My last blog post on worship touched a nerve. I think more people saw it than any other post on my blog!
Worship is a touchy subject.
I am reading "Worship, the Missing Jewel," by A.W. Tozer. In it Tozer reminds us what the purpose of man is, and I will summarize:
*To worship God*
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God created a being in His image to be able to appreciate and glorify Himself, man. We have an eternal spiritual nature, a mind that can understand much, and senses to appreciate His creation. In short, we can worship God, and that is our purpose.
Since the fall of mankind we are sadly short-comers. Most of the human race continues in abject blindness regarding our purpose. Most people have put themselves or their ideals on the throne of their worship. Idolatry.
When I read about our purpose I am struck by my natural response to think that worship is not enough--that worship is too simple, too easy, too boring.
Then I dig deeper and find that worshiping God is anything but simple, easy or boring.
Worshiping God is aligning myself with Him and His holiness. It is abandoning my own ideas of right and wrong and accepting, glorifying HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
My standards no longer matter. My wants, likes, preferences are insignificant. Only GOD'S "preferences" matter, and I have an idea of what that might be.
Dare I speculate?
-A clean heart, repentant, free of ALL sin. 1 John 1:9: If you confess your sin He is faithful and just to forgive your sin and CLEANSE you from all unrighteousness. You will have turned away from your sinful behaviors and you will have a pure heart before God. Examine yourself, says the Scripture.
-Awe. Our God is an awesome God. Loving, merciful, kind, and awe-inspiring. Does the word respect have any meaning? Is my behavior respectful as I worship? Or, am I letting it "all hang out?" We will all be on our knees, or flat on our faces before our Creator. This is worship.
-Love. Our hearts will be filled with holy love. We will see others as God sees them, giving Him the glory for their beauty and gifts that He gave them. God is love. Love will be integral to our worship of Him. He who has not love is as a clanging cymbal....Let's think about that.
So what kind of worship does God require? Hardly the kind that makes me or any other human "happy."
Wrong focus there.
Let's lose the self-centered focus and draw close to our Lord and Savior. Only then will our worship be as it should be.
Worship is a touchy subject.
I am reading "Worship, the Missing Jewel," by A.W. Tozer. In it Tozer reminds us what the purpose of man is, and I will summarize:
*To worship God*
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-
God created a being in His image to be able to appreciate and glorify Himself, man. We have an eternal spiritual nature, a mind that can understand much, and senses to appreciate His creation. In short, we can worship God, and that is our purpose.
Since the fall of mankind we are sadly short-comers. Most of the human race continues in abject blindness regarding our purpose. Most people have put themselves or their ideals on the throne of their worship. Idolatry.
When I read about our purpose I am struck by my natural response to think that worship is not enough--that worship is too simple, too easy, too boring.
Then I dig deeper and find that worshiping God is anything but simple, easy or boring.
Worshiping God is aligning myself with Him and His holiness. It is abandoning my own ideas of right and wrong and accepting, glorifying HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
My standards no longer matter. My wants, likes, preferences are insignificant. Only GOD'S "preferences" matter, and I have an idea of what that might be.
Dare I speculate?
-A clean heart, repentant, free of ALL sin. 1 John 1:9: If you confess your sin He is faithful and just to forgive your sin and CLEANSE you from all unrighteousness. You will have turned away from your sinful behaviors and you will have a pure heart before God. Examine yourself, says the Scripture.
-Awe. Our God is an awesome God. Loving, merciful, kind, and awe-inspiring. Does the word respect have any meaning? Is my behavior respectful as I worship? Or, am I letting it "all hang out?" We will all be on our knees, or flat on our faces before our Creator. This is worship.
-Love. Our hearts will be filled with holy love. We will see others as God sees them, giving Him the glory for their beauty and gifts that He gave them. God is love. Love will be integral to our worship of Him. He who has not love is as a clanging cymbal....Let's think about that.
So what kind of worship does God require? Hardly the kind that makes me or any other human "happy."
Wrong focus there.
Let's lose the self-centered focus and draw close to our Lord and Savior. Only then will our worship be as it should be.
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