Proverbs 5:21-23
This has been a very special summer for our church. Personally, our emphasis on worship has been a needed time of special devotion with the Lord and fellowship with other believers. I pray that you have grown in both of those areas as well. My LIFEgroup has been such a great tool in my family's life; I hope you have plugged into one.
As we are now into the homestretch of our summer worship study, we all are realizing the depth and breadth and height and width of the subject. Worship is so much more than attending a service weekly. It is so much more than a emotional feeling. It is life.
It is quite easy for us to focus on the in's and out's of defining worship and describing how to do it and why we need it--and we need to talk about those things. But there is one huge thing that must be dealt with and often. If worship is a way of life, then our battle against sin must remain constantly vigilant.
Wise 'ol Solomon knew this. He understood that our every step is always before the Lord. Our every step is made either toward or away from worshiping the Lord. Those steps away from worship--those steps we make toward sin--ensnare us and hold us back from enjoying the fullness of God in our lives.
We cannot be true worshipers without dealing with our sin--constantly vigilant against the "wiles of the devil". Solomon wrote, "He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray." Discipline. What life disciplines do you employ against sin?
Repentance (which is not a half-hearted activity) is the constant friend of the true worshiper. Being honest with ourselves and with God about ourselves and our sin is the only path to living a worshiping life daily. Repentance. Oh for the Sunday when we all finally bow on our knees for prayer, hungry for "the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
