Life as Worship

Two verses. Two verses reminded me that my whole life is to be an act of worship before God.  We talked about this last week in ladies Bible study.  The redeemed life is a life of worship.  Sometimes we struggle with the "doing" of worship.  For myself, I tend to put in the the "Sunday morning and daily prayer time" box....leaving it there when I walk away.  I search for worship as a feeling instead of a choice, even I dare say as part of a ritual.

John 4:23  But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.  That is what Jesus tells us.  And that is where I want to be.  That is how I want to "do" worship.  As I read my "Jesus Always: devotional yesterday, two verses spoke into my heart a reminder of what worship was and should be.  Romans 12:1  And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind He will find acceptable.  This is truly the way to worship Him.  Life as worship.  Living holy, sacrificial lives that focus our love, our hearts, and our time on a loving heavenly Father who is so worthy of praise each and every minute of our day.  Showing kindness, sharing His love, doing our days (what ever they may entail) with excellence of character, not perfection, but humbly reliant on Jesus.  Walking in gratitude.  Something Angela Thomas-Pharr said in our her study, Redeemed" spoke to me.  "Worship comes from the overflow of a grateful heart.  And isn't that what we are told in Romans, giving ourselves to God in gratitude because He has done so very much for us.

The second verse was Psalm 89:15  Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of Your Presence, Lord.  

Oh what a beautiful verse!  Do you hear the joyful call to worship...listen carefully.  It may be buried under a damaged heart, a busy day,  the struggle of life, pain or difficulty...but it's there.  Worship lifts up out of those things.   Worship brings us into the Presence of God.   It makes God bigger than our problems instead of the other way around.

So I offer of my life to God, and I pray that I can live it with integrity, kindness and love...the kind of life that worships the Lord.  Micah 6:8  No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.   It's so much more that Sunday mornings or daily prayers.  Worship is to be a lifestyle, filled with gratitude, praise and love for God and others.  It's sharing these with those around us so our Father is glorified.

Lord, I dedicate this day to You.  Let it be a day of worship.  I am grateful for all You've done for me.  I am blessed beyond measure just to be Your child.  I worship You in this moment, Your goodness, Your holiness, Your kindness, Your mercy, Your love....You are creative, intelligent, amazingly complex and wonderful.  We can never find our fill of  knowing You!  Lord, I ask that all I do today glorify Your Name.  I hear Your call to worship and it fills my heart with joy.  I pray for those reading this, that they too will hear this joyful call.  Help us to hear through all the noise of life.  It gets lost so easy in the busyness of the day.  Give us lives that worship You...help us to live them.  In Jesus Name today.  Amen.

Sit quietly for a bit and listen.  God is calling You to worship.