March 16, 2012
Transformational Thought
Overcoming distractions and focusing on God become easier when we make worshiping and praising Him our highest priority. But what is worship? And how do we worship God?
Worship can occur in song, in prayer, or in action. People worship in different ways, but the essence of worship is perceiving God accurately and responding appropriately to what we see. Perceive and Respond are 2 of the 6 essential steps in all decisions.
When we perceive God accurately for who He really is as the all-powerful Ruler and Creator of everything, and recognize who we are, our natural response should be praising, loving, thanking, and adoring Him. This adoration can be expressed in many ways. Some people honor Him with words. Some sing. Some raise their hands or kneel before Him. Some remain quiet before Him, just basking in His presence. Some dance or play instruments.
More importantly, worship is how you respond to God in all the other areas of your life outside the “worship time” of the church service or when you hear a “praise and worship song.” Anybody can sing in church. But are you putting God first in all the activities and all the areas of temptation in your life? Some will perform the ultimate act of worship and lay down their lives for proclaiming Jesus as the only way. Are you ready to worship your Savior that faithfully? The rest of us have many important decisions every day about how we will worship God during life’s distractions, adversities, and relationships.
Worship that perceives and responds is the key to experiencing an encounter with God and growing in the knowledge of God. It is the means to a closer and deeper personal relationship with Him. Praise is a declaration of who God is. Worship is an encounter with who God is. God makes Himself known to worshiping people. He calls us to worship Him alone. For only He is holy and can restore us from being broken to being cured in Him.
Today, learn to seek Him and to worship Him … with passion. Just as you express your love to your spouse, parents or children in many different ways, be determined to discover the freedom of worshiping and loving God in different ways. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. There is no right or wrong method … it is the love in your heart and your willingness to respond in all areas of your life that is true worship. Godly decision-making is how you offer up your body as a living sacrifice, and that is your spiritual act of worship. Life really is your decision, so choose well.
Prayer
Dear Father God, I do love You and adore You. I praise You for who You are and for all that You have done for me. You are my Father, Daddy, Savior and Deliverer. You are my Comforter, Teacher, Guide, and Protector. I praise You for Your love, Your power, Your goodness and Your grace. I pray this and all prayers in the name of the One who showed the ultimate spiritual act of worship with His obedience unto death for me, Jesus Christ; and all God’s children say – AMEN!
The Truth
If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. Deuteronomy 30:16-18
That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself-Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration. John 4:23-24
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2