True Worshipper, part 2

I have always been amazed at this passage of scripture found in John 4. Jesus tells us that if we worship in "spirit and in truth," God will seek after us. It's one thing to seek after God, and we should. For those who seek Him, "find Him when they seek with all of their heart (Jer. 29:13)." But it is clearly another thing when God seeks after you. I want to know how to capture God's attention.

So what is "true worship." Because if I worship in this way, it captures God's attention. The word worship according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance as used here means: to kiss as a dog licking the hand of his master, to lay prostrate to pay homage. If you know the history of Jesus' day, you will quickly remember that Samaritans were considered dogs or even lower to the Jews.

And because of this woman's past and her nationality, she goes to the well during the heat of the day to avoid the looks and criticisms from others. There she runs into a man, Jesus, who knows all about her past. He takes the time to minister to her even though he is tired and hungry. And at a specific moment in their discourse, He chooses a word picture for her that she could immediately identify with and understand. One she would never likely forget.

Maybe Jesus was seeking after her before she even knew it? Regardless, that was a day of destiny for her. I am aware of at least two trues here about a true worshipper.

1. They worship God with complete openness and honesty. Not concealing anything.

2. They worship God with love from their heart. Just as a dog will love his master in good times and bad. We must love God and worship Him in every situation in life. The dogs love remains constant. The dog always returns to kiss the master's hand. How long has it been since you returned to the Master to love him?

True Worshipper

Lately I have been spending my devotional time in the Gospels, especially zooming in on the words of Christ. Earlier this week, I was looking at the Samaritan Woman story in John chapter four. There is so much in those twenty-six verses. However, I targeted in on the last few verses where Jesus talks about "true worship."

In the twenty-third verse, Jesus declares that the time has now come for true worship to begin. The inference is that the current worship of the day was not true worship. I began to dig around in the verse and found that the word "true" means "not concealing." How refreshing.

When we come to God in worship, we don't have to put on pretense or act as though we are in someone else's house. We can with integrity and trust in the Lord, put ourselves in a vulnerable place. A place that doesn't conceal anything from the Lord. But a place of openness and transparency.

This kind of worship goes deeper than sincerity. This is a full blown openness to the Father. It may be hard to do this at first, because we tend to keep the darkest parts of our lives to ourselves. We try to live up to an image either placed upon us by society, ourselves or our church. But true worshippers know that God is in that place ready to receive us and fill us with His grace. I want to be a true worshipper, don't you?

The Rebounder

Second chances... that's what you get with a rebound. A second chance to score. A second chance to put points on the board. A second chance to do the right thing.

Many people have missed the mark, crashed the boards for a rebound, and have rebounded in their life. People like Moses, Sampson, and Peter fell but they didn't stay down. They rebounded in their life and God gave them a second chance.

This past Sunday, we heard how Travis, Maryanne, and Jim & Tina rebounded. Through different circumstances, they all found themselves needing help from God. Because of their openness and vulnerability we were able to see God's power and grace at work.

If you've missed the mark, get up. We all fall, but through God we are given a second chance. Rebound by turning to God today!