True Worship

What is worship? Think for a second...when you think of that word, what comes to mind?

When people discuss worship, the Sunday morning music experience is generally the foundation for the conversation. However, God desires (and commands) more from us than what we do inside the church walls. He wants us to honor and worship Him throughout the entire week. We do that by obeying what He commands.

“This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. This is love for God: to obey His commands." (1 John 5:2-3)

With regard to worship, what does this passage mean? Is He commanding us to sing a hymn with six choruses (better make sure Chris Tomlin wrote one of them!)? No. Jesus commands us to love others as we would love ourselves (Matthew 19:19). We are to look after the orphan and the widow and care for those who are unfortunate (Matthew 25:34-45). How we treat other people is a reflection of our worship to God.

Vernon Whaley (Called To Worship) says, "True worship includes right actions toward others and God wants worship from repentant hearts." What a powerful statement!

Repentance is the next step for a worshiper to live a life of true worship. If a person cannot come to God in honesty, how can they worship God on Sunday morning? Because of what Jesus did, we can enter freely into worship with a clean heart. When a person is truly worshiping God, their life will display His grace and love throughout the week.

We need live our lives for God, asking Him to use us in all we do, and watch the glory of the Lord touch those around us. Music will then be an important, powerful way to honor and glorify God.