May 4, 2010

Fourteen

Hands raised.

Heart filled.

My Jesus, My Savior.
Lord, there is none like You.


I am overcome by my need to worship Him.

Are you?

The thought pushes its way into my consciousness. I am reminded of that woman I identify with most...the one who went seeking water in the heat of the day, avoiding the shame that was heaped on her head. And the Living Water meets here there. Just before He proclaims his identify, He declares

"...But 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. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." ~ John 4:23-24 (ESV)

And I ask myself Do I worship the God of the Bible? Or is it the god I envision, the one I want to believe in?

The gospel reveals eternal realities about God that we would sometimes rather not face. We prefer to sit back, enjoy our cliches, and picture God as a Father who might help us, all the while ignoring God as a Judge who might damn us. Maybe this is why we fill our lives with the constant drivel of entertainment in our culture - and in the church. We are afraid that if we stop and really look at God in his Word, we might discover that he evokes greater awe and demands deeper worship than we are ready to give him.

Oh, God! I want to worship You for who You truly are. You are too great to be reduced to the god of my imagination, to mighty to be held into my concepts of You. May I worship You in spirit and in truth, my Sovereign Lord.