How important is worshiping God?
To be honest, I spend most of my prayer time on things that matter to me - my needs, my church's needs, the needs of my family and friends.
That's good. But what about God?
John Piper, author of Let the Nations Be Glad, declares that worshiping God should be our main preoccupation.
"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church," Piper writes. "Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't."
That thought is percolating in my mind.
As Christians, we believe that we should be reaching out to others with the gospel as Christ commanded us. Piper agrees that is a vital task of every believer.
But he says that "worship is the fuel and goal of missions".
"It's the goal of missions because in missions, we simply aim to bring the nations into white-hot enjoyment of God's glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God."
He adds that "worship is also the fuel for missions".
"Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can't commend what you don't cherish."
The implications are clear. We can talk about God but listeners will not be convinced if they don't see our passion for the Lord.
Is it possible for Christians to talk about the Lord without worshiping him? I believe it is. Sometimes we talk about Christ out of duty or a feeling that it is expected of us.
I have recently been reading through the Psalms slowly, meditating on individual verses as I go through. Many Bible reading plans recommend including a psalm as part of daily devotions.
The psalms remind me of the character of God - his qualities, his terrifying power, his majesty, and his love.
They remind me, too, of one of the psalm writers - David the king. David was in awe of God. He counted on God to lead him in daily life.
When he strayed from God in seducing Bathsheba, he endured God's judgement and punishment and returned to worshiping him.
His psalms often exult in God - even when they begin with complaints.
The Bible says that David was "a man after God's own heart".
God is calling me to be a worshiper, too.
To be honest, I spend most of my prayer time on things that matter to me - my needs, my church's needs, the needs of my family and friends.
That's good. But what about God?
John Piper, author of Let the Nations Be Glad, declares that worshiping God should be our main preoccupation.
"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church," Piper writes. "Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't."
That thought is percolating in my mind.
As Christians, we believe that we should be reaching out to others with the gospel as Christ commanded us. Piper agrees that is a vital task of every believer.
But he says that "worship is the fuel and goal of missions".
"It's the goal of missions because in missions, we simply aim to bring the nations into white-hot enjoyment of God's glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God."
He adds that "worship is also the fuel for missions".
"Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can't commend what you don't cherish."
The implications are clear. We can talk about God but listeners will not be convinced if they don't see our passion for the Lord.
Is it possible for Christians to talk about the Lord without worshiping him? I believe it is. Sometimes we talk about Christ out of duty or a feeling that it is expected of us.
I have recently been reading through the Psalms slowly, meditating on individual verses as I go through. Many Bible reading plans recommend including a psalm as part of daily devotions.
The psalms remind me of the character of God - his qualities, his terrifying power, his majesty, and his love.
They remind me, too, of one of the psalm writers - David the king. David was in awe of God. He counted on God to lead him in daily life.
When he strayed from God in seducing Bathsheba, he endured God's judgement and punishment and returned to worshiping him.
His psalms often exult in God - even when they begin with complaints.
The Bible says that David was "a man after God's own heart".
God is calling me to be a worshiper, too.
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