What is "True Worship"?

 In the life of Job, we see the heavenly and earthly in one view. The life story of Job is influenced by heaven because the heavens interact with the earth. The God of heaven allows the god of the world, Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4), to invade the life of Job. Through Job’s story of suffering, we learn that God is not far off but nigh to us (Acts 17:27) at all times. 

The attack of Satan upon Job comes to support Satan’s belief that man is selfish and will only worship God because of the benefits that God gives to humans. For Satan, man’s motive for worshipping God does not come out of man’s love for God. 

Satan views man through Satan’s own desires. His motives taint his understanding of others and cause him to charge them mistakenly as being like himself. In the temptation of Eve, Satan instructs her that by eating the fruit, she will become like God and know good from evil! Isaiah gives us the knowledge that this was the desire of Satan to be “like the Most High” (14:12-14). Satan’s desire was not to be as God in God’s nature, holy, pure, and truthful, but to have God’s position as the most powerful and mighty who receives worship from all creation! In Job, according to Satan, selfishness is why humans worship God. You worship Him so you can receive the benefits of prosperity, family, and health. Job’s action during his suffering disproves Satan! There are creatures that God has created that worship God for who He is, not what God gives to them. 

To worship God for “who He is” is a truth that saints of God must grasp and hang on to during times of suffering. Your suffering does not mean that God is afar off! We must reach for God and worship God at all times, even in moments of despair during suffering! Remember: “The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:22). Let’s go to a higher level and become a people who worship God out of love! Worship that comes out of the “love” motive is “true worship.” True worship is the worship that the Father seeks (John 4:24). Let’s frustrate Satan with “true” worship to our Creator and Savior!

The Importance of Genesis 1-3

Genesis 1-3 are the foundation chapters of the Bible. These chapters hold the principles that will be important throughout the remainder of the Word of God. Here are some that I see:

• God interacts with the Universe, our earth, and the creatures that are on the earth, especially man (1:1).

• Without God, all of life is empty (void), wasteful, and dark (1:2).

• God’s work is always redemptive. He takes what He is given and brings beauty out of confusion (1:2).

• When our lives are empty and dark, God’s Spirit is nearby, desirous of moving on our situations to create order (1:2).

• The Word of God is the creative force that is needed in our lives. The Word will create wonderful things in our lives as we will allow it to speak to our minds and emotions, and guide our actions (1:3-25; Joshua 1:8). 

• We are fallen human beings that need to be recreated. We must make time to read, study, and memorize the Word of God to see the transformation happen. Attendance to the House of God is a must because when we attend, we listen to the spoken Word. This creates faith in our lives (Romans 10:17).

• The breath of God is needed for humans to have life (2:7). The sin of Adam brought physical and spiritual death to the human race (3:19). Through the receiving of the Holy Ghost, we get the breath of God. His breath gives us Spiritual and eternal life.

• God wants to bless humans. His blessings are understood as being enrichment and multiplication. He has supplied everything we need to be able to exist to fulfill His will (1:28-31).

• The test for humans is the same for all in every generation. Do you listen and obey God’s Word or do you listen and obey Satan’s word (3:1-5)? 

• Satan is a deceiver. He will always show you the good of temptation and never display the painful result of the temptation (3:6-19).

• Those closest to you might be your greatest hindrance to obedience to God’s Word. You must place God and obedience to His Word above all relationships (2:18-25; 3:6).

• Humans have made gods of the sun and stars, vegetation, sea and sky creatures, and animals of the earth. They do not realize that these so-called gods are created items. There is a power that is more powerful than the creature. It is the one who creates (Romans 1:25). Look to the Creator and serve Him!

Keep Moving in the Right Direction

 I'm convinced that perfection is not what God requires but that me going in the right direction is what He desires! I should be moving towards Him and not going away from Him. I should be spending more time with Him, not less time!

The gospel of Mark is filled with contrasts of people and their direction. In Mark 14:3-11, we have two different people, Mary and Judas, headed in two different directions. Jesus is at the house of Simon, the leper reclining at a table. Mary comes to Him with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard. It is very costly! She broke the flask and poured it over the head of Jesus! Immediately the disciples, led by Judas, begin to say to themselves, "Why was the ointment wasted like that"? We could have sold it and given the funds to the poor? The internal thoughts led to outward words! They scolded her for her action! Jesus interrupted them and said, "Leave her alone"! She has done a beautiful thing to me. You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me! She has anointed my body beforehand for burial! 

Immediately following that event, Mark places Judas together with the chief priests in the picture of betrayal. Judas has sought the chief priests out! He has proposed a deal for leading them to Jesus! The priests promise to give Judas money for the action. They are glad to finally have someone on the inside working for them! 

In these two stories, we have two people who are going in the opposite direction. Notice the contrast:

1)    Mary is giving perfume (funds) while Judas is getting funds.

2)    Mary is showing devotion while Judas is becoming a traitor.

3)    Mary has done a beautiful thing while Judas has done an ugly thing.

4)    Mary came to Jesus while Judas came to the enemies of Jesus.

5)    Mary upsets the disciples with anger, and they scold her. Judas' actions bring gladness to the chief priests and promise to himself.

6)    Mary comes to Jesus while Judas goes from Jesus.

Mary's direction will cause the Holy Ghost to enter her heart (Acts 1:14; 2:1-4). But the direction of Judas will cause Satan will enter into his heart (John 13:26). 

Though you might not be perfect, just keep moving forward and higher! Don't stop and turn around! Keep growing in your relationship with the Lord! Get closer to Him. Never change directions!

A Model to Receive and Respond to God's Call

One of my annual goals is to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation each year! This allows me to see the big picture of the Word of God and its major themes. As I read, I'm always looking for models. These models help me to be able to know what steps to take in my ministry and personal life.

This morning I have been reading 1 Samuel. During my reading, I saw the following model. This is a model to help individuals to grow in leadership. It also gives a model to an individual who desires to be used by God at a high level. Let God's Word help you to receive a higher call!

The call of Samuel and My call

·       Samuel is dedicated to God before his call

o   Samuel’s dedication is at a higher level than others (1:11)

§  Given all the days of his life (1:28)

§  His hair will not be cut which speaks of the Nazarite Vow

§  Samuel is a person who is faithful (2:35)

§  Samuel is a person who will do according to what is in God’s heart and mind (2:35)

·       Samuel’s Model of Ministry

o   Samuel worships (1:28)

o   Samuel ministers in the presence of Eli to the Lord (2:11; 3:1)

o   Samuel ministers before the Lord (2:18)

·       Samuel is in a continual growth mode spiritually, physically and relationally (2:26)

·       God calls Samuel (3:1-14)

o   The call comes after his dedication

o   The call comes after he is already ministering before Eli, his mentor

o   The call comes, but he does not have direction (3:3-8)

o   He receives direction from his mentor on how to answer the call (3:9)

o   The call comes, and he answers the call as instructed by his mentor (3:10)

·       Samuel’s reaction to the call (3:15-19)

o   Even though he has the call the time of the ministry of the call has not happened. He continues his regular ministry (3:15)

o   He has a fear of what will happen during the fulfillment of the call (3:15)

o   Samuel continues his Spiritual Growth (3:19)

§  The Lord is with him

§  The Word of God becomes important to him

·       Others reaction to his call (3:20)

o   They recognize his call and ministry

·       God reaction to Samuel’s call (3:21)

o   God appears again

o   God reveals Himself to Samuel through the Word of God

Time for a DIGITAL DETOX

We are being controlled by technology. Social media is part of the reason an eighteen-year-old young woman is in jail for causing the death of her fourteen-year-old sister. While drinking and driving the old sister chooses to make the trip live on Instagram. She is drunk on alcohol and Instagram! Her attention to driving an automobile is replaced by the desire to post and get others attention. She loses control of the vehicle! Her fourteen-year-old sister is thrown out of the car as the vehicle rolls crushing the teenager. The old sister jumps out of the car with her phone in her hand streaming her actions of running to her battered and bruised sister, gripping her body and yelling at her: "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for killing you! I'm going to jail!" I hurt for her as I think of the emotional and mental pain that she dealing with in the present moment! Will she ever find relief? Will her guilt drive her deeper into self destruction?

We, all individually,  need a DIGITAL DETOX!!! Our families need to DETOX DIGITALLY too! 

Technology is removing from the family the most important ingredient to saving our families, the influence of the parents. A parents influence grows because of relationship. A relationship develops because of time spent together. Your child is spending more time with You Tube than with YOU! You're losing your most valuable tools! Influence!

When you ask a child a question that they do not know the answer to they will respond: "Let me google it" instead of saying let me ask my Dad or Mom! The answers of google will be filled with sites that might have the correct answer and with others that the answers they give are definitely wrong!

I'm inviting all parents to read the above article and take the challenge of seven days to have a DIGITAL DETOX for their family! Click on the above picture, and it will take you to the article. Join other parents and take the seven-day challenge! 

One of my yearly goals is to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelations. I have used some resources to complete the project annually, from the ancient tradition of a handheld leather-bound Bible to the present day internet bible of www.youversion.com.  Throughout the years I also have used a variety of tracking methods to record the journey which has had different lengths of time, from 90 to 365 days to complete the reading. 

One of the most important exercises to help me gain insight into the book of the Bible that I'm about to start reading is to read the background information of the book. The background material would include, among other pertinent information, the date of writing, a discussion of who the author is, the purpose and main themes that are present in the text. 

I just completed my reading of the Pentateuch, and I'm starting to read Joshua. As I began to read the background of Joshua, I came across the following guidelines. The author thoughts resonated within my mind. I saw value in them and want to share with others how to enter into the Biblical text.

The message of Joshua can encourage and have a wonderful impact on one’s life. For that to occur, however, we need to be serious in our study of Scripture. For those who want the message of Joshua to positively influence their lives for God, the following four words are offered as food for thought:

(1) Thirst:      

The psalmist wrote, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1-2, NIV). Sadly, men too often seek to fill the void in their souls with things that never truly satisfy. We were all created with a void that only God Himself can satisfy. The psalmist recognized this and after the analogy of the deer thirsting for water, spoke of the thirst in his soul that only God could fill. But then there was the question, “When can I go and meet with God?” One time and place where we can do just that is in our Bible study. The most effective Bible study occurs when we study out of a thirst to know God. May it be so as we study the book of Joshua.        

(2) Toil:         

In our fast foods, mall-oriented society where we expect everything to be quick and easy, we too often approach our Bible study in the same way. Effective Bible study is hard work and requires diligence as in anything worthwhile if we want to accomplish much. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).

(3) Time:        

We can heat a cup of water in a microwave in a minute and quickly mix a tablespoon of our favorite instant coffee and have something hot to drink, but the greatest blessing usually comes from meditating, reading, and spending time in God’s precious book.

(4) Teachableness:     

Again, in a world so full of man’s ideas, theologies, ideologies, and philosophies, we will get the most when we come to the Scripture with a teachable spirit asking God to teach us His truth, for it is His truth and only His truth that sanctifies and sets us free (John 17:17; 8:32).

As you read this study, hopefully with your Bible in hand, may these four ‘Ts’ be in your mind and heart. (1)

I want to do all I can to remember and apply these actions to my daily Bible reading. As I strive to lead the most important people on earth, the people of God, I'm constantly reminding myself that I need God's wisdom to take them where He wants them to go. His Word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path (Psalm 119:105).

(1)     https://bible.org/seriespage/introduction-and-background