Through generous giving, service, and worship, you’re not simply being a good steward – you’re offering these gifts back to God in love.
Commentary from the In Touch devotional by Charles Stanley, May 21, 2023.
Glorifying Him
Worship
The Safety of the Faithful
But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; the Lord will hear when I call to Him. Psalm 4:3
This image is an expression of one example of idol worship, or, worship of anything other than God. Those in the photo are ‘posing’ with their televisions, it appears, as we may pose with a loved one for a photo. The object of idol worship could be anything, however.
Seeking Safety
Here’s a hard question: If we know and believe worshipping idols cannot satisfy us, why do we struggle to choose loving God over being devoted to the things of this world? Perhaps one of the reasons we turn away from the Lord is because He requires authenticity and righteousness that our idols don’t. When we construct our idols, we can control them – ultimately, that puts us in charge. But we cannot control God.
In Psalm 135, we read about idols. An idol – which doesn’t issue commands, hold us accountable, or hear if we’re being untruthful – can in many ways feel safer than the Lord. But we have to ask another difficult question: Is false security worth it?
Commentary from the In Touch devotional by Charles Stanley, April 18, 2021.
Universal Worship is His
What even inanimate creation awaits; the world’s universal worship of God during the Messiah’s reign.
All shall worship
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him
and given Him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of those in heaven, and of those on earth,
and of those under the earth,
and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
One Necessary Thing
The one thing necessary was exemplified by Mary in Luke 10:38-42, an attitude of meditation and worship. Mary listened to Jesus with an open heart and mind.
The Beauty of Worship of God
What is worship? A. W. Tozer described it this way: “Worship is to feel in your heart and express in some appropriate manner a humbling but delightful sense of admiring awe and astonished wonder and overpowering love in the presence of that most ancient Mystery…which we call Our Father Which Are in Heaven”.
For some, the word worship conjures up awkward feelings of being uncomfortable while singing in a church setting, but notice Tozer never mentions singing, raising hands or even being with others. Rather, he states it is expressing “in some appropriate manner” that which you feel in your heart toward God. In fact, the most commonly used word for worship in the New Testament, the Greek word proskuneo, has more to do with an intimate reverence toward God; being still before Him in awe and adoration.
The beauty of worship is that it is not limited to what anyone believes it should be. The most important things are for worship to be personal, selfless, intimate and from the heart. Worship as a performance is not worship, it is performing. Worship of God is from an overflow of love for Him.
Portions of commentary from David Jeremiah’s Pathways devotional, November 24.
-Word- pictures by DLink 