Introduction - Our Spiritual Act Of Worship

I started this "Words of Worship" series at a different phase in my life.  I had a job, but that job consumed me and took priority.  Most of my problems were work related, and these struggles and frustrations informed my writing. However, things have changed for me.  I no longer have this job, but now have a revitalized passion for God and His church. Losing this job has forced me to examine the condition of my life, no longer guided by work ambitions.  It left me with nothing, which pushed me to pursue a stronger relationship with God and His Church.  I have a new desire to live a life of worship to Him.  This means I am starting over in my walk with God and learning to sacrifice and avoid conformation with society.  It means a more focused direction for this series.

Again, I strongly urge you, if you haven't already, to read the first post, "Introduction - A Call to Worship".  This is where I intend to direct my studies, with Romans 12:1-2 the main focus.  Upcoming entries will explore how we can begin to lead a life that worships God, starting with sacrifice and surrender, letting go of the obstacles that keep us from devoting ourselves to Him, followed by studies of faith and trusting God, not being anxious, not falling into routine and relying on our works to save us, learning to look to God and not to ourselves, and recognizing how we reap what we sow in our lives.  From there, I will move to a variety of topics.  You can expect a lot of references to the apostle Paul's letters, because much of this revolves around the spiritual battle in our lives.  As I go through this study, I will be challenging myself and everyone who reads this series to examine our hearts and consider how we need to grow.  When we discuss these matters, I hope to let the biblical passages (not my written words) guide our discussions and hopefully other testimonies will emerge.

In the coming weeks/months, I will take a close look at the key passage that encapsulates the purpose of this blog/series, Romans 12:1-2.  I will write several entries based on the important words and concepts in these verses, with each one including scriptures for further investigation and discussion.  This subseries, "Our Spiritual Act of Worship," will begin by examining God's mercy ("in view of God's mercy"), offering ourselves as living sacrifices, what it means to be holy and pleasing to God, not conforming to the world, being transformed by the renewing of our minds, and understanding God's will.

I hope this new, reborn series will help you in your spiritual development, that you may also experience a rebirth into a life devoted to God, a life that fully worships Him.

Looking Back, Moving Forward

The entries I have posted up to this point were all from before I started this blog and were already distributed to the worship team.  I encourage those who have not read them to give them a look, and feel free to leave comments.  The comments section is for any statement you have regarding the topic, a personal testimony (if you feel comfortable), or another verse you find relevant.  If you have yet to read it, go through any one of these and leave a note if you feel led; if you have read them and already have thoughts on it, please type them up.

Also, be sure to read the introduction, which is the first post and features a mission statement and a thorough description of the purpose of this series.  Here is the list of entries up to this post:

Introduction - A Call To Worship
Entry # 1 - The Awesome God We Praise / Scripture References
Entry #2 - Nobody's Perfect, But God Is! / How To Be Perfect . . . With God's Help
Entry #3 - Slowing Down . . . / Scripture References
Entry # 4 - Preparing For The Worse / Song Reference

Going forward, I will try to add another entry weekly or bi-weekly.  In the meantime, I welcome discussions and other input.  These entries are meant to inspire the reader to see how each one relates to his or her life.  The writing process for me is an outlet to confess areas in my life where I feel I need to improve; your role is to determine what applies to you.  I encourage you to primarily look at the biblical references and search for others not listed, because this is how we grow and God's word is always the most important guide to righteous living.  I promise to always verify that my blogs stay true to the scriptures and I will include references.  It's what I was trained to do as an English major.

I pray that God can use this blog for His glory and that my words flow from Him.  I pray that its purpose will be accomplished in accordance with His will.  I pray that those who read these entries and the passages will be effected by it, that God would be glorified.  Amen.

Preparing for the Worst - Song Reference

Pursuing spiritual growth can be easy during the day, but when the night arrives, it's difficult to maintain this commitment.  This song  addresses this, while recognizing the trials we experience can lead us home.  The key line in this song, which I want to emphasize, is "But I know the trials that come my way are what I prepared for in that day." When the night comes, we have the training during the day to help us through, and God will always be there.

As the light fades from the day

The joy it caused now drifts away

Does the night weigh down my eyes

Obscure the hope now in disguise?

Cause all that I’ve done before I arrived here

Does all of it just disappear?

Cause now that I’m here do I regret all that I’ve done?

Now that I’m here will I forget what made me strong?

Can all my mistakes and all of my faults lead me back home?

To find my way back home

And as the night fades into dawn

Will all the guilt of the dark be gone?

And as regret leaves a heavy cloud

I pray the good is not lost in the shroud

Cause all that I’ve done to bring me this far

Do my failures change all that they are?

Lord I know I turned away

When the night replaced the day

But I know the trials that come my way

Are what I prepared for in that day

Cause now that I am here can I see what needs to be done?

Now that I’m here, do I trust He who made me strong?

Cause all of these trials and all my mistakes lead me back home

To find my way back home

Always remember that when we feel covered by darkness, God’s light will always shine.  He is there even in the night, just as the sun does not disappear at dark.  When we hold on to His light while it is hard to see, we will come out stronger.  Never lose sight when the days fade away.

Entry #4 - Preparing For The Worst

It's hard to worship God through trials.  It takes discipline and a strong faith to trust God when pain increases, a willingness to believe that these trials will lead us home, as long as we stay committed.  When our life seems to be spiraling out of control, it can be hard to let God take over and guide our lives, or take comfort in the knowledge that God has a plan and this trial is a part of his providence.  But there is still a certain joy from the realization after the fact, when the picture becomes clear, that everything worked in accordance to His will.

But it is easy to praise God when everything is going well.  Maintaining a relationship with God through reading the Scriptures, coming to Him in prayer, and fellowshipping with His church can become so much more effortless when life is going smoothly.  But trials are how we grow, suffering builds perseverance.  Challenges bring strength when we learn to overcome them by surrendering to Christ.  Still, it is hard to stay strong in our walk when things go wrong (though, admittedly, since we really don't know what is right for us and God has a perfect plan, life can never really go wrong).

Life can never be easy all the time.  It's inevitable: what goes up must go down.  Trials will come; this is guaranteed in Scripture.  However, we need to be prepared, because these trials test the faith we build in the easy times.  This is why we should never be too comfortable.  We should never let our spiritual walk falter when everything seems to be fine, but this can be our tendency.  Maybe we believe that we are responsible for our ideal life and we don't need God anymore, or maybe we feel the Holy Spirit's presence so strong that we start to lose focus on the responsibilities that maintain our spiritual growth.  We may be feeling good because we are in a comfortable place, and this may not be where God wants us.  He may allow us to hurt as a way to turn us in the right direction. Still, it is during the quiet moments that we need to actively pursue a spiritual maturity, because the troubles will come.

And when they do, we need a foundation of faith to help us through.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ - 1 Peter 1:3-7 (ESV)

This has been a struggle in my life.  I have even been called "spiritually inconsistent," referring to my roller coaster spiritual life.  I constantly have highs and lows in life, many fluctuating throughout the coarse of days, and, unfortunately, I often let this cycle correlate with my spiritual state.  When I feel good, I feel spiritually strong, but this inevitably ends in regrets when the downward fall leads away from God.  In 2007, when I was striving to reach spiritual maturity as a means to play worship with the group at my old church, I made a lot of positive strides, but I fell far later in that year.  This led to the question of whether all that growth was wasted or if they still remained in my life.  From this, I wrote a song called "Now That I'm Here", where I addressed the personal dilemma of maintaining the strength I built in the good times (the day) during the bad times (the night).  The conclusion I came to is that the calm is the time to build up our spiritual foundations, so that the storm won't blow us away.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil . . . take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. - Ephesians 6:10-11,13

So when I look at my life, and when everything seems to be going well, I look ahead and remind myself that things will get worse.  If I don't, I can be caught off guard by the inevitable pain.  It is  during the quiet moments that we need to be prepared, because when life grows hectic, it is difficult to maintain a spiritual course.  When an army goes out to fight, do they just go out to battle haphazardly, or do they lay out plans and develop strategies?  Of course, it would be the latter.  So when things are good, hold fast to God's Word and His Truth, instill it in your very being, so it can keep you strong during the trials. Put on the armor of God and never let your guard down (Ephesians 6:10-20).  Without these tests, how can we know where we stand?  Adversity is necessary, so we must be prepared.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. - James 1:12

When the storm is passed, we can look back and see how God worked through those trials and praise Him for His perfect plan for our lives.  Hopefully, the experience will make us stronger and even more spiritually prepared for the next storm.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. - Romans 5:3-5

Worship God in the good times, worship Him in the bad, and when we look back, we can worship God for taking the bad times and working them for His good.  Always remember that life will get hard and never lose sight of that.  We cannot become complacent when things are well, or we might be lazy and caught off guard by hardships. Strengthen your faith and know a test will come.  It is through these trials that we can see how greatly God can move in our lives.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. - James 1:2-4

Our Challenge For Worship

Do we worship God only in the good times and then turn our backs when life doesn't go our way?  Are we failing to fully prepare ourselves for the spiritual battle ahead by growing too comfortable?  Let us continually build a relationship with God and not lose sight of Him during the painful moments.  Let us always remember that God's great plan will prevail in our life.

Slowing Down . . . Scripture References

Waiting on the Lord

If we move through life too fast and fail to slow down and appreciate life, we will miss out on what God has in store for us.  We must wait on Him and let him guide us.

The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. – Lamentations 3:25 (KJV)

Be still before the LORD 
   and wait patiently for him; 
do not fret when people succeed in their ways, 
   when they carry out their wicked schemes. – Psalm 37:7

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. – Psalms 25:5 (KJV)

Since ancient times no one has heard, 
   no ear has perceived, 
no eye has seen any God besides you, 
   who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. – Isaiah 64:4

but those who hope in the LORD 
   will renew their strength. 
They will soar on wings like eagles; 
   they will run and not grow weary, 
   they will walk and not be faint. – Isaiah 40:31

But you must return to your God; 
   maintain love and justice, 
   and wait for your God always. – Hoseah 12:6

Be still, and know that I am God - Psalm 46:10

Avoiding the Routine

The danger of not slowing down and waiting on God is that we can make acts of worship into routine, making it less significant.  This is similar to the problems Jesus addressed with the Pharisees and Paul referred to in his remarks about the law (look in the gospels and Paul’s letters for examples).  It is important to make love and faith apart of our efforts at spiritual growth (worship).

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. – Corinthians 13:1-3

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^[

Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”  Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. – Galatians 3:1-14

Trusting God’s Better Plan

We all like to have control, which is a part of our drive to move forward.  We need to stop and not get caught up in our own plans, because God’s will prevails.  We need to be open to God’s path.

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, 
   and he will establish your plans. – Proverbs 16:3

In their hearts humans plan their course, 
   but the LORD establishes their steps. – Proverbs 16:9

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, 
   but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. – Proverbs 19:21

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11
In him we were also chosen,^[a] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. – Ephesians 1:11,12

Conclusion

It’s time to relax, calm down, take a breath, and trust God.  We can’t move through life so fast that we miss out on all the important details. If we make life a routine, worship becomes less significant, because it is only an act.  We need to wait on God, because He has a plan for us and it is better than our own. We need to slow down and trust Him.