“Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth! Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.” (Psalm 96:9–10, ESV)
Worship! God calls us to worship. Worship is such an important part of the life for a believer. For a follower of Jesus Christ, worship is like breathing. It is what we do. It is part of our connection and relationship with God.
We worship God in his presence
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness! Worship takes place in the presence of God. We recognize that we live in God’s creation. He is eternally present. Jesus said that he is with us always to the end of the age. Wherever we may be, we are in the presence of God.
We sing the song, “Come, Now Is the Time to Worship.“ NOW is as good of time to worship as any, because I am NOW in the presence of God more than I realize. Whatever you are doing right NOW, take a moment and recognize the presence of God. Give him praise he deserves!
God desires worship together
The church gathers on Sunday morning in a building dedicated for worship. We call it a sanctuary. We come from different places. We set aside the challenges we face in the world to enter into the presence of God together with other believers. In this gathering God is uniquely present in a way that he is not present at other times. Jesus promises where people gather in his name, he is present (Matthew 18:20). He is also present for us through the body and blood we receive in the Lord’s Supper. There are many promises in the Bible that are given to the church (the gathering of believers) that are not given to us as individuals. So this time is a very special time for all who believe.
We worship God alone
God desires our individual worship. The picture of corporate worship should not be that of having our cup filled after having it drained during the week. Rather our corporate worship is the overflowing of our cup after having been poured into for the week. If there is no song in our heart for 6 days of the week, there will not be a song on the 7th. Worship is not to be a weekly experience. It is a a daily experience. Maybe the reason we leave hungry from worship on Sunday, is because we have not been fed during the week. We wouldn’t expect to eat one day a week on Sunday morning and be satisfied. In the week ahead, I am going to offer some ideas on greaterthing.today about how to engage in worship on a daily basis. But consider how you might make worship part of your day today.
We worship from the heart
God desires worship from the heart. We worship with our hands. We worship with our lips. We worship through singing. We worship through serving. But more than anywhere else, God desires our worship to come from the heart. If worship is not from the heart, then we are just going through the motions. We can do all the right things for all the wrong reasons.
There are certainly sometimes where I may not feel like worshipping. My heart may not be in it. So what do I do? I worship anyways. As I start to engage in worship, it has a way of changing my outlook and my heart.
As a runner, there are more than a few times that I did not feel like running. My heart was not in it. But I went anyway. And there has never been a run that I regretted. I always feel better for doing it. My heart may not have been in it at first, but it doesn’t take long for the heart to follow the feet. In the same way, you may not feel like worshipping, but worshipping is something you will never regret. Your heart will follow your song.
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