Worship...

Have you ever wondered to yourself what "worship" truly means?? Do you ever ask yourself that question...?

I was having a conversation with a friend today and this particular question came to mind after mentioning a few things about worship....

In the midst of our conversation I realized that so many people consider worship to be just "an act of praise" or somehow "offering God reverence and honor"...

Yes, by way of dictionary definition, this is what worship means....but by way of defining worship from a true worshipers standpoint....worship should be so much more....

Many consider a time of worship to be when the lights go up, the music fades in, and a nice, comfy feeling seems to fill the air...

If all goes well, people say, "Man, that was a great time of worship," if even one thing goes wrong, suddenly it's "I don't know, I just wasn't really feeling worship today..."

Wow...

Is that really what we've come to?

We have been called to worship in spirit and in truth...to be worshipers of the true Lord and King, of the One who overcomes, the One who reigns above all, the mighty Prince of Peace, and the One who paid it all for our ransom...He defeated death so that we could live a life of worship unto Him...that we would glorify His name overall...yet, we don't even know what true "worship" means...

Worship is so much more than just music, so much more than instruments playing...than singers belting out remarkable highs and lows, than teams/bands making cohesive noise...worship is a lifestyle.

...it is the way you acknowledge God in everything...all that is around you revolves in Him. You seek Him and only Him because He is the only one who can confirm you and call you redeemed by His blood.

...it is the place in your set of priorities where God is...is He at the forefront...is He the cornerstone of your foundation?? It's about making Him the center of our focus, putting Him in the midst of it all, going no where if He is not leading the way, and pressing on if He has opened the door and directed you down a certain path. He should always be first.

...it is the adoration you offer in your time with Him...spending time alone with Him, talking, listening, conversating, reading His word. What are you offering...sacrificing? He must increase and we must decrease..by spending time with Him we are building our intimacy with Him, and there is nothing better than to have such a relationship with the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

...it is the admiration you extend as you sit in that stillness...It takes more boldness to sit still and know that He is God than it is to march in a crowd full of people shouting that He is Lord. When we sit in nothing more than His presence, we will have no other option but to sit in awe of His greatness, His mercy, compassion, comfort, peace, joy, and unending love....what can compare to Him? Nothing...so we are left there with nothing more but deep admiration for the One who sits on the throne, who sits at the right hand of the Father, and who dwells in our hearts.

...it is the glory you offer through your many sacrifices of praise...the Psalmist said it well when He said "I will sing to Him a new song" because that is what our soul and heart desires at the sight of our awesome God. The sound of His voice makes the nations tremble...all fall silent at the sound of His marvelous name...and one day every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. We were created to glorify Him...and He has provided us many different avenues for us to offer unto Him...at work, at school, while you're driving, when you shopping, waiting for the bus, sitting at a restaurant...you name it...if you ask God to open the doors for you to share of His love, He will open those doors wide asap...and it is in those times that you can offer your small sacrifice...and not just in that, but how about actually sacrificing...giving up something you love in order to glorify God. Maybe it's watching less TV, playing less games, being involved in less activities, taking more time to read the word, more time in prayer, more time in fellowshipping with other believers, more time talking with non-believers about God, more time discussing the word of God, more time alone with God...the list goes on my friend...the truth of the matter is...in all we do, we should always remember that our lives are to be living sacrifices to God that bring glory to His name for the good of His Kingdom...

Worship.......I think it's time we all started living it the true way...