Author: Bradley K. Tuttle

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Worship

Worship the God of Steadfast Love

How can we not be moved to bow down and worship our God of steadfast-love when we read and ponder the amazing and incredible story of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham to provide a wife for his son, Isaac, in Genesis 24? (I encourage you to slowly read all of 24.)

We read in Genesis 24:2-7 of Abraham instructing Eliezer, his oldest and faithful servant, to go to the land of Abraham’s birth and obtain a wife for Isaac. To which his servant said “what if she is not willing to go”? Abraham then spoke out such a faith-filled statement it astounds me: “The Lord God of heaven… will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son”.

With that encouraging word, his servant arose and traveled to the land Abraham spoke of. Upon arriving, he prayed with expectant hope: “please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham” (Gen 24:12).

Then, with faith arising, he prayed again “Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master” (Gen. 24:14).

Oh, how we serve the great Promise Keeper, as we dazzlingly read in v15 “And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah… came out with her pitcher on her shoulder.” How can we not stop, bow down and worship our spectacular and marvelous God?

Upon seeing Rebekah, the servant ran to her asking her to provide water for him and his camels, and if her household had room for, he and his group. To which Rebekah replied “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge” (v17-25).

“Then, the servant bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord” (v26). Think about this a moment; God, fulfilling His promise, moved this man to bow down to the ground and offer unashamed, unabashed worship to God Almighty! Father God has fulfilled a promise to us to send His Son that you and I could be forgiven, redeemed, and sanctified to live with Him for eternity! How can we not bow down in deep awe and respect and worship our Lord, who loves us and gave His life for us?  

And as the servant was bowing down to the ground worshiping God with awe-struck wonder, he cried out “”Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren” (v27). Absolutely astonishing and breathtaking is our Holy God Almighty!

Oh, Jesus, your steadfast love never ceases to amaze us. You have never forsaken Your never-ending mercy and truth towards us. Regardless of our mistakes and failures, Your mercies are new every morning. How can we not be enraptured to bow down to the ground and worship You as we read and ponder the amazing, incredible stories of the fulfillment of Your promises?

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Worship

Why Worship?

My wife and I had a pastor many years ago who would say he thought of worship as “worth-ship,” that God was worth our worship, that He alone is worthy of all our worship.  

During the time the Holy Spirit was teaching me how to pray, I fell in love with the Psalms. I studied David over and over as I just could not get enough of him, his life, and accomplishments. The thought came to me that David was a worshiping warrior, and thus I chose to emulate his life the best I could, especially his worship of his faithful Father.  

David knew God is worthy of our worship. He wrote, “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised” (Ps. 18:3). In Psalm 29:2, he cries out: “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord.” 

Philippians 2:9 tells us, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.”   

If God highly exalted Jesus, should we not highly exalt Him with our worship?  

We also worship God because “He is Holy,” as written in Psalm 99:3, 5, 9, and 22:3 “You are holy.” And just in case there is any doubt, God Almighty Himself declares “I am the Lord, your Holy One” in Isaiah 43:1 (see also Isa. 57:15; Ex.15:11).  

We are actually instructed to worship Him “because He is your Lord, worship Him” (Ps. 45:11b). Psalm 95:6 admonishes us with, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down”, and also “Oh, worship the Lord” in Psalm 96:9.  

We read the desire of His heart for you and me in Psalm 22:27: “And all the families of the nations shall worship before Him.” Also, “All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, and shall glorify Your name” (Ps. 86:9). 

Our Father knows what is best for His children. He knows what keeps our heart in love with His heart. He really does want us to exalt Him and worship Him, for He alone is worthy, He alone is holy.

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Worship

The Power of Praise & Worship

We read an amazing story in 2 Chronicles 20 where three armies, labeled “a great multitude” came against the people of Judah. Fear came over the king and all his people moving them to seek the Lord and proclaim a fast in the land. May we ask ourselves, is this how we handle fear?

A word of the Lord was spoken, encouraging them they would not need to fight this battle, but to go out the next day and set, stand, and see the deliverance of the Lord (see v17).

Upon hearing this word from heaven, the king and all the people bowed, with their face to the ground, and worshiped the Lord (v18). What a response to our holy and majestic King of Glory, we all should follow!

Early the next morning, they arose to sing and praise the Lord, and as they were singing, with their “voices loud and high” (v19), God brought confusion in the enemy’s camp, causing them to turn on each other.

There are multiple benefits to praise and worship our Lord God Almighty, but one we should not forget is: Never underestimate the power of praise and worship, as it confronts and confounds the enemy’s camp!

Thank you, Jesus, for preserving Scripture for us to read, ponder and pray through, building our faith as we do. Faith in a God that hears our cries for help, and answers us with a solution no one would ever conceive. These are examples for us to learn from and emulate that bring all glory to You and You alone. May we rise each morning praising and worshiping You with voices loud and high, for You alone are worthy of it all. Oh, how can we not worship You?!

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Worship

We Stand Faultless Before a Holy God

What can we do but weep tears of joy as we humbly read in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Can we pause and pray for a deeper revelation of the fact that our Lord Jesus, who knew no sin, took on our sin, so we might be the righteousness of God?

Let this truth overwhelm our soul. Our righteousness, our right standing before a Holy God, comes from Him, and Him alone (Rom. 3:21–26), all due to the finished work on the cross.

What should our response be to the truth in Jude 24 “To Him who is able to keep you from falling and present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy”?

Oh, to grasp that we stand faultless before a holy God, humbled and in awe of His immense demonstration of love toward you and me. Let us lift our hands in appreciative and affectionate worship to Him in response.

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Worship

Thankful

Let’s be honest. Do we like being around someone who is always an ungrateful grump? Who never sees anything good in anyone or anything?

A true worshiper is thankful. It will be very difficult to worship God if one is not grateful.

We read in Psalm 50:14 (NLT) “Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God.” I love how Spurgeon describes this Scripture as “thankful adoration before the Lord.”

Oh, to simply and purely adore Him, to stand in awe of Him.

Recently, we held an anointed and powerful worship and prayer night at a place that we had never imagined possible. The next morning, as I was sitting at my desk, I was literally overcome with gratitude and amazement of who our Lord is and what He had just accomplished. I stopped typing, stood up from my desk, lifted my hands and my face towards heaven, and with tears streaming down, I cried out to Him, “I simply stand in awe of You, Lord God!”

Psalm 48:9 (NLT) says, “O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your temple.” It is interesting to note that both thankfulness in Psalm 50:14 and worship in Psalm 48:9 is the same Hebrew word: todah. which means “an extension of the hand, adoration, confession, praise, thanks (thanksgiving offering).”

And Psalm 147:7 instructs us to “Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving [todah].” Let us commit to doing this.

As we are filled to overflowing with gratitude to our incredible, faithful God, it becomes a delight, an absolute joy, to worship Him with thanksgiving and cheerful, gratified hearts!

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Worship

Front and Center

May we pause and ask ourselves truthfully what is front and center in our life.

Our house? Our fancy vehicle? Our garage full of expensive toys? Our hobby? Our job? Ourselves? Our image? Our spouse? Our children? Politics? Television and/or electronic devices? Finances? Can we honestly ask ourselves what we focus on most of the time throughout the day?

We are told in Mark 12:30 to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Doesn’t that sound like total commitment, being intentionally focused on the Lord our God?

Search us, oh God!

Worship is loving God, and worship puts God front and center.

David set his heart and soul to seek the Lord as we see in Psalm 27:8; 105:4; and 119:2, 10.

In 1 Chronicles 16:11, David admonishes us to “Seek the Lord . . . seek His face evermore!”

He so knew the great importance of this, that when he was old and appointing his son Solomon to be king over Israel, David specifically instructed Solomon: “Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God” (1 Chron. 22:19).

How can we do this without putting God front and center, with our mind, heart, and soul solely focused on Him, and only Him? We must fully grasp that He alone is worthy of all our attention, all our affection, and all our adoration.

These are not simply words—they are reverential acts of an awestruck bride absolutely overwhelmed with the awesome wonder of the splendor and glory of our majestic King.

Oh, Jesus, forgive me for making so many other people, things and events in my life more important than You. May I purposefully and passionately set my heart and soul to seek You, Lord, and make You number one in my life! I can give so much more to my spouse, my children, my job, my church, my city and my state and country when I have spent intimate time beholding Your face every day in sweet communion with my Best Friend, the Lover of my soul.  

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Worship

Worship GOD in Adoring Embrace

We are instructed in Psalm 2:11 (CSB) to “Serve the Lord with reverential awe and rejoice with trembling.” Per Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary, one of the meanings of “serve” in the Hebrew is worship, or be a worshiper.

The Amplified Bible reflects “Serve the Lord with reverent awe and worshipful fear; rejoice and be in high spirits with trembling”. And the Message Bible states “Worship GOD in adoring embrace, Celebrate in trembling awe.” 

Isn’t it interesting one of the ways to serve God is to worship Him – to be a worshiper! And, with “reverential awe”, or as the Message reflects “adoring embrace”. Oh, how our hearts should be overwhelmed with joy as we worship the Lover of our soul with reverent awe and adoring embrace.

Charles Spurgeon says, “To worship God is to gaze upon Him with adoring amazement and rapturous love.” Please pause and meditate on this statement for a minute, or a lifetime. That is pure, unadulterated worship—the kind of worship Jesus seeks from those who love Him and desire Him above all else.

And to worship Him rejoicing with trembling. The word “rejoice” is mentioned 192 times in the KJV, which means it should be a very important word to us and our lifestyle. God knows what is best for His children; and He knows it is good, very good, for us to live a lifestyle rejoicing in our Lord and Savior; our best Friend.

Oh, Jesus, how can we not worship You? To spend our time gazing upon You with adoring amazement and rapturous love. You are our hearts one desire, so may we spend our life in Your presence, beholding Your face, in reverential awe and rejoicing with trembling. Oh, how we love you Jesus. 

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Worship

I Stand in Awe of You, Number 2

Do we take the time every day to stop what we are doing or thinking about—and simply and intently stand in awe of our great and majestic God? To purposely direct our attention on the glorious splendor of His majesty as we are instructed in Psalm 145:5.

We are told in Psalm 33:8 “Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.” And in verse 9 we are told why: “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

What would it look like, and how would it affect our daily lives, if we took the time for a daily walk and simply admire the grass before us, or behold all the different magnificent trees, or gently touch a flower or two to really examine what our great God created – for us to truly enjoy?

Or to gaze upon the heavens and marvel as we behold the formation of clouds and the brightness of the sun. To watch in fascination as the sun goes down and the moon and stars make their appearance in all their beauty. 

Or to look into the eyes of your beloved, or friend, or a child or baby, and pause in wonder and amazement of our God who created them. To lift up our hands in awe and pure adoration of our wonderful, loving Jesus.

We must understand our Lord, who really does care for us, has instructed all of us to stand in awe of Him for a reason. It will change our attitude; it will change our perspective—and it will change our heart—for the better.

We will have a deeper respect for His creation – and we will fall deeper in affectionate love with the Lover of our souls.

Oh Jesus, You know what is best for Your children. You know we need to push pause from our busyness, stop, lift our hands to heaven, and offer up unhindered, unrestrained, unapologetic worship of our Creator who loves us so. Oh, how can we not worship You!

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Worship

I Stand in Awe of You

With a heart full of adoration and amazement of his great and awesome God, David penned Psalms 33:8 “Let all the earth fear the Lord [revere and worship Him]; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him” (AMP).

There countless reasons to revere, worship and stand in awe of God, but David mentions what he was meditating on when he wrote the above statement.

In Psalms 33:6 he pondered on “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth.” And in verse 9, he continues with “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

Oh Jesus, may we spend more time pausing and pondering on the absolute beautiful, stunning and breathtaking creation that You spoke into being. And as we do, may it propel us into unashamed, unabashed worship as we humbly stand in awe of You. Oh, how can we not worship You?

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Worship

Jehovah-Shalom

With all the chaos and confusion, the bitterness, division and hate, the anger and tumultuous times in our land, we do not need to add fuel to the fire. We do not need finger-pointing, to give tit for tat, or repay anger with anger.

No, we need Jehovah-shalom (Yahweh-Shalom), which means “The Lord is Peace.”

We first see Jehovah-Shalom in Judges 6:24, where there was anything but peace in the land.

But God! There is a great benefit in knowing, praying, praising, and worshiping His name Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord of Peace, the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6).

Oh, let us be still and draw near to hear (Eccl. 5:1; Isaiah 34:1) our Jehovah-Shalom whisper to us “Peace be with you; do not fear” as spoken to Gideon in Judges 6:23.

Ephesians 2:14 tells us Jesus is our peace. He promises to give us His peace in John 14:27.

We are informed in 1 Corinthians 14:33 that He is a God of peace. In Romans 16:20 we are told our God of peace will crush Satan under our feet.

We are encouraged in Philippians 4:9 that the God of peace will be with us.

Oh, to intimately know and ardently worship our Prince of Peace, Jehovah-Shalom, as we bask in His peace that He so freely gives, so we may authentically display His peace to a hurting world that so desperately needs to know our Jehovah-Shalom.

Jesus calls us to be peacemakers for a purpose! Our world needs true Holy Spirit-filled peacemakers carrying, displaying, and dispersing peace everywhere we go. Blessed are the peacemakers.