Worship

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson (cartoon left if you were not aware) ran from November 18, 1985 until December 31, 1995. At its height, it was carried in approximately 2,400 newspapers. It was a brilliant piece of writing which was sometimes criticized for being "too adult" in its content. I enjoyed it immensely. This is one of my favorite panels.

So, do you "verb" or "noun" when it comes to worship?

Let's break it down a bit:
Noun:          The feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.

Verb:           To show reverence and adoration for (a deity); honor with religious rites.

If you "noun", you base your worship experience on feelings or emotions. True worship should evoke an emotional response since it is an expression of love; however, we cannot base our entire worship experience on emotion.

If you "verb", your worship is based on action.  Perhaps the most prevalent action word used in conjunction within the context of "loving God" is obey (stated or implied):


1 John 5:3 (NIV)

"In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome."

John 15:10 (NIV)

"If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love."

John 14:15 (NIV)

"If you love me, keep my commands."

So, we worship through obedience.  In Romans 12:1 (NIV), we are told:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."

We must give God our all, all the time, not just when we are in an emotional state conducive to what we consider worship.  That is love.

So be like Calvin and "verb" it up!

I am...

I am complete in Him Who is the Head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:10)

I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5)

I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)

I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me (Isaiah 54:14)

I am born of God, and the evil one does not touch me (1 John 5:18)

I am holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:16)

I have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5)

I have the peace of God that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7)

I have the Greater One living in me; greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the  world (1 John 4:4)

I have received the gift of righteousness and reign as a king in life by Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17)

I have received the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, the eyes of my understanding being enlightened (Ephesians 1:17, 18)

I have the power over all the enemy, and nothing shall by any means harm me (Mark 16:17, 18; Luke 10:17, 19)

I have put off the old man and have put on the new man, which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of Him Who created me (Colossians 3:9, 10)

I have no lack, for my God supplies all of my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)

I can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one with my shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16)

I can do all things through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:13)

I show forth the praises of God Who has called me out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)

I am God's child-for I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, which lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23)

I am God's workmanship, created in Christ unto good works (Ephesians 2:10)

I am a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I am a spirit being-alive to God (Romans 6:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:23)

I am a believer, and the light of the Gospel shines in my mind (2 Corinthians 4:4)

I am a doer of the Word and blessed in my actions (James 1:22, 25)

I am a joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17)

I am more than a conqueror through Him Who loves me (Romans 8:37)

I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony (Revelation 12:11)

I am a partaker of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:3, 4)

I am an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20)

I am part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people (1 Peter 2:9)

I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)

I am the temple of the Holy Spirit, I am not my own (1 Corinthians 6:19)

I am the head and not the tail; I am above only and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13)

I am the light of the world (Matthew 5:14)

I am His elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility, and longsuffering (Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12)

I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the Blood (Ephesians 1:7)

I am delivered from the power of darkness and translated into God's kingdom (Colossians 1:13)

I am redeemed from the curse of sin, sickness, and poverty (Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Galatians 3:13)

I am firmly rooted, built up, established in my faith and overflowing with gratitude (Colossians 2:7)

I am called of God to be the voice of His praise (Psalm 66:8; 2 Timothy 1:9)

I am healed by the stripes of Jesus (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24)

I am raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12)

I am greatly loved by God (Romans 1:7; Ephesians 2:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4)

I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power (Colossians 1:11)

I am submitted to God, and the devil flees from me because I resist him in the Name of Jesus (James 4:7)

I press on toward the goal to win the prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward (Philippians 3:14)

For God has not given [me] a spirit of fear; but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)

It is not I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20)

Copyright © 2008 Joyce Meyer Ministries, Inc.

Pssst...and so are YOU (if you want to be).

Redeem the time...

Ephesians 5:15-17

"See that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

There are several things that stand out in this passage to me:

1. walk circumspectly- be "heedful of circumstances and potential consequences" to quote the definition of the word.  Think about what you are doing and the potential outcomes of your actions.  Simply put by 18th century English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) "Fools rush in where wise men fear to tread".
2. redeem the time [for the days are evil]-redeeming the time. Making the most of the time we have available.  Avoid idle time, for there is work to be done.  Get busy.  All of us have things that can easily turn a momentary distraction into a  long meandering bunny trail where we lose hours of our day.  Mine (primarily since I can get distracted easily) is television.  The mind numbing brain drain, especially watching science fiction or "true" science shows. I can lose a day if there is a marathon of a show I enjoy.  I need to redeem my time, for I have work to do.  The days will let me tangent, the days don't care what I accomplish.  The days just pass no matter what.  It is up to me to stay on track and do that which I need to do.
3. but understand the will of the Lord-to me, the scariest 5 words in the Bible "the will of the Lord." I have struggled with this concept as it relates directly to my life for a very long time.  What am I supposed to be doing? What is the purpose of my life? Am I on track, on a siding, or completely derailed? Then looking at Romans 12:2 [truncated a bit here] "...that good and acceptable and perfect will of God," I wonder if there are three levels of the will of God? Is there something I could be doing which gets a "that will do" response like skimming in just under the wire? Is there a "that's a bit better" course I could take? I want the perfect will course, to hear "well done My good and faithful servant." I want the smile and nod acknowledging I was right where He needed me when He needed me, that I followed His commands and accomplished the plans He had laid out for me.  I want to KNOW what course that is...!

I struggle for one reason: I get overwhelmed.  The year was 1987, I had just graduated from high school.  I was visiting my father in Texas between high school and heading to college.  I was attending a Christian youth summer camp.  During an evening service, the speaker Joe Strickland (can't forget the name for some reason) was preaching.  He stopped and looked at me and prophesied over me "you will do great and wonderful things for God."  Bit much to lay on an 18 year old baby Christian with little understanding of anything yet.

Kind of a big thing to have hanging over me these 25 years, especially with no feeling of direction as to what that may be or how to go about figuring it out.  

All I DO know is that I need to stay in the Word, live what I read, and not try to be an island unto myself.  I must allow others into my "world."  I need friends and family in my life.  As God said in Genesis 2:18, "It is not good that man should be alone."  Time to believe that!