A Church with a Heart for our Community

May 15th Wednesday

Greetings to you in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ – THE Risen Saviour! What a beautiful morning in the Kingdom – praise the Lord! I trust that you had a good weekend and an awesome beginning to a new week. It is really exciting to see our created world being transformed so beautifully by rain and sun and warm temperatures. Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to carefully and naturally, using all the means at His disposal to transform you bringing new life and greater purpose and specific direction to your life.

I have been challenged this past few days by my devotional readings…and I like to be challenged and provoked to ponder and to discover new points of view. The topic over the last few days has centred on “worship”. The first reference to people worshipping is in Genesis 22 and the most interesting insight for me happens in Exodus when God instructs Moses to go to Pharaoh so that the people of Israel could be ‘released so that they could worship God’ and then begins a bargaining strategy-war  between Pharaoh and Moses. I must confess that I had never noticed the progression of give and take before…and truthe be told I had never really thought the reason for the “exodus” was al about worship. 

Pharaoh does all in his human wisdom to put an end to “worship” and it is interesting to note the concessions that Pharaoh makes. First, go ahead and worship but don’t let it interfere with your day to day lives…first bargain. Then, go ahead and worship but don’t let it make major adjustments to your lifestyle…second bargain. Then, only men can worship-leave the women and children behind, I cannot have families worshipping together…third bargain. And then, go ahead and worship but leave all your belongings and resources behind, I don’t want you to give yourselves to worship…fourth and final bargain.

This story is so much like our world today and how it affects us as believers. We can worship if it doesn’t interfere with our routines and average way of life. We can worship if we don;’t get too extreme so that we are transformed. Or we can worship but don’t let it affect the family-our neighbourhood-our community. Or we can worship but don’t be extravagant, don’t place God first. The world and the powers behind it really don’t want people “worshipping God” beyond some powerless ritual. But God proclaims to us…you don’t do this by your power or might or cleverness or device or plan…you and I worship God in “spirit-His Spirit and in truth, His truth”.

Something to ponder…be blessed!