Week of October 1, 2018 ~ Worship!
Worship ~ What is it and how do we do it?
When we gave our lives to Christ, one of the things we struggled with most was worship. It wasn’t that we didn’t know what to do, but more so that we did not feel worthy to worship the Lord. Who were we to come before God? Why would he want to help us after the life we had lived? Those were just a couple of thoughts that entered our mind and kept us from going deeper with God. Luckily, after seeking spiritual counsel with more mature members of our church body, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we realized that worship wasn’t just something we do in church. It is something we can literally do ALL THE TIME.
As a stay at home mom, the daily tasks I have are endless. From laundry to making and serving 3 meals a day, from cleaning house to watering and weeding our family garden, no matter what I am doing, I can do it as if I was doing it for the Lord. The same goes for you; whether driving in your car to work, dropping your kids off at school or selling the latest gadgets and gizmos through your online platform, everything you do can be for God. When our heart is set upon Him, everything we do should be for God; whether it be worshiping Him, serving Him or praying for a friend.
What I realized was that worship comes from our heart. It is the emotion and feeling of reverence of God that causes us to bow down before him. While this can be taken literally, it can also be taken figuratively. When bowing down, we are submitting to His will and ways. In taking this approach, we are earnest in our worship. We are not doing it because it is expected as a religious expectation, but because we love and fear the Lord.
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.9 They worship me in vain;their teachings are merely human rules.’”
~ Matthew 15 : 8-9
Jesus did not condone the religious action. He clearly expressed that the heart was the indicator, not the words and not the action. This clearly shows that God is after our heart. He wants it all. He wants every hurt. Every fear. Every doubt. God wants us to lay it all down and allow Him to show us His true power by not only picking it all up and relieving us from those burdens, but giving us back every single the enemy stole, renewing our strength, being our fortress, being our shield, our comforter, and every single thing we need. It also shows that the way in which you worship is not as important as the heart posture.
For instance, there may be some in church who sing, some who dance, some who speak in tongues, some who prophesy, and still even some that sit or stand quietly, heads bowed, eyes closed singing along in their heart and mind to the worship music. Corporate worship may look differently that what we do in the secret place, and that’s perfectly ok too, as long as our intent is to praise God.
When we reach this point…where He is our Everything and we choose to worship Him in everything we do, we become more aware of His presence. We become more attuned to His voice. And we also become closer to Him, abiding in His shadow.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.~Psalm 91:1
Monday
We are called in both the Old and New Testament to only worship God. Idolatry will not be tolerated. We know this is extremely important from the many times it is mentioned, not only throughout the Bible, but in the fact that there are 2 out of 10 commandments that speak on this.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
~ Exodus 20:3-6
Give God thanks today for all He has done for you. Take moment to look how far He's brought you. Then, begin to worship your redeemer!
Tuesday
Jesus knew how important it was to keep God's commandments. He did not come to change the law, remember?
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
~ Matthew 5 : 17
This is the same for our worship. He knew that God was the only God deserving of this and that all other Gods were not worthy.
Let us not forget how powerful our praise is...it is a tool to help empower our walk with Christ and gain alignment with God's will for our lives.
Wednesday
God doesn't want phony worship. He wants us to say what we mean and mean what we say.
We see many times in which some cried out to God in grief, anger, anxiety, depression. While these may be considered negative emotions, the fact that we are willing to worship God and bring Him those things mean a lot to him. Think about it like this, if you had a child that broke a valued and valuable ceramic in your home, would you be more upset if they came to you honestly and told you or if they tried to hide it and you found out (remember, we cannot hide things from God)?
Most of us would show mercy on our child if they came to us right away because that meant they trusted us enough to be honest and upfront and that they trust us enough to allow us to help them through their problem; help them fix it.
That's how God is towards us and this is how He expects our praise to be as well!
Thursday
Idolatry is something forbidden by God. Many Christians hear the word idolatry and think of golden calves or little wooden depictions of Baal and other Gods. But I believe that in today's day and age, many of us have become idolaters without realizing it.
Let's face it, we don't live in the same world anymore. Technological advances literally make the entire world, every open market on the global economy, available to each and every one of us.
With many of us on social networks, we all have a platform to speak from. So, I ask you my Christian brothers and sisters in Christ, how do you being your day?
Idolatry is allowing anything other than God to be number 1 in your life. If you are putting social media, your job, your kids, your husband, ANYTHING before God, you are making it your God and therefore, practicing idolatry.
Try going on a fast, free from whatever it is that keeps you from putting God first and ask Him to better help you manage your time. You'd be amazed at how quick God helps you find time for Him if you truly wish to!
Friday
I touched on this before...there is power in our praise! The moment in which we lay ourselves down and prostrate before the Lord, is the moment that we can literally touch Heaven.
As our praise resounds, we have the unique capability to be heard in Heaven as well as Earth. This is because as soon as we become saved, we become citizens of Heaven.
Do you truly grasp what this means. This means that we are able to inhabit two places at once! If that doesn't get you excited about worship, I don't know what will, however I do know that this verse is 100% true.
While we all walk through a storm at some point, it is God who calms the waters. Again today, take a moment to think of how far He's brought you, how much He loves you, and how He is willing to bless you as much as He can! Your worship resounds in Heaven...tell Abba how much He means to you!