Tag Archives: Worship

God – Happy Father’s Day!

Posted in Reflections From My Heart by

2019-06-14 04.59.49

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)

Hey ladies, it’s Father’s Day so let’s not neglect our heavenly Father today – Are you with me? I have already taken inventory of my gratitude and appreciation that I have for my Dad, Husband and Father’s-in-law, but in prayer this morning I was reminded of the need to remember our Father in heaven. I’m embarrassed to admit that I almost excluded God from today’s honor.

Arguably, we could say that Father’s Day is just another one of those manufactured Hallmark holidays that gives our restaurants and retailers the opportunity to capitalize on our spending, but I’m going to set that aside to bring the perspective that we should be giving God a moment of reflection, admiration, appreciation and celebration for who He is and all He has done.

In doing so, I have a greater sense of love and appreciation for the men in my life. I’m always amazed at how things gain a greater perspective when I put it in the proper context. In my formative years, I used to try to reduce God to be the equivalent of my earthly Father. I tried to visualize (or maybe categorize is a better word) God and the only tangible example I had was my own father. It doesn’t take much bible reading to know there is a stark difference. Earthly men aren’t perfect, they don’t meet our expectations, they can’t read our minds and, let’s face it, they do fall short (as we all do) of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

I will enjoy spoiling my husband and appreciating my earthly Dads today, but only after I put God in His prominent place in my heart and mind and worship Him with thanksgiving and gratitude for ALL he has done and will continue to do; today and every day forevermore.

Do me a favor and comment below on what attributes of God, Our Father, you appreciate most. I tried to make a list, but it was too overwhelming of a task and didn’t know where to start. I’d love to hear your thoughts and sentiments.  Thank you!

 

Copy Cat Worshiper

Posted in Daily Devotions: Chapter by Chapter by

Copy Cat

Today’s Devotion: Deuteronomy 12

My take away from Deuteronomy chapter 12 is that God has no interest in letting anyone or anything distract us from knowing He is God and there is no other.

In verses 4-5, “You must not worship the LORD your God in their way. But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;” and the remainder of the book are a continuation of warnings, reminders and instructions.

We should not think we are immune to idolatry today; idols are all around us. Anything, anything that comes between our souls and God becomes an idol. Notice what Moses says in verses 4, “You must not worship the LORD your God in THEIR way.” What is their way?

Are you a copy cat worshiper or a monkey see – monkey do worshiper? In other words, we see that others have traditions, rituals or certain practices that make them seem more “spiritual.” One example is a cross necklace. Whenever I see someone wearing a cross necklace, I tend to “assume” that they have a relationship with Christ. Why else would someone where the cross of Jesus around their necks?

Or what about that cross that dangles from a rear view mirror? Is that person a Christian? Perhaps we assume people are more Holy or spiritual because of the church they attend, the frequency that they go to church, the volunteer work that they do or the bible verses that they have memorized. All signs of being good Christians, right?

Maybe not! What I read into these verses is that my relationship with God is my relationship with God and he is looking for authentic worshipers. We can copy cat other people, but if that is all we are doing and our hearts are going through the motions and there is no true heart connection – we’re wasting our time.

Sad Worship

Posted in Daily Devotions: Chapter by Chapter by

True WorshipTears

Today’s Devotion: Numbers 28-29

In my commentary, Dr. Vernon McGee describes the worship described in Numbers 28-29 best. “Now what does this mean to you and me? We hear a lot today about worship and worship services. But how much is true worship in our services? How much is just aimless activity? Real worship is when we think God’s thoughts after Him. This sweet savor offering which God speaks of as My offering, My bread, My sacrifice, represents what God thinks of Christ. God is satisfied with what Christ did for you and me on the cross. What about you? Are you satisfied with what Christ did for you on the cross? Are you resting in that today? His invitation is “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Have you brought your burden of sin to Him and received Him as your Savior? Are you satisfied with who He is? If He is not the Son of God, then what He did is absolutely meaningless. True worship is a recognition of who He is and an adoration of His Person. In other words, it is thinking God’s thoughts after Him.”

Have you ever thought of worship as being sad? When I think of worship I picture hands lifted, eyes closed, hearts connected and praises sung, but then I search my heart and remember that my most raw, heart-filled, genuine, God-centered worship has been on my knees, tears flowing, eyes puffy, nose running and auditory weeping.

Numbers 28-29 reminds me that sin is ugly and when we truly see ourselves has sinners, we become aware that sin robs us of our fellowship with God; sin is an occasion for mourning. When was the last time you wept over your sins? Have you been before God and wept over your sin, over the failure of your life, over your coldness and indifference? My, how we need to confess that to Him today. It is not because God is high and we are low, or because He is great and weare small, nor because He is infinite and we are finite that we are separated from Him. He says it is our sins that have separated us from Him. That is the occasion for weeping.

I realize it is really our lives that are an act of worship and we don’t want to be wandering depressed souls living aimless lives that is a constant beat down of our inadequacies, but an occasional pause to put things into perspective is not a bad thing. I think that is why much of the book of Leviticus and now a detailed reminder of God’s offerings are reiterated here in Numbers.

Face Plant For God

Posted in Daily Devotions: Chapter by Chapter by

Today’s Devotion: Leviticus 7

Have you ever read a book starting with the last chapter first? I can’ say that I ever have, but I love the last couple verses at the end of chapter 7. If today is one of those days where you only have time to catch two verses, make these your verses today.

“23 Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell face down.”

Does God ever stop you in your tracks? As I am reading Leviticus chapter 7, I am trying to capture every word and tie together all of the logistics of the offering, comprehend what God is trying to teach us – and then I get to verses 23 & 24 and “KABOOM!” God speaks.

Moses and Aaron bless the people and the glory of the Lord appeared to them? Have you ever been to a worship service and are so moved that your eyes pour tears or the words of the song mean so much that all you can do is follow along, but you can’t sing? Have you ever been in the middle of prayer and your mind goes blank and you just pause in the quiet moment or when you’re reading God’s Word, the words seem to be printed in bold print, as if to be jumping off the page, and speaking only to you?

I have.

These verses reminded me of those moments. God doesn’t show himself literally. He warned Moses in Exodus that if he were to see God, he would die. So however God really appeared to them (or showed his glory) on that day, the very last words of this chapter say that the people shouted for joy and fell face down.

This chapter is a reminder to throw ourselves down before the Lord. Just stop. Stop what we are doing. Stop our agenda. Stop working so hard, fighting for something, striving for more, better, best. It is a reminder to take in the glory of God, pause, and capture a moment of recognizing all God has blessed us with. If we do that, we may find ourselves humbled to our knees; more likely on our faces planted into the floor in worship.

Just listen:

Window Of Your Heart

Posted in Daily Devotions: Chapter by Chapter by

window

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 39.

Today we learn about the exquisite details of Aaron’s robe – one that would give the best dresser on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards a run for their money. There is so much detail, color, gold, and special patterns in the design that I can only imagine what it looks like. This chapter has my imagination running wild so here’s my story:

I remember going to church with my family on Sunday’s and, out of boredom, I would analyze every detail of the church. I would study the slivers of specially cut stained glass in the huge sanctuary windows, I would watch “the man in a dress” parade up and down the stairs to and from the pulpit. I observed the choir in their V-shaped sashes draped over their shoulders responding in a very formal way to the baton of the choir directors wand. I often wondered why human beings acted so different in church. These people would visit our farm and act “normal”, but in church, the transformation in their behavior kind of freaked me out.

I was reminded of this reading Exodus 39. We are coming to the end of the book of Exodus and after reading about the tabernacle and God’s incredible expectations around the conduct that He expected of people using the tabernacle. Now I see why people acted differently – it was out of respect for God.

You see, when I would watch everyone in church doing their thing in an “out of character” sort of way, I thought it was all for show. Fast-forward a few decades and as an adult I now realize that it wasn’t for show at all – it was worship demonstrating respect and honor to God.

So now many of our churches have become less fancy and I see another behavior; our hearts are connected there. I see hands raised, eyes closed, heads down and souls connected. These people aren’t putting on a show for man either – They are connecting their mind, body, and spirit to God.

In the New Testament – the church is the body of Christ and your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to get all ritualistic and formal, yet some still prefer to worship that way. Regardless of the style in which we worship, one thing hasn’t changed – our respect, honor and reverence to a Holy God. As we go to church tomorrow, be reminded that whatever style of worship you participate – its not about the show, it’s about your heart.

 

Sin Stinks!

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Stinky

Today’s Devotional: Exodus 30

Once again this chapter of Exodus is packed with incredible insights into God’s holiness which exposes our human inadequacies. In the past two chapters we have read about two altars. The burnt altar is where God deals with a sinner and sin of man and the altar of incense which speaks of heaven and holiness. The burnt altar speaks of what Christ did for us on earth while the incense altar speaks of what Christ is doing for us in heaven today.

Have you ever been around someone who is wearing too much perfume? Your eyes water, nose burns, and makes it very difficult to hold a conversation. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that they are well intended when they applied it; they want to smell good. Chances are, it makes THEM feel better, meanwhile it repels those who come into close contact with them. After all, perfume is supposed to stimulate our senses in a positive way and the person wearing it can be oblivious to its offensiveness. In other words, when applied wrong – it stinks!

This is our sin. Our sin stinks to God. We can’t smell it, we actually think that we’re “not that bad.” God goes to great lengths to make sure Aaron wears a heavenly aroma of a certain Godly formula so Aaron is acceptable to God when entering in to His presence. A formula that God says cannot be duplicated.

So how do we enter the presence of God today? Worship! What is worship? If you’re a Christian, your life is worship. That being said, we cannot make worship pleasing to man, we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. We don’t worship for the show of man so that others think our sin doesn’t stink. We go right to God and pour ourselves out as an offering and confess that we are not worthy of his mercy and grace. We have to be genuine, authentic, and pure.

So the moral of my Exodus story is that we need to stop trying to cover up our sin. If we try to do it on your own, we stink. God covers our sin through His son Jesus so when we come to Him, as we are, He can purity us and give us the opportunity to walk righteously with His heavenly covering. It can’t be duplicated and there is no substitute – just as God did for Aaron at the tabernacle.

As my Godly Girlfriend, I hope you will tell me if my perfume is too strong, and moreover, that my sin stinks!