Category: Worship

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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.

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Worship

A Worshiper of God

In John 9, we read about a man born blind who met Jesus and was healed. The challenge to the Pharisees was that it happened on the Sabbath. So, they called the man in for interrogation and informed him that the man who healed him could not be a Godly person, because he healed someone on the Sabbath, which was against their rules.

To that, the healed blind man declared “…if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him” (John 9:31). Strong’s Greek Dictionary reflects the Greek word used here for “worshiper of God” is theosebes, and means “reverent of God, pious, worshiper of God.”

What an encouraging and inspiring word for us! His Word informs us that if we are a “worshiper of God” and do His will – God hears us! Yes, Jesus hears our cries for help, our pleas for intervention, our quiet moans for friendship, our prayers and supplications, our pleading of intercession for others, and yes, our exuberant shouts of praise and adoration to the Lover our of souls. He does gladly hear us!

Thank you, Father, for Your Word that instructs and enlightens us that You gladly and intently hear a worshiper of God who does Your will. Oh, may we diligently and earnestly seek to be passionate, heart-felt worshipers who are joyful and faithful in doing Your will.

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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. 

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 Unexpected Worshipper

We read a very interesting and enlightening account of an unexpected worshiper in Luke 17:11-19. As Jesus entered a Samaritan village on this way to Jerusalem, ten lepers called out to Him to be healed. As they obeyed Jesus’ command, they noticed they were healed.

We read verse 15 where, “one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.”

Oh Jesus, may we glorify You and worship You as this humbled and radically touched stranger did. May we glorify You with a loud voice; fall down on our face; at Your feet; and with an overflowing grateful heart; offer our unashamed, unbridled worship to You.

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Worship

What is Worship?

Strong’s Concordance says the word worship means “prostrate; homage to royalty or God; bow down; fall down; humbly beseech; to do reverence; worship.”

Does this describe our experience in worship?

We saw a great example of “homage to royalty” during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral services. Much of the world was totally enraptured with the grandeur of the event. The structure, the detail, the colors, the sounds, the music, all the Scripture reading, the honor, the respect, the value placed on someone. Could we learn another aspect of worship from this? Do we long to be enraptured with the grandeur of our great and awesome Creator God? Could this change our perspective of worship?

Jesus, we ask You to draw us into a deeper expression of meaningful worship of You, our Savior, the Lover of our souls. Our heart’s desire is to ardently come before Your glorious altar worshiping You from a position of honor, value, and deep respect, for only You are truly worthy of our worship.

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Worship

One Heart and One Purpose

“And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship Me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants.”

Jeremiah 32:39 NLT

Oh, Lord, You have given us one heart and one purpose!!! And that one purpose is to worship You forever! May we seek to fulfill Your purpose for us– for our own good. And not only for our own good—but, also for the good of all our descendants. Oh may we grasp this. Let us muse on this Scripture until it is deep within us. Oh, Lord, how can we not worship You, forever?

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Worship

Overwhelmed With Rapturous Love

We can learn the heart and posture of true, intimate worship from Mary Magdalene, in Luke 28:9, when she and her friends went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. Her first response to seeing her Lord was to fall to her knees, grab His feet… and WORSHIP Him! She really knew from experience, that worship was loving Jesus back. We must ask ourselves, does this describe our worship? And if not, what heart changes must we make?

Oh, Jesus, we are deeply touched by Mary’s example of a heart overflowing with awe and adoration of You. So much so, that we want what she demonstrated – a heart enraptured with passionate love of the Lover of her soul. Change us, touch our heart—give us a heart like Mary’s—a heart overwhelmed with rapturous love that causes us to fall on our knees and offer unbridled worship to You, Jesus. Oh, how we love you.

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Worship

To Worship the Only One Worthy

When you open your eyes during a worship service to look up toward the screen to catch the words, do you ever see people looking around, holding a cup of coffee in their hand with a look of, When will this be over? It’s gone on for over fifteen minutes!? 

Does this break your heart? Do you weep, knowing they are missing out on experiencing the inexpressible joy of worshipping the only One who is worthy, the One we radically love with all our hearts, our Creator, our dearest friend Jesus, the One who calls us His beloved, His delight? 

Oh Jesus, You so desire us to be worshipers, to bask in Your presence with indescribable joy—a joy unspeakable that comes from being near You; loving You; worshiping You. We anxiously, yet humbly ask You to give us a pure heart to worship You unashamedly and without reservation like King David did. Amen

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Worship

A Lifestyle of Worship and Obedience

“But if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.” (John 9:31).

Oh Jesus, You break it down to the simple basics for us. You call us to be dedicated, passionate, worshipers that do Your will. And, Your part is –
You promise to hear us. How beautiful, how simple, how awesome. Oh, how You love Your children. May be commit to choosing a lifestyle of worship and obedience to the only One worthy. Amen

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Worship

What is Worship?

What do you think of when you hear the word worship, or are asked “Where do you worship?” What comes to your mind? Do you think of a church service with three songs before a preacher’s message? Or does the thought, What a waste of time or boring come to mind?  

Or do you get all excited about the opportunity to lift up your voice singing songs of praise and adoration to our great and awesome King? Do you think of being consumed with bowing down in worshiping our Savior, our Deliverer, our Healer, the Lover of our soul? Of being captured and embraced by His never-ending love? Do you hope and pray the worship time will last for hours so you can go even deeper in experiencing more of His presence with awestruck wonder?

Lord, we do not want to miss out on experiencing more of You—and experiencing the indescribable, overwhelming joy of expressing our deep love to You through worship. Oh, how we love You! So we ask You,  Jesus, to draw us nearer to You and give us a heart to passionately worship You. Amen