Worship: September 22, 2011

SEPTEMBER 22 2011 TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

WORSHIP

DEFINITION:

Reverent honor and homage paid to God; formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor; adoring, reverence or regard.

SCRIPTURE:

“Because He is your Lord, worship Him.” Psalm 45:11.

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” Psalm 95:6

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Worship is our way to show that we honor and reverence God. He is all powerful and all knowing but more than that He is a loving and just God. He loved us so much that He was not willing for us to die in our sins so He sent His only Son to suffer and die for our sins. Because of this alone, He deserves our worship.

We worship the Lord with praise and thanksgiving for who He is and for the salvation He provided for us through Jesus Christ. We also worship Him for all the blessings He has given to us. James reminds us that every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from our father in heaven [James 1:7]. We have an awesome God, how can we not worship Him?

We have been in Kenya several times representing our ministry, World Opportunities International. One of the highlights of each trip was visiting some of the 75 churches we sponsored. We learned from them what true worship was all about. These dear people filled their churches to capacity every time the doors were opened. Most of them walked for miles to get to their church. They had no cars and could not afford any city buses that may have been available. Many were standing outside looking in through the open windows. We never have heard such singing from the heart. They would sit or stand for hours taking in every word that was being preached.

And when the offering was taken we learned so much about worship through their giving. They worshipped God in the offering with a tithe of what God had given them. We saw chickens, vegetables and even clothes being given.

Many times we have compared the worship of these dear Kenyans with the church here in America. What a difference! We are sure you know what we mean. What happens when the preacher speaks too long or the service is longer then an hour?

After we were first married and went to Korea for World Vision, one of the first things that was brought to our attention was the early morning prayer meetings. At 6:00A.M. EVERY MORNING the churches were filled to capacity for their daily prayer meeting as they worshipped God together. They recognized the importance of worshipping God and were willing to get up before daybreak to honor the Lord by joining with fellow believers in worship.

They prayed daily for their country, for their churches and for their countrymen who did not know the Lord. South Korea was known as a Christian nation because they demonstrated their faith in God through prayer and worship. Over half of their population was classified as Christians. This was a great lesson to us about worship and prayer. Our world today needs to make the worshipping of our Lord a priority in our daily lives.

When you are worshipping in the presence of God, this is a time for God to talk to you. A good indicator of our spiritual temperature is our eagerness to worship God. Our worship of God here on earth is only a prelude to the great worship services we will have in the future when we are in the presence of God. We encourage you to worship God daily and live for what you will not regret when you die.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in I Corinthians 10:13.

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

PRAYER:

Give me today a spirit of worship. Help me to worship You, my God, my Lord and my Savior. I bring all that I have to You today so that as I worship You, You can use me as you see fit. Bless my family, my friends and those in the world we live in that are lonely, hungry and searching for hope that only You can give.