Worship
I’ve been meditating on worship for the past three days using John Piper’s wonderful book, Desiring God. The book is a must-read for every Christian because it is an aquifer of spiritual reminders and, unlike other popular “Christian” books displayed in National, it directly points to profound truths of Scripture rather than simply glossing over them.
It has been an overwhelming experience thus far, not so much because Piper writes very well (although he really does), but because the truths about God presented in that book are overwhelming.
John 4: 23 – 24 says, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”
Worship is not merely an outward, liturgical act. It is not: you bow your head like this when you pray; failure to do so will result to your being sent to hell when you die. It is not: you sing with your eyes closed, and with your arm raised at 45 degrees with respect to the ground, so that God will hear you.
On the contrary, worship is an affair of the heart. More than the outward acts that flow from it, worship is really honoring God. It is reflecting back His awesome glory. It is enjoying His presence while fearing Him with such awe and trembling that it makes your heart melt like butter under the sun. To worship Him is to pant like a deer that hasn’t tasted the refreshment of water for a day.
Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead.
It has been an overwhelming experience thus far, not so much because Piper writes very well (although he really does), but because the truths about God presented in that book are overwhelming.
John 4: 23 – 24 says, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”
Worship is not merely an outward, liturgical act. It is not: you bow your head like this when you pray; failure to do so will result to your being sent to hell when you die. It is not: you sing with your eyes closed, and with your arm raised at 45 degrees with respect to the ground, so that God will hear you.
On the contrary, worship is an affair of the heart. More than the outward acts that flow from it, worship is really honoring God. It is reflecting back His awesome glory. It is enjoying His presence while fearing Him with such awe and trembling that it makes your heart melt like butter under the sun. To worship Him is to pant like a deer that hasn’t tasted the refreshment of water for a day.
Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead.
Labels: faith
posted on May 05, 2006
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