True Worship

We already have expertise in unbiblical worship. We have years of practice. It has filled every corner and crevice of our being. The ruts of misdirected worship have trapped our wheels.

We’ve unknowingly revealed it when our words and actions expressed more praise, thanksgiving, devotion, and commitment to people or things than to God. We’ve rarely recognized them as idols, but they’ve usurped God’s place of preeminence. They’ve monopolized our attention.

Scripture is to worship what a foundation is to a building. It tells us who God is and how to truly worship Him.

“But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. (John 4:23 NLT). True worshippers are perpetual subjects engaged in non-stop Kingdom living.

I typed “true worship” into my search engine. At the top of the list was “True worship – Prime Day is July 11–12.” Ouch! Material things often threaten God’s place of supremacy in our lives.

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money” (Matthew 6:24 NLT).

To escape idol worship, we must be living sacrifices for God’s service. It’s a prerequisite for being filled with the Holy Spirit.

When we’re filled with the Spirit, we submit to God’s rule in our hearts and truly worship Him now. If the Holy Spirit of God isn’t in the driver’s seat of our lives, some substitute for Him is. We worship God best, not by singing enthusiastically in a Sunday morning worship service, but by being living sacrifices 24/7.

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him” (Romans 12:1 NLT).

We worship God because He has treated us mercifully and not as we deserve (Job 42:8). We worship Him by putting Him in the driver’s seat of our lives. What does that look like?

In my growing-up years, I thought a Christian was a person who didn’t practice a long list of behavioral no-nos. That was wrong. Christians love God, their neighbor, and other believers. They’re Kingdom citizens and live like it.

They live “a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17 NLT). They live “by God’s power” (1 Corinthians 4:20 NLT).

They free those who are wrongly imprisoned. They lighten the burden on their employees. They free the oppressed and remove what binds people. They share their food with the hungry. They shelter the homeless. They provide clothes for the needy. They help struggling relatives. They feed the hungry and aid those in trouble (Isaiah 58:6–7).

They obey and teach God’s way of living (Matthew 5:19). They seek God’s rule first and foremost and live righteously (Matthew 6:33). They are born again and receive God’s Kingdom like a child (Mark 10:14–15, John 3:3).

They put their hand to the plow and don’t look back (Luke 9:62). They give up their house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God (Luke 18:29–30). They suffer many hardships (Acts 14:22). They reject immorality, impurity, and greed (Ephesians 5:5).

We’re on earth to develop expertise in true worship. We worship God best when we say no to our selfish desires so we can say yes to Him. #freechristiandiscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources

See free spiritual growth resources for Christians at https://www.christiangrowthresources.com

God has equipped and empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free devotional discipleship resource. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 2,034 people to date. I invite you to check it out. https://www.christiangrowthresources.com/his-power-for-your-weakness

Photo: Healing beneath the cross of Jesus * Singing Christ's Hope (laurihogle.com)