Tuesday, December 28, 2010

rough draft for short read (worship)

Worship in all it’s entirety, is the best evidence to which the God we serve is both living and active. I believe that to worship God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you first have to have an awareness and understanding of who He is. Upon receiving my salvation, I worshipped God because He saved my life from death. He brought me out of confusion, and loneliness and in to a place of peace and comfort I cannot describe with words. My reverence and prostration came from experiencing the presence and love of God, and it was evident that he was, and is alive. Knowing that you are a sinner, and believing God sent his One and Only Son to save you, opens the door to worship.

Thomas Kimber explains worship and writes, “Worship is, in the first place, a complete prostration of the soul before its object; whether the heart of the worshipper be directed toward the vain and imaginations of the heathen, or to the one true and living God.” I agree with this definition, I would even go to say, worship is a whole life focus and alignment to God. It is the act of giving all of your attention, desire, gratitude, adoration, reverence, and importance of who God is in your life towards him.

I think the twenty-first century would define “worship” mostly with music, and hymns. I’m not saying that creating and playing music to God isn’t worship, just another way to worship. Getting in the presence of God is wonderful, and I believe that singing and making music builds a pathway to His presence. However, man’s worship should be more than making music, it should be a whole life focus towards the One and Only God.

Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.”

I believe that worship starts in the heart of the individual, and is a choice that person has to make everyday. There are two choices to be made. Serve God, or serve yourself. Upon choosing to serve God, in that instance, in that moment where you yield your life to His, grace abounds. I think He is looking for people with an attitude of surrender, and humility. After all, He tells us to follow Him. In Luke 14:27 “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Following Him involves a death experience, it involves laying our lives down and letting Him rule and reign.

We are definitely created to worship the Lord. I believe in a church setting, or in a worship service, we should give our praise and adoration by singing, lifting our hands, bowing down, and giving all of our attention to Him. In a private setting, I think we should set away time for prayer and just sit and listen to worship, or play an instrument to give praise to God.

In the scope of things, God is due of our worship. He is worthy and faithful, and that speaks enough. For years, a certain high priest sacrificed the blood of bulls and goats to atone for our sin once a year. But the atonement that was made could never take away the sins of the people permanently. The high priest kept making this sacrifice so that the law would be in effect until Christ came. So God sent his Son born of a virgin, and He lived a life on this earth for thirty-three years without sin. He submitted himself to God and was obedient to death. He was sent, not to condemn the world, but to save the world through himself. God made the ultimate sacrifice, and because of it, because of the blood that came from Christ, we are atoned for forever, we are washed, and we do have a way to the Father. That is enough to revere the Lord, that is enough to give him all our praise. That is enough to worship Him.

John 4:23 “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.”

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