His Greatness, Our Worship

I will praise thee, O Lord with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvellous works Psalm 9:1

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Oh God, how wonderful and marvelous are Thy works. Whether I look at the world, the sky, the earth, or into human eyes, or experience human emotion, I see Your reflection. Through eyes of faith, you cannot be hidden, though Satan seeks to blind us and the world. As our faith takes root, your majesty becomes unhideable. Through your grace, mercy, and love, you have given us all things, if we persevere in prayer, if we seek you for our need of wholeness and not our selfish desire.

Oh, the mystery of the holiness and working of God. Who can know it, except they experience it, and who can see it, unless they have spiritual eyes. It is like the wind; its effects can be seen, but the wind itself remains unseen. Oh, the mystery of God, yet not a mystery, but a complete wholeness; the pinnacle of all that really matters in both life and death. To know and experience God is to be changed. Just as our hands become clean from a thorough washing, so, an encounter with God, no matter how slight, will change you.

Many of the hymns and songs we sing are none other than a testimony of darkness, becoming light in the presence of him to whom we owe all things. God, made flesh in Jesus Christ, experienced darkness and sin, that through an encounter with him, we might have hope, who before had no hope. That we may have light, who once walked in darkness, that we can have joy, who once only knew sadness.

Through Jesus, we now have direct access to our heavenly Father.  

When we live for Him, naturally we will include Him in every aspect of our lives; from the time we get up in the morning, till we go to sleep at night. The decisions we make about where we want to go on vacation, our vocation, or the things we own, are all weighed on whether or not they please Him whom we serve.

God is more interested in our heart worship than outward display of worship. There are ways to worship that are proper and reverent.

Unlike the Old Testament era, God does not require rituals for us to worship Him. No animals to sacrifice, no candles or prayers to Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, or saints to worship. He tells us to fast and pray, but only to aid in us seeking His will, and not for worship.  All He really asks, is that we seek Him with a humble sincere heart.

Jesus gave us this example of how we should pray, see Matthew 6:1-15.

Here also are some examples of how the early Christians met to break bread  on the first day of the week and to worship the Lord . Acts 20:7, 2:41-47, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2.

God does not require a certain number of prayers per day or verses from His Holy Word. Praying to Him is vital for spiritual life; it is our communication with Him where we tell Him our hearts desires and listen for His response. Reading His Word proves our sincerity, and helps us grow in grace and knowledge of His will and ways. Not doing them is like not eating and drinking; eventually we will die.

Generally, no one tells us that we must eat or drink to maintain our physical bodies; we just do it because it is life. Babies cry to tell us they are hungry, but if they are not hungry, we begin to wonder why; maybe they are sick. Likewise, a child may not be hungry at meal-time because they have been eating junk food. There are times we do not feel hungry, but we may eat anyway because our energy level is low. Our Christian lives are much the same; we eat and drink because it is natural, and without it we will die spiritually.

Our prayer and devotion to God are our spiritual food and drink. Spending time reading God’s Word and praying will directly affect our spiritual health and energy.

If we find our spiritual life is lacking fervor, or our spiritual energy is low, we should check to see what we are feeding on that is taking away our spiritual appetite. Have the pleasures or pressures of life taken it away? Have we allowed sin or complacency to steal our love for God? If so, we should reconnect with God and put Him first in everything we do. Pray to Him, repent of sin, spend time in His Word, and I believe we will be surprised what He will do for us. He is waiting to give us far more than we deserve or imagine.

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Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Malachi 3:10 KJV

Jeff Goertzen