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One
of the most neglected things in the lives of many Christians
is personal worship. Most of us find the time to attend the
public assemblies, but how many of us find the time for
private communications with God. We are seemingly so busy with
our goings-on that we have not the time to stop and extend to
Him the kind of reverential respect He deserves. And when we
have time to do so, we are very often so tired from our
mundane pursuits that our effort dies for a want of energy.
We
miss something special when we don’t take the time to extol
and venerate God as our Creator, our Sustainer. Every person
needs a close, personal relationship with God, one where,
without timidity or hesitation, he can pour out his heart in
total freedom of expression, and give to Him for a little
while, the total attention and adulation He deserves. After
all it is “...in Him we live and move, and have our very
being” (Acts 17:28).
The
Psalms are chock-full of statements of praise and worship for
Jehovah God. It’s good to sit in a quiet place occasionally,
and with full realization of who we are and Who He Is, to
meditate on Psalms such as the 148th or the 19th – songs of
praise and adoration which, with great expressions, exalt His
grandeur and glory, the kind He deserves from the likes of
each of us.
All
God’s creatures praise Him. All God’s creation praises
Him. But man is special. His worship is different because it
comes from a free will; because it is an expression of
volition, not necessity. Every man dishonors God when he
neglects to praise and worship Him. Every man honors God when
he offers his voluntary praise and devotion to Him. Every
man’s worship is special.
Worshiping
God means we count Him worthy:
By
accepting His majesty and power. The power of God is
seen in the creation. How foolish to observe the world in
which we live and the manner in which it operates and give no
praise to Him who makes it all hold together. How foolish to
draw blessings from all He has made without any recognition or
thanksgiving for His power and majesty. “Let them praise the
name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created”
(Psalm 148:5).
By
total respect and regard for His will. It is by the
will of God that we exist in the first place. “In His own
image created He them,” we are told. He gave to all “life
and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). We each exist by
His divine will. Is that not ample reason for praising and
adoring Him, for according to him the most high and noble
feelings of our hearts? Surely it is! And, furthermore, is
that not reason enough to subscribe to and maintain the purity
of His word–the expression of His will– at all cost,
knowing that we, in the ultimate reality, cannot change or
alter it, seeing from whence it came? It’s His will. We
should honor and praise Him for it.
By
complete submission to His Son. Oh, how we should
praise Him for Jesus Christ! What joy it should bring to our
heart to give to Him the adoring reverence and thanksgiving
for the gift of His Son, Jesus the Christ of God, the
personification of His will (John 1:17-18; 3:16), the total
gift of His love, a will expressed and extended “ while we
were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8). Is that not ample reason for
thanksgiving, for praise, for exclamations of veneration and
respect?
In
view of such magnificent expressions of love, in view of such
graceful manifestations of care and concern, doesn’t it just
make good sense that we take a few minutes each day and let
Him hear our personal conveyances of love and respect, of awe,
adoration, and appreciation? Let us resolve that before this
day is over we will make time to find a quiet place, bow our
heads, and honor and praise Him with whom we have to do, Him
who is our Great God.
Dee Bowman
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