Worship and the Heart

Note:  I could not post the devotional for Aug 22 due to a power failure at our house.

Chuckle: "I heard that 3M and Goodyear are merging. The new company will be called MMM Good!"

Quote: “We are often so caught up in our activities that we tend to worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship.” --Charles Swindoll

"The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men'" (Isaiah 29:13 NIV).

If we aren't careful, our worship can become a matter of meaningless ritual rather than a life-changing experience with God. Rituals and traditions are originated and developed by men, and rituals, like traditions, can remain meaningful in worship only as long as they don't become more important to us than the purpose of our worship -- form over substance. There is a spirit of reverence, awe, spontaneity, and expectation in a time of genuine worship powered by and guided by the Holy Spirit of God.

If we do something in the same way on a regular basis for a long time, we can fall into the habit of just participating in rituals and traditions of worship and lose sight of the intended meaning and significance. In private quiet time, or corporate public worship, it is our awareness of God's presence and our responsiveness to His glory that makes worship meaningful and pleasing to God.

We know Jesus thought Isaiah's words from the Lord, in our passage, were so important that He quoted them in Matthew 15:7-9 and Mark 7:6-7. We are all capable of hypocrisy, and can often slip into routine patterns of "worship," and become neglectful in giving God our love, praise, adoration, and devotion. We may fool others about the condition of our hearts in worship, but not God. If we want to be identified as God's people, we are wise to be obedient and worship Him with sincerity and honesty -- with a worship that emanates from a pure heart.

From our passage, we see that worship that pleases God involves the heart, not the lips. God is not interested in what your lips say, but is extremely interested in what's in your heart. "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV). When you worship is your heart overflowing with praise, adoration, and thanksgiving? Before we spend time alone with God or in a worship service with our church families, it is essential that we become aware of being in His presence and prepare our hearts for genuine heartfelt worship.

Love, Jerry & Dotse