Tag Archives: Holy God

Prepare To Meet Your Holy God

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Leviticus 10-12

I wonder if we would take worship more seriously if the sacrificial system was still required of us. I wonder if the fact that God is so accessible to His children today has made Him less holy in our minds.

The book of Leviticus is a detailed look at God’s requirements for worship. The Jews were required to pay careful attention as they not only worshiped God, but as they prepared for worship. The priests had very specific instructions for the fulfillment of their duties.

I wonder if we really understand what it means that Jesus fulfilled every detail of those requirements. He didn’t simply erase the necessity of them.

These days so much attention is focused on how worship looks, how it makes us feel. We are encouraged to have fun, to get something out of worship. Clap your hands! Smile! Come on, show some enthusiasm! Give God a hand!

But I am reminded how often demonstrations of worship made God angry, made Him want to vomit. Enthusiastic worship cost Uzzah his life as we read in 2 Samuel 6. Later, when David followed God’s instructions, the same demonstration of enthusiasm was accepted by God. The difference was obedience.

Here in Leviticus we read that Nadab and Abihu lost their lives trying to worship God on their own terms. We can demonstrate fire of the Holy Spirit without truly having the Holy Spirit. And that is a serious offense against God.

Worship has to be a connection between us and Holy God. My Life Application Study Bible has this to say:

“Similarly, we need to be prepared for worship. We cannot live any way we want during the week and then rush into God’s presence on Sunday. We should prepare ourselves through repentance, correction of error where possible, and thoughtful anticipation of what it will mean to be in God’s presence with other believers.” (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; Carol Stream, Illinois; 2007; p 210)

You can worship God with your head bowed, or your hands raised. And you can offend God with your head bowed, or your hands raised. The difference between worship God accepts and rejects is obedience. I guess I would encourage us to stop judging what someone’s worship looks like. You can’t judge someone’s heart, and that’s where worship happens.

So the next time you are privileged to join together for worship with other believers in God’s house – be prepared. The importance of that is a theme in Scripture. Prepare to meet your God with sins confessed and hearts cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

Prepare to meet your Holy God in worship.

Prepare

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Genesis 16-19

This past Sunday in Sunday School we talked about worship, our responsibility and God’s acceptance of our worship. We agreed that our present day Church seems to have adopted a more casual approach to worship, more so than when we were young. We wondered if God was pleased.

Today I read In Exodus what God told the Israelites to do before approaching Him. And I was interested in what my study Bible said about 19:9-11:

“Moses was told to consecrate the people. This meant getting them physically and spiritually ready to meet God. The people were to set themselves apart from sin and even ordinary daily routine in order to dedicate themselves to God. The act of washing and preparing served to get their minds and hearts ready. When we meet God for worship, we should set aside the cares and preoccupations of everyday life. Use your time of physical preparation to get your mind ready to meet God.” (Chronological Life Application Study Bible (KJV); Tyndale House Publishers; 2004; page163) (emphasis mine)

So often we approach worship in the same way we attend a sporting event, high-fives and laughter. Some attend worship service with less thought than they put into going to a neighborhood picnic. Many churches have foregone a prelude because, either no one listens anyway, or it is deemed “traditional.” The worship service begins when the song leader, over the chatter and noice, says, “Good morning!”

Is that how you pursue worship of our Holy God? Are your actions before approaching Him important? The Bible seems to think so. Thinking about this today has me considering how I approach my quiet time each day as well. I am convicted.

Let’s prepare our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls for worship this week, and every time we dare approach God. Sunday’s primary objective is not to catch up with your friends. Take time to greet them after you worship. The primary objective is God, and only God.

As you shower, tie your shoelaces, drive the car, walk through the doors of your church, direct your attention to the important reason why you do those things. Take a seat, bow your head, quietly lay your sins at the feet of the One you are there to worship. Prepare your heart. He doesn’t accept our worship if we don’t.

Are you prepared to worship? Really prepared? You need to be.

The Worship of Your Heart

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Luke 7:36-50

That woman who anointed Jesus’ feet. I want to be her.

I want to love Jesus with abandon, worship Him without thought of anything or anyone else. I want to give Him all I have, cling to Him with tears enough to wash His feet.

Do you think for a minute she worried about what other people at dinner thought of her, how she must have looked to them, bent over with her face on the ground, crying the ugly cry? I don’t think she even knew anyone else was there. Her only thought was loving Jesus. He was all that mattered. I want to worship Him like that, too.

Here’s the thing: there has been a line drawn between contemporary and traditional worship styles. What we “do” during worship places us firmly on one side or the other.

On one hand, we’re told if you raise your hands you’ve crossed over into the contemporary camp. On the other hand, if you don’t raise your hands, you’re not really worshiping. On one hand, we’re told if we look to heaven with smiles on our faces we’re putting on a show. On the other hand we’re told that serious faces can’t worship, that we ought to look to heaven with smiles on faces when we worship.

Now what? What does Scripture tell us about worship that pleases God?

Very often, especially in the psalms, we are told to worship God joyfully, with singing and dancing. However, very often Scripture condemns those exact demonstrations of worship.

So which is it? Do I raise my hands or bow my head? Do I put a smile on my face or shed tears instead?

The answer, I believe according to Scripture, is “yes!”

What I see in the woman we read about today is someone who took herself out of her worship entirely. Her worship of Jesus came from a humble, selfless, repentant heart. Her worship wasn’t about her. It was about Jesus only.

I will confess there have been times during a hymn or song of praise, my instinct was to raise my hands in worship. But I have stopped myself because I didn’t want people to think I crossed the contemporary line. And there have been times when I was told to smile or clap, but my heart was broken in worship, and smiling and clapping would not have been an honest expression of my heart.

When I read about this woman I realize I’ve put too much thought into what anyone says my worship should look like. Maybe we all ought to stop trying to orchestrate worship to fit our picture of worship, and let God lead instead.

Maybe we all ought to consider our heart’s condition before the Holy God we worship. Raise your hands if that expresses the worship of your heart. Bow your head if that expresses the worship of your heart. Fall at the feet of Jesus and let your tears wash His feet if that expresses the worship of your heart.

Let our worship of God come from hearts that belong to Him, cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and from humble, grateful hearts that can’t help but worship Him. Worship Him with abandon, without thought of whoever is sitting next to you.

And, worship leaders, may I suggest your own worship of God ought to cause you to focus on Him instead of what the people you are leading in worship are doing. Let God move in hearts without your prompting. Jesus didn’t tell the woman how to wash His feet, or where to pour the oil. He accepted the expression of her worship as she presented it to Him from her heart.

Anyway, as I consider my own expression of worship, I pray you will do the same. May all of us worship our Lord as He deserves, from hearts cleansed by the Savior, and focused on Him without thought of anything or anyone else but Him. Worship isn’t what we do or don’t do. It’s whether or not our hearts are in tune with our Holy God.

Serious Business

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Exodus 30

Worship is serious business. I know we don’t live in Old Testament times. I know we live under grace. But is worship less serious this side of the cross?

We read that people died for worshiping God in ways that suited themselves. You worshiped God in the way He demanded – or you’d better not worship at all.

Haven’t we made worship about ourselves? We take surveys and read studies that tell us how to fashion worship according to what we like, or how we think others will like so that they’ll want to join us.

I wish we spent as much effort on preparing hearts to worship God the way HE likes! I don’t see Scripture suggesting worship should be fun or entertaining. Do you? Yes, we are told to make joyful noise, to enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise. But I can do that going into a ball game.

Isn’t worship more than what it looks like? I see God telling the people to prepare, to repent first, to be holy…. THEN worship Him.

Worship is serious business. Or it ought to be.

(Jeremiah 23-25) Do We Fear God?

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The Jews considered themselves God’s chosen, most loved people on earth. Yet they acted like the rest of the world. They claimed to know God – but they did not fear Him.

Their preachers were preaching lies, and the people were soaking it up. God was about to show them what their lack of fear got them.

I wonder if Christians today really fear God. Our divorce rate rivals that of non-Christians. (yes, many non-Christians choose to live together without marriage, but so do many Christians these days). Some Christians carelessly use the Holy Name of God in their speech. There are Christians who lie, are judgmental, laugh at dirty jokes. Christians blend in with the world more and more every day. And many people who consider themselves Christians don’t even bother going to church on Sunday morning.

I’m not sure we fear God. And I think we are seeing the tip of the iceberg what that lack of fear will get us.

(Jeremiah 20-22) Is It God’s Will?

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The news these days is devastating. Our government is a disgrace. President Biben quit the Afghan conflict and pulled out our troops, bowing to the wishes of terrorists who want an end to America. People have died as a result. Christians have died. American military have died. And more death is sure to come.

I read a FaceBook post from one of my former students who shared that her faith in God has been shaken. “Why does God do this?” she asked. She said she knows it is His will. She just doesn’t understand it.

I read what God said through Jeremiah this morning and I believe the answer is there. As Jeremiah is describing the woes to come, he makes it clear that what is about to happen is judgment for sin. The people have turned their backs on God, and He is turning His back on them. He is about to show them what that looks like.

Would you say that is an example of His perfect will? Did God cause those people to sin, to reject Him, to worship idols, just so He could zap them with some judgment? If you believe that you don’t know God.

Do you want to know where God’s will is in all of this? His will is that every man, woman, and child in the world will choose to come to Him on His terms so that He can bless them. His will is that all people would come to Him humbly, in repentance, submitting to Him to receive the blessings He wants to shower on them. But repentance comes BEFORE blessing.

God is very honest and upfront to say to those who refuse: the consequences are devastating.

I can say with confidence the suicide bombing that took the lives of thirteen American servicemen, and dozens of civilians WAS NOT GOD’S WILL. It was the hand of evil, not the hand of God. That bombing happened because we have turned our back on God, and He has turned His back on us.

We want to live our lives our own way. That bombing IS our way.

Sovereign God knew that bombing would happen. It didn’t take Him by surprise. But that doesn’t mean He willed it to happen. In His sovereignty He tied His own hands by creating us with the ability to choose. He’s not a fairy godfather who grants wishes. He’s not even a guardian angel who swats away danger.

He is Holy God. And you don’t mess with Holy God without the consequences.

Instead of questioning Him, we – each of us – need to submit to Him. Then and only then will we see His will accomplished.

Forget About Yourself Altogether (Nehemiah 8)

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Hearing God’s Word read to them grieved the people. They worshiped God with their heads down, “faces to the ground.” Standing in the presence of Holy God will do that to you.

C.S. Lewis said this in his book, “Mere Christianity:”

“The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It’s better to forget about yourself altogether.”

Please don’t attend church for the experience. Please don’t worship God for the blessing. Please don’t judge worship of God on the basis of how many hands are raised, or people clapping, or how loud the praise team drums are playing. Forget about yourself altogether.

Worship is about God.

After their worship service where God’s Word was read and explained, Nehemiah told the people to go, stop weeping, enjoy some good food, take care of each other.

Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. (10b)

The celebration came after worship, not during. I know people don’t want to hear this. I know we’ve been made to think worship should be a rocking party, resulting in an euphoric experience.

But the more I read God’s Word the more I am convinced that is not worship. Worship can’t be about me.

It’s better to forget about yourself altogether.

This Is How You Talk… (Jeremiah 3)

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God is patient and merciful. But sometimes I think people misinterpret that as being tolerant and weak. God is neither tolerant nor weak in any shape or form.

We are watching the rapid decline of our society. We are witnessing blatant immorality to the point that anyone who dares speak truth is immediately shut down, and labeled a hater or a bigot. There is a growing portion of the Church that has exchanged its Glory for a feel-good experience, stopped worshiping a Holy God and instead worships a sweet old grandpa who pats his disobedient children on the head.

Many of us are pleading with God to stop this downfall toward destruction. But here’s something that stood out to me this morning in Jeremiah 3:3b-5:

Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame. Have you not just called to me; “My Father, my friend from my youth, will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue forever?” This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can.

Yes, we are calling out to God to heal our land. But are we dressed up like prostitutes at the same time? Are we asking God to save us, while we live our lives in disobedience? Do we say all the right words, yet continue in sin?

Throughout the Bible God tells us He insists on obedience. He demands that we come to Him by His rules. He promises to bless His children IF…

…If we humble ourselves, confess our sin, and repent, turn, change, unless we are transformed by the Holy Spirit and walk the talk. Then God will hear our prayers, and not before.

I hope you are praying for our nation and our world. We are on the brink of something big. I know Satan thinks He’s got this. But we who know God know that Satan doesn’t have any power over God. And if God moves, the “something big” we are heading for just might be the greatest revival history has ever seen.

I believe Scripture tells us over and over that God will unleash His power when His people are, first of all, obedient. Dear one, let’s stop dressing up like prostitutes, looking like the world, compromising the Truth that God revealed in His Word. Let’s throw off sin, and put on Jesus’ righteousness.

Then let’s pray that God will heal our land. Repent, pray, and stand back and watch God work! You ain’t seen nothing yet!

Feb 24 – His Holiness

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Numbers 3-4

What does it mean when we say God is holy? I’m not sure we can grasp the whole of it, but Scripture does give us a glimpse at the truth of God’s holiness.

The Levites were appointed keepers of the tabernacle, the carrying of it, the assembly of it, the priestly duties inside it. Some parts of the temple were considered holy so that even the Levites could not touch them with their bare hands. Those things had to be covered first to prevent even an accidental touch, resulting in the death of the one whose skin touched a holy object.

And don’t even think about getting too close if you’re a layman. That was a death sentence, too.

God’s Presence had made the temple holy, including the ark, the veil, the table, dishes, pans, all the furnishings of the sanctuary. And all these things were untouchable by virtue of their holiness.

This picture from Numbers reminds me that God is not our equal. In light of His holiness we can only bow before Him. It’s such a blessing to know that Jesus has provided a way for us to approach our Holy God. He’s not the God to be worshiped from afar like He was in the Old Testament.

We are even invited, as children redeemed by Jesus’ blood, to come boldly into God’s throne room.We are privileged to have the Spirit of our Holy God living in us.

But let’s not mistake this Holy God for our buddy. Don’t reduce Him to one of the good old boys.

Grasp His holiness. He is no less holy than He was when the Levites were covering the spoons, knowing if they touched one they’d die.

Our Holy God, we can only fall to our knees in Your Presence. You are Holy. You are awesome, powerful, perfect. We are nothing in comparison. Forgive us if we gloss over the fact that You are holy, holy, holy. May we worship You today with the measure of understanding you’ve given us. You are holy. There is no one like you. You are eternal. You were, are, and are to come. We give you all our praise.

The Sin of Prayer

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I was reading Psalm 109 this morning and was struck by something in verse 7:

When he is judged, let him be found guilty, and let his prayer become sin. (NKJV)

The NIV translates it like this: …and may his prayer condemn him.

Can a prayer be a sin? Can whispering a prayer condemn us? It must be so or it wouldn’t be written here in this psalm.

David is talking about being treated unfairly. Remember, Saul wanted to kill David. And Saul’s followers pursued David relentlessly. David asks God to be their judge. Then he said what he did about prayer.

That got me to thinking. How can a prayer be sin? Certainly in these days after the cross, when Jesus told us to love one another, including our enemies, praying that harm might come to someone is probably a sin. I can see how praying for a selfish gain would be considered a sin. Praying that God would honor or ignore or, worse, bless a sin in my life is most assuredly a sin.

Maybe God is saying through David that praying in order to tell God what His will is is a sin. Saul’s men probably thought they were obeying God by trying to protect King Saul from David’s overthrow of the kingdom. Maybe they even prayed to God to help them kill David. Praying to Allah, or a higher power, or some dear departed loved one, isn’t a prayer that honors God. And what doesn’t honor God is sin.

Then the thought came to mind that a person who rejects God’s grace and lives in opposition to God’s demands, yet prays a quick prayer when their car slips on ice, or a family member receives a frightening diagnosis sins. A person who leaves God out of their life, yet prays to win the lottery, or get a promotion at work also sins.

Prayer is a privilege. But it’s serious business to go barging into the throne room. In the Old Testament we read where a king could only be approached by invitation. Going otherwise to talk to the king resulted in death. Unless the king granted audience, you died.

We who have accepted Jesus as our Savior are invited to come boldly before the throne of grace. (Heb 4:16) We have that ongoing invitation to talk to the King any time of the day or night. But it seems to me from what I read in the Bible, if you haven’t come to God through His Son, you have no business in the throne room.

And, if I go barging into the throne room with unconfessed sin in my heart, my prayer just might condemn me. This morning I am impressed with the importance of prayer. And the seriousness of having audience with a God who is Holy, Holy, Holy. I don’t want to take this privilege for granted. And I don’t want to sin in my prayer.

Holy God, Please forgive me for sin in my life. Help me to recognize those sins and be quick to confess them. Thank you for inviting me into your throne room where I can talk to you about the things on my heart. May I never take this privilege for granted. May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my Lord and my Savior.