“Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:14)
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24).
As my “Lead Like Jesus” devotional notes for today, to worship him in spirit and truth means to worship him with one's whole heart and in revelation of who He is. Fenelon writes in “Meditations On The Heart of God” that it is on the cross that we really come to know Christ and to love Him and where we are fed with His truth.
“I'm following the One who showed the way” Stefan Van Voorst, one of my pastors, sings on his CD in the background. As Fenelon writes, “without the cross, everything else is nothing but religious sentimentalism.”
Too often I tell God I want to worship Him in all I do but I don't really mean it. What I am thinking of is Him helping me to do something for Him where I can feel like I made a sacrifice for Him and feel good about myself. What I am really thinking of is having more religious sentimentalism. It has nothing to do with embracing the cross.
But what if worshiping Him in spirit and truth, has nothing to do with gushy feelings of love, sentimentality, or external sacrifices? What if it is all about loving others and laying down my life for them? I keep asking Him that my worship would be more meaningful and sincere. What if this means embracing the cross in greater ways in the way that I love others throughout the day?
“We believe that love can change the world, it's the only thing that has, it's the only thing that will” Stefan sings. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16:14, “Let all that you do be done in love.” If I could only get that one scripture verse in my heart, I would get the essence of all of Scripture (loving God and others with my whole heart).
So many times I shrink back from the cross. I sometimes dread loving people who are difficult for me to love. “Come, in the name of Jesus, Come to be more like Him” Stefan invites me this morning.
Lord, I long to be more like You. Please forgive me where I dread embracing your cross. Help me to let go of those things that don't really matter. I deeply desire that my worship of you would be more sincere. Give me your love for those I encounter around me.
As my “Lead Like Jesus” devotional notes for today, to worship him in spirit and truth means to worship him with one's whole heart and in revelation of who He is. Fenelon writes in “Meditations On The Heart of God” that it is on the cross that we really come to know Christ and to love Him and where we are fed with His truth.
“I'm following the One who showed the way” Stefan Van Voorst, one of my pastors, sings on his CD in the background. As Fenelon writes, “without the cross, everything else is nothing but religious sentimentalism.”
Too often I tell God I want to worship Him in all I do but I don't really mean it. What I am thinking of is Him helping me to do something for Him where I can feel like I made a sacrifice for Him and feel good about myself. What I am really thinking of is having more religious sentimentalism. It has nothing to do with embracing the cross.
But what if worshiping Him in spirit and truth, has nothing to do with gushy feelings of love, sentimentality, or external sacrifices? What if it is all about loving others and laying down my life for them? I keep asking Him that my worship would be more meaningful and sincere. What if this means embracing the cross in greater ways in the way that I love others throughout the day?
“We believe that love can change the world, it's the only thing that has, it's the only thing that will” Stefan sings. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16:14, “Let all that you do be done in love.” If I could only get that one scripture verse in my heart, I would get the essence of all of Scripture (loving God and others with my whole heart).
So many times I shrink back from the cross. I sometimes dread loving people who are difficult for me to love. “Come, in the name of Jesus, Come to be more like Him” Stefan invites me this morning.
Lord, I long to be more like You. Please forgive me where I dread embracing your cross. Help me to let go of those things that don't really matter. I deeply desire that my worship of you would be more sincere. Give me your love for those I encounter around me.
Comments