Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
[Psa 29:2 NKJV]
Coming before the Lord in worship isn’t often the first thing I do on any given day. How many of us do? I know there are some who do. I’m just not one of them. It doesn’t mean I love Him any less but it means I am not putting Him first. I should, though, put Him first every single day.
Worship has changed in definition over the years. The 1928 version of Webster’s Dictionary defines worship as “Chiefly and eminently, the act of paying divine honors to the Supreme Being; or the reverence and homage paid to him in religious exercises, consisting in adoration, confession, prayer, thanksgiving and the like. The worship of God is an eminent part of religion. Prayer is a chief part of religious worship.” (Webster’s 1828) . The modern definition is “1 : reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power also : an act of expressing such reverence, 2 : a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual.” God, the Alpha and Omega, is not even mentioned. (Webster’s – current)
Our world has shut God out of everything, even the definition of worship. All God wants from any of us is our devotion to Him, yet, He doesn’t force it. He gave us free will so we could choose on whom we want to shower our attention and worship.
Unfortunately, our human nature automatically takes our attention away from Him. We shower our worship on worldly things rather than on Him. All we need to do is look at Israel, God’s chosen people, to see where worshiping anything other than God can lead.
“But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, “then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
[2Ch 7:19-20 NKJV]
Worshiping anything other than the King of Kings and Lord of Lords leads to fallen people and nations. God will remove His blessings when we choose to exclude Him and worship worldly things.
Yet, we often turn to the worldly because it is here and now and gives us short term pleasure. How much more pleasure will we get, though, if we put our sights on God and worship Him and Him alone?
God tells us exactly what He wants from us. He doesn’t hide it or make it difficult to understand. It is so simple. He just wants us to love Him, worship Him and share the Gospel. Everything else we do for Him is because we love Him and desire to please Him.
How many of us will work on putting God first knowing that is all He asks? Will we give Him our full attention and worship or will we continue to go our own way?
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
[Psa 95:6 NKJV]
| Here I am to worship Here I am to bow down Here I am to say that you’re my God You’re altogether lovely Altogether worthy Altogether wonderful to me “Here I Am To Worship” lyrics |
Here I Am To Worship – Michael W. Smith
Great Are You Lord ft. Calvin Nowell – Michael W. Smith
Open The Eyes Of My Heart (Live) – Michael W. Smith
Prayer Day 48: Stand Firm