"...everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering
to the Lord. From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt
offerings to the Lord, although the foundation of the temple of the Lord had
not been laid." Ezra 3: 5, 6.
Keep Things in Perspective
You know, we can become so engrossed in church work that we
forget to worship. So often people who
are involved in planning programmes, who work behind the scenes to stage
programmes (the technical crew), are so preoccupied with ensuring that things
go right, or that they capture everything on camera that they often miss the
worship experience. So before we start "working" let us erect an
altar; keep things in perspective.
No "Ideal" Conditions Needed
How often have we found ourselves saying, or heard someone
saying, "I need to get this thing, or do that thing before I really commit
fully to God?" This is a fallacy. In the conversation of Jesus with the
woman of Samaria He disclosed to her that worship is not confined to a special
place (not that anything is lost by having a special spot dedicated for the
purpose of prayer, praise and study - but worship extends beyond those). What
He rather told her was that "God is a spirit, and they that worship Him
must worship Him in spirit and in truth." John 4: 24
Worship - a Heart Experience
Worship then is not so much where you are, the things you
have, the people you are with; worship is a heart experience. The true
worshipper will join with others in formal worship, but will go it alone (even
in a crowd - with due discretion of course); it is sometimes very audible, but
it can be very quiet; it is a continuous process, and not a sporadic drift into
a mode of piety. Worship is a way of life that does not need the approval of
others - be they civil authorities, employers, acquaintances or family members;
it's a personal heart connection with the Creator. This is why we would see
Abraham erecting altars almost everywhere he went - he took his worship with
him.
This reading is based on Ezra 3. To read and/or listen to Ezra 3 and read
other related blogs click here.
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