Tag: worship

The Best Worship Style

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Almost everyone has an opinion about worship style.  Interestingly enough, most people do not refer to (or even care about) biblical worship, but comment more about music style, sermon methodology, tradition (or the absence thereof), and permissible clergy (and laity) clothing.

When Isaiah saw the Lord in Isaiah 6, he experienced the greatness of God, realized the extent of his own sinfulness, and witnessed his sin being atoned for.  However, the end result of his worship experience was Isaiah saying, “Here am I, send me.”  God wants our ultimate worship.  He formed us after Himself so we could experience His presence and accomplish His purposes.  When we realize who He is and all He has done for us, our only reasonable response to Him is worship.

Full surrendered worship of all that we are for all that He is.  That is the best worship style.

Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God; this is your spiritual worship.  Romans 12:1

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Thine

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I was seven years old.  As I sat in the hard pew, I held tight to the crinkled hymnal that seemed huge in my small hands.  And as the congregation stood to sing, I read these words for the first time:

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, and it told Thy love to me;  But I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to Thee.*

I’m older now and I don’t often think of those lyrics, but the meaning is still true.  If we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.  If we seek after Him with all of our heart, He will do everything He can to have strong relationship with us.

Think about it.

If God has already allowed His Son to die for us, why wouldn’t He embrace us when we reach out to Him?

He wants our worship.  He desires our friendship.  He wants us to draw near to Him.

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.  James 4:8a

*Fanny Crosby, I Am Thine, O Lord

 

 

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I Don’t Want to Gaze on the Beauty of the Lord

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 I was in elementary school when I first heard Psalm 27:4  –  I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking Him in His temple.

I was intensely disappointed and confused.  I couldn’t comprehend that David, the Giant Slayer, wanted to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life.  To me, that meant going to church everyday.  Gazing on the beauty of the Lord meant I had to be quiet and still like when I was supposed to gaze upon a work of art in a museum.  It didn’t make sense to me.  I also failed to understand the whole Seeking Him in His temple thing.  How I was supposed to find anyone if I had to sit still in church?  I was well acquainted with the rules of Hide and Seek, but I’d never played it with God.  My teachers had taught me that God was everywhere all the time which meant it would be really hard for Him to hide which would end the game really fast.  All of this added up to mean one thing:  I had no desire to gaze on the beauty of the Lord.  I certainly didn’t want to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

However, after coming to know Jesus, I understand what it means to experience His presence in worship, both privately and corporately.  My elementary school self would probably be surprised to hear that I long for these times.  Worship is not just me sitting passively listening to other people talk and sing about a distant God.  It’s an opportunity for me to encounter the living Creator of everything who loves us so intensely that He died so we might spend eternity with Him forever and Him dwell within us even now.

I still don’t want to play hide and seek with God.  He’s everywhere and I have no desire to hide from Him.  I’d rather be with Him…gazing on His beauty, dwelling in His house all the days of my life.

Lord, I desire one thing: To spend all of my life seeking after You and experiencing Your presence.

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The Real Lies of Christians

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A.W. Tozer once wrote, Christians don’t tell lies, they just go to church and sing them.  He was right.  If we truly lived out everything that we sang in worship, our lives would be much different.  We would all be much more like Jesus.

I’ve often heard it said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  It’s a phrase that has been around for hundreds of years.  In 1708, Jeremy Collier and Andre Dacier wrote a biography of Marcus Aurelius where a similar phrase was used by the Roman emperor himself.  He said, You should consider that imitation is the most acceptable part of worship, and that the gods had much rather mankind should resemble, than flatter them.

Even though the emperor was mistaken as to the number of deities that actually exist, he was correct in the remainder of his statement.  Offering our praise to the Lord is very important, however, it is not just about us singing or speaking praise to God in the moment, but it involves us imitating Jesus.  In Ephesians 5, Paul stated Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children.  And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. We are to love others as He loved us.  So, let’s give the Lord our sincerest form of flattery.  Let’s imitate Him and walk in His love.

 

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Bad Mood

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“Has God ever done anything for me?”

I sometimes ask myself this question when I’m in a really bad mood.  My answer always starts with, “I can’t think of anything at the moment, but I sure can think of a lot of bad things that have happened to me.”

Do you know why we sometimes give in to that way of thinking?  It’s because we get so concentrated on our current circumstances that we start counting our curses and completely forget about counting our blessings.

So, how do we turn that around?  We have to start small and retrain ourselves to count our blessings.  We should start by saying something like, “Thank You, God, that I’m still alive.  Thank You that I can get up this morning!  Thank You for this place where I live.  Thank You for my friends and my family!  Thank You that I have the opportunity to worship You.”

If we thank God for what comes to mind, no matter how small, He will instantly bring more to our attention.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.  Psalm 118:1

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The Cost of Worship

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I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.  2 Samuel 24:24

King David once wanted to make a special sacrifice to the Lord.  So, he approached a man named Araunah, who was a Jebusite, in order to purchase his threshing floor so he could set up an altar there.

Araunah told the king to take the threshing floor at no cost and even offered him oxen for the burnt offering and ox yokes for the firewood.

David replied, “No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24)

David wasn’t going to worship God half-heartedly.  Likewise, when we worship God, we should do so with our whole hearts.  This often requires us to stretch ourselves in worship, expressing ourselves in ways that may not be comfortable for us.  The quiet, reserved person may need to stretch out a hand to the Lord in worship.  The overly expressive person may need to sit still in God’s presence.

Has your personal worship become stale?  Maybe it’s time for your worship to cost you something.

Lord, help us to never offer You worship that cost us nothing.

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