The Priority of Worship

Why do you go to Church? I am sure there are several reasons which all give us a comfort of connection, friendships, and community. Above all the “reasons” we give for “going to Church,” I hope the ultimate passion within us is to worship God and to seek an encounter with Him.

I think the book of Revelation reveals the priority of our worship. Some of you may be familiar with the song, “Revelation Song” (I like Kari Jobe’s version) and may have sung it in your Church as well. This song reflects the words of Revelation 4:8, “….day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.’” It is obvious that our greatest joy is to live a life filled with unceasing, resounding and reverberant praise to the Lamb of God (Jesus) and our Heavenly Father.

The question facing us today is “how much time do we engage in the exercise of worship?” Not just at Church on Sunday because we can worship God every day no matter where we are, what we are doing, or what we are facing in life. We have the time. We can find the time. We should make the time. It is that important.

Do you have a strong reverence for God that is obvious in your lifestyle and witness? Do you find it easy to stop, reflect and praise God for the moment and for your many blessings in life? Can we find ways to worship through silence, music, meditation of Scripture, service, gratefulness, and thanksgiving?

The role of worship in your life can be dramatically elevated when you focus and become intentional about your relationship with God. That means (from a human standpoint) we must take God “out of the box” of our limited thinking and allow Him to work outside the boundaries of time, space and dimension. God is not limited to the physics of our world. Isaiah 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

We should never reduce God into a human-like god as if He is simply “the man upstairs” or treat Him as if he is merely a buddy from out of town. May we never lose sight of the majesty of God and His holiness.

The point is, the more highly you think of God, the more likely you will worship Him as He deserves. The more exalted your thoughts are of God, the more you will be aware of His presence in your life and will fully discover just how much He truly loves you.

Let us all spend more time praising, thanking, glorifying, singing, and exulting our God, our Heavenly Father through worship. Can you stop what you are doing, right now, and spend a few moments with your Heavenly Father? Let’s worship!

Learn from Lydia

There are a lot of interesting mentions of women in the Bible. Whether it is the Old Testament or New Testament, there are many strong, yet oddly missed, lessons from women that we can familiarize ourselves with to strengthen our faith. One such woman is named Lydia. She provides a very powerful lesson for us. We find one particular mention of her in the book of Acts. Acts 16:14 , says that Lydia “reverenced God, and the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying.” Lydia is actually a significant person in the New Testament. She is described as “a dealer in purple goods” (Acts 16:14). Pointing that out is quite a clue. Dealing in “purple goods” was considered a luxury in the ancient world. It is probably safe to say that she was both a woman of great financial means and able to deal successfully with the influential people of her time. She was also noted as having a great gift of persuasion. I think she might have been the only perso...

Tetelestai!

Just before Jesus gives up His spirit on the cross, He utters a very powerful word. The word that He cries out is “ tetelestai” (tih-tellis-tie). When literally translated, this word means, “It is finished.” It can also refer to something completed or accomplished. The word occurs in John 19:28 and 19:30 and these are the only two places in all of the New Testament where it is found. In the John19:28 passage, it is translated, “After this, when Jesus knew that all things were now completed , in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, he said, ‘I thirst.’” Two verses later, he utters the word himself: “Then when he received the sour wine Jesus said, ‘ It is finished ,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” Did you know that the word tetelestai was also written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to show indicating that a bill had been paid in full? The Greek-English lexicon (by Moulton and Milligan) sa...

Asking "What" Instead of "Why"

Life is not easy and it is not void of struggle, challenges, pain, sorrow, loss, grief, and suffering. I am sure I can come up with more words than that, but this article would soon blossom to two to three pages in length. I am sure we are familiar with the trials and frustrations of Job in the Old Testament. Some of us might even be familiar with the words of Habakuk in 1:2 , “How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?” When things don’t go well or something tragic or unfortunate befalls us, we are faced with the struggles of crying out to God, “why me?” “Why, God, did you let this happen?” Many times, we too, grow frustrated and angry at God, for how He chooses to work within our situations and circumstances. We sure do end up asking God a lot of “why” questions. I believe “why” could be the wrong word to be using. Asking “why” seems to imply a lack of faith, ungratefulness, and, somehow, that we think God owes us an explanation, an answer or reaso...

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