Sunday, June 15, 1997 In Your Absence:
In this week's lesson, which came from Psalms 145:1-12, 17-19, we studied about the importance of strengthening our time of daily worship with the Lord. We saw from this lesson that God is worthy of our worship, that His goodness compels us to worship, and that He responds to our worship. In our society, most people do not take the time to seek and love God as they should. They have let themselves become too busy! However, the Psalmist David, who was a prophet and also the King of Israel, made it very clear by his words that he was committed to exalting God each and every day, no matter what! He, because of His past experiences with the Lord, had already seen God's greatness, and he knew that God was worthy of His praise. In like manner, as we allow ourselves to be drawn closer and closer to Him, we, too, will learn to recognize His greatness.
From our study, we learned that the Lord is compassionate, that He cares for each of us, and that He is slow to anger. Remember II Peter 3:9 which teaches that the Lord is slow to anger, not willing that any should perish. He is even good to those who have rejected Him, and He showed His greatest compassion and love by offering His only begotten Son, Jesus, on the cross at Calvary. Should we or can we possibly look at Jesus on the cross and not give God our total love and commitment? Only a fool or an absolute ingrate could possibly understand the significance of the cross and still not give God all the glory and worship that is due to His name! He is the Master Creator Who put together the beauties of this world. He is the Master Creator Who has given life to each of us. All that we have we have become of Him, all that we are we are because of Him, and all that we ever hope to be we will be because of Him. We said at the outset that most people have let themselves become too busy for the Lord, but may those words never apply to us. Let us always be as David and see God in all His majesty and greatness. Let us also always be faithful to give Him the worship that He rightfully deserves.
Another important aspect of our regular worship is that it causes us to be better witnesses. Christians should desire to tell others what they have in Christ, not just so that we might make the world more "religious" but more so that we can lead others into the same kind of relationship with Christ that we already have. As we love the Lord more and more, we will worship Him more and more, and then, we will become more and more dedicated to telling others about Him. The people of this world desperately need what Christians have in Christ, and we just as desperately need to tell them. Our heart's desire should be to see others come to Him, and a first step towards accomplishing that objective is for us to begin by drawing closer and closer to Him. Regular worship requires discipline, but can we who enjoy the benefits of knowing Christ as Savior do any less? My opinion is that we cannot. Therefore, as you go through this next week, make it your goal to be totally faithful to the One Who died for you. Also, make it your goal to tell others what He has done for you.
Tom of Spotswood"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
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