WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH (PART 2)

"I Will Bless The LORD At All Times;

His Praise Shall Continually Be In My Mouth"

Psalm 34:1 (NKJV)

What would happen if we decided to let every thought and every breath bless the LORD? Imagine the result if His name were affectionately on our lips as we lay down at night, as we turned over in our sleep, as we awoke in the morning and as we went about our daily business. Would such a perspective radically change our hearts? Probably. Would it change our world? It's likely. Any time in the Bible someone gives himself to worship, God does amazing things through that person. Blessings abound. God's work done. He is glorified.
What prevents us from such a pervasive sense of His worth? Are our schedules just too busy? Or is it deeper than that? Perhaps it's a suspicion that He hasn't been as good to us as Scripture declares that age is. Or maybe it's a subtle resentment that He has not paved our paths with gold and has allowed us to taste the bitter trials of life.

Whatever reasons we can come up with, we should ask ourselves if a worship-filled heart is worth sacrificing to the gods of busyness, apathy, and disappointment. If we really got a glimpse of God, we would never be too busy; we would never be too apathetic; and we would never be disappointed with His will for us. We would understand that underlying everything we go through and every responsibility we're given is the loving hand of a God who is leading us closer to Him. The end result is a greater blessing than and earthbound human can possibly imagine.
The angels surrounding God's throne cry put day an night, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His Glory" (Isaiah 6:3). Perhaps we were not created with exactly the same role as those angels were; but then again, perhaps they are pictures of the praise all creatures - including us - owe Him. We at least have a similar purpose: to honour God and ascribe glory to Him. What prevents us? Nothing should. What would result? Everything our heart truly desires.
(An extract from: Worship The King by Chris Tiegreen)

WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH (PART 2)

"I Will Bless The LORD At All Times;

His Praise Shall Continually Be In My Mouth"

Psalm 34:1 (NKJV)

What would happen if we decided to let every thought and every breath bless the LORD? Imagine the result if His name were affectionately on our lips as we lay down at night, as we turned over in our sleep, as we awoke in the morning and as we went about our daily business. Would such a perspective radically change our hearts? Probably. Would it change our world? It's likely. Any time in the Bible someone gives himself to worship, God does amazing things through that person. Blessings abound. God's work done. He is glorified.
What prevents us from such a pervasive sense of His worth? Are our schedules just too busy? Or is it deeper than that? Perhaps it's a suspicion that He hasn't been as good to us as Scripture declares that age is. Or maybe it's a subtle resentment that He has not paved our paths with gold and has allowed us to taste the bitter trials of life.
Whatever reasons we can come up with, we should ask ourselves if a worship-filled heart is worth sacrificing to the gods of busyness, apathy, and disappointment. If we really got a glimpse of God, we would never be too busy; we would never be too apathetic; and we would never be disappointed with His will for us. We would understand that underlying everything we go through and every responsibility we're given is the loving hand of a God who is leading us closer to Him. The end result is a greater blessing than and earthbound human can possibly imagine.
The angels surrounding God's throne cry put day an night, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His Glory" (Isaiah 6:3). Perhaps we were not created with exactly the same role as those angels were; but then again, perhaps they are pictures of the praise all creatures - including us - owe Him. We at least have a similar purpose: to honour God and ascribe glory to Him. What prevents us? Nothing should. What would result? Everything our heart truly desires.
(An extract from: Worship The King by Chris Tiegreen)

AUTHENTIC WORSHIP

The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked,

but the prayer of the upright pleases Him.

Proverbs 15:8

Several Bible passages tell us that the fear of God is where wisdom begins ( Proverbs 1:7, 2:5, 9:10 ). If we are to be truly wise, we must understand who He is. All of creation was based on His character. His heart is written into the fabric of every part of this universe, even if sin obscures it. Those who find understanding will be those who can recognize the imprint of God in the depths and design of creation. They will be ardent observers of the way He deals with humanity. They will take their cues from Him.
Proverbs 15:8 points out numerous such cues. This verse tells us something profound about our Creator. He desires the ESSENCE OF WORSHIP more than its demostration. In Old Testament times, the sacrifice would have often been an animal or a grain offering. Today, it comes from our finances at one level and our time and talents at others. In any case, it's not the gift that matters most. God already owns everything anyway. What really matters is the HEART of the giver. Why? Because things do not honour God nearly as much as does a devoted, living being.
Why does God hate the sacrifice of the wicked? Because it is superficial. It is an attempt to brush Him off and get on with the self-life. It bears the appearance of devotion, but there is nothing of relationship in it - no love, no honour, no passion. That tells us volumes about the One who made us. He is no distant force, a cosmic "first cause" who observes us from afar. He is deeply, intensely personal.
Have you really considered the implications of that? It means that when you think He's far off, He isn't. It means that those deep longings in your HEART - you know, the ones that leave agonizing, gasping holes went unfulfilled - are longings He wants to satisfy in the right way at the right time. It means that your soul is a place of warm communion, not cold solitude. It means that what you thought was too good to be true - His  unconditional love and His enjoyment of your personality - is real
(an extract fromWalk With God Devotional by Chris Tiegreen)