Sunday, January 04,
2015, 6:25 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “In Faithfulness He Leads Me.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart.
I read Psalm 100 (ESV).
Praise and Worship
A
Psalm for giving thanks.
Make
a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
When we think of praise and worship, what comes to mind?
Generally, at least here in America, I think we think of a time of singing
praise and worship songs in what is commonly referred to as a worship service,
usually in the context of the organized and institutional church. Certainly
singing is to be part of our worship of our Lord, whether we can sing on tune or
not, or with beautiful voices or not. And, we are to offer words of praise and
adoration to our Lord, too. As well, we are to do so with joyful and glad
hearts, desiring to give honor and praise to our Lord and King. Yet, is that
the totality of our worship?
This word translated here as “serve” also has the meaning of
“worship.” The same is true with the Greek word translated “service” or
“worship” in Romans 12:1-2. In Psalm 100, the word serve (worship) also means
“to become bond-slaves, to work, to make a servant” (Source: biblehub.com). In
Romans 12, the word service (worship) also means “service rendered to God,
divine worship, or service of worship” (Source: biblehub.com). So, what this
says to me is that there is a direct correlation between worship and service.
This plays out in the Romans passage where it tells us, that in view of God’s
mercy to us, we should offer our lives (our whole being) to God as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is our reasonable service of
worship - no longer conformed to the ways of this world, but transformed in the
renewing of our minds. Then we will be able to discern the good, acceptable and
perfect will of God for our lives. This is true worship of God!
Jesus Christ, when he walked the face of the earth, had
multiple encounters with the Jewish religious leaders of his day. On one
occasion the Pharisees and teachers of the law were criticizing Jesus’
disciples for not washing their hands before they ate, which was the tradition
of the elders. Jesus responded by asking them why they break the command of God
for the sake of tradition. He told them that they nullify the Word of God for
the sake of tradition. They were hypocrites. He added that Isaiah had
prophesied about them when he spoke of people who honor God with their lips,
but their hearts are far from him. They worship God in vain, for their
teachings are merely human rules (See: Matt. 15). He also told the woman at the
well that a time was coming, which has now come, when we won’t worship God in
any specific location, but in the Spirit (or in spirit) and in truth (See Jn.
4).
So, what can we take away from all this? For one, I believe
we should not limit our idea of worship to merely saying or singing words of
praise and adoration to our Lord, or to a specific day, time, atmosphere or
venue/place during the week. I believe we should worship our Lord 24/7,
regardless of time or place. Our service of worship to our Lord should also be
according to God’s design, not of human origin. As well, I believe for our
words and our singing to be true worship of our Lord, we have to first of all
be born again of the Spirit, surrendered, committed, repentant, and obedient to
our Lord; pure in heart, and separated from the world of sin because we are
being made into the likeness of God/Christ. We must also be bond-slaves of our
Lord, meaning he is boss, and we are his servants. We must take the attitude
that our lives no longer belong to us, but they belong to HIM.
We Are His Sheep
Know
that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his
pasture.
We need to know that the Lord is God, not just
intellectually, but deep down in the depths of our hearts and souls. We must
walk in the fear of the Lord. What this means is that we must give God all the
honor, respect, value, submission, obedience and surrender which he so
deserves. To know that he is God means we treat him as though he is truly LORD
of our lives. We don’t give our lives over to the “gods” of this world, to
serve, worship and honor them. When anything in our lives takes God’s rightful
place as Master of our lives, and God begins to take a back seat to our entertainment,
sports, possessions, careers, houses, friends, patriotism, socialization with
other humans, lust, and/or any sinful passions and desires, etc., then we are
no longer walking in the fear of the Lord, but are returning to walking
according to the flesh. And, then we are not acting according to true knowledge
that the Lord truly is God, our creator, sustainer, Savior, sanctifier, healer
and coming King.
So, what does it mean to belong to God, and that we are his?
What does it mean to be his sheep? Well, for me, the first passage of scripture
that came to mind was John 10:27: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them,
and they follow me.” So many people like to quote the next verse independent of
verse 27. Vs. 28 says: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;
no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Yet, that promise is dependent on v.
27 being true in the believer’s life. We must be ones who truly listen to God,
not just with our ears, but we truly pay attention to what he says, we take it
into account, and then we act upon what we have heard via obedience to what his
word says, which means we then follow him in obedience wherever he leads us or
calls us, or to whatever he asks us to do. We won’t do this perfectly, but we
should do it consistently and as a matter of course.
Enter His Gates
Enter
his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
Also in John 10 we read that Jesus is the gate through which
we enter into eternal life. He is the only way, truth and life by which we gain
access to heaven, to the Father, into fellowship with God/Christ, and into the
body of Christ, the church. As well, we read in Matthew 7:13-14 that we are to
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that
leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and
narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” So, not only is
Jesus the gate that leads to eternal life with God, but this gate is narrow.
So, what does that mean?
“Narrow,” in this sense, has to do with the straight paths
John was to make for the Lord in preparing the way for him. John’s message was
one of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus taught the same message,
and so did the apostles after him. “Straight” means “honest, law-abiding,
upright, trustworthy,” etc. The narrow gate thus has to do with the means by
which we gain access to life with Christ and we are born of the Spirit of God,
and we become part of his family (his household). Truly it is by God’s grace, and
through faith, that we are able to enter through this gate (See Eph. 2:8-10),
but this faith is realized or proved genuine via us turning from sin, being
born of the Spirit, and turning to walk in faithful obedience to Christ and to
his teachings (instructions) for how we are to live our lives in the power of
his Spirit within us, and for the praise, honor and glory of God.
His Faithfulness
Endures
For
the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
When someone is completely faithful, he is trustworthy,
loyal, reliable, and true. We can depend on him to do exactly what he said he
would do, and to be precisely who he said he is. Only God/Christ is absolutely
faithful in all that he does, but we are also to be faithful.
God’s/Jesus’ faithfulness will never be nullified by our
unfaithfulness (Ro. 3:3). God is faithful to not let us be tempted beyond what
we can bear, but he will provide a way out from under the temptation so that we
can stand up under it (1 Co. 10:13). He won’t necessarily remove the
temptation, but he will show us how to not give in to it, but we must do what
he says. He is also faithful to sanctify us and to strengthen and protect us
from the evil one (1 Thess. 5:24; 2 Thess. 3:3). If we are faithless, he will
remain faithful. Yet, if we disown him, he will disown us. But, if we endure,
we will reign with him (2 Tim. 2:10-13).
Jesus was faithful as our high priest in making atonement
for our sin (Heb. 2:17). He was faithful in paying the price for our sin so
that we could go free from damnation, free from slavery to sin, and so we could
be free to walk daily in his righteousness. He is also faithful to God the
Father as the Son over God’s house, his church, of which he is the head, her
Savior and her Shepherd. Christ is also faithful to all his many promises to
us. We can always count on him. He will never leave us or forsake us.
As well, as his followers, we are to be faithful in all that
we do – faithful to the truth of God’s word, faithful in suffering for the sake
of the name of Jesus and his gospel, and faithful in being his servants and
witnesses. We who have been given a trust – Christ, our salvation, the gospel,
the Holy Spirit, spiritual giftedness, et al – must be faithful to the trust we
have been given. This means that we should walk in the Spirit, and not
according to the flesh; that we should do what the word says and not be hearers
only; that we should be willing to suffer and die for the sake of Christ and
his gospel; and that we should submit to Christ and to the Spirit within us in
being who he has called us to be, in doing what he has called us to do, and in
being his witnesses in sharing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ with the
world around us so that many others can know God/Jesus Christ and can have the
hope of eternal life in heaven with God.
In Faithfulness He
Leads Me / An Original Work / March 20, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures
(Ps. 26:3; 86:11; 91:4-5; 111:7-8; 119:73-76;
Is. 25:1,4&9; 42:6-7; Hos. 2:16-20)
Teach me Your ways,
Lord, and I’ll walk in them.
Give me a pure heart.
I’ll fear Your name.
Your love is always,
ever before me.
Continually I’ll walk
in Your truth.
You will cover me with
feathers.
Under Your wings I’ll
find refuge.
My Lord’s faithfulness
will be my
Comfort and my shield.
The works of His hands
are faithful and just.
Trustworthy are all of
His precepts.
Your hands have made
me, and they have formed me.
Give understanding of
Your commands.
I have put my hope, O
Lord, in Your word.
Your teachings, O
Lord, are righteousness.
Lord, in faithfulness
You have
Afflicted me so I may
learn of
Your unfailing love
and comfort
And Your truthfulness.
You are my husband;
You have betrothed me
In love, compassion
and faithfulness.
O Lord, You are my
God, I’ll exalt You.
In faithfulness You’ve
done wondrous things.
You’ve been a refuge
for those who’re needy;
A shelter in storms;
shade from the heat.
This is the Lord, we
trusted in Him,
Let us be glad and
rejoice
In His salvation which
He
Provided through the
Lamb.
Open the blind eyes;
free all the captives.
Tell them of Jesus:
“Be born again!”
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