He is All Things

 Rev. 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Revelation reveals Christ in all of His glory. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of all things. “And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”(Col 1:17). He is our all in all. All things for every circumstance in life. We wake up in the morning and breathe in all that Jesus has given us. We go through our day and submit our will to the one who will work all things for good so that He will receive glory, honor and praise. We end our day with thanksgiving for all the things He has done and will do. He is worthy today and into eternity to be praised and glorified. Who can stand before Him and not bow the knee and worship Him? We worry about many things in life. He knows our frame, that we are weak and need Him to make the impossible happen. We can do all things through Christ, who gives us the power to do what is needed. In return, we give Him all the glory for all the things He has done and will do. We don’t have to wait till we get to heaven to cast ourselves before Him as John saw the 24 elders do. We live each day knowing that He is in control of all things in our lives, and we give Him praise. He is worthy as we lift our voices to Him in praise. We are His creation and worthy of our worship in word and deed.

They Saw His Star

 

Matt 2:2,11
“For we have seen His star ...(Magi) fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures...”

Twas the night  before Christmas, the Magi followed the star to find the promised Messiah. The night before Christmas, they went to King Herod to inquire, but the influencers of that time did not have a clue of any star in the sky. As the Magi continued their quest, the star appeared once again to guide and direct them. The timeline of their journey was about a couple of weeks after the birth of Jesus, but at last the star stood still, and they arrived to find Mary and Joseph in a house where Jesus was under their care. God’s gift of Love had arrived, and the Magi’s hearts were stricken with praise and adoration. They recognized that this was the Son of God who would change the world. They fell down on their knees, no doubt, lifting their voices to the heavens and gave thanks to the new born king. The Magi opened their treasures and presented them to the Son of God. The gifts were symbolic, recognizing the significance of His coming. Gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of deity, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death. He, the God man, will die, shed His blood to set men free, but will rule the world as King and Lord for all eternity. As the Magi fell down, so will every knee bow and confess that He is Lord.  Let us give Christ the treasure of our hearts. May we open our treasures and give them all to Jesus. He gave His life for us, let us give our heart to Him in full surrender to His will and desires. Let us bow the knee now and worship Him, for He is worthy. 

Worshipping Idols.

 Acts 17:25
Neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.

The hand of God wrote on the tablets of stone. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them.” We still find such images in the world today. Statues and shrines are erected and worshipers gather around them to pray and give oblations. Such religions can also be found in America. I live down the street from a buddhist temple, and they have erected a 25-30 foot goddess statue in the middle of their yard. I am ignorant of the purpose of the statue, but it does appear to be a shrine made to attract followers to come and worship. Christians must be careful when erecting buildings or statues to honor saints. Buildings are erected to provide a place for believers to gather together to worship, and we want to respect the house of God, but scripture clearly states that we should not confine God to a place . “seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” (V24) We are the church, and should bring God with us to the house of worship. Many preachers and writers have preached and written on idol worship in our day. One need not make a statue to worship an idol. In a nutshell, anything that comes between you and God is an idol. The list of things are as diverse as there are people. We live by faith alone, and we serve a God who desires all of our hearts. Worshiping Him in holiness requires that we give to God all that we love in this world and place our love and affection to the things above (Col 3:1).

The Name of Jesus

Philippians 2:10
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.

There will come a day when the wheel of time we stop and ceases to turn, that Jesus will be all that remains. He who controls time and space will be sitting on the throne . He is the Lord of all, King of kings, His Name will be lifted up on high and all will recognize that He is God. All will worship Him, will see the folly of their way and the deception of Satan. The atheist, the agnostic, worshipers of false religions, and all who refuse to believe in Him will fall to their knees and confess that He and He alone is the only way to eternal life. Those who believe already have bowed their knees, kneeling at the foot of the cross, confessing their sinful state and asking Jesus to save them from eternal damnation.  Confessing the Name of Jesus and believing that He is God and the Savior of the world. The Christian has humbled himself before God can now approach the throne of God and speak Jesus to the Father. For in the Name of Jesus, all is well, and we can trust in His Name to do all things according to His will.

Worship Him

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

Worship is demonstrated in our willingness to bow our hearts to him in praise and adoration. He loves to hear our lips praise Him and give HIm glory. He is so good and is worthy of our worship. But worship goes beyond the uplifting of our voices and hands to Him. We worship Him in true holiness when we live our lives in harmony with His word. The way we live says more about our worship than the words that come from our lips. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” Words are meaningless if they don’t come from the heart of love. A true love for God and others. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” The golden rule, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself” is the heart of true worship.From a heart that loves God will come the uplifting voices of praise to Him. It is good to praise Him morning, day and night with our voices. He loves the worship of his people when they come together collectively to worship HIm. Let our voices be heard, but more importantly, let our lives worship Him in the beauty of living holy and blameless in Him.

Form of Godliness

 2 Tim 3:5
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Being religious is a good thing. It implies that you have traditions and rituals that are important to you.There are many religions in the world that have a point of view about God, and who He is. Christianity also is a religion that people down through the centuries have made it their tenant of faith. The problem with just having religion is that it can become just a form of godliness. Like the Pharisee, Jesus said, “ …ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.” (Mat. 23:27). Paul writes to Timothy to warn him about people who are calling themselves followers of Jesus, yet live lives that are unholy and corrupt. He gives a big list of things that they are doing that are not consistent with holy living. He says, they resist the truth and have become reprobate concerning the faith. Men who once knew the Way have turned to their selfish desires and have made mockery of the faith. They worship, and may even name the Name of Jesus, but their hearts are far from him. The warning is given to us, to always worship God in Spirit. It is the power of the Holy Spirit living in our lives that turns religion into a relationship. The song writer pens, “The power, the power, gives victory over sin, the purity within…”

Worship Him

 John 4:23-24
The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 
The place of worship is a special place. I often feel that God dwells nearer in these places. The reality is that God is not confined to a location or building. I still feel that the house of God holds special meaning, and that He is pleased that we have dedicated a place to gather together as believers to praise and worship Him as a collective body of worshipers. But as true worshipers of the Father, we worship Him everywhere we go. We worship Him in the way we live. Christ is the center of our lives, and in everything we give thanks. He is the air we breath, we find solace in knowing that He walks with us, talks with us, and abides in us. I love to worship Him in His house, but God is not seen in the material things of this world, He is seen in the hearts of believers, and we worship Him in spirit and in truth. 

True Worship

Matt. 2:8 “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

God was not fooled by Herod hypocrisy. Neither is He fooled by our fake worship. Saying we love Him and believe that Jesus is the Son of God, yet our lives don’t reflect His loving spirit. Selfishness still dwells within the heart. We may call ourselves “Christians” but it is only lip service. We may even go to church, the place of worship and sing songs of praise, but our heart is far from living our life in the word of God. Herod never did find Jesus, because he really was not a true seeker after God. To be a worshiper of God, one must be a seeker after Him and desire to live in His presence. Seek Him with all your heart, and you will find Him. When you truly find Him, you will surrender your life in full obedience. He will be Lord of all, and your knees will truly bend in worship.

Your Whole Heart

Psalm 111:1 Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

With my whole heart, and everything within me I give myself to God in praise. The whole heart does not hold back, does not share its affections. The whole heart is committed 100% to the things of God. In time of worship, the whole heart puts away the things in life that weigh heavy on our mind. The heart is focus on Jesus, His love and grace. His mercy that endures forever. With our whole heart, we give thanks to God for all that He has done and will do. We enter into His house with thanksgiving and praise because He is worthy and holy. There is no other God like our God. Praise Him not only in the place of worship, but praise Him at home, work, school, and wherever you go. Let others know that you have given your whole heart to God and He alone is worthy of our praise.

Why Is Church Imporant

Col 3: 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

The importance of gathering together as a body of believers is base on Bible principles. The argument that one does not need the “church” to be close to God and does not need to go to church to worship God is not sound Biblical teaching. The unity of believers is base on a diversity of people coming together to meet under the banner of Christ. This is not possible if one keeps themselves in the solitude of their home or in nature. Yes, God can be found anywhere where hearts seek after Him, but the richness of Christ in found in the bond of love that is seen in those that follow Him. Let this love of Christ that dwells in all believer be the unity that brings believers together to encourage themselves to serve Christ. One cannot admonish another person if such person does not gather to worship with the assembly.  “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Heb.10:25. The importance of assembling together is a Biblical teaching that should not be taken lightly. The end is soon approaching and we need each other. There is strength in unity. We need to put aside our differences and focus on what we hold as truth. The banner of Christ is love.

Follow Your Heart

Matt. 2:2 Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Within the heart of every person is a desire to find God. To find meaning and purpose in life.We all seek for something that is higher than us. The Magi from the east came looking for a king. These were men who sought to know the truth and went a far off to find it. There only purpose was to worship this king that was revealed to them by God. They were not raised with the knowledge of the Torah. Divinity awoke a desire in their heart to seek and find this king. They followed the dictates of their heart and followed the star. God puts in the heart of every man a longing to know God. Through the nature of God’s creation, He has revealed Himself to mankind. God has given the gift of conscience to all born to this world. the measure of light may vary for each, but He is always faithful to speak to all who are willing to listen. Follow your heart, follow the star, and worship Him.

Sing Unto The Lord

Psalm 98:1b, 4 O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things:…Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

Worshiping God is demonstrated in many ways. We enter into the house of God expecting Him to meet with us. We express our love and faith by giving Him praise. He is worthy of worship and it is only right that we make a joyful noise, rejoicing by singing praises to Him. True worship of God is more of an attitude of spirit than a physical demonstration of emotions. We can sing with gusto and lift our hands toward heaven all we want, but if our heart is in rebellion against God, then we worship in vain. For to obey is better than sacrifice, or giving lip service by speaking words of praise. God is pleased when we recognize His holiness, His majesty, His greatness, but coming to Him with a song that has been places there by Jesus Christ is what He desires. Let us enter into His gates with thanksgiving in our heart, and worship Him for who He is and what He has done in our lives.