Good morning! There is an old story about a man who dreamed that an angel escorted him to church one Sunday. There he saw the keyboard musician playing vigorously, the praise team singing joyfully, the musicians playing their instruments with gusto. But the man heard no sound. The congregationwas singing, but the sound was utterly muted. When the Pastor rose to speak, his lips moved, but there was no volume. In amazement, the man turned to the angel for an explanation. "This is the way it sounds to us in heaven," said the angel. "You hear nothing because there is nothing to hear. These people are engaged in the form of worship, but theirthoughts are on other things and their heart's are very far away" explainedthe angel. Is it true that we often do many things in our own way and call them as worship? But what is important is whether God has accepted our worship or not. Our thought for reflection this morning is, "Our God knows if our worship is genuine or not and responds to itaccordingly."
"Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. There he built an altar , and he called the placeEl Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing form his brother"
(Genesis 35:6-7).
God accepted Jacob's worship as it was a genuine and sincere worship, with an understanding of who He was. At the same time Jacob did not forget to continue to worship God when he was blessed by God. The Bible reveals that clearly:
1. God APPEARED to Jacob
When Jacob came to Luz in the land of Canaan he built an altar and called that place EL Bethel which means God of Bethel (Genesis 35:6-7). The Bible says, because it was there that God revealed Himselfto Jacob he called the place El Bethel. Thus God responded to Jacob's worship byappearing to him. Do we worship God in such a way that it impacts God and force Him to respond?
2. God ASSURED Jacob of His Blessings. (Genesis 35:11)
The Bible later says that God appeared to him again and blessed him (Genesis 35:9). In response, Jacob set up a stone at the place where God had talked with him and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it (Genesis 35:14). That was Jacob's genuine response to God's blessing.Thus when Jacob worshipped, God appeared and when God blessed, Jacob worshipped again. In spite of receiving and enjoying God's blessings abundantly, have we failed to worship Him as He deserves?
A W Tozer says,
"I am of the opinion that we should not be concerned about working for God until we have learned the meaning and the delight of worshipping Him."
Let's pray:
"Dear Lord forgive me for failing to Worship you with genuiness and sincerity. Pardon my insincere worship which has often been mere lip service. Forgive me for trying to serve you without worshipping you. Let my work, service and life be an overflow of my love and worship for you. Make me your true worshipper.
In Jesus' name,... Amen!"
Blessed day!