THINK VICTORY! Unadorned Worship

UNADORNED WORSHIP

"And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

This morning during my quiet time this one really spoke to my heart and one not to gloss over:

"I must make my spiritual life as simple as possible. God is the most complex being in the universe; yet when it comes to His relationship to people, He wants utter simplicity. The altar the Israelites were to build for God was to be on unhewn stones, with no tool or cutting instrument used upon it. (Exodus 20:25)

The message is clear. God knows man's tendency to adorn, to artify, to decorate a thing until MAN'S talent overshadows the instrument itself. Medieval art is an example of that. God wants to make Himself so available, so disposable to man that He wants no hindrance to a hungry, seeking heart. That means no rules or conditions to keep people from God.

The Laodicean church was the model of organization and regulation - but it was DEAD! I can become so structured, so habitualized, so regular that my devotional life becomes a self-centered worship of RULES rather than GOD. My life with God must be spontaneous. God reserves the right to break in, change habits, start new directions, and otherwise keep me on tiptoe expectation. God is not finicky, but He understands human nature and He does not want us majoring on things that do not count.

I must not become upset if someone interferes with my schedule, interrupts my 'quiet time,' or tampers with my routine. God may be in that very interruption, calling me to HIMSELF instead of to the scaffolding I have built around Him. I must be a Nathanael in worship as well as in life, a person without twists or deviousness, but openhearted and direct in my communion with God. The 'blessed' ones of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-11) are those with qualities of utter simplicity and transparency; they carry away enormous bundles of the blessings of God." Adapted from DAILY WITH THE KING - Moody Press

Good devotional to ponder as we prepare our hearts for the Lord's Day. Do you have a hungry, seeking heart?

Great quote: We must quit bending the Word to suit our situation. It is we who must be bent to that Word, our necks that must bow under the yoke. Elisabeth Elliot