Worship (September 27, posted on the 28th)

Today I could write a theological devotion on the basis of Tozer’s criticism of the church. He believes a local church exists to do corporately what each Christian believer should be doing individually—and that is to worship God. He uses the following portion of David’s prayer as an example.

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.” (1 Chronicles 29:11–13)

I agree that our purpose is to worship, but I cannot join Tozer in his critique, mainly because grand words of worship came from only a few in the Bible. In the OT and in the NT when the Holy Spirit came and began the work of changing hearts, some believers became remarkable leaders. Some were outstanding examples in preaching and prayer. Most were not named or mentioned, and their words of worship were not quoted.

This does not mean they failed to worship God, but it does indicate that only a few were in the limelight. The majority were not singled out. The authors of Scripture put the emphasis on the worth of God and the excellencies of Jesus Christ, not on how often His people worshiped or even where or when.

Yes, we are saved to worship God. For some that is music, words. For some that is with a yielded heart, or strong emotions. My way of worship may not match the way of someone else yet that does not mean that I am failing in the worship department.

That said, I’ve been in churches where people were exalted when God should have been given the glory. I’ve heard from the pulpit assumptions made about the Lord that were demeaning to His holiness. Perhaps the problem is ignorance about the true nature of the God who loves us. Perhaps some of those groups are made up of ‘religious’ people who do no have a personal relationship with Him through faith. I cannot know for I do not know the heart. Only God does — and that is one reason why I worship Him.

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Lord Jesus, you are King of kings, Lord of lords, the Creator, Redeemer, Savior, and my closest Friend. I’ve many reasons to worship You and many ways to do it. Thank You for being worthy of all worship and praise!

NOTE: My pacemaker is inserted in upper left chamber of my heart, electronic node in lower right. Procedure took about an hour. I had no warning about the pain. I’ll be moving slow for weeks as this heals and is ready for the next step. Glad it is done and will try hard not to whine too much!