Is Your Worship Real?

When the heart of man is filled with any amount of Love or reverence for God; his mouth will speak of it, according to Luke 6:45b (…for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh). If our worship is taught, rehearsed or coerced, it will require stimulation before manifestation. Is your worship a pattern of formality; based on a series of external exercises.

Are you performing like the hypocrites in Matthew 15:7-9, whom Jesus called ‘stage-players’, because their worship was done out of duty and rituals, but their hearts were far from Him. We may be able to fool the people some of the time, but we can’t fool God any of the time; He sees the heart. He acknowledged their worship as insincere, because it was a learned behavior. The Simon-says type worship; lift your hands, stomp your feet; give God some praise. Until you’re commanded, you hold HIS worship hostage.

We are all too quick to worship our careers and jobs; volunteering to work overtime, while panicking if the church goes over its 2-hour allotted time. God forbid a revival! We worship sports! We will endure rigorous training in inclement weather conditions for the opportunity to just be on the team; though we may never be called upon to play in the game. We worship individuals while engaged in unfruitful relationships, until the relationship becomes toxic, refusing to abort the unhealthy alliance until we’re near dead. OH, IF ONLY God could get that type of worship!

Although you may commit your body to public worship exercises; where is your heart during the whole process? Will you worship Him only when Simon says; because what if Simon forgets? I encourage you to let your life become a sweet fragrance before the Lord. Don’t wait to be told when to worship Him; let your worship be real. Worship Him from a pure and sincere heart, when you feel like it and when you don’t…then, your worship is sho-nuff real!

Levels of Commitment

I’d like to share a few nuggets regarding a subject that causes most individuals to shudder at the mention of the very word itself; and that is the word, commitment. Just what is it about this ten-letter word that makes people so uncomfortable? It could be because the root word is commit; which is defined as trust, giving, surrender and yielding. (I purposely chose not to use the word submit, which is interchangeable for the word yield). On the other hand, commitment involves a vow, guarantee, faithfulness and dedication; again, elements that make most individuals uncomfortable.

Too often we have unhealthy and negative images of commitment. Back in the day, it was a simple matter of your word or a handshake that solidified your commitment; but we live in a day where a contract, notarized by witnesses is our proof of commitment. Today, God challenges us where we are, because He knows that we all develop at a different pace. He relates to us at the level of the commitment we are willing to make.

When Jesus chose His Disciples, there were four levels of commitment He considered:
(1) Curiosity Level: Come and See (John 1:35-46)
(2) Commitment Level: Come and Follow (Luke 5:10-11)
(3) Conviction Level: Come and Surrender (Mark 8:34-35)
(4) Commissioned Level: Come and Multiply (Matthew 28:19-20)

God wants His people to go beyond the base level of Curiosity and go on to the Commissioned level that we might multiply and reproduce what He has imparted within us. In order for us to fulfill our purpose in life, our membership alone to our local assembly won’t be enough; we MUST be COMMITTED to the work of the Kingdom and to our faith!

Now, are you ready to make a commitment?

Apathy is a Strategy

APATHY is defined as a Lack of concern; Lack of interest; Uncaring; Lethargic; Nonchalant (Blasé) and Repetitiveness (Sameness), which leads to boredom . . . which results in distance! Apathy is from the pits of hell and has been sponsored, funded & paid for by Satan himself.

It’s sad to say, but the spirit of Apathy has infiltrated the Church, via the Believer. You can see this behavior and spirit nearly every Sunday, Wednesday or any given day the church comes together in fellowship.

Although many churches are filled to capacity, with new facilities under construction to accommodate the masses, yet many Believers are spiritually asleep with their eyes wide shut! You may ask the question, why and how did I draw such a conclusion. My answer is a resounding, ‘because there is little or no change at all in the spiritual attitude and behavior towards the Word of God and the things of God.’

You can witness individuals coming into the church one way and leaving out the same; that should not be! Satan’s strategy of Apathy is to obstruct our view and perception (awareness; discernment and sensitivity) towards the things of God, and I reluctantly admit that he’s gaining substantial ground.

God has no argument with His people for desiring a family, because He ordained marriage as an avenue and vehicle to reproduce and raise a Godly family for Himself. He is aware of every need we have and has promised to meet our needs (not our greed) according to His riches. His Word clearly express that we should seek ye first the Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things (we desire) shall be added unto us. The Father is so generous, that He does not mind that we obtain wealth, because His Word says ‘it is He that gives us the power to get wealth that we may establish His covenant.’ God is not opposed to our having a WISH LIST as long as it does not take precedence over Him and we properly prioritize all things.

The majority of Believers today dedicate the greater part of their time and energy towards self gratification and whatever is leftover, is what we offer to God (2 Timothy 3:4 - …lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God).

Revelation 3:15-16 admonishes us regarding our lukewarm (nonchalant, unconcerned) attitude towards the things of God. We may not realize the danger we are facing by entertaining this type of uncaring behavior towards the Word of God and God Himself, but according to Matthew 7:21-23, there are many people in hell today that didn’t plan on being there, as a result of Satan’s Strategy of Apathy.

My prayer for you today is that you will be alert and attentive in the Presence of the Lord; and for a certainty you will not fall into the trap that has been so easily laid before you!

THERE’S NO GREATER RELATIONSHIP THAN WITH GOD

If the truth was revealed, I truly believe that all people desire to be in a loving and genuine relationship. To desire such a union, is as natural as inhaling your next breath. But, because of the ill-fated circumstances that has occurred in the past, we have opted to forfeit the possibility of ever engaging in such a bond again.

Unfortunately, the one and true relationship that suffers the most, is our relationship with the Heavenly Father. Due to these ‘life challenges’ called ‘circumstances’, we oftentimes bailout and abandon God; when in essence, He has been quite present in the midst of all of our challenges. According to Psalm 34:19, – A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. God IS faithful; He has always BEEN faithful and N E W S F L A S H…’He will ALWAYS BE faithful, because He’s God!’

Great relationships require a great deal of effort on both parts and do not just haphazardly occur. It will require more than a mere desire and a wish. To get the most out of a thing, you must put the most into it.

Quality time spent in the presence of God will manifest quality results. When we learn what pleases Him and brings Him honor, our lives should exemplify what we know about Him. When He hurts, we should hurt; what He values, we should value; because when two hearts are fused together, beating in unison; it is impossible to separate the one without destroying the other. Romans 8:39b – ‘… nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God…’

Know that God loves you and there is no greater love or relationship than the one with Jesus Christ, our risen Savior. He’s waiting for your return, with open arms!

He’s not mad at you; He’s mad about you and wants nothing but the best for you! (Jeremiah 29:11).