08/13/21 Preparing to Be with God

READING: Psalms 23-27, Romans 3:9-4:12

Sometimes I wonder why worship services in our churches seem so lifeless . . . so powerless . . . so mundane. I’ve been in powerful worship services, but I’ve also been in far too many services that seemed only routine. I know we could preach more effectively. We could also do a better job of preparing and leading worship. We could also better when it comes to offering excellence in all we do for God’s glory. And, for churches who really do want to worship well, it’s right for us to work on these issues. Settling for mediocre service never leads to strong worship. 

On the other hand, I suspect we don’t ask these questions enough: “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” (Psa 24:3) as we prepare for worship. Too often, we turn to proposed practical solutions before we ever ask questions about the heart of worshippers when worship seems amiss. The psalmist, though, was clear when answering these questions about who can stand before God: “The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not appealed to what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully” (Psa 24:4). Some scholars see “hands” and “heart” as evidence of outward good works motivated by an inwardly pure heart. Those who walk in such a way are those who most readily and rightly seek God’s face. 

Perhaps we need to give more attention to these issues as we think about strengthening our worship services. 

PRAYER: “Father, give me clean hands and a pure heart. Show me where I need to be changed.”   

DAILY ACTION STEP:  Listen to the Spirit of God to hear what you need to address before you gather for worship this weekend.  

TOMORROW’S READING: Weekend is for catch-up and review

MONDAY’S READING: Psalms 28-33, Romans 4:13-5:21

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.