Gleanings — 4

The Holy Spirit drew near and used today’s Gleanings on worship to search my heart. May He visit you as well.

Worship

Worship is elusive. God demands worship; God seeks worshippers. But we can’t make true worship happen. We can force ourselves to praise, but not to worship. True worship is a spontaneous response to God Himself.

True worship cannot spring from the tradition of men; true worship springs from the revelation of God.

True worship generally presupposes faith.

Worship is only God’s will when it is also His way.

We encourage worship by

Giving all to God—our loved ones, homes, businesses and bank accounts, our interests, ambitions, hopes and dreams—putting all, past, present and future into His hands.

We encourage worship by

Loving God with all our heart, minds, souls and strength. If we love anything more than God, we worship that, not God. If we want to  worship God, we’ve got to be tough on idolatry, be committed to confessing   and surrendering everything—all we are, all we have and do, and all we ever will be.

We encourage worship by

Welcoming His Spirit and truth into our entire beings—which means—

We encourage worship by

Aligning with His Word—obeying His Word by forgiving; by not lying or cheating; by refusing jealousies and comparisons; by encouraging and building others up and not competitively putting them down; by nurturing the fruits of the Holy Spirit like love, joy, hope, faith, peace, patience, kindness; gentleness and self-control; by refusing hate, depression, worry, anxiety, impatience, and all meanness, harshness, force and gluttonous lusts.

We encourage worship by

Separating ourselves from distractions and sidetracking influences; setting    aside times and places to seek Him for Himself alone.

We encourage worship by

Concentrating on God and His Word with undivided focus.

We encourage worship by

Looking on Jesus face and humbly accepting that not one of us can approach God in our own flesh, but that all His children can boldly draw near His throne through the blood of Jesus Christ who is God’s Son and Lord.