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Living Worship Living worship cannot be confined to any certain place, style, position, or procedure; rather, it is living in, living with, and living for Jesus Christ, the One who gives us life and the purposes for it. To gain a better idea of what living worship is we must understand why God created us. In Genesis chapter 1, verses 27, and 28; “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it…” First, God created us to be in His image, or character; we must always remember that is why He created us. He then made that possible by opening the line of communication between Himself and us. As God spoke, He gave mankind direction and purpose. The two options that mankind had then are the same two that we have now, either obey or rebel. God wanted to manifest His will in the earth through those whom He had created in His image, and that is still what He desires. (Matt 22:17-21 KJV) “Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” Are we displaying the image of Christ, or are we busy worshiping the image of another? It is vital that we keep the things of this world subdued. Money is the god of this world, and the love of money is the root of all evil. QUICK TEST: If someone were to steal money from us, what would we do? How would we feel? Would we do everything we could to get it back? How do we treat the things that are stealing our time away from worshiping, and seeking, and obeying God? Do we take immediate action when we find something stealing our heart from loving and desiring the things of His Kingdom? We can tell what we are worshiping by what we say and do, and by how we live. (Luke 16:11-13 KJV) “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters…” We are purposed to be kings and priest unto Jesus Christ our Lord, not spiritual peasants groveling in servitude to the god of this world. David was a king who sometimes found himself subject to the things of this world. But when he came to his senses, he repented and abandoned worthless worldly endeavors, and the fruit of his repentance was obvious in the life of worship he went on to live. (Psalm 63:1-4 KJV) “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.” We can gain insight in how to worship God by reading the words of King David, but we can gain much more by living them and allowing new words of adoration to flow from our living worship of God. -Kurt Thurston October Newsletter 2002 | Higher Things | Living Worship Pastor's Journal October 2001 | Judas | Destined to Become part 1 of 3 |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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