Worship
Have you ever gone somewhere, thinking you were going for one reason, and realized in the end that you were there for a different reason or purpose? You went to church to see your friend or for social reasons and realized that God had something important to say to you? Most definitely. Been there; done that.
Acts of worship
When Christians hear the word “worship,” we automatically think about being in church. We think about singing and worshiping God with our brothers and sisters in Christ. There’s nothing like it. On Father’s Day this year, I journaled: “It feels so good to sing to God!” You’ll find several links to hymns and worship songs in today’s post. But worship isn’t only about singing.
The dictionary defines worship as “reverent honor and homage” given to God.
Our participation in worship services during The Lord’s Supper—communion, times of prayer, and through giving can help us maintain or regain humble, receptive hearts. All these things are acts of worship—if our hearts are in it.
Honor and majesty are before him. Strength and gladness are in his place. Ascribe to the LORD, you relatives of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come before him. Worship the LORD in holy array.
1 Chronicles 16:27-29, New Heart English Bible
This Bible passage from 1 Chronicles 29 includes King David’s prayer of adoration to God in the presence of all the people, plus his acknowledgement and understanding that offerings given to the Lord are simply the people returning to God a portion of what he so generously gives to us.
Preachers and hearers
Are we worshiping when we listen to a sermon? We certainly can be, depending on two things: (1) whether the words being spoken honor God—in spirit and truth—and (2) whether we, the hearers, are honoring God in our hearts and minds. Are we paying attention? Are our hearts in a humble, receptive posture? Are we focusing on truths about God and his word or are we focused on the person preaching? It’s easy to be distracted, prideful or focusing on the wrong things. As hearers, we need to be intentional. Easier said than done. We need to ask God to help us.
The false prophets
Sadly, many preachers today do not honor God during their sermons. False prophets honor themselves and weave lies in with their Bible quotes. From this post:
Leaders in the New Apostolic Reformation call themselves apostles, which is heresy; they elevate their personal “revelations” over God’s word; and they push mysticism, including non-biblical teachings about demons. Basically, they use lies, false prophesies and scare tactics to control people and become rich. Their heresy goes like this: “The Bible is nice, but my personal, direct revelations from God are better. Listen to and obey me. What I’m offering you is a new thing from God. The Bible is old. Buy my books in the lobby.”
For more, including recommended videos, see A Year in the Life, part 3. Go to this post and drink in the section called Beware the Bad Teachers. And explore two teams in the church—Team Deception and Team Jesus.
Reverence and godly preaching
To learn about reverence, read part 3 and part 4 of The Joy of the Lord. Remember this key truth from part 3:
In addition to reading the word of God, we need to hear it. Listen to the word of God preached faithfully. Beware of any preacher who doesn’t preach about sin and repentance.
Reverence and godly preaching can and should result in sorrow over our sin and repentance. Part 4 ends with important questions about our repentance. (Scroll down to Your Turn: Reflecting on Nehemiah and the Israelites.) If we aren’t challenged to see our sin and taught how to deal with it—how to wage war against it—something is missing. Either the preaching doesn’t clearly address sin and what we need to do to battle it or we’re thinking wrongly about ourselves.
Heart issues
When we’re thinking wrongly about ourselves—and about God—due to pride or self-loathing, we have a serious heart issue. Here are some of the many possibilities where we’re concerned—the hearers. (1) Well, I never did that, so this sermon doesn’t really apply to me. (2) I’m not proud; I’m just well-behaved and compliant. (3) I already figured all that stuff out. (4) He’s talking to someone else. I hope so-and-so is listening. He/she is the one who really needs to hear this part. (5) This is lame. I already know everything he just said. Etcetera. And then there’s the other end of the spectrum. (1) I’ll never get this right. (2) If they only knew what I did, they’d kick me out. (3) I don’t have any idea where to start. (4) Jesus doesn’t really want me. I’m too screwed up. (5) What am I doing here anyway….
Before the sermon, do I ask God to show me what he has for me today? What he desires to say to me through my preacher, my pastor, my priest, my earthly shepherd? I need to do that. It’s a very good place to start.
Can I?
As we move through today’s post, I’m hoping we can add to the concept of worshiping in church—thinking about times when we worship God in other places, sometimes by ourselves.
If I’m giving God reverent honor and homage, I’m worshiping.
Can I be worshiping while I’m washing dishes? Yes, I can. Can I be worshiping while I’m driving? Yes, I can. Can I be worshiping while I’m changing a diaper, holding a crying child, handling elder care or helping someone who’s sick? Yes, I can. Can I be humming or singing “Blessed Assurance” during those times—or another great, truthful favorite? Yes, I can. Can I be thanking God and honoring him in my thoughts and with my words? Yes, I can.
Yes. I. Can. Remember, if I’m giving God reverent honor and homage, I’m worshiping.
Let’s explore today’s topic…
Joy in worship
Last year, two days before our silver anniversary, I journaled about our preacher’s sermon. Did I journal about food again? I sure did. What can I say.
Sunday, July 30
Journal entry
JR preached on my favorite Psalm—Psalm 27. Praise the Lord! It was great. After church, Brandon mentioned something that stuck out to him from the sermon. We talked about spiritual things on the way to church…. After church, we ate with our life group at Jason’s Deli. I enjoyed chicken salad and a cookie. Yum.
This afternoon and tonight, Brandon and I had very long, important conversations, ’til almost 1 A.M. He is finally able to trust God’s people—specifically, our life group. Our Alpha group discussions were very helpful to him too…. The people in the church are no longer a stumbling block left over from the abuses in his past (at home and at church). Brandon has laid down his anger. He admitted that he replaced the anger with food.
…I asked him to read my last two posts (about slavery, Us vs. Them and spiritual warfare) and he did. We talked a little about demons and the occult. The movie Nefarious helped him. When he was young and violent, he tried to move into the occult and his way was blocked. The Lord protected him. God has done great restoration in Brandon’s mind and heart. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised… Psalm 145:3a [KJV].
For more about Psalm 27 and my favorite scriptures, see part 1 of The Beauty of the Bible. To explore joy in the Lord’s protection, read part 9.
For a post about joy in worship, that journal entry was a bit heavy, to say the least. But it reminds me of this truth. While we’re fighting battles—internally or externally—we can experience the respite of joy in worship. When the battle is over or we’re experiencing a reprieve, we can celebrate “Victory in Jesus” and joy in worship. Oh, yes.
Worshiping here and there
Earlier this year, I journaled about worship.
Friday, February 23
Journal entry
…I listened to great Christian music at work today, like “Psalm 34” by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, and experienced the sweetness of the Lord and a wonderful day of worship.
Was there more worship that Friday? Indeed. In my experience, a grateful heart that’s humble before the Lord is a worshiping heart—showing God “reverent honor and homage.” I journaled about a good phone call, happy family time in the back yard, Brandon’s help in the kitchen, our dinner, and more. Then I wrote this prayer: Thank you, Holy Spirit, for this beautiful day!
From worship to blessings
This summer, we experienced something remarkable at church.
Sunday, July 21
Journal entry
It rained a lot today. Praise the Lord. JR’s sermon on the government was excellent. We obey God. We obey the authorities unless doing so disobeys God. At the end we sang “Nothing But the Blood” by All Sons & Daughters. As we sang Jesus, you are good, rain poured [loudly] onto the roof. What a glorious sound—the people of God worshiping and singing up and God pouring out his blessing. It was amazing.
Would I have remembered that Sunday if I hadn’t journaled about it? No.
Our stories
Peaceful Readers, God’s powerful outpouring of rain that day at just the right time helps to display the power and importance of journaling. Remembering God’s incredible goodness strengthens us and keeps us living with hearts of worship. Our stories do that.
From stories to praise
From the sweet story about how Marvin came into my life:
Do you journal faithfully?
Journaling helps us to see clearly and to praise God rightly.
Join me as A Journaler for Life—to celebrate the beauty of life—for as long as we’re able.
For more about the beauty of journaling, see the section called Chronicling the Truth in this post.
This scripture passage from 2 Chronicles 7 shows us God’s power coming from heaven and ends with the important prayer, “If my people….”
A worshipful life: Miss Clara
Let’s close out this post on worship with a story about a dear, dear lady.
Many years ago when I worked as a Child Protective Services caseworker, one of the little boys in my caseload lived in a very special foster home. What made this particular foster home special was little Michael’s foster mom. I’ll call her Miss Clara. She didn’t live in a fancy house or in a fancy part of town. In fact, Miss Clara lived in a rough part of town not far from the CPS office. What made Miss Clara’s home special was Miss Clara. She glowed with the love of Christ. Her smile warmed up the room. She loved her foster children and was so good to them. She was love and peace. She was kind and gentle. I always enjoyed going to her home. It felt so good to be there, even though I wasn’t a Christian yet. There was something warm and safe and good there.
The Holy Spirit was there.
I hadn’t thought about Miss Clara for many years, until it was time to start writing this post. What does Miss Clara have to do with joy in worship? I believe she has everything to do with it. Her worship and reverence for the Lord on Sunday and throughout the week translated into her love for hurting children. She was love and peace—faith and family. She was faith in action. Miss Clara displayed photos of her own children and her foster children in her home. Her foster children were truly a part of her family. They weren’t just in her home; they were in her heart.
Home at last
Thinking about Miss Clara made me teary-eyed. Where is she now?
Miss Clara was probably in her 60s when I was in her sweet home, and I was in my early- to mid-20s. That was 35+ years ago. Miss Clara would be in her mid- to late-90s now or maybe more than 100 years old. I believe she’s in glory, singing with the angels: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty…” (Revelation 4:8b, NHEB). Miss Clara is glowing and smiling and worshiping for eternity.
Remembering his face
Miss Clara and little Michael inspired today’s song below. I remember Michael’s precious little face—especially his eyes. He looked so lost. So very lost. He didn’t know where he was, why he was there or how long he’d get to stay.
Praying for Michael
I don’t know where little Michael is today. He was adopted by a family in west Texas. He’d be in his late 30s. Lord, Michael is in your hands. I pray that he knows you, loves you and serves you. I pray that his deep hurts from the past have been healed by you. If he is not yet yours, I pray earnestly for his salvation. Help him. Help him, please. In the precious name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
I cried for Michael as I wrote about him. God knows where Michael is—physically, emotionally, spiritually. He knows Michael by name. He knows everything about him. Michael is not missing. He is known. Today’s song is called “Missing Not One.” We sang this song at church last month for the first time and it grabbed me.
Will you pray for Michael? Even though that’s not his real name, God knows his name—and everything else. I pray that Michael can say these words with us—now or very soon:
Lord, I’m in your hands and you are faithful.
Your turn
Do you know someone who lives a life of worship like Miss Clara did? A life focused on the love of God? A life filled with gratitude to Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer?
Are you that someone? If not, you could be….
Coming next: We’ll be exploring joy in the Lord’s presence. I’m really looking forward to that. Come back next time to read about Brandon’s wallet, a prayer for Logan and much more.
Until next time, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Truth from The Word: Psalm 34:1-3
Song: “Missing Not One (Perfect Love of Christ)” by Immanuel Nashville
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