Worship = WORTHship

The greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27.)

How does this relate to worshiping through singing? Do you love the Lord when you sing to or about Him? Do you give God musical praise with all your strength & effort? Do you sing the words in complete awareness of their meaning & mean it by singing with both your heart & mind?

It takes effort to truly worship. We can’t worship without putting all our strength, all our hearts & all our minds into the picture & expect it to be meaningful to God.

Paul said in the second half of 1 Corinthians 14:15:

“…I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my MIND.“

How much worth do you give to God in worship? There is no worth in worship if our heart & mind aren’t in it. If our mind is not involved, then how can we worship in truth or in spirit? (John 4:23-24) [Note: The word worship comes from the old English word WORTHship.]

What are the words to the chorus of the song I’m Forever Grateful?

I’m forever grateful to You, I’m forever grateful for the cross
I’m forever grateful to You – That You came to seek & save the lost.

Do you sing these words & mean them as you do? Do you sing them with gratitude that God sought you & sent Jesus, who died for you to save you?

What about the beloved hymn Amazing Grace? We may have sung it 1,000 times & know every verse in memory, yet never truly engaged our minds as we sang the words:

Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!

Is God’s grace amazing to you? Is it a sweet sound? Do you sing the words with meaning, in thanksgiving to Him for loving you so much that He saved you?

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This is a devotional I’ve worked up & am thinking of doing with our choir. Feel free to offer your own ideas, reflections & continuations of this. I’m also curious if any of you out there do devotionals with your worship teams or choirs? It would be wonderful if you would share!

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Reaching Out as God Leads

I love finding another worthwhile podcast to listen to which helps me to grow in my relationship with God & I pray it will increase the outflow into reaching the lost. This podcast includes testimony & input from all those involved – awesome!

The Mission Podcast (from Carl of Revival Blog) — these are some excerpts I wrote down (mostly paraphrased) from the latest message on 03/07/08:

“If you sow listening, you will reap listening.” They will listen to you if you first listen to them, & be more likely then to receive Jesus Christ!

We must meet people at their unmet need, following the leading of the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn’t reach out to each lost person in the exact same way, but at their place of specific need. He will guide us in the conversation, & if we follow, He will open them to receive & bring them closer to (or to the very point of) receiving Jesus. Ask God what He is doing in this person’s life & how His Spirit is at work in them. He will help us to be relevant specifically to what this person needs if we will only listen to & follow His Spirit’s leading.

God anoints us with His Holy Spirit when we receive the Holy Spirit & teaches us to use our specific giftings to reach the lost & also to edify & help other believers in their Christian walk as well.

When we don’t rely on the Holy Spirit, we can’t truly glorify God. Religion without relationship with God & His Holy Spirit is without meaning & cannot truly glorify God.

Why do we as Christians think we are the ones who are to convict & point out people’s sin? That’s what the Holy Spirit does, we don’t have to. “Judgment is not ours, it’s the Lord’s!” When the Holy Spirit comes, He “will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8 NASB). Our job is to share the GOOD News of the Gospel, convicting people of sin is the Holy Spirit’s job, not ours.

Why do we tell & expect sinners to change before they are saved? They can’t change yet, they aren’t saved! Lost people act lost! Let them come to Christ, then He will faithfully work in their lives to make them more like Himself.

If we’re not following God when He leads, we can’t be led by Him. We have to let the Spirit of God come in & run things! We don’t run things ourselves & we shouldn’t.

We don’t “not sin” because God told us not to, we don’t sin because we want more of God & to be able to share His Good News with others (& live an example of the change Jesus brings into us & into our own lives).

“I want people to so fall in love with Jesus that sin is not an obstacle.”

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Lord — break my heart for the lost. USE ME. USE ME. USE ME! Push the fear & timidity out of me! Help me to follow Your Spirit’s leading, to hear You when You speak to me, & to be obedient to do what You call me to. Show me anything in myself or my life that needs to change. Help me to grow closer & closer to You. Teach me, convict me, change me, guide me, use me for Your glory & Your purposes, & let nothing get in the way of Your will. In the name of Jesus let Your will be done!

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