Friday, October 29, 2010
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Isaiah 4-7 & Ephesians 3
THANKFUL SUBMISSION – Submission of the Heart
SCRIPTURE READING
the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.”
“Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.” Worship is the natural response to God when we recognize His greatness. And worship through song is a fitting gift to Him. Israel would come together in praise and worship, sacrificing pleasing offerings to the Lord and singing, dancing and celebrating together, for they knew that God was great and mighty, the horn of their salvation. Other nations, however, acknowledged their own pagan gods, offering abominable child sacrifices to their idols of wood and stone. God called His people to worship and He called for their worship to be upright. When Israel turned from this to worship other gods and make detestable sacrifices, God’s anger was provoked and their sin did not go unpunished.
God wants real worship. He wants submitted hearts. He wants lives completely surrendered to Him. And yet the igniter of our worship is never our own deeds. We are meant to worship, not because of our own goodness – for we are not good at all – rather we are to worship because God is great and God is good.
The body is meant to come together in worship. When we sing together as a congregation, we do so because songs of praise are a fitting gift for our King! Participation is not dependent upon feelings, insecurities, sound or aesthetics.
PRAYER & MEDITATION
1. Meditate on Psalm 147 today. Lift up your praise to God as He shows you things about Himself.2. Do you hold back in congregational worship because of insecurities or moods/feelings? Do you not sing because you don’t like your voice or do you leave arms by your side because you feel awkward? Ask Jesus to teach you something about true worship today.
3. Do you ever raise your hands and sing your heart out for show? Ask Jesus to help you to worship honestly because of HIS goodness.
