‘…the Father seeks…worshippers.’ John 4:23 NAS

When we fail to worship God we always find a substitute, even if it ends up being ourselves. Worship is a universal urge, hard–wired by God into every fibre of our being. It’s as natural as breathing. Jesus said we were made this way because ‘the Father seeks…worshippers.’ Depending on your religious background you may need to expand your understanding of worship. For example: worship is more than just music. We say, ‘At our church we have the worship first, then the teaching.’ No, it’s all done for God’s glory! If worship is just music, then what about all those people who can’t sing in tune at all? Also remember, worship is not a style. The music style you prefer says more about you than about God. One person’s music preference might sound like noise to another. But not to God—He loves ‘joyful noise’ and all the varieties it comes in. (Psalm 100:1) Also, worship is not just for your benefit, but for God’s. When you say, ‘I didn’t get anything out of the service today,’ you worshipped for the wrong reason! Yes, there are personal benefits, but we don’t worship to please ourselves. Our highest motive should be to exalt God in whatever we do. Finally, worship doesn’t just happen in church; as Martin Luther said, ‘A dairymaid can milk cows to the glory of God.’ The secret of worship is in doing everything ‘as unto the Lord’. The Bible says, ‘…because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as…dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him…’ (Romans 12:1 GNT) That’s what it means to worship!

SoulFood: Jonah 1–4, Mark 9:38–50, Ps 75, Pro 11:23

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©