You are not worshiping God in just your religious rites. You are worshiping God in everything you do in your life from day to day!
This is worship to God: your holiness and your obedience to God. God does not call you to be impure but to be holy. See the following passage from the Bible:
“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the unbelievers, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8).
Your entire life should be a continuous worship to God. That is why the Bible says “The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. 13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:11-14).
It is all God created mankind for—to worship Him day and night and in everything we do in this life. We are supposed to worship Him in all our speeches, in all our thoughts; and in all our actions.
From our waking hours to our sleep time should be all worship to our God, who has vested limitless love on all mankind. We must consider God in all we do just like we consider our parents in in our actions and behavior to avoid dishonoring their names. This is the true worship to God. And not being gone-ho about doctrine and acting in ways that alienate everybody who does not accept our doctrines like we do.
It is imperative to interact with one another in fellowship with Jesus Christ because it is through these interactions that we get the opportunity to serve God as He commanded—by serving our fellow man. There is nothing anyone of us does in this life that affects God either in a positive way or a negative way. God is simply out of reach when it comes to our actions and inaction. It is to safeguard the rights and the dignity of our fellow man—and in essence promote love among us—that made God give us commands. Look at the following passage:
“Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you. 6 If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him? 7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand? 8 Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people.” (Job 35:5-8).
9 “People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful. 10 But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, 11 who teaches us more than he teaches the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?’” (Job 35:9-11).
God visited with Adam and Eve every evening at the Garden of Eden to fellowship with them as His children and friends. He knew that everything they did from morning to the evening time was according to His Will and He rewarded them by bringing His presence to them every evening. Nothing has changed as far as God’s Will for mankind is concerned. And that is why He sent His only begotten Son to die and restore mankind to holiness through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
It is all about holiness brothers and sisters. We receive grace so we may be able to live holy; and we need holiness to be able to receive salvation and enter the kingdom of heaven, where we will spend eternity with God, Jesus Christ and the rest of the heavenly hosts.
Grace is only the beginning and not the end. Grace is a means to the end and not the end itself. The entire focus of mankind for our successful return to holiness must be on love, not grace. You receive grace to be able to do all that you need to do—not so you can frame grace and celebrate around it. Grace was given to you and you contributed nothing to it being given to you. You simply and freely receive it by putting your faith in Jesus Christ and the blood He shed on your behalf at Calvary.
Therefore, if we did not make grace and did not merit grace and did not contribute to grace being given to us or any other person, why must we spend all our life focusing on grace? Because when you spend so much time on something you cannot add to or affect, you take away an equal amount of time from something you can affect.
Accepting grace from our Lord Jesus Christ mandates us to obey His commands. That is the only way it works. If you receive grace and do not actively do the things Jesus Christ commands you to do, you have grace but you are not using it; making the grace you receive to be in vain.
Your focus must be on what you receive the grace for, or you may miss the mark. There is so much to do. That is why Jesus Christ said in the Bible: “The harvest is plenty but the workers are few.” And He recommends that we start working while it is still light because when darkness comes, no one can work anymore. And here is Jesus talking: “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:4-5).
So get with it already and accomplish what you receive the grace for—holiness through love and salvation. The Bible says: “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14).
Is Christ urging us on because mankind spends so much time on that which it has no effect on whatsoever, when it should be focusing on the things that really need its urgent attention? The field of humanity is filled with desperation and cry for love; and Christ is asking the faithful to pull up his sleeves and dive in, and help rescue the lost and the misguided souls scattered throughout the field.
The Bible tells us to pursue love; it did not tell us to pursue grace because we have nothing to contribute to grace but we have so much to contribute to love. The entire universe is filed with love because it is held together by love. God is love and His Son Jesus Christ is love because He is one with the Father.
The whole universe was created by Him and for Him and is held together by Him. Love is a binder, the greatest and the purest, and anything it touches comes alive. It was given to us freely by God so we can in turn give it freely to anyone who needs it. Love is everywhere, yet it is very volatile and needs to be concentrated, channeled and maintained. And that is the work grace was given for.
That is also the reason the Bible describes love as a debt - “the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 8:13).
And because it is a continuing debt, the only one like it, love is the greatest debt and can never be paid in full no matter how much you give. But it is a good debt, a burden for Christ. And for that He tells you: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).
The great commission is a commission of love - to love the world into knowing that God loves it. That is why Jesus Christ commanded us to be light and salt to the world; that way the world will see Christ’s goodness in us and praise our Father in heaven. That way, the love that God first expressed towards us, we express towards others and they turn around and express the same love towards God by praising Him.
No service to God, not offerings, not tithe, not alms, not fasting, not prayer, not coming to the church house for scheduled ceremonial services, satisfies God more than sharing His love with people that need love in the world. God is looking for this kind of loyalty and dedication: everything you do, say or think towards others should reflect the goodness of Jesus Christ and the love of God. Everything you do, say or think in all your waking hours should reflect the purity of God’s love for mankind. That is the best worship to God and that is the best you can do for your ‘neighbor’.
In essence we should approach all aspects of our interactions with other people in our everyday life with Jesus Christ (love) in our hearts. That is the truest worship to God and that is what we are created for. That is the kind of worship that will make all of God’s promises come true in your life. Simply because you have made a determination in your heart to pursue life this way, Jesus Christ comes into you and strengthens you as you tackle your everyday life’s activities. The Bible says “that as a man thinks in his heart, so he is.” Because you made a commitment to yourself to become the way God intended your life to be in the first place, God provides the power to get you through everything you endeavor.
“The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a matter of word, but of power.” And anyone who truly believes experiences the power of God in their lives. Talking about grace as if living under grace reduces God’s scrutiny on our lives is misleading. Grace desires that you do more and offers you the necessary assistance to get through everything if you truly believe. Grace demands more from your life, not less as some may make you believe. God did not send His Son into the world to die for the sins of mankind so He could settle for less. Sin is still repugnant to God and still carries a death penalty from God.
He sent His Son to pay for all our death penalties once and for all. And immediately put His Holy Spirit in anyone who believes so that sin cannot come back into us and seize control of our lives once more. He put His Holy Spirit inside all of us to guarantee that we can resist sin if we truly want to. The Holy Spirit does not take away our ability to choose, we still choose what we do and don’t do. The Holy Spirit empowers us to make the right choices and execute them effectively when that is what we want for ourselves as well. Because if you choose to do the wrong thing, the Holy Spirit in you will discourage you; but at the end of the day, what you ultimately do is what you choose to do. The Holy Spirit is your counselor - your advisor; He does not execute your plan for you.
God gave you many assurances as to your ability to defeat temptations: He cannot allow you to be tempted beyond what is normal for man. And anytime you see yourself in a temptation, remember you have the Holy Spirit in you. Listen to Him and obey Him because He will provide a way for you to escape the temptation. God specified the things you have to do to be sure to triumph over temptation and sin: Put on the whole armor of God, and He tells you what they are and how each of them could help you, but He will not put the on for you. You have to do it yourself if you truly want to succeed in avoiding sin and defeating the devil.
God would not go through all these so He could settle for less. He demands the best because He can afford to give Himself the best any time, because everything belongs to Him. Therefore grace has a serious purpose for God and must not be taken lightly. It came at a very high cost to God. If we humans value things we paid so highly for, how much more valuable should grace be to God! The grace we receive cost Him the precious life of His Son Jesus Christ who knew no sin but became sin so we may become the righteousness of God. Stop for a minute to think about it. God gave the life of His Son not so He could receive nothing. He gave His Son’s life so He could get all mankind back into His fold. And He guarantees that return to holiness and God’s righteousness to anyone who will accept that gift (grace) by faith.
What exactly is He buying us back from if it is not our reliance on our personal wits and wonders? The same wits and wonders that got everyone of us scheming and conniving to gain on everyone else, and impose ourselves on others and control everything around us; and as a result causing pain and grief and sorrows to the people around us and breaking God’s heart. Yes! The devil made us do it! He did because that is what we want for ourselves. Satan succeeded with Eve, not because Eve was not getting enough from God, but because she wanted more than she was getting. The same goes for Adam and every single one of us living in the world today. We follow our eyes and our other senses, and not our heart (our spirit). That is why God gave us His grace so we can live according to our spirit, not our mind, worldly knowledge and experience; because our spirit is ‘God in us’.
Love puts no limit to anything; but our minds limit who we are good to, how much we do and how well we do it. Love tells us to help but our minds cautions us about the implications of getting involved more than we are comfortable with, entanglement and outstanding biases. Love tells us to give but our minds tell us they are not related to us and are not really our problems. Love tells us to say hello to a stranger, but our mind tells us not to involve ourselves with people we do not know or particularly like because of their color or orientation. And we often listen to our minds because we are set in our behavior and always fail to consider that the same God that literally operates out of us operates out of them, even at the time of each of these encounters, and is keeping records of our choices, thoughts and activities.
コメント