Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death.
According to the Psalmist, the idea
of heart worship is similar to that; true worship is the extreme response of the heart,
mind, and soul to love God, and live in such a manner as to please Him.
The one fly in the ointment, in saying that our worship of God is an equal
and opposite reaction, is the “equal” part.
There is no worship any human can offer that is equal to how God loves
us. God is without peer. In the same way a watch is not equal to the
watchmaker, nor a house greater than its’ builder, no created being is greater,
or even somewhat equal, to the Creator.
God is God…and we are not.
And, so, what worship pleases
God? How is it that we give to God
worship that is acceptable? In the New
Testament Jesus affirmed to the Pharisees, the answer to that question, found
in the words of Deuteronomy 6:5.
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37
Now, with Scripture, there are no
words which are insignificant, or without the full force of what God
meant. Both Old and New Testaments
affirm that, when it comes to the worship that comes from our heart, soul, mind,
and anything else we might have available, the key word is
ALL!
“Proper” worship of God means you
offer it with everything
you’ve got, strength, words, resources; even
the breath in your lungs at this moment, and if God gives you another. What’s the cost for worship? Well…what have you got?
Hold on, preacher…you just
want me to write a bigger check for the offering. Well, if you can, then you’ve got
a decision; if the smaller check means you’ve worshipped with ALL your heart, soul, mind, and
strength, well, then…NO.
Hold on, preacher…you just
want me to give up my vacation to go on some mission trip to help build a
school for some third world kids. Well, if that week at the gambling tables in
Las Vegas occupies a bigger place in your mind, heart, and soul, as opposed to
the kids that would attend that school…well, then…NO…have a nice trip.
See? It isn’t something a preacher, your wife or
husband, or some wise man on top of a mountain can answer for you. It’s all about your heart, your mind, your soul, and the strength God has put
in your hands. Because worship isn’t about
what the preacher says in his sermon, or the music coming from the piano and
choir. It isn’t even about perfect
attendance ribbons, or positions held, or whether your giving is 5% or
75%...worship is all about your
heart, and whether God has full access to
every last bit of what you consider yours, finances, strength, time,
relationships, habits, and willingness to go where He sends,
do what He
wants, and readiness to drop everything
else when He
calls.
That is heart worship. And it is pleasing to God.
Let’s
Pray Together:
Father, so often we refer to MY time, or MY car, or MY family, or My bank account, or so much of what we deem our possessions and entitlements. We are so much like children who ‘own’ stuff their parents have provided…we think we have earned, and, are therefore entitled. Teach us to know how that turns worship away from Heaven, and towards us; teach us how that means we’re making ourselves God, and how it makes our lives barren of worship and unoccupied by Your presence. Lord, in Your mercy…
For You Today
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.
Have a blessed day!
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