Words for Life Articles

What exactly is True Worship?

In John 4 verses 23 – 24, our Lord Jesus tells us:  

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

True Worship is about glorifying God and God alone.  True Worship is to give glory to God.  It is “giving honour to God for His Supremacy, and therefore acknowledging His genuine worth”.  True Worship “gives praise to God” and Him only.

How does God really measure success? He does not measure it by what we have or own, or by our educational or personal achievements. He measures it by the degree of obedience to Him and His words. He measures it by how much we obey His commands.

In Matthew 22 verse 37 to 38, we find God's ultimate and greatest commandments:
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind"
“You shall love your neighbour as yourself".

One of the main ways God wants us to show our love for Him and our love for others is by fulfilling the "Great Commission" in Matthew 28 verses 19 and 20:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.".

Distraction is the enemy of focus. Distraction does not announce itself. Distraction creeps in unannounced sometimes, other times it comes with fanfare. Sometimes it appears as being important and requires immediate attention. The only thing that it does not call itself is a distraction.

The year 2008 is a year of fulfilment. A year when we begin to see what we’ve toiled for come to pass. A year when our hunger and thirst will be satisfied. A year when all the weeping, the tears, the groaning will pale into insignificant as we see all we’ve believed for begin to materialise. That is why it is so important for us to be focused this year. Distractions will be inevitable, but our focus will determine how destination and progress.

There is the story told of two geese and a turtle that developed a deep friendship. As the nights became shorter and cooler the geese started talking about flying to a warmer place and one night openly the geese began discussing how they will miss their friend the turtle. They began to wonder how their friend the turtle will cope in the winter since he could not fly.

The turtle then came up with an excellent idea, “why don’t you get a strong stick the two of you can hold it with your strong beaks at both ends and I will hold on to the middle with my strong teeth and that way I can fly with you.”
“Are you sure you can hold on long enough” the geese asked, “Sure I am very strong” the turtle replied.

As these three flew over a farm, a farmer was awestruck by this sight as two geese and a turtle flew over his farm, he called his wife who saw the sight and could not help but exclaimed. “What a great idea! Who came up with such a brilliant idea?” The turtle could not resist the praise and said “I did” the rest is history.

WHY RELATIONSHIP? 

Man was never created to live in isolation; every person needs a companion, a friend, a confidant. We all need relationships. When God created Adam, He saw that Adam was good. Everything about Adam was perfect. So why did He have to create Eve. 

GOD said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion.”  (Gen 2:18) 

Adam was having a good time with God, yet God knew Adam needed a companion. Someone like Adam, someone who will help him fulfill his God given purpose, HIS God-given goals, someone who will be there when he needed encouragement, someone who he could laugh with and share with, someone like him, but unique in their own way. 

Isolation is not healthy; God did not create us for Isolation but for relationship.

“He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven.” (Matt 16:15-17)

Many people say Jesus is the greatest leader that ever walked this earth.
Some say He was a great philosopher.
Some say He was good.
Some say He was a great guru.
Some don’t even know what to make of Him.
To some people he was just another prophet.
But who is He to you?
Jesus asked His disciples this same question thousands of years ago.

Remember those days you were still a child, how you hardly had any worries or cares. You didn't need to worry about much. All you longed for was to grow up and become an adult. A man, a woman of your own. To come to a time where you could do what you liked. Come in and go out as you like. Boy! Did adulthood come quickly.

It did and for many of us we came to a realisation that this world was not exactly as we hoped it will be. We came out of fantasy land and landed into real life. We woke up into the reality of the world and all its wickedness, problems and evils staring right into our faces. This was not what we were expecting and regardless of our backgrounds, some things were just too much to handle.