lifestyle

Worship VII Day 14 One Day: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
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The Questions

1) What is worship and how does Paul encourage believers to worship?

2) What are the causes of our worship?

3) How does worshipping God change us and impact our daily life?

Romans 5:6-11

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Original Intent

1) What is worship and how does Paul encourage believers to worship?
The original word for worship in Greek is proskyneō. It means submission to a higher authority, often accompanied with a bowing to the ground. The image given to demonstrate this kind of submission is a dog licking his master’s hand in a token of reverence and adoration. This is a picture of whole-hearted devotion and loyalty. Worship, at its heart, is humble submission, which is why Paul writes in Romans 12:1 that we, as Christ’s Body, are to offer ourselves together as a living sacrifice. Paul says, “This is our true worship”. Worship is a lifestyle characterized by a giving of self in whole-hearted surrender and whole-minded submission to the goodness and greatness of God. It isn’t only something felt or acknowledged, but something lived through attitudes of our heart and sacrifices of ourselves and our resources in everyday life. Paul’s words in Romans 5 speak specifically of God’s magnificent grace towards us in offering Himself as the ransom for our sin-wrecked souls. He concludes in verse 11 by stating, “we boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ…”. Paul exhorts his audience, and clearly models for them, that true worship is anchored in reverent humility to God for the vast love He has lavished upon us, sinners that we are!

2) What are the causes of our worship?
In the Romans 5 passage we discover how worship is rooted in awareness of what we have been given and how we have been loved. 1 John 4:19 says we love because He first loved us. In like fashion, we worship because we have experienced God’s goodness. In Psalm 150 we are reminded to praise Him for His deeds (what He has done), the greatest of these being our salvation and restoration to relationship with Him (Romans 5:10). The “hymn book of the Jews” (Psalms) is replete with specific reasons to worship the God in whom alone is found salvation. (Romans 5:11) Psalm 115:1 instructs our hearts to praise God for His steadfast love and faithfulness while Psalm 103 recounts “His benefits” including forgiveness, rescue, and redemption. Psalm 100:1-5 says we praise Him for making us and Ephesians 1:3 says we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing because of Christ, and therefore we bless God. Worship wasn’t something that began after Jesus died to rescue our souls, neither is it something Jewish people did in the Old Testament when circumstances were wonderful. Regardless of feelings or situation, there are always reasons to worship because we need not look any farther than God and His character to discover a reason to worship Him!

3) How does worshipping God change us and impact our daily life?
We are talking about worship being a lifestyle of humility and honor toward God. In 1 Samuel 15:22, God says (through Samuel) “to obey is better than sacrifice.” To worship God is a sacrifice, but it is best carried out through obedience. God’s Word is filled with examples of His people choosing to worship in faith and obedience, which then resulted in God showing favor and victory. (2 Chronicles 20:22) Worship brought physical victory in battle to Israel. Their decision to worship out of obedience removed themselves as an idol in their hearts and gave room for God to move in the way He had willed. Scripture teaches us to give thanks to the LORD with all our heart. (Psalm 9:1) When we are truly thankful, our hearts are engaged. Worshipping God brings us to a place of full engagement with Him. God invites us to lift our eyes over the things of this earth and focus on the place where He sits at the right hand of God; here, our real life is hidden. (Colossians 3:2) Because Paul’s life modeled consistent, humble worship, the Lord worked through His life in incredible ways. Paul recognized his life was nothing compared to knowing and experiencing God. (Philippians 3:8-9)

Everyday Application

1) What is worship and how does Paul encourage believers to worship?
God created us to live out worship in everyday lives, but we often are tempted to worship anything but the Only One Worthy of worship. As we come to understand worship as humble surrender and loyal submission to the Lord, amazingly, we see a connection of humility to God Himself, the sole worthy object of our worship. Though God had every right to never lower Himself, He did exactly this by coming to earth in human form to become our Reconciler and Salvation. (Romans 5:8-11, Philippians 2:6-8) Our great God is a humble God! When He calls Himself the Helper of Israel (the word “ezer” in Hebrew refers to Helper and the name of God JEHOVAH ‘EZER emphasizes it). These terms reflect the heart of God as He calls Himself one who concerns Himself to stoop down. (Psalm 113:4-6) As we worship, we stoop in response to how the Savior God has already bent for us. Worship, at its heart, is grateful submission. It’s a bowing and acknowledgement that someone is greater and worthier than ourselves. Yet, we serve and love a God who stoops to bless us; Who came to a cruel cross to die for us; Who takes on a lowly life for us. God is lofty, yet He tells us His way of greatness is not one that holds Lordship high over others’ heads (Matthew 20:25-28), but instead stoops to bless us. (John 13:3-5) Worship is both a response and a fully engaged bending as we answer the One who bent for us and continues to bend humbly for us out of love.

2) What are the causes of our worship?
Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians, “I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17-19) As we practice living our everyday lives rooted and grounded in love, we become motivated to love God responsively. This creates a heart of true worship. As we fix our minds on what is good, true, noble, and praiseworthy, our minds are lifted to remember the goodness of God and genuine worship overflows. (Philippians 4:8) As we consider His character and His names (which reflect His character) we are drawn to recall the truth of who He is. This creates a mind of worship. As we humble ourselves in the sight of God, surrendering self to the Savior, we receive the will to worship. Here in this sacred space, we truly begin loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. (Matthew 22:37) This is the picture of lifestyle worship, wholly engaged with our Creator, Redeemer, and Lover of Our Soul.

3) How does worshipping God change us and impact our daily life?
We know God wants us to take on a heart of obedient worship that consistently permeates our everyday lives. What does this look like? In Micah 6:8 He says, “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.” This is a picture of lived-out worship. Even though we will have trials in life, He will use them to shape us. Along the way, He calls us to worship Him through the storms, as this anchors our hearts in truth despite changing circumstance and feelings. This is how He develops our dependence and strengthens our endurance in faith as He reinforces our hope. In Romans 5:3-4 Paul writes, “…we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Worship gives us perspective in every circumstance, the capacity to be joyful in the face of affliction, and the means to be filled with strength when we are at our weakest. Like a faithful dog leans on his master, giving his life in devotion, we can give our lives to God. He takes that sacrifice and multiplies it for our good. We cannot out-give God. Our life of sacrificial worship always fills us more than any other thing we seek on earth. When we offer true worship, we lift our eyes and gain perspective.

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

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Eve Day 15 Eve Of Eternity

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Revelation 1:7-8
Revelation 3:11-13
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Titus 2:11-15

Over the past few weeks, we’ve discussed so many eves. Some were laden with joy, some with sadness. All were buoyed by the expectancy of a Great Change to come, regardless of context.

This eve, the Eve of Eternity, is no different.
Friends, this life we’re living right now, today?
We are in the Eve of Eternity.
I know.
Sometimes it feels like this life is so basic, so routine. We wake up, make the coffee, do the work, make the dinner, go to bed. I get it.
But friends, this is our Eve.

These days. These hours. These minutes.

If we were each being honest, we would all agree that our daily routines and tasks seem to take over so much of our time, thoughts and energy. Our intentions may be golden, but we are so easily pulled away. We set alarms, set aside time, set aside our goals and to dos so we can spend time in His presence without outside distraction…for our 30 minutes or one hour…but things get busy, children start crying, our boss moves up the deadline, our car won’t start, fill-in-your blank. As we discussed and shared throughout Pause, most of us find that our challenge lies in actively making space for the Kingdom in our daily lives…but Loves, is that really what we are called to do in these final days?

Or are we called to craft a daily life that revolves around the Kingdom?

The thing is, we exist in this crazy tension between our identity in Christ and where our citizenship lies, versus the fallen world we currently live in.
Our spirit is at constant war within us, fighting against the flesh and yearning for the holy, because in Christ we are made holy.
Our hearts are burdened by the sin we see around us and in us,
because in Christ we are made clean.
We ache for the hurting,
because through Christ we are sent to heal.
We weep for the lost,
because Christ commissioned us, you and me, to reach them.
We live in this Eve in these imperfect bodies with imperfect desires, knowing that a perfect body awaits us, and friends? It’s really hard to reconcile that sometimes.
Truth? All the time.
But friends, we will live in these bodies until we either die or Jesus returns,
at which point,
our Eve will be over.

And when that time comes, regardless of whether it’s when Jesus returns or we fade as the flowers, will we be able to say that we pursued passionate relationship with our Jesus in our Eve?
Will the record of our lives show that we built our earthly life around our calling in Him?
With all the expectancy and hope, faith and obedience due the Eve of the return of our King?
Or will we be caught unaware, carving out space for Him in the middle of our busy?

When I was a little girl, Jesus’ return seemed so scary to me. I could blame it on the Left Behind books, but there was actually a particular passage of Scripture that always left me worried. The thought of Jesus’ return coming “like a thief in the night” stood in stark contrast to the God of my Bible stories and the Father I had grown to know. I couldn’t reconcile the two, and it left me feeling anxious.
Many nights, I laid awake, thinking, worrying and waiting.

My thoughts would race.
Why would He sneak in that way?
I thought He was clear in His commandments and laws, so why would this be so different from His nature?
Maybe He isn’t Who I think He is.
Maybe I don’t really know Him at all.

Isn’t that just how the enemy loves to sneak in? But friends? I was missing the whole point of that passage!
A little further on, Paul writes (and I paraphrase):
You are not in the dark, so you will not be surprised!
You are children of Light, of the day…
You are not destined for wrath, but for salvation!

Paul goes on to exhort us to remain vigilant and aware, keeping our eyes open. He isn’t talking about our physical wakefulness here. Whether our earthly bodies die or Jesus returns, we have salvation! But in the meantime, this walking-out-the-Kingdom stuff in our Eve of Eternity?
It’s not for the faint-hearted, friends.

We need to center our lives on Christ to make it through.

We need to live outward focused lives, sharing Jesus generously with others through our words, but more so through our actions.

We need each other; we need to adopt, uphold and encourage the sweet community that Jesus modeled with His disciples.

Our Eve of Eternity is similar to the other eves we’ve journeyed, but there is one stark difference: it is our final eve.
Our one shot to fulfill all that He calls us to do.
The Word is clear in that no one knows the day or hour, but we do know He will fulfill His promise to us.

Today I am issuing a challenge to each of us, myself included. As we examine how we are living out our Eve of Eternity, think about those who do not have personal relationship with Jesus whom God has placed in our circles. They could be our barista, our cashier, our librarian, or our next door neighbor. Let’s write those names down and begin to pray for Holy Spirit to reveal and appoint opportunities to do life with them and draw them into community with us!

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

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Worship Day 3
Lifestyle Worship

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Read His Words Before Ours!

I Chronicles 15:25-29
I Chronicles 29:10-13
Psalm 63
John 4:23-24 

Distant shouts echoed through the open window and disrupted the quiet.  The woman stood and turned in one fluid motion.  Her regal bearing and movement did little to belie her royalty.  Costly robes whispered across the stone as she moved, and the maiden who stood behind her scurried out of the way with downcast eyes.  Michal leaned toward the window, brow furrowed as she searched for the source of the disturbance.  At last she could see the object at the center of it all: the ark of the covenant had returned.
And there he was.

King David.  Chosen by God, beloved by all.  Strong, brave and handsome, David could have married any girl he wanted…and in his youth, he wanted her.  Michal had loved the giant-slaying shepherd boy once, too; she had even lied to her father, King Saul, to save his life.  But all of that was many years ago, and the dynamic between them had shifted.

Disdain curved her lips as she surveyed the scene before her.  Her eyes narrowed as David tore off his robe and tossed it aside, dancing and singing to his God with delight.  Cheeks burning, she turned away and blinked back angry tears as her gaze caught that of her young servant.  “Get me some water!” she barked.  The girl fled at once and Michal returned to the window, stoking the anger that smoldered in her chest.

The scene isn’t difficult to imagine, is it?  

Michal was shocked and incensed at David’s willingness to set aside his title and decorum to humble himself before the Lord.  Her fury was further fueled that David didn’t care who saw his worship; she was embarrassed that the nearby servants and subjects saw the king’s shameless dancing and singing.  What Michal couldn’t or wouldn’t understand is that King David was always ever David, worshiper of God.  His passion for worshiping the one true God never waned, and he consistently humbled himself before God all throughout his life.  Though David sinned (just as we all do), once he repented and was restored to God, he immediately resumed his lifestyle of worship.

Because that is what worship is: a lifestyle.

Worship isn’t just an act or routine we perform on Sunday mornings at 9 or 11, respectively.

It isn’t a song we sing or a prayer we pray.  It isn’t just singing or kneeling or dancing or playing an instrument or painting.  It is all of these things, but it is so much more than that.  I paraphrase, but in John 4:24, Jesus said that the real worshipers will worship in both spirit and truth.  From His words, it is clear that there will be those who claim to worship, but they will not be authentic in their worship.

Michal was a Jew and had been raised as royalty.  She had witnessed David’s life over the years and had known him since he was very young.  That her husband would humble himself to dance and sing praises to his God publicly should not have come as a surprise, but she was so focused on outward appearances, and the opinions of others, that she overlooked the beauty behind it.  Rather than rejoicing that her husband’s whole heart was soft and obedient to God, she was furious that he would embarrass himself…and her…by behaving in such an “un-kingly” fashion.  In her self-righteous anger, Michal didn’t recognize that David was simply modeling a lifestyle of worship.

Would others recognize that same lifestyle of worship reflected in our lives?  Are we persistent in worshiping God in our hearts, words and actions, day in and day out?  Do we worship with the same fervor and passion in turmoil that we do when life is easy?  Do we worship without thought to our appearance or what others might think of us?  Do we worship openly, even when we know what they will think of us?

Michal and David’s relationship went through many highs and lows just like any other relationship… more than we could possibly know from this one snapshot.  Her reaction to David’s jubilant worship of God paints a rather grim picture of her attitude, but it does shine a light on areas we may need to examine within ourselves.  When we look into our own hearts, can we honestly say that we have never observed someone else worshiping and felt something similar to Michal?  Maybe someone raised their hands just a little too high, sang a little too loudly or off-key.  Perhaps our neighbor in the pew beside us swayed a little too much or the leader “got a little too carried away.”

As my pastor is fond of saying:  Don’t raise your hand.  I won’t, either.  

A lifestyle of worship involves many layers, and as we consider what a lifestyle of worship should and does look like this week, let’s ask for guidance from the One we worship.

Father, you made us and know our hearts.  We aren’t perfect, but You are.  We give you full reign in our hearts and lives.  Help us model a lifestyle of worship, to become worshipers in spirit and in truth.  Teach us what that means and how to apply it in our daily walk.  Help us to recognize when our focus shifts to others’ opinion rather than Yours.  You are the only One we want to serve.

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Worship Week One! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Worship!