Heart Worship

 

Friday, July 17, 2020

Psalm 86:11-13

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.

With the exception of miracles, the physical laws God set in place as He created the universe…are indisputable; that is, the rules of how stuff acts cannot be altered.  One of those laws was articulated by Sir Isaac Newton this way:

For every action there is an opposite, and equal reaction.[1]

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

Sir Isaac Newton was an inventor, as well as a mathematician.  One of his valuable discoveries was the reflecting telescope, a system of mirrors that reflects light to project an image.  Let’s let today’s thoughts be trained on our hearts, like that telescope, to see what kind of “worship” is really going on in there.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

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Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For another post on this text:  Reaction Time

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[1] Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law

Snake in the Grass

[i][ii]

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

“When you make an agreement with your neighbor to buy or sell property, you must not take advantage of each other.  When you buy land from your neighbor, the price you pay must be based on the number of years since the last jubilee.  The seller must set the price by taking into account the number of years remaining until the next Year of Jubilee.  The more years until the next jubilee, the higher the price; the fewer years, the lower the price.  After all, the person selling the land is actually selling you a certain number of harvests.  Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other.  I am the Lord your God.  “If you want to live securely in the land, follow my decrees and obey my regulations.  Then the land will yield large crops, and you will eat your fill and live securely in it.  Leviticus 25:14-19

You can legislate against evil intent, but how can you stop or change intent without a grip on the heart?  Especially when no heart exists, as in the case of sociopaths?  Among the characteristics of sociopathic behavior is a lack of shame.  

If the person is a true sociopath, then he or she will feel no remorse about hurting others, lying, manipulating people, or just generally acting in an unacceptable way.^[2]

God’s instructions to Israel about the way they were to treat each other is just the opposite – there is to be genuine care for each other, particularly in business dealings.  It was explicit in the Levitical mandates, written as the law of Jubilee, where fair prices were to be central in transferring property.  As such, there could be no lying, no truthful hyperbole to promote one Hebrew over another.  But some people will find a loophole in any law.  That is why “the law” is something God designed for the heart, as opposed to the courts.

Someone who breaks the law of compassion, withholding fairness and restraint of personal gain, is being sociopathic, taking every advantage over his neighbor, rather than loving his neighbor, and thus, not loving, (let alone fearing) God. 

That being said, sociopaths need to be loved also.  In fact, a key diagnostic in recognizing a sociopath identifies lack of love as a factor of abusive parents in the early stages of a sociopath’s early years.[iii]

This law of love is something tied to the quality of life we lead, whether you consider an individual or the entirety of humanity.  In Leviticus God describes the impact that integrity and fairness will have on a culture in terms of whether we will have enough to eat.  Loving your neighbor means everyone has enough; taking advantage of anyone is what a snake in the grass does, and it makes sure some will go hungry.

For You Today

In every aspect of living there are opportunities to exert power over others; Godly people do not slither!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[i] Title Image:   Pixabay.com

[ii] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©

[iii] How to Spot a Sociopath