Jump Start # 2563
Psalms 95:6 “Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”
I write these words on a Sunday. I love Sundays. It’s always the best day of the week. Generally, I’m up early on Sundays and out of the house and down at the church building going over things, making sure everything is up and running and anticipating everyone being there. But not today. Today, we worship at home. It’s different. It’s not the same. But under the circumstances, it could be a lot worse. What if we didn’t have all this technology so we can watch, learn and somewhat “be there”? What if we had to come up with our own worship service? What if we had to come up with our own song service, Lord’s Supper, sermon? For those who haven’t done this, it would be tough. We might patch something together for one week, but as this turns into a month, that becomes a real challenge.
And, much of this has made me think about worship. There are definite patterns that God expects His people to follow. This has been true since Cain and Abel. Anything goes doesn’t go with God. Worship Him the way He wants to be worshipped, or your worship could become offensive, vain and even wrong.
However, worship is more than checking off a series of steps. Singing? Check. Prayers? Check. Lord’s Supper? Check. Sermon? Check. We can check and check and still fail to worship. The essence of worship comes from our hearts. It is recognizing who God is and the wonderful love and honor that we want to give to Him.
Our verse today expresses this with the words, “bow down,” and, “Kneel before.” We tend to bow our heads in prayer, but this is a spirit of humility all through worship. God is our Maker, as the passage ends. He wants you to think about Him. He wants you to follow Him. He wants you to honor Him.
So, as our social distancing continues, here are some ideas that will help you to get into that “worship” frame of mind:
- On a sheet of paper, list the blessings from the Lord from this past week. Let me help you get started. Are you healthy? That’s a big one in our current situation in the world. Do you still have a job? That’s a big one. You have food? Now, continue that thought.
- Think about the times God has forgiven you, not just generically, but specifically. What was the last thing you ask God to forgive you for? Can you imagine what it would be like to carry that sin? It’s worst than the Coronavirus. Sin will kill you. Yet, God has forgiven you. Doesn’t that lead you to want to thank Him and bow before Him?
- What is your favorite hymn? Why is it that you like that song? What does that song remind you about the Lord? Sing that hymn today. Be singing that hymn all throughout the day. You’ll be amazed how that one hymn can lift your spirit and put a smile on your face.
- How does Jesus show His compassion in the Gospels? Think hard about this. Lower your nets into the deep water. How could Gentiles in the first century know that Jesus cared about them? The answers are there. Think about the various people who came to Jesus. So many of them had physical needs. So few of them realized that they had spiritual needs. The caring Jesus. He demonstrated that He cared.
- What scares you? Getting this virus? What do you worry about? Pray about that. Pray specifically about that. Pray hard about that. Pray that the Lord will keep you safe and give you peace.
- In the midst of our separation from each other who do you miss? Who in your church family has really helped you in your walk with the Lord? Who is your best encouragement? Thank the Lord for that person and pray that you can be united with that person again very soon.
- What part of worship do you miss the most? Singing? Preaching? Lord’s Supper? Prayers? Fellowship? Thank the Lord for those things. Let the Lord know how important those things have been to you.
Do you notice what we’ve just done? We’ve taken your heart and allowed it to bow before the Lord. This simple exercise is something that you can keep and do over and over. It will help you worship the Lord.
Until we can be together, we remain together in heart, spirit and in our connection to the Lord. Let us worship the Lord.
Roger
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