"You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever." Psalm 16:11
I've been a Christian for all of my adult life. I've fallen short more times than I care to admit, and I've had victories and grace that I didn't deserve. I have searched the scriptures, written about God, and shared His word with others in studies, speeches and song.
What continually amazes me is that in my 40 or so years of knowing Him, what I actually know is only a drop in the bucket of all there is to discover. I will say part of me is frustrated over that. Part of me is excited. Mostly, I'm just dumbfounded.
We never arrive, and I'm one of those people who wants to arrive. But God wouldn't be a god worth worshiping if we could come to the end of our knowledge of Him. His greatness and vastness has to be beyond time and space, beyond our comprehension in order to be God.
So we keep striving to understand, know, connect and discover with our creator. It will take eternity to satisfy me. So glad I accepted the invitation to go.
Showing posts with label Worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Worship. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Come and be faithful
O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
Come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels.
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
Jesus, to thee be all glory giv’n
Glory to God, all glory in the highest.
O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Yet another carol of proclamation and invitation. The proclamation that Christ was born – come to us as the King of Angels. The invitation is to come and adore Him, to worship Him as Christ the Lord.
The invitation is ongoing – not just at Christmas time but every day of our lives. When we neglect the invitation, we miss out on the awesome opportunity to join the chorus of all those who worship Him. It is interesting that God not only invites us to worship Him, but makes it a commandment. He is holy and sovereign, and demands and deserves our adoration and attention.
We have free will to decline the invitation, and unfortunately we exercise that free will too often. It’s easy to remember the call to worship when the whole world is decorated and primed for a celebration of Christ’s birth. But what we do with the invitation all the other months and days of the year is really what loving Him is all about.
Jesus came to serve, but He also came to be worshipped. Follow the star, go the distance, bow before Him each and every day.
Jesus, we celebrate your birth. We come before You to adore and worship. Thank you for the blessed invitation.
Come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels.
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
Jesus, to thee be all glory giv’n
Glory to God, all glory in the highest.
O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Yet another carol of proclamation and invitation. The proclamation that Christ was born – come to us as the King of Angels. The invitation is to come and adore Him, to worship Him as Christ the Lord.
The invitation is ongoing – not just at Christmas time but every day of our lives. When we neglect the invitation, we miss out on the awesome opportunity to join the chorus of all those who worship Him. It is interesting that God not only invites us to worship Him, but makes it a commandment. He is holy and sovereign, and demands and deserves our adoration and attention.
We have free will to decline the invitation, and unfortunately we exercise that free will too often. It’s easy to remember the call to worship when the whole world is decorated and primed for a celebration of Christ’s birth. But what we do with the invitation all the other months and days of the year is really what loving Him is all about.
Jesus came to serve, but He also came to be worshipped. Follow the star, go the distance, bow before Him each and every day.
Jesus, we celebrate your birth. We come before You to adore and worship. Thank you for the blessed invitation.
Monday, November 9, 2009
The Altar of Worship
“He (David) appointed some of the Livites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel: …They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.” I CHRONICLES 16:4&6
The dwelling place of God was always at the altar of worship. There He waits for his children to come and offer themselves. His eyes and his heart will delight in our prayers when we set our minds in his direction. When we are fixed only on what God will do for us, we miss out on what He wants to be in our lives.
David knew the way to God’s heart was through worship. In battle, in heartbreak, in triumph – these times were always soaked in the sweetness of praise to God. There was no holding back. All the instruments and voices were directed at regular acts of worship before the altar. It was their custom to “make a joyful noise” before Him. All the Israelites were brought up to know that worship is essential to those who are God’s children.
When we don’t bring our best worship to God, it doesn’t go unnoticed. Others see and most importantly, God sees. His desire is for us to enjoy worship and do it with our whole heart. It is in worship that we can offer ourselves and experience the communion He desires to have with us. It is our choice to either engage or let the opportunities pass by. It’s a decision we all have to make to do whatever is necessary to express our devotion and gratitude to our Creator.
Worship is an attitude of the heart. Once we realize who God is and what He has done for us, we know what we must do. As we let our hearts receive the truth about worship, we will be transformed into the kind of worshipers God is looking for. It’s a matter of dwelling at the altar.
Dear God, I want to dwell where You are. Help me to learn how to praise You in a way that pleases You.
The dwelling place of God was always at the altar of worship. There He waits for his children to come and offer themselves. His eyes and his heart will delight in our prayers when we set our minds in his direction. When we are fixed only on what God will do for us, we miss out on what He wants to be in our lives.
David knew the way to God’s heart was through worship. In battle, in heartbreak, in triumph – these times were always soaked in the sweetness of praise to God. There was no holding back. All the instruments and voices were directed at regular acts of worship before the altar. It was their custom to “make a joyful noise” before Him. All the Israelites were brought up to know that worship is essential to those who are God’s children.
When we don’t bring our best worship to God, it doesn’t go unnoticed. Others see and most importantly, God sees. His desire is for us to enjoy worship and do it with our whole heart. It is in worship that we can offer ourselves and experience the communion He desires to have with us. It is our choice to either engage or let the opportunities pass by. It’s a decision we all have to make to do whatever is necessary to express our devotion and gratitude to our Creator.
Worship is an attitude of the heart. Once we realize who God is and what He has done for us, we know what we must do. As we let our hearts receive the truth about worship, we will be transformed into the kind of worshipers God is looking for. It’s a matter of dwelling at the altar.
Dear God, I want to dwell where You are. Help me to learn how to praise You in a way that pleases You.
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