I believe that this is one of those things that I have to remember and celebrate in God’s Word, the why I worship Him.

“3And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

‘Great and amazing are your deeds,

O Lord God the Almighty!

Just and true are your ways,

O King of the nations!

4Who will not fear, O Lord,

and glorify your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come

and worship you,

for your righteous acts have been revealed.’”

— Revelation 15:3-4 (ESV)

Notice there in verse 3 above, “Great and amazing”, “just and true”. These are those reasons that we worship God. He is “great and amazing” and “just and true”, not just His actions or works in my life, but His character is all those as well. I can count on Him for all things.

Yes, I do know that God will allow me to suffer hardship and difficulty. But notice the way I have stated that, he will “allow” for those things to occur. He does not cause them, just as our parents and guardians and others of authority in our lives. We have the choice and need to experience adversity in order to grow, but God does not make us suffer, He only allows us to experience it in order that we may learn from it and grow stronger for it.

God is great and amazing and just and true. In those are descriptive words, are realism that the world is sorely missing as they chase after all things for themselves. The just and true are not always what we want to have or experience, but they are generally what we need to experience in order to grow. I have to learn to embrace all that God allows me to experience, knowing that I am growing for it.

And that is why I worship God. For He is “great and amazing” and “just and true” in all that He does for and in my life. I am grateful for the love and provision and blessings and adversity that God allows in my life. He knows what I need and gives accordingly, and for that I worship Him.

What does God allow in your life? Are you experiencing that which you did not/ do not expect, like adversity? What if we embraced all that we experience and know that God is indeed “great and amazing” and “just and true” in all that He allows in our lives?

I have read and written on the passage for my study a couple of times before. And in each of those times I was reminded or it was revealed to me a couple of different truths. This morning is no exception.

“⁹And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever.” — Revelation 4:9-10 (ESV)

Verses 9-10 above are coming off of the explanation of the worship from the 4 creatures that never ceases. They are there surrounding the throne of God and they are in a constant state of worship. This then, I can see in the above verses, that worship activates the worship of the 24 elders that surround the throne of God. These worship the Lord always and for ever.

My worship should follow the same example as these. When I look at those that surround God and see that they are in constant worship, that should be a sign to me that I should be in constant worship. Not only in a fleeting moment like being in the church building or in the presence of the pastor of the church, but always. Notice that the elders worship without question every time the creatures worship. Shouldn’t I do the same, as they are in constant worship, I should be as well.

My work is to bring glory to the Lord and a huge if not all of that is to worship His glory and honor. I am to be His hands here in this world and I am to be thankful that I have the opportunity to bring glory and honor to Him through my hands. My work is worship and not only am I to do that work, but I am to be doing that at every turn. Like the elders are prompted to act on their task of worship when the creatures do the same, we are to take that same action when prompted to bring glory and honor to the Lord, which is always.

It is up to me to know the work God has for me. I learn that work daily as I study His word and learn in more depth the actions that are pleasing to God. Am I going to miss the mark, yes. Am I going to give enough glory and honor to God, no. God does not hold it against us when we miss from time to time. He knows our nature and knows that we are still learning. The thing is to know what we are working toward and work to do that as often as we can, and when we do miss the mark, repent and get back after it.

What is your work for God? Are you aware of just what it is that God wants from you? What if you were to do the work as the creatures and elders and just bring glory and honor to God at every turn through your worship of Him?

“²⁸Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ²⁹for our God is a consuming fire.” — Hebrews 12:28-29 (ESV)

This morning I was reading in Hebrews as I study the word “worship” and I was led to the passage here of “A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken”. The above verses are the writer’s closing to the passage and what I found that stood out to me was the idea/reminder that our worship is our offering to God.

When I think about offerings, I get visions of the plate passing in church or the sacrifices dropped at the alter. I don’t immediately go to worship or singing and praying to God in thanksgiving. This morning I ask myself why. I have to dig into the reasons.

We as a family recently received our giving statement from the church and when reviewing at first glance appears that we may not be giving all we can. But is that true? Am I really not giving enough as offering to God. I say, that I am, just not in the form of monetary giving. For instance, we are serving faithfully in the church to provide for the needs of the church and those that attend, whether that is in the kids department as Lori does, or in the set up and tear down of the “worship” area as Aarron and I do.

We are providing offering to God in the form of our service, and then, we worship as additional offering. It is great to hear Aarron stand next to me in the service and sing praise to God. He and I are very similar in our personality and for him to offer worship in song is a proud, brother in Christ moment for me. He gets it and takes action on it.

I still believe that I should be giving all that I can monetarily as offering, but I also know that is not all we can give and when you look at the passage and verses above, it is important to remember that our worship is our offering.

What are you giving as offering to God? Are you focused on the monetary gift you give? What if you were to increase your offering of worship in addition to your current monetary giving?

I believe that too often, I have found myself in the position of mental and spiritual worship and have not been fully committed physically.

“¹I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” — Romans 12:1 (ESV)

Paul gives it to me strait here. I am to surrender to God, physically. I am to give Him all of me from my heart, head, and soul, to my entire physical form. It is not good enough to worship in my mind. I have to give full to Him all that I am. My worship should be physical as well.

My giving of my full physical self is more than surrendering. I have to be prepared to worship and know that my physical for God is the best I have to offer. I spend about 40 minutes in the mornings exercising to improve my physical health. I get dressed up to go out to a nice dinner with Lori. I dress professionally to go to the office. Doesn’t it make sense to fully commit physically to God, my Lord and Savior. I should be more willing to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice” to God over primping to see people at the office.

I am not saying that I should be out looking for outfits to “look the part” of a “holy roller”. What I am saying is that I should be presenting the best of me to God, whatever that best of me might be. In the Old Testament, the people would bring the best of their animals, not just an animal as sacrifice to the Lord. In some cases they would buy “the best” when they arrived at the temple because they may have felt as though they did not have a worthy sacrifice. And now, thanks to Christ’s death for us, we no longer need a sacrifice, we tend to just come and have strayed away from bringing our best to Him. Again, no need to bring more than you are or have, but it is right to bring the best of you, mentally, spiritually, and physically.

When you come to Christ, how are you coming? Are you thinking more spiritually and mentally is how you should prepare? What if you came to Him physically prepared, presenting “your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God”?

“²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” — John 4:24 (ESV)

You see, in verse 24 God is identified as spirit and we are to worship Him in spirit. I have to meet God where and for who He is. I cannot have God conform to me and meet me on my terms, it is my duty to conform to Him and meet Him where He is. Jesus clearly states this here and when Jesus says something, it is my duty to follow as a follower of Him.

Jesus is speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well and explaining to her the time will come when worshiping will not be at a place but in simple honor of God. I do not have to go to the church building, the holy place, or a specific mountain to worship Him. I simply have to get my heart right and ensure that my worship is for His glory alone.

“²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” — John 4:23 (ESV)

As a “true worshiper” I have to make sure that my heart is right and that I am honoring God in spirit and in truth. I have not to hide from Him. I have not to be only in certain company. I have not to keep Him to myself. I have to worship to honor Him in spirit and in truth and proclaim Him to all who are around me to ensure they have the opportunity to hear and follow Christ as He works in their lives.

I have found myself in positions where others know that I am a follower of Christ. They know that I am not shy about proclaiming my love of Him. What they may be missing and that is my fault is the worship I have for Him daily. I may not be open with my worship and for that I am missing opportunities to demonstrate my dependence on Him for my provision and blessings. Yes, they know I am a follower from some of my actions, but they do not see all of my actions that demonstrate my love for Him and my duty to do His will. I have to change that and do all things for Him and worship Him always. As stated by the 20 year old, wiser than His years, speaker from my church on Sunday, Sam Langenbahn, “Jesus is different, therefore I have to be different.”

When you are out there in the world, what does your worship look like? Are you worshiping outwardly and expecting God to conform to you? What it we worshiped God where and how He is, in spirit and in truth from our heart, He “is different” so we “have to be different”?

This morning I was reminded of the why for worship. As I read in Luke, the account of Jesus’ temptation by the devil in the wilderness, I see again Jesus telling me to worship for the right reasons.

“⁶and said to him, ‘To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. ⁷If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ ⁸And Jesus answered him, ‘It is written,

You shall worship the Lord your God,

and him only shall you serve.’” — Luke 4:6-8 (ESV)

I see here that Jesus is stating for us to remember the why of worship and not just the who we worship. I am to worship the Lord and serve Him, not the other way around, He does not serve me. Yes, Jesus does provide for me, and makes sure that I am cared for and loved and blessed beyond belief, but I serve Him and He gives to me. I am here to serve Him in all that I do and am to instill that lesson of service for all to take part in. I am here for Jesus, and He was here long before I for me.

How then does all of this fit with my beliefs related to the inverted pyramid of leadership if I am to serve the one above me? And that is a great questions that I have asked myself and here is my best response. I am here to serve those in my charge, my boys, my wife, my friends, and all those around me. In doing so, I am serving the purpose that God has for me in life. As I am serving the purpose for my life as given to me by God, then I am in effect serving Him and in service to Him I worship all that He is, provides, and will be for me. I have been given work to do and that work is the driving force for service to Him. Just as in the inverted pyramid, we all work for someone in a hierarchical system, but our customers are those that we impact. Our service for them is in service of our leadership. Jesus is our leadership and I serve him through the service I have for others.

I serve God in the interest of worship to Him. I don’t worship to get something, but more to give something. “Him only shall you serve” is the motto to live by and that is where we find our desire to worship, in the interest of service to our leadership, God.

Who is it that you serve and why? Are you serving to get something in return? What if we simply served as a demonstration of our worship?

This morning I continue to study the word “worship” and am led to Matthew 2 and the story of the wise men’s visit to Jesus after His birth. As I study the passage I am reminded of the danger that was there at the time surrounding His birth. He was born as King and that was of a threat to the king of the time, Herod. The wise men were innocently searching for Jesus at the beginning of the story so that they would be able to worship Him in person.

“¹Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, ²saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’” — Matthew 2:1-2 (ESV)

These wise men were out searching for the “king of the Jews”, for no other reason than to worship Him. I have to ask myself, why is it that I am searching for God daily. I wonder if I am just looking for Him to rescue me and protect me, or am I searching for Him in the quest to simply drop to my knees and worship Him. These men came from afar, searching for Jesus simply to worship and bring Him gifts.

This is the lovely thing about our approach to God. We are not expected to bring Him anything. We are not expected to provide for Him. We are only expected to love Him and worship Him. We are to be there and accept His provision and do His work to bring the gospel to as many as we can and ensure that everyone has had the opportunity to worship Him. These men were in desire of worshiping Jesus and nothing more. And they were more than willing to search high and low for Him and then, at the time, were willing to inform others as to where He could/would be found so that they could worship as well.

“⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.’ ⁹After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” — Mathew 2:8-11 (ESV)

These men were asked by Herod to find Jesus and report back as to His whereabouts to allow the opportunity for Herod to come and worship Him as well. They were more than willing to do so thanks to the additional support and help that was provided by Herod for them to find Jesus. So they went, found Him, rejoiced and worshiped Him for the King He was and left their gifts for Him with no expectation of anything in return.

How often do we come to God and seek nothing in return? These men did just that as they came to worship Him. I have to remember fully that Jesus wants nothing than my love, devotion, and worship. He does not need anything from me other than those and with those He will provide all that I need in this world.

Now the men were keen in their worship. They devoted themselves to the King they came to see and in doing so they were made aware of the plot to kill Jesus through their dreams. Since they were so devoted to the King they came to worship they heeded the dreams and did not return to Herod and disclose the location of Jesus to him. They simply went on their way in the interest of guarding Him against the evil that meant Him harm.

“¹²And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.” — Matthew 2:12 (ESV)

This seem so counter to the greatness of our God. These men guarded and protected Jesus when we know from the Old Testament and our own lives the greatness and power of God. I believe that we do have the obligation to protect against destruction where we can. We have to power to stop it, but what we can do is protect against it where we can. It is our duty to turn away evil in the name of Jesus and these men did just that. They could not stop the evil that was Herod, but they took the opportunity not to contribute to that evil by simply walking away and going the other direction.

Our duty is to search Him our, worship Him with glory, and protect against the evil that will come to destroy. We are powerless to stop the evil but we can work not to contribute to that evil.

What does your view of searching, worshiping, and guarding look like? Are you out there doing just that? What if we simply sought out God, worshiped Him, and then did our due diligence to guard against the evil of the world in His presence to allow for more to come to Him?

I am sure that a good number of folks have read or heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their tangle with Nebuchadnezzar and the fiery furnace. And where it is a great story and demonstration of the power of God and His protection of His followers, the bible verses below I believe to be overlooked, at least I know I tend to.

“²⁸Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. ²⁹Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.’” — Daniel 3:28-29 (ESV)

King Nebuchadnezzar recognized the power of God and that power was demonstrated to and for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who refused to worship any other god than their God, my God. These men devoted themselves to God and in return, He protected them from the fiery furnace and made it possible for the king to see and recognize their worship.

Now, the actions taken by the king related to the tearing “limb from limb” is a bit harsh as related to the worship of other gods than our Lord, but the recognition of His power and the idea that we should be worshiping Him is the takeaway here. The three men worshiped God and only God and it was seen and recognized by the king which caused him to side with the men and recognize and demonstrate the more that comes from God (as noted as the story progresses).

For me, I am reminded that it is my task to simply worship God and allow others to see me. I have to be willing to stand for Him and demonstrate my reliance on Him and fully and publicly devote myself to His worship. When others see, they will recognize and where first they may be in wonder, they will also want to know more.

When you worship, what is the environment you worship? Are you allowing others to see as you worship publicly? What if you did and allowed others to see and wander and want more?

“⁹Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth! ²Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.” — Psalm 96:9 & 2 (ESV)

Yes, I know that I have quoted the verses above out of “order”. When reading this morning, this is how it made sense to me. Verse 9 above tells me to worship God for all that He is and then verse 2 tells me to do so every day. To me this is the approach we should have.

I have written about being intentional, in awe, and simple in our worship. Now I want to add in the act of doing so daily. Worship of the LORD is not reserved for Sunday mornings in that location that has been designated the church. I can and should be worshiping everywhere and at all times. God is not present only on Sunday morning in that location that has been designated the church. He is with us all the time and everywhere we are.

Yes, worship is something that we should be doing corporately, on Sunday mornings in the location that has been designated the church. That goes without question as it is good to be in the company and fellowship of our fellow Christians. I also have to remember that since God is with us always, I have to worship Him always in the same manner I pray to Him. If I am going to ask Him for help, I should also thank Him for the work and wonders He has done. And I should be doing so daily in any and all situations and environments.

When is it that you worship the LORD? Are you reserving your worship for Sunday morning in the location designated as being the church? What if you took to worshiping Him daily regardless of the situation and environment?

I had the pleasure of growing up in the country and my family cared for livestock and worked the land. Where I was not intimately involved in the day to day operations, I was able to witness the care that was given to the animals and land cultivated by my family.

“⁶Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! ⁷For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” — Psalm 95:6-7 (ESV)

Notice there in verse 7 above that we are those that are in His care. In my observation of family caring for livestock and land it was amazing to see the responses that came as a result of that care. The livestock would come when called and wait patiently to be fed of brushed or patted and the land, well the bounty that was received each season was always enough to satisfy the needs of the family.

I know, how is my memory fitting in with my study this morning. Well, the care that was/is given is returned to the caregiver. The livestock and land bountifully provided for the needs of the caregiver. Even when there may not have been thoughts of how the care could be repaid, there was still the giving in worship of the one that cared. I see myself as the livestock, in a sense, of God, my caregiver. I wait patiently to be fed and patted. I do His work and produce bountifully for Him and His glory, even when I am not sure what I am giving to Him in return for His care as He needs for nothing.

I have a duty to not only do the work for God as He cares for me, but as I am human and understand and have the ability to make decisions and have independent thought, I also have a duty to worship God as my caregiver. I not only wait, but I act. I not only produce, but I ask how I can do more. I not only accept His love, but I return it with my love and devotion to Him. I am to be in intentional worship and that worship is due for my caregiver and as noted in verse 6, my “Maker!”

When you look at God, how do you categorize Him in your life? Do you see Him as simply your God? What if you provided worship to God as your “Maker” and caregiver?