What is worship?

“That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth. There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place.“  (NLT)

Extended reading: Hebrews 9

There is a very famous quote from Alfred P. Gibbs that reads,
“Prayer is the occupation of the soul with its needs.
Praise is the occupation of the soul with its blessings.
Worship is the occupation of the soul with God Himself.

Prayer and praise is something we mostly understand – to a fair extent. After all, it is about us. It is about what we want and our response when we get it. But worship? It is about God. About Him alone.

Worship is with Him and Him alone. There is no one else involved.

The difference is like the difference between The Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. For the uninitiated, when God gave the design for the temple, there were three parts of the temple – the courtyard, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Everybody had access to the courtyard. The Holy Place was limited to the priests and the Levites (tribe in Israel). The Holy of Holies was accessed once in a year by the High Priest only.

Hebrews 9: 1 -3 “That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth. There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second roomcalled the Most Holy Place.”

Vs. 4 – 5 “In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant.  Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.”

Vs. 6 reads, “When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties.”

That is the Holy Place. A place where we frequent when spend our mornings with the Bible, in family prayer, in church, in fellowship etc.

Vs. 7 – “But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.”

The Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies. One man had access to it once in a year.

Things changed when Jesus died on the cross. “Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” (Matthew 27: 50, 51). God opened up the Holy of Holies to everyone. A place where only one person was allowed to go once in a year was opened to everyone. Not just on Sunday. But every day of the year. Any time.

The Holy of Holies is where you go to know your Creator – where He reveals Himself to you. A place of intimacy. There are no standard operating procedures there. No presumptions. We are allowed to come just as we are. The only qualification we are required to have is provided by God.

Read 1 Peter 2: 9, 10 – “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

“Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.””

We are chosen. Washed. Sanctified. Redeemed. Today, we have access to the Most Holy Place. The throne of God. We have access to a place we never deserved. If you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have access to the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. When you make that decision, you enter the Holy Place. But the Holy of Holies? That is a place where we take the step to get closer first.

So when we, as priests, access the Holy Place with songs and prayers – when we go to church, house church, meetings, family prayer, personal prayer, roadside prayer – the question is, do we also access the Holy of Holies? Do we enter the very presence of God and enjoy a personal God&Me time?

In worship, your spirit and God’s Spirit is in communion. The experience is quite indescribable, for it needs to be experienced by us, individually. A place where you experience Christ in Christianity.

This thought was part of the Weekly Devotional at SimplyHim.com

The legacy we leave

“Ahaziah son of Ahab began to rule over Israel in the seventeenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria two years. But he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the example of his father and mother and the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had led Israel to sin.“  (NLT)

Extended reading: 1 Kings 22: 41 – 53

I am reading the stories of the kings of Israel and Judah as part of my daily reading. Stories of awe and victory. Stories of sin and idolatry. Stories of how dependence on the Lord makes a positive difference and vice-versa. The writers of the books of Kings and Chronicles make it very clear, as each king takes the throne, about the path they took and the position they had with God.

In fact, as far as extended reading goes, please go through the books of 1 and 2 Kings and Chronicles. Today, I look at two kings – one named Jehoshaphat and the other, Ahaziah, son of Ahab. Ahaziah was the son of a father and mother, known for their evil ways.

Today’s passage starts with the other king – Jehoshaphat – “Jehoshaphat son of Asa began to rule over Judah in the fourth year of King Ahab’s reign in Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. Jehoshaphat was a good king, following the example of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight.” (2 Kings 22: 41-43)

Two kings. Two opportunities. Opportunity to be able to write history, literally. Opportunity to lead their children and their nations to success.

But as history got written, one reigned for twenty five years. The other reigned for two years. One enjoyed success, the other failure. It is not very difficult to see why. As you go through these books in the Bible, you will read about the many kings and of the paths they chose. Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah were influenced by their parents and had their share of influence on future generations.

What are we leaving behind? What is our legacy? Are we leaving something our kids, our church and our  future generations can look up to or would they be ashamed of our works?

We could be like Ahaziah, who did not have the opportunity in his upbringing. He was not taught to walk in the ways of the Lord. So he chose the other. But he chose. What are we choosing today? Do we choose to trust God or blame our past or our circumstances for our position today?

As I write this, I am aware there are people who seem to have already  lost that chance. You may be going through a bitter divorce. Or you may be convicted for murder or robbery. Or caught in adultery. Those seem like serious legacy-hurting actions. But you know what – everyone’s lost their chance at leaving behind a good legacy. We have all sinned. We have all gone wrong. No one is better than the other. (Romans 3: 23)

But Jesus made a way. He showed the way to heaven. A way for us to make it right – with the people of this world and with God above. He gives us an opportunity to leave behind a legacy. Not of great wealth or a great name in this world. But a legacy of trust, faith and family. A legacy that our children can be proud of. Will it be said of us – “<insert your child’s name here> was a good person, following the example of his father/mother, <insert your name here>. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight.”?

That is the only legacy we can boast of. A legacy of trust in the Lord. A legacy of dependence on the Holy One – the Great I AM.

What is your legacy?

This thought was part of the Weekly Devotional at SimplyHim.com

The crucial element for Christian maturity

“And he said, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us.“  (NLT)

Extended reading: Exodus 34

For the last three months, we have been going through a series called “The presence of God” at our morning English worship every Sunday. It has been a heart-opening experience to understand what it means to have the presence of God in our daily lives.

I realized it is the difference between a new Christian and a mature Christian. Most people come to Jesus when they face a problem. (Not everyone. But for some reason, we look for God when faced with a problem.) Standard procedure is – We come to God, get a promise, hold on to that promise and then claim it when our moment arrives. At least, that is what happened to me.

But after almost 11 years in faith, there is a difference in the way I approach my life. I am no longer seeking promises. (Clarification: I still receive promises from God. But I don’t go looking for them.) I noticed I no longer hold God ransom saying, “You said you will give me this. I am claiming it in Your name. Give it to me.” Today is more about – “Lord, all I need is You. No matter what happens, I want You.”

Moses understood that difference. The difference between struggle and success. The difference between frustration and contentment. He was not looking for a miracle. He wanted the presence of God Himself.

God had introduced Himself earlier in verse 6 – 7

“The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,
“Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty.
I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.””

The presence of God brings all this – compassion and mercy! A God who is slow to anger, filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. Who lavishes unfailing love to a thousand generations. How about that?

The presence of God is really the solution to all our problems. The advantage is when things go wrong, He is there with you. When things go right, He is with us. He rejoices as well as cares for us. He shares in our happiness. He has shared in our weakness. He knows what it means to be alone. So never think that God does not understand. Jesus never said we will not be alone. He said He will be with us always. God never said that we will never have problems. But He said -

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.” (Isaiah 43: 2)

Are you willing to step closer to Him? Are you ready to trust Him?

This thought was part of the Weekly Devotional at SimplyHim.com

Week 34: Lessons from a cover up exposed

“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me—
now let me rejoice.
Don’t keep looking at my sins.
Remove the stain of my guilt.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.” (NLT)

Extended reading: 2 Samuel 11, 12

In his DVD, Today, when Brian Doerksen sings “Refiner’s Fire”, he asks all men to stand up in the arena and tells the women to pray over their men. What did they pray for? To keep them pure. To keep their men’s hearts clean. Brian Doerksen understood that we live in a world with a lot of distractions. Distractions that keep us away from our family, our real purpose, our destiny.

Psalm 51 was written by David after the prophet Nathan faced him with his sin. David stole another man’s (Uriah) wife (Bathsheba) and got her husband killed (2 Samuel 11). He takes Bathsheba as his wife after and thinks everything is alright. But the Lord sends Nathan, the prophet to confront David with his sin (1 Samuel 12).

1 Samuel 12: 7 – 10 says, “Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.”

Please note here, David is a man with a lot of clout – political, military, personal. He has to say just one word and Nathan is a dead man. This could have been the world’s best cover-up. Back then, there were no pictures or emails or Internet..in fact, no proof. No proof in worldly terms. But David’s reaction is in vs. 13 “Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.””.

He goes on to write one of the greatest psalms. A psalm of humility. Of repentance. Of forgiveness. A psalm of restoration.

There is nothing we can hide from God, whoever we may be. When faced with sin or stuck in it, the only thing we can do is fall at the mercy seat of God. It does not matter what we have done. David stole, committed adultery and murder. He was forgiven. Verse 13 continues “Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin.”

And please, don’t wait for someone or even God to expose you or your sin. When you are convicted within, it is better to confess to Him.

Week 33: The secret to success

“After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting,   “Praise the Lord!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.” (NLT)

Extended reading: 2 Samuel 5:17-25

There is a small difference in the King James Version. It reads, “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God”. It adds the word honor there. The four things mentioned here:

* Salvation
* Glory
* Honor
* Power

Really belong to God. But look at what we do with these. Look at how we get things done everyday. We take pride in the fact that we have power. We take glory for all the work that we do. We revel in the limelight of our greatest inventions and discoveries. Breakthroughs and findings are named after the scientists who found them. We crouch under the people who have power and rule proudly over whom we have power.

We are offended if we are not given the honor we deserve (or not deserve). We misuse authority. We seek the very things that is supposed to belong to somebody else, in this case, God. We take what is rightfully His and give Him little credit for what we have.

If you haven’t read this week’s extended reading yet, I recommend you do – click here. You see how David handled a situation. A situation which required leadership, authority and power. David was surrounded by his enemies – the Philistines. He was king and he had an army but he does not make his decision on his own. He enquires with God. God says, “Yes, go ahead. I will certainly hand them over to you.”

David goes out against the Philistines and beats their pants off (vs. 20). Look at the very next verse. It starts, “The Lord did it!” David exclaimed. “He burst through my enemies like a raging flood!” (vs. 21). Can you believe that? David had just won against the very people who wanted to destroy him right after he took the throne. This was his opportunity at a major PR showcase. It would definitely help increase the people’s faith in the new king. But before anyone got any ideas, David proclaims, “The Lord did it!”.

The passage gets interesting because the Philistines come back for their idols. Sincerely, you think David would just take off and beat their pants off again. C’mon, he did it the first time. I am sure the Lord would do it for him the second time too. But David asks the Lord again and this time God had a different strategy. It worked and David won. Again.

Verse 25 reads “So David did what the Lord commanded, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.”

David gave full credit to God. He didn’t keep anything for himself. All power, honor and glory to God.

Pontius Pilate once tried to convince Jesus saying, “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?” Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. (John 19: 10, 11)

It is true. This world tells you that you are in control. That you can have all the control. That is a lie.

Give credit where it is due. God deserves all glory, honor and power. And only He can save us all. He is our true source of success.

Week 32: Two sides of the Forgiveness Coin

“It seems you lost Onesimus for a little while so that you could have him back forever.” (NLT)

Extended reading: Philemon

I love stories of redemption. The book of Philemon talks about one.

If you have never read that small book (or page), here is a quick rundown. There is a rich man called Philemon who is also a Christian believer. He has a servant called Onesimus, who steals from Philemon and runs away. I am assuming he gets caught and meets Paul in prison, who gives him the Gospel.

Onesimus may have finished serving his time and Paul encourages him to go back to his master, Philemon. It would actually be safe to do something like that in our times than back then. In those days, Philemon had the authority to get him flogged, executed even. That was the law back then. I could understand if Onesimus was reluctant to go back, if he was.

So Paul not only convinced Onesimus to go back but vouches for him. He requests Philemon to accept him back. And not just as a slave but as a brother in Christ.

There are two things here – for Onesimus, going back means getting punished. He found new life with Paul and he could stay there. He could have a free life. Start afresh. But he decides to go back.

For Philemon, accepting Onesimus meant lowering his standards. What if other servants thought it was okay to steal from him? His honor would take a beating because instead of punishing the rogue servant, he has to aceept him and Paul says as a brother.

True repentance and forgiveness. I don’t know what happened to Onesimus. It doesn’t say in the Bible. But I am going to safely assume that Phil accepted him back. Before their meeting, both must have spent a lot of time in prayer. Praying for grace and strength for what they have to do. For the Holy Spirit to guide them and to help with the right words to say at the right time.

Many of us find ourselves on either side at differnt points in our life. Sometimes we need to forgive. Sometimes we need to ask forgiveness. Both are very difficult things to do. It is more than just saying sorry. It is about setting things right. It is about the heart more than just the words. Sometimes we give up and sometimes, we give in.

Are you ready?

Week 31: What a day!

“On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.” (NLT)

Extended reading: 1 Corinthians 11: 17 – 34

Week 30: It is going to be okay

Week 29: Our word for life

Week 28: A piece of mind