“Instead, you must break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles. You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about His relationship with you.” (Exodus 34:13-14 NLT)
The real question behind the question of who’s leading our worship is, who’s leading our life? Who or what is setting the direction and pace of our daily activities? Who or what is governing our mind and motivating our decisions from day to day?
The above verses are some of God’s instructions to the children of Israel as they prepared to enter their promised land. The pagan people who then possessed the land, worshipped a lot of idols, and the Lord knew the appeal they would hold to His chosen people. It causes me to think, if God was leading His people into America today, He’d very likely need to level everything and start over.
As Americans, we’ve made “idols” of almost everything we see, hear, taste, touch, or smell, so we battle Satan on many fronts when it comes to personal and even corporate worship. It’s no accident that in many, probably most churches in America we need 20-30 minutes of singing and praying to prepare our wayward hearts to hear God’s Word.
And the tragedy is that in a very high percentage of “churches,” God’s Word isn’t even reverenced and used as the basis, not only for preaching, but even for singing. “Worship” has become little more than “religious entertainment” to help us feel better as we face the beginning of another week of pursuing our own lustful pleasures.
Please understand, my heart isn’t to be critical of others, but to exalt the Name above all names. Worship, even in the presence of others, must maintain a singular focus. The design of worship isn’t to entertain, but to point the gathered body to Jesus. It’s no different when I do my prayer walks. To the extent I’m able to focus on Jesus and rely on the Spirit to lead me, to that extent I’ve worshipped.
Dan Cruver wrote: “We have the most wonderful worship leader you can imagine. Our Heavenly Intercessor is our Worship Leader. All our worship goes through Him to the Father by the Spirit.”
Join me as we worship our risen Savior:
“O worship the King, all glorious above, And gratefully sing His wonderful love; Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days, Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise. Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail, In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail: Thy mercies, firm to the end, Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.” (Text by Robert Grant)
The songs we sing, whether individually or corporately, should exalt Jesus and stir our hearts to worship, adoration, and praise. A firm foundation in the discipline of prayer and singing to the Lord, is the “rock” upon which a godly life is built. Devotion to God is illustrated in the time, effort, and energy we put forth in worship.
I’m so grateful for the family of God. The gift of worshipping together, loving one another, and doing life together is a glimpse of heaven on earth. Those who haven’t yet yielded their life and allegiance to Jesus aren’t only missing heaven, they’re missing life!
I so appreciate each one of you who read these posts. I pray the Lord will use them to lift, encourage, and bless you in your pilgrimage of faith. Thank you.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 