Anyone who gathers with others to sing songs of praise to God, from the heart, loves the activity of worship.  Worshiping the God who loves us most, provides and protects is encouraging.  When we praise God with others it is invigorating for the soul who loves God.  We pray, giving all our burdens to God, and leave the gathering, called church, with freedom.  For that day, our load of burdens lifted.

Then Monday morning comes and we go back to the bad habits we have acquired of doing life our way on our terms for we have not yet learned that every day should be worship to God.  Our first thought should be the love of God for us and our love for Him. But our daily routine, work and school schedules, pressing appointments that seem to manage us press in all around us.  We haven’t learned that worship is having no other gods before our God.  We forget that worship is much more than a song or experience, it is our life given to God each day.  It is asking God what HE wants, no matter what your responsibilities are in this life.  No matter what we do or what are current responsibilities are currently, God can and wants to help us do it well.  God wants our lives lived for Him now.  God wants to help us fulfill His purpose that He created in us. Ultimately, His desire for us is to live according to His will and specific plan he created especially for each one of us!  HIS way is always the best way because there is NO ONE who loves us more than God! 

Paul describes worship with clarity to the church in Rome:

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. ² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”  Romans 12:1-2, NLT

The psalmist called the people together to worship the Lord, but then the Lord’s messenger received a special message from God and delivered it to the people.  It reminds us a mobile phone company that asks, “Can you hear me, now?”  The psalm reminds us of three different aspects of true worship; Praising God’s Name, Hearing God’s Word and Obeying God’s Will.  Most times, we as a fractured, distracted humanity, stop with praising God’s Name.  Praising God’s Name is wonderful, right and pleasing to God, but there is much more to worship of God than singing Him a song.  It is listening to Him and then obeying what He says.  This is worship

Worship and Wisdom, Psalms and Proverbs

Psalm 81, The Message

An Asaph Psalm

^1-5 A song to our strong God!
    a shout to the God of Jacob!
Anthems from the choir, music from the band,
    sweet sounds from lute and harp,
Trumpets and trombones and horns:
    it’s festival day, a feast to God!
A day decreed by God,
    solemnly ordered by the God of Jacob.
He commanded Joseph to keep this day
    so we’d never forget what he did in Egypt.

I hear this most gentle whisper from One
I never guessed would speak to me:

^6-7 “I took the world off your shoulders,
    freed you from a life of hard labor.
You called to me in your pain;
    I got you out of a bad place.
I answered you from where the thunder hides,
    I proved you at Meribah Fountain.

^8-10 “Listen, dear ones—get this straight;
    O Israel, don’t take this lightly.
Don’t take up with strange gods,
    don’t worship the latest in gods.
I’m God, your God, the very God
    who rescued you from doom in Egypt,
Then fed you all you could eat,
    filled your hungry stomachs.

^11-12 “But my people didn’t listen,
    Israel paid no attention;
So I let go of the reins and told them, ‘Run!
    Do it your own way!’

^13-16 “Oh, dear people, will you listen to me now?
    Israel, will you follow my map?
I’ll make short work of your enemies,
    give your foes the back of my hand.
I’ll send the God-haters cringing like dogs,
    never to be heard from again.
You’ll feast on my fresh-baked bread
    spread with butter and rock-pure honey.”

TRUTH:  Love God with all our hearts, minds and souls.  Love others.  Praise, Listen and Obey as if our lives depended on it—because they do!

Proverbs 25:3-5, The Message

Like the horizons for breadth and the ocean for depth,
    the understanding of a good leader is broad and deep.

^4-5 Remove impurities from the silver
    and the silversmith can craft a fine chalice;
Remove the wicked from leadership
    and authority will be credible and God-honoring.

WISDOM:  Honor God with our lives.

Abba Father,

Yes, I can hear you!  Great are You Lord!  We sing your praises for that is easy, right and good.  Then we are challenged to give our very lives and that is harder but necessary to grow up and mature.  It is only in sacrificially giving our lives to you which provides the fertile soil, can the holy fruit of your growing character mature in us.  Continue to remove the impurities from my life that do not belong so that I can reflect the beauty of you in me and bear your fruit in your time for your purpose. 

In Jesus Name, Amen