Do You Remember Such Times of Worship?
Good Morning Friends,
There is a satisfaction we experience in our physical bodies that reminds us of what it is to be satisfied with God spiritually. It should be our goal in life to find this satisfaction. We get a hint of it as we find satisfaction in a cool drink for our parched souls. We seek it when we dive deep into the water of life…We seek it as our lungs cry out in pain asking us to surface into the Spirit and we passionately discover it when we remember to breathe. And hopefully we remember it when we magnify our adoration and love of God. Do You Remember Such Times of Worship?
Scripture: A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:1-8 (NRSV)
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’ And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.’
Luke 1:39-55 (NRSV)
but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’
John 4:14 (NRSV)
The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:4 (NRSV)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 (NRSV)
Message: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied with Him…when we breathe in a memory of Him into our experiences…when we experience Him in our daily lives. But unfortunately God finds our desires too weak, our passion too pathetic. We have not matured in setting our priorities. We have not allowed the Holy Spirit to produce in us a holy and sanctified life. In today’s Psalm David writes about his memory of worshipping God…In the face of rebellion in the desert David discovers that only God is worthy of his spiritual love…that experiencing the glory, splendor and majesty of His strength…His divine loving-kindness is more important than life itself. Only when David remembers how faithful God has been in His life does he experience satisfaction. Only when we breathe in our memory of God do we experience satisfaction with a passion that glorifies God. Today’s message is about our worship response to God’s forgiveness of sin, His victory over the world and His covenant with us today. And in Mary’s song we see these same themes of worship, of her soul glorifying the Lord… of victory, the powerful acts of God turning the tables on the world…. of a covenant, God keeping His promises. And in all this we explore the possibility that with God nothing is impossible. Here we begin to understand the salvation and miracle Mary recognized in Jesus and the salvation and miracle we too must recognize and anticipate and remember. In this scripture we see the first person to carry the Gospel. But we also see that we too can share in the experience. Oh the possibilities when we pattern our choices after a desire for worship. If we do our part in daily devotion, weekly worship and annual atonement then God can do His part inviting us into His everlasting Kingdom, now and to come. So learn the essentials as part of the family of God…share everything with joy, how else are we going to learn to love and magnify the Lord? How else are we going to lift up the Spirit in us to His glory?
Pray that we would long so much for God that we could feel it in our flesh. Pray that we would crave for God and feast on Him satisfying our hunger, quenching our thirst. Pray that we realize that there is no satisfaction, no glorification apart from Him being in our very breathe…that we are designed to run on this fuel… the Word, the breath of God. Pray that we continue to invest in knowing the Word, praying, serving the least, last and lost, worshiping, seeking God’s Kingdom and God’s plan and purpose in our lives. Pray that we submit every loving gesture in our life as a gift from God so it might set the universe ajar with the presence of Jesus. Pray that we be thankful and turn to worship, not worry. Pray we learn through worship and prayer. Pray our worship is evidence of God being birthed in us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 