Purpose Driven Life Day 13

Day 13, May 13th, "Worship What Pleases God" 

   - Mark 12:30 says, "Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." God wants us to love him with every part of our being. He doesn't just want parts of you, he wants all of you. He wants full devotion to Him. The kind of worship that pleases God has four characteristics:
   1. God is pleased when our worship is ACCURATE
      - "Worship must be based on the truth of scripture, not our opinions about God." Rick Warren. We cannot let our opinions interfere with the truth of the scripture and how we worship God. We must worship God in an accurate way to be pleasing to Him.
   2. God is pleased when our worship is AUTHENTIC

     - God designed out spirit to worship with him. Rick Warren says, "Worship is your spirit responding to God's spirit." We must worship genuinely and heartfelt. We must mean what we say when we say it or sing it. If we worship heartlessly we are insulting God. Sometimes you see people in church or you see in yourself worshipping God but it is not genuine. They are doing it for show or to please someone else. Growing up my father was like this, he pretty much just went to check the box saying he went to church. God sees the attitude in our hearts. He knows how we are feeling and what emotions we are expressing. Worshipping brings out emotions that God gave you. We were all created unique so the way you worship may not be the same as someone else. My dad now goes to a more contemporary church and for him its not about checking the box anymore, he enjoys and craves it. Rick Warren says, "Your biggest distraction in worship is yourself - your interests and your worries over what others think about you." We have to do what is authentic to us and shows authenticity to God. There is no "one size fits all" for worship. We were all created unique, you have to find what
works for you. Thats why we have so many denominations in christianity. If you want to worship God on your hands and knees or you want to worship God singing and dancing you can. Find what fits you and be yourself. Be authentic!
    3. God is pleased when our worship is THOUGHTFUL
     - We have to love God with all our mind too. If we worship mindlessly it is meaningless. We have to be thoughtful in our worshipping. For me that means me taking notes in my prayer journal. I get more out of a sermon by taking notes. I am a very studious person and by taking notes I understand the material more and it keeps me focused. When we go to church the message should be understandable for unbelievers. Cascade Hills Church in Columbus, GA is "The Church for the Unchurched." They pride themselves on finding the unbelievers and bringing them to Christ. All of there messages are very practical to life today and are very understandable. This is how messages should be so we can reach those unbelievers.
   4. God is pleased when our worship is PRACTICAL
 

  - So many times people say, "I'm sorry I can't make it but, I'll be there in spirit." This is not true. Your spirit can only be where your body is. We need to live for God, not just on Sunday's but everyday. This is not always convenient for us or comfortable. Sometimes Sunday's is our only day off and we don't want to go and get ready and go to church. Again, its not always comfortable or convenient. When I was living in Arizona I didn't have a day off. I worked 7 days week so I went to church on Saturday nights because I worked in the morning on Sunday's. There were days when I did not want to go but I did every time and I am so glad I did. We need to make worship a priority in our lives. Somedays will be easier then others.

Point to Ponder: God wants all of me.
Verse to Remember: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Mark 12:30
Question to Ponder: Which is more pleasing to God right now - my public worship or my private worship? What will I do about this?