Worship: What We Do!

As we dig deeper into the subject of worship, my prayer is that our time together will not result only in an academic exercise. What good is it if all we seek is more information? It is futile unless the information motivates and spurs us to action.

Some practical ideas have been suggested to assist you to walk closer to God. In his book, Celebration of Discipline, Robert Foster gives numerous suggestions: meditation, prayer, fasting, study, solitude, submission, service, and confession. These disciplines can be summed up as being in the “presence of God.”

In the 17th century, a Carmelite monk in Paris penned his thoughts in a book regarding this concept of being in the presence of God. In his book, he writes,

As often as I could, I placed myself as a worshiper before him, fixing my mind upon his holy presence, recalling it when I found it wandering from him. This proved to be an exercise frequently painful, yet I persisted through all difficulties.

This week make it a priority to think about God’s character and His presence in your life. Before you say anything, ask yourself, “Would God be pleased with my words?” Before you look at anything, ask yourself, “Would God be pleased if I look at this?” Before you do anything, ask, “Would God be pleased with my actions?”
Allow God to change your lifestyle and behavior by the renewing of your mind. I love J.B. Phillips’ translation of Romans 12:1:-3,

“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands, and moves toward the goal of true maturity”