amazed by Jesus, Whitney Capps.
Learn more about Passion Conferences.
Images created in Adobe Spark.
*Sometimes I participate in these link-ups:
Ronja Oksanen/ #AboundingGrace, Rachel Lee #DestinationInspiration, Debbie Kitterman/#Dare2Hear, Lori Schumaker/#momentsofhope, Jaime Wiebel/#SittingAmongFriends, Crystal Twadell/Fresh Market Friday, Kelly Balarie/Purposeful Faith, Patricia Holbrook/Soaring With Him, Meghan Weyerbacher/TeaandtheWord, Lyli Dunbar/#FaithOnFire & Crystal Storms/Heart Encouragement.
© 2019 by Karen Friday, All rights reserved
Keep standing strong for Christ. Keep using your voice to teach, to encourage, to point others to Christ. You inspire many:) Blessings, friend!
I will, Lisa, never backing down or turning back from the calling. Thank you, friend. “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” Psalm 95:6 NIV.
Good morning, Karen,
I stand with you and Jesus on this. I sense the attacks are coming stronger as we near the end. Standing firm and unashamed. We are stronger against the enemy together!
Hey Julie, thank you. Yes, let’s keep linking arms for the sake of the gospel, sister. And I agree, the enemy wants to thwart our efforts for the kingdom. We stand for Christ and against the enemy.
Yes, Karen, even when people deride us and say hurtful things, we must never stop standing for Jesus, pointing the way to His grace and truth. Thank you for inspiring us to be more vocal in our praise of God, giving Him the glory in all that we do.
Blessings!
Appreciate your sweet note of encouragement, Martha. Let’s keep voicing unashamed worship of Christ! “Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth” Psalm 96:9 NIV.
I am not ashamed of my Lord and Savior either. I stand with you on this great proclamation
Thank you, Yvonne. “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness” Psalm 29:2 ESV.
You’re doing great, Karen! Keep going. I hope you aren’t discouraged by the bad apples. I really appreciate your worship.
Hey Chip, I admit, sometimes it shakes me up a little. Then the Lord reminds me of the calling and the honor it is to suffer in any way for the sake of Christ and the gospel. I keep pressing on in a labor of love and worshiping our worthy Savior. Blessings!
I appreciate your love for God and the way you share His love and glory. We must stand firm and share Him with others, even when we are attacked.
Thanks so much, Melissa. No matter what we strive for in our life’s pursuit. No matter what hurts or setbacks come our way.
And no matter what attacks we endure, we stay unashamed of who we worship. Jesus.
Oh Karen… this is the price of discipleship. As Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15:18.) I have to remember that, too, as I have experienced similar treatment.
As a Christian apologist, I get a lot of heat and some of it is obscenities and the like. It’s not fun, to be sure, but like your post so beautifully points out, it’s all for Him. We keep planting seeds of truth in Jesus’ name! Amen, sister. Keep up the good work. You are making a difference, and you are a light in this world.
Yes, Lisa, so true! A mentor in college reminded me, “To come to Christ costs us nothing. But to be a true disciple of Christ costs us everything!” It’s part of what Jesus meant by taking up our cross daily.
I’m sure you do get a lot of the same thing in your role. Thanks for your kingdom work! We keep walking in the truth and the light…no matter what.
Amen, Karen. Friends of Jesus are enemies of the world, but it’s all about Him, not us. I appreciate your focus and this reminder to stand unashamed for Him, and to fall unashamed in worship. And when we’re attacked, it means we’ve done something right. We’ve let God shine.
Stephen, it does mean we’ve done something right…boldly worshiping and proclaiming who we worship. Because it’s not about building a platform in my name. It’s about the name of Jesus. And not about my glory, but about His glory. He is worthy! Thanks and blessings!
I am sorry you were hurt by these comments, it is easy to bruise a tender heart. I can overlook a lot of people, but the closer ones hurt worse. It must be easy for some Christians to back off and begin to have an unbelieving/evil heart like Hebrews says. I had a couple of instances trying to mess me up as well. Jesus was never ashamed of me, I could never be of Him.
“Jesus was never ashamed of me, I could never be of Him.” Amen, Rebecca! My sentiments exactly! We carry our cross and preach the gospel until our dying breath.
This is absolutely my favorite part of this post. And my favorite part of your heart:
So, if I’m knocked from a standing position, I’m low. Falling on my face to worship and adore Jesus. And I’m shoved further away from the spotlight. The way it’s meant to be.
It’s all about Jesus for you and that shines through everything you do. I’m blessed to know you and blessed to learn from you.
Awe, Stephanie. Your words of encouragement are always so beautiful and refreshing. That moved me to tears in a good way. Teasr of joy. I pray to stay out of that spotlight and never steal God’s glory. Hugs sweet sister.
Amen!! I stand with you and my Sweet Jesus Unashamed!!! I love this post and your Love for God sweet friend!Im so grateful for you and your friendship!
Love you and your heart, Sydell. Thank you for your kind words. Together, we lift Jesus up and worship Him. Unashamed to lift our hands or voice in private or in public. Unashamed of Jesus Christ.
Another wonderful post! This part really stood out to me: “A rightful exchange happens when the worshiper lays down glory and exalts Jesus as the worshiped One.” Wow, this really describes every battle we have with sin. When we sin, we fail to exchange our ‘glory’ (comfort, pleasure, ease, popularity) for HIS. We decide to do things OUR way, whether in thought, word, or deed. But this post is a good reminder that we must live for His glory…..in every situation. Let us continue on the narrow way! And usually that means doing the difficult thing, not the easy thing. Thank you!
Jamie, it does describe not only worship, but also our spiritual warfare and battle with sin. Good insight! If we can’t lay down our own glory, we not only rob the Lord of His, but we also often fail in some way. Because pride always comes before a fall.
And “Amen” to living the narrow way and doing the difficult thing, for this is the calling of all disciples of Christ.
Wonderful message Karen, stay strong and let Jesus keep using you in your great works on his behalf. Praise Jesus and God bless you!
Appreciate your encouragement, Joel! Thanks so much!
“Jesus, may it be our prayer, wherever you’re calling us, whatever you’re calling us to, that we would be a people that know what it is to follow. To step into the great unknown to be the people you’ve called us to be. Not people chasing fame, in and of themselves. Amen.”
Karen, I really appreciated this post because in the past I too have let others silence my worship. I have been intimated by the fear of rejection, condemnation or ridicule that can come when one expresses their faith. And this can occur even within our families, workplaces and community. Yet, we are called to rise up and stay strong regardless of the circumstances, situations, or group of people. Being consistent in our faith is about integrity and about our willingness to risk all for Jesus. I loved your line, “That my words tell others who I worship and my actions show others who I worship.” This is integrity – where our words and actions mirror our faith and consistently point to Jesus – in every situation, regardless of the cost. Stay strong. Let us praise God and worship him with joy!
“This is integrity – where our words and actions mirror our faith and consistently point to Jesus – in every situation, regardless of the cost.” That’s powerful, Anne! Glad the post encouraged you. I pray we do stay the course no matter the cost. Because maybe it’s not radical Christianity or Jesus freaks after all. Maybe it’s the life and heart of a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Blessings!
Thank you for your unflinching, strong, and plain-spoken confession of our Savior on social media and in your speaking engagements. You give strength and courage to those who read you and hear your words. You demonstrate unashamed praise and belief in our Savior. When believers of long term model this for the church, it shows new Christians and younger believers how it is done, how the faith is lived, how we stand with Jesus. It passes on the torch of the faith to the next generation. You do that! Bless you, sister, for your stand! Thanking the Lord for you and for the eternal rewards that these attacks gain for you.
Oh Melinda! What a wonderful way to express my heart and faith. I hope to keep passing the torch of the faith to the next generation. I’m placing these attacks at the foot of the cross and at the opening of an empty tomb. For we worship a risen Savior worthy of all praise! Thank you!
Dear Karen, your faith ignites the fire of my faith! Thank you, sweet sister, for standing strong for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! He is worthy of all we can bring. And we know that you are counted among His faithful ones to be included in His persecution. May the Holy Spirit bring you greater strength, greater fervor, greater faith as a result of every attack! May Jesus be lifted higher still! Bless you, dear sister! You are a great inspiration!
Praise the Lord for you, Melissa. I pray believers inspire a fire in each other across social media. I celebrate and accept your prayer…for greater strength, fervor, and faith. I wish I could hug you…in person. But know I’m hugging you in a tight embrace of love in my heart and mind.
Karen,
Thank you for this post, Karen! I, too, have been called names and bullied for expressing my faith on social media. But, like you, I won’t back down. We can’t! We must keep pressing forward to the goal. Amen, sister!
Carol, we stand together in the body of Christ. I pray for a show-and-tell life. My words TELL others Who I worship and my actions SHOW others Who I worship. Jesus Christ. Not. Ashamed. Thanks for commenting sweet lady!
Amen-Amein Sister in Christ Jesus-Yeshua Karen!!
Christ-MESSIAH Jesus-Yeshua is KING of kings and LORD of lords, HE is the ALPHA and OMEGA, HE is the BEGINNING and ENDING!! Glory Glory Hallelujah and Maranatha!!
Our ONE True GOD’S LOVE 💜💕 is ETERNAL THROUGH HIS SON Christ-MESSIAH Jesus-Yeshua for Today and Everyday Forevermore Everyone!!
I Love you all Everyone through Christ-MESSIAH Jesus-Yeshua, because HE LOVED 💕💜 EVERYONE FIRST!!
Love 💜 Always and Shalom ( Peace ), YSIC \o/
Kristi Ann
Thank you, Kristi Ann. May we never give up or give in or turn back from pursuing Jesus with our whole heart! Blessings!
I’m sorry you’ve experienced these attacks but I love your determination to keep sharing and to be strong and unashamed!
Lesley, thanks, I think “determination” is the key and the Lord’s strength and help to stay true to His calling. Appreciate your comment.
Very encouraging, thank you!
You’re welcome. May we worship Christ unashamed.
Thank you for this post! I find myself so frustrated at times with how the world is toward believers. I know we are to expect this but it doesn’t soften the blow nonetheless. I am so sorry you went through these attacks but the enemy wants to silence us. It is up to us to keep on with our mission even though it is quite difficult at times and our instinct is to run from the attack. You have definitely inspired me today!
Thank you, Diane. You encouraged me as well. The enemy does want to silence us. Thankful his day-of-doom-and-God’s-going-to-put-him-in-his-place destiny is coming!
UNASHAMED here as well!
You go girl! Keep showering mercy and grace all over every single one of your readers! We both know that particular man STILL heard God. Whether he listens or not is not your problem. May your words bless every person who reads them in Jesus’ Name!
I accept those kind words of affirmation, Carolyn. Thanks so much. It’s our job to stay true to the calling. I’ll never back down from attacks such as those.