“’These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’” (Matthew 15:8-9 NLT)
These words from Isaiah 29:13 challenge me because every day I pour over words to share, most of which are channeled through my mind and heart, that I must believe are motivated and shared by the Holy Spirit. But how much is me? How many words are my words? Which ones should you believe and follow, and which ones should you ignore?
How words impact us is not only affected by those who wrote them, but also by the person who is reading them. For example, if the Holy Spirit is speaking through the words I write they should resonate with the Spirit of God in you that they are true. However, if the Holy Spirit is not motivating my thoughts and words, and/or if the eyes that read them aren’t led by the same Holy Spirit, confusion, misunderstanding, and wrong conclusions can be drawn.
It’s not unlike that when it comes to worship. I love music that helps me see and experience the Lord’s presence, but how much of what I’m “liking” is the Holy Spirit and how much is me? Have you ever heard or even said something like: “I just loved worship this morning!” Sometimes that says more about us than what happened during “worship.”
Worship isn’t an hour or so on a given day when we go to a building, sing and listen to someone speak. Worship is how we order our steps from day to day. It’s to whom we pay the homage of our being. Worship gives evidence of why we’re alive and to what or whom we credit our existence.
When I’ve been out, it may be for days, hours, or even minutes, my pups howl and bark like they’re really happy to see me when I come home. They wiggle all over as I speak to them, rub on them and kiss their little heads. Why do I do that? Because I love them, but I want to acknowledge their love for me. They can’t speak to me in words, so they have to use a means of communication that is meaningful to them, so they bark, wiggle, whine, and howl. And did I mention lick?
What’s the connection? Our worship, how we express to the Lord our love and devotion will, on some levels, be unique to the worshipper; however, there are common traits or characteristics that should be seen in every person who loves and worships the Lord God Almighty. Things like specific times and places we devote to only worship, not only corporately, but privately, which should lead to ongoing conversations through which our “schedules” are approved or changed according to the Lord’s directives.
But another key ingredient to worship is obedience. Jesus said in Luke 6:46: “So why do you keep calling Me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?” We can call it whatever we wish, but when what Jesus says and what we do are two different things, that’s disobedience and it’s wrong.
Tim Keller wrote: “If your god never disagrees with you, you might just be worshiping an idealized version of yourself.” If everything you “sense” the Lord saying is affirming what you want anyway, be careful how you proceed. Our obedience is an act of worship and affirms, not only our allegiance and submission to the Lord’s authority in and over our lives, but our desire to honor and reverence Him.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 