Every year my family and I decorate a Christmas tree. Now, I know why I celebrate Christmas, but I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head why I cut down a tree, plant it in my house, put sparkling things on it and throw boxes wrapped with paper under it. We have moved so far away from the origins of that tradition that we don’t remember the original point anymore.
So often I get caught up in my day to day activities without giving a lot of thought to what I am really doing. Most of the time, I am doing what I do for God. I work hard to provide for my family, I read the Bible to get closer to God, I even serve in the church. But, sometimes I seem to just go through the motions or do things because I am supposed to, not because I am deeply connected to the real reason for doing them.
The same thing happened to the children of Israel. We can read about their times and troubles throughout the old testament of the Bible. And I believe God included so much of their history in Bible specifically for us to learn from them. In Psalm 50:7-15,23, the Psalmist writes about Israel missing the point of sacrifice. God lets them know that He is not interested in receiving from them the things in which He already owns: forest animals, cattle, birds. He is interested in only what can be given to Him by a conscious decision on their part, thankfulness. God says that thankfulness is a true sacrifice. I believe it’s because God is after more than just a bunch of robots who tell Him how good he looks in that new suit.
One theme that is laid out across the whole of scripture is that God looks deeper in us than our appearance. We even sing that idea in Matt Redman’s song Heart of Worship. The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 16:7 that God looks at our heart. You may do all the right things and say all the right words, but God truly knows whether your heart is really behind those things. I believe that is the same idea we see in Ps. 50. God is looking deeper than the surface, He wants a people who can really love Him and serve Him with their whole heart, because it’s their own choice.
As we worship God, I hope we can realize that He is looking at our heart. He is looking for people who give their all in devotion to Him. I hope that not only in our speech and actions, but in the core of our being we put God above everything and everyone else.
5 Comments until now
So true. Worship isn’t just ritualized sets of motions and mechanical processes. It is a state of heart and attitude.
It’s hard sometimes to come to that state of heart – a state of total surrender, humility, thanksgiving and fear. We may have come to the realization that God is looking at our hearts, but actually getting our heart to the right place is a journey. Ya know? And it’s confusing when that happens, I mean, shouldn’t it be easy to worship a God so wonderful?
It may be that the Israelites may not have wanted to worship God, but i think that’s due to the fact that they kept forgetting who God is. It was like chronic amnesia. They keep forgetting who God is and all the crazy things He did to get them where they were. And, like the Israelites, I think we come to the point of exclusion – taking God out and replacing it with ritual – because we forget. I think our hearts slip to a point of stagnancy because we forget.
We must ask: Who is this God? What did he do for us? I think when we remember, then we can’t help but reconnect to our Lord. Don’t let that amnesia get you!
I really enjoy your blog. It makes me think about a lot of what we do. Keep it up!
J,
Thanks a ton for your comments.
I think your thought about chronic amnesia is very pertinent to us today. It seems like we so quickly get our eyes get focused off God. I really believe that it comes back to the Spirit and Truth idea laid out in John 4. We must be open to God’s spirit moving when we come in contact with truth. So, we must stay connected to His truth. Otherwise we will go astray.
I completely agree.
In addition to that thought, i want to mention Psalm 19. I love the first four verses of that chapter. All of creation speaks of the glory of God and relects who He is and what He is like. His art and His craftsmenship all echo and mirror the truth that He is worthy. We can see his might and enormousness in the galaxies and his elegance in the details of the human body. It’s all around us – the voice that transcends any language – and yet we still seem to forget.
It reminds me of the Phil Wickham song “Beautiful.” Great song.
But you’re right. The only way we can know the nature of God, and his Son, is by staying connected to his Truth and by being attentive to the move of the Spirit.
First off I just want to say that I love you guys. This is great that we can all still talk after the fact of our IUP days. Rock on. I completely agree with both of you.
We need to have that willingness to follow the spirit in our worship. We need to listen for Him.
“Worship means dwelling where God’s heart is and showing it in lives that EMBODY his loving righteousness and merciful justice. This is the worship war of which Christ died and rose. So why do we still sleep?” -Dangerous Act of Worship by Mark Labberton
Peace.
Adam, great comments. Glad to hear from you.
Having a willingness to follow God’s spirit is huge. I think of Psalm 127:1…”Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.”
We must always be connected to God and His truth while seeking Him and leading His people. Otherwise we are spinning our wheels and risk leaning on our own understanding. (Prov. 3:5)
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