Tag: worship
Our fear of mortals can sometimes overshadow or out-shout our fear of God.
It seems Israel needed to brandish God as a mere idol in order to realize the sordid state of their union with Him. Like a philandering husband who comes home to his belongings strewn across the front yard, Israel needed to be confronted with the reality of their adulterous ways. God had gone out from them and His people were plunged into a functional hell: the absence of His presence.
Jesus sets us free from the heavy burden of our own righteousness. His love and goodness allows us to set down the basket of effort: of doing it in our own strength. With hands finally free of this impossible burden, we instead can lift them in praise. We can finally, fully walk in worship.
Worshiping our offspring will keep us from our primary purpose with them: parenting. It will also distract and ultimately detract our worship from the one true God.
So what about us? Do we start and end our days with earnest acknowledgement of our spiritual need and appreciation for God’s above and beyond involvement? What systems do we have in place to moor our lives to His mercy?
Recognize this mountain climb as the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity it is.
The shepherds had an encounter with God’s Kingdom. And then they were left with a choice: obey God or stay put.
We face the same sort of choice when we encounter Christ. We can stay the same or we can respond to what we’ve heard and seen.
We’ve spent a lot of time together in God’s Word this month. What is your response? Will you act? Will you retell your story? Will you spread the message of Jesus to all who will listen?
Jesus and the psalmist invite us to worship with all our guts, holding nothing back.