God wants us to worship Him in spirit. What does that mean? It means we must be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We must be born again. It also means we must worship Him sincerely, earnestly, with a right spirit, with a sweet spirit. We are to worship from the depths of our beings as we are continually occupied with God. Worship is not just the act of going to church because we always have or because it’s the thing to do. It is not just putting your body in a pew while your mind is elsewhere. It is not just smiling serenely on the outside while on the inside you are filled with unconfessed sin.
God also wants us to worship Him in truth. What does that mean? It means there is no way to God, no way at all, without coming through Jesus Christ Who is the Truth. It also means that we must base our relationship with Him on His Word, which is the truth. And to worship Him in truth means to worship Him honestly, without hypocrisy, standing open and transparent before Him.
Are you the kind of worshiper God wants?
God is faithful, by whom you were
called into the fellowship of His Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. § God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” § Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. § Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. § He who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.
1 Cor. 1:9; Heb. 10:23; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 John 1:3;
1 Peter 4:13; Eph. 3:17–19; 1 John 4:15; 3:24
We are His workmanship.
The king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple. § The temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house. § Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. § Who once were not a people but are now the people of God.
You are God’s building. § Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. § Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
Eph. 2:10; 1 Kings 5:17; 6:7; 1 Peter 2:5; Eph. 2:20–22;
1 Peter 2:10; 1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor. 5:17; 5:5
The New Testament teaches us that we are not to “make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son” (Heb. 12:5-6, NIV). God, as our loving Father, confronts us with our sin and convicts us of it in order to get us to confess. Because He knows if we do not confess and correct it, our misery will envelop us and we will live life at a very low level in comparison with the life He created for us.
If you and I resist confessing our sin when God brings it to our attention through our own Bible reading or through a spouse or a child or a friend or a pastor or just our own consciences, we harden our hearts. And a hardened heart is an impenetrable barrier in our relationship with God, in our enjoyment of His blessings, in our emotional and spiritual security, and in our eternal reward. A hardened heart is the core of a miserable life.
You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand. § In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. § Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of the son of a man who will be made like grass? And you forget the Lord your Maker.
I am with you to deliver you. § Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.
I will sing of Your power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. § You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.
Ps. 40:17; 37:23–24; Prov. 14:26;
Isa. 51:12–13; Jer. 1:8; Deut. 31:6; Ps. 59:16; 32:7
How will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?
For the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest. The priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.
We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. § When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Jer. 12:5; Josh. 3:15, 3:17; Heb. 2:9; Ps. 23:4; Isa. 43:2; Rev. 1:17–18
And “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” for you and me. Freedom from sin and selfishness and spiritual defeat and Satan’s snares. Freedom to reflect Jesus as we are “transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18, NIV).
As we live moment by moment under the Lordship – the control of the Spirit – His character, which is the character of Jesus, becomes evident to those around us. The outward evidence of His inward filling of our lives is His “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22, NIV). Is there enough evidence of the Spirit in your life to demand a verdict from your closest friends and family members? The Holy Spirit empowers us, not just to live for Jesus, but to be like Jesus as He forms Christ within us. (Gal. 4:19)
