May 2006

By Anonymous -

Welcome to the May Issue! We are now five months into reading through the Bible…how’s it going? If you miss a day, just pick up with the next day’s reading. Don’t get bogged down in trying to make it up, or you might not. With the newness of spring, let us be renewed in our hearts to worship God with our whole lives.

The Heart of Worship

Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them (Deuteronomy 11:16). This was a clear warning to the Israelites as they were preparing to inhabit the Promised Land. I think today it is just as clear for us, whatever land we live in. We are even told by God not to embrace other religious traditions and ideology and put God’s name to it, The Israelites began incorporating “cool” things from their surrounding culture/communities into their lives. They even began to embrace the macabre as “cool” and God said this through his prophet: “You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods (Deuteronomy 12:31)”. Even the littlest compromise can lead our hearts astray. The little we let in today becomes quite the snare tomorrow.

Worshiping God, throughout the Bible encompasses numerous things. Singing praise, often including God’s word, dancing, bowing down, prostrating oneself and being in the temple/tabernacle in God’s presence, standing together with others in awe of something God has done and giving praise, sacrifice of an animal, eating specific foods on specific holidays, observing specific festivals to honor the Lord, tithing income and harvest, making provisions for the fatherless and the widow, reading of God’s law/word and teaching it in song to children/family/strangers and much more. Therefore we can adapt our whole lives into the worship of God. Everything we put our hands/minds to do can be a form of worship. We can glorify God in whatever we do; our daily tasks/jobs, volunteering, serving or participating in evangelism. Let us heed God’s warning and be careful to only worship him, lest we be far from Him and a snare to others seeking Him.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship

And it's all about You,

It's all about You, Jesus

I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it

When it's all about You,

It's all about You, Jesus

“The Heart of Worship” Michael W. Smith 2001

In Christ,

Elizabeth

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