Worship - from a wonderful cousin's reflections

hey all, i received an email a few days ago from my cousin on his own points on worship - it has been a blessing to me, i hope it is a blessing to you as well.. may we continue to worship God through our mouths, instruments and most of all, our lives.. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lately, I have been drawn to the subject of worship. The passion for worship in my life brought me to a desire to find out more on this subject. I looked at the book of Psalms, dived into some books (Tommy Tenney - God Chasers & Rick Warren - The Purpose Driven Life) and did some reflecting to understand more on worship. Here's what I have learnt from this time of searching... May you be blessed by this sharing... 1) Worship is an inbuilt need! Do you know that worship is a universal urge, "hard-wired" by God into every fiber of our being? We have an inbuilt need to connect to God. You see, God made us with this desire because He wants worshippers. (John 4:23) If we fail to worship God, we will find ourselves worshipping the things of this world. Money, fame, role models, and maybe even ourselves. "Worship" in church include singing, praying, dancing, and listening to a sermon. Some see it as a ceremony, lighting up of candles and communion. Others may see it as healing, miracles and ecstatic experiences. Worship can include these elements, but worship is far more than these expressions. Worship is a lifestyle. It is a yearning in our soul to know our Father. 2) Worship is far more than music. If worship were just music, then all who are non-musical can never worship! For many people, worship is just a synonym for music. We say.. "Oh!, At our church worship comes first, and then the teaching". There a big misunderstanding here because every part of a church service is an act of worship: praying, scripture reading, singing, dancing, confession, silence, being still, listening to a sermon, taking notes, giving an offering, baptism, communion, signing a commitment card, and even greeting other worshipers. Worship has nothing to do with the style or volume or speed of a song. I believe that God loves all kinds of music because He invented it all - fast and slow, loud and soft, old and new. You probably don't like it all, but God does! If it is offered to God in spirit and truth, it is an act of worship. Christians often disagree over the style of music used in worship, fervently defending their preferred style as the most biblical or God-honoring. But really, there is no biblical style! Everything is acceptable to God if done in obedience to His word. Frankly, the music style you like best says more about you - your background and personality - than it does about God. There is no such thing as "Christian" music; there are only Christian lyrics. It is the words that make a song sacred, not the tune. If a song is played for you without the words, you'd have no way of knowing if it were a "Christian" song. 3) Worship is not for your benefit. Worship is for God's benefit! When we worship, our goal is to bring pleasure to God, not ourselves. In Isaiah, God complained about worship that was half-hearted and hypocritical. The people were offering God stale prayers, insincere praise, empty words, and man-made rituals without even thinking about their meaning and implications. You can bet that God's heart was not touched by their "worship". When we harmonize, dance, lift our hands or bow before Him, it is with total surrender and reverance to Him. Not for us. It is for Him. If you want to know what worship is NOT, read Isaiah 29:13! 4) Worship is not a part of your life: it IS your life. Its very wrong to think that we only worship God during sunday services. We are reminded to worship Him continually (Psa 105:4) and to praise Him from sunrise to sunset (Psa 113:3). The bible gave numerous examples of people who praised God at work, at home, in battle, in jail and even in bed. David said." I will thank the Lord at all times. My mouth will always praise Him" (Psa 34:1) Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory and pleasure of God! Can I hear a loud AMEN to that?!! Martin Luther King, Jr. once wrote... "If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well." How is that ever possible, you ask? By doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus! It is a continual strive to give God the very best in our lives. --- "Father, may our lives be as incense to You; holy and acceptable. We confess with out mouths if we have taken for granted our worship to You. Forgive us if we have compromised in anyway. Lord, if we have put on a different spirit of worship, we ask for your forgiveness today. Renew our mind, Lord! May you continue to teach us to be worshippers! In Jesus Name, Amen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- continue to worship God, everyone!