A lie about worship

"The woman said to Him, 'Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet." Give her a few points for perceptiveness! I guess any one of us would come to that conclusion after hearing Jesus' last words. It seems that her next statement is an attempt to get the focus off of her. " 'Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.' " But I do believe that the question is genuine. Where should we worship? That question is still being raised today. There are many who I often hear say something very similar "I can worship God anywhere, I don't know why people tell me I have to go to a church." Let's look at Jesus' response. I believe it will help us to understand how we at times are being deceived. "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." What is Jesus saying here? What is it that God wants us to understand about Himself, us, and our relationship to Him? A few things are obvious. God is spirit, He seeks people who will worship Him, and He has some requirements regarding our worship. We are limited in our understanding, we are not all true worshipers, and we have a choice to make in worship. Regarding our relationship with God, in our worship we need to recognize that He makes the rules and we must follow His guidelines.

One of the lies I believe we have succumbed to is the perception that we can worship God anyway we want. The danger in this is that we fail to recognize God for who He is. I begin to try to fit God into my circle of understanding. The problem is my understanding is so limited that trying to do this diminishes God rather than exalting Him. I was just rereading the account of David moving the ark of God this morning. They placed it on a cart and were celebrating, Uzzah even tried to keep it from falling. Was God pleased? Was this worship acceptable to Him. No, we are told that "God struck him down there for his irreverence;" God had given instructions on the proper worship of Him in handling the ark. They were not optional, and they carried with them severe consequences for disobedience. I'm convinced that the same holds true today. Am I a true worshiper? Am I submitting myself to Him who deserves all honor and praise?

It seems that very easily we get hung up on the trappings of worship, where it happens, what kind of music, what emotions it evokes, etc. If these are the things we are focused on, we are being deceived. What God desires is that we stand in awe of who He is, that we acknowledge Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that we submit to Him as true worshipers. I want to be careful. I want to grow in my understanding of God and true worship of Him. This is my prayer for each of you that read this post, that you would be true worshipers. That is what God is seeking in us.