Category: Praise and Worship

  • Living Sacrifice – worship beyond Sunday

    Hands washing a white plate with a soapy sponge at a sunlit kitchen sink, with evergreen trees and a mountain outside the window

    I recently read a very old book, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. It collects the teachings of Brother Lawrence (born Nicolas Herman), a 17th-century Carmelite friar, compiled posthumously by Father Joseph de Beaufort. While there is much Brother Lawrence and I would likely disagree on theologically, I think He’s on to something here.

    His book is short, easy to read and available for free online or for purchase from a variety of sources

    Brother Lawrence understood that worship wasn’t just what we do at the Sunday service or mid-week prayer meeting. It’s what we do in our daily lives.

    The apostle Paul wrote:

    I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 ESV

    Present our bodies as living sacrifices? He doesn’t say present your heart, mind or emotions, although those are part of worship. He’s pointing at something practical.

    Worship isn’t only a feeling on Sunday. It’s what your body does on Monday through Saturday. The way you work. The words you speak. The things you say. Your hands and feet helping someone or walking away.

    I love the way one writer describes it:

    “Paul calls this “your spiritual worship.” The word, latreia, described the service priests performed in the temple. Ordinary life becomes temple service. The office becomes an altar. The kitchen becomes an altar. The car ride, the classroom, the hospital shift. Under the old system, worship meant going to the temple. Now, Paul says, you are where the offering happens.”

    This idea is reinforced in Colossians.

    Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24 ESV

    Don’t just worship on Sunday; let everything you do be an act of worship.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Paul calls us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, so worship isn’t confined to Sunday. Let everything you do this week, your work, your words, your hands and feet, be an act of worship.

    TAKEAWAY

    Worship isn’t only a feeling on Sunday. It’s what your body does Monday through Saturday: the way you work, the words you speak, your hands and feet helping someone or walking away.

    Your office, your kitchen, your car ride can all become an altar. Under the old system, you went to the temple; now you are where the offering happens.

    Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. Don’t just worship on Sunday; let everything you do be an act of worship.

    YOU MIGHT ENJOY

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    Celebrate your identity

    Serving others – transforming worship into action

  • Meditations of a forest walk

    Thoughts on the Psalms

    Scene from a forest walk that had me thinking about the Psalms

    I recently came across an obscure English word that I had to look up: nemophilist. A nemophilist is a person who is fond of forests, woodland scenery, or spending time in the woods—literally, a “haunter of the woods.” That’s me to a large degree; I love to walk in forests and glades.

    Well, walking in the woods might be a bit of a misnomer. Certainly, you can’t call what I do “hiking”. I will take a slow ramble through the woods, a saunter through the woods, a wander. The destination is typically secondary at best. I stop and look at fungi and flowers. I check out trees that have character and look for critters. 

    The forests are great. For me, they calm my mind and let me think of God without distraction. I see His hand at work in the marvel of all he has created. 

    Recently, while going for a “walk,” parts of a lesser-known Psalm came to mind.

    Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
    Praise befits the upright.
    Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
    make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
    Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

    For the word of the Lord is upright,
    and all his work is done in faithfulness.
    He loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

    By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
    He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
    he puts the deeps in storehouses…

    Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.     Psalm 33:1-7,20-22 ESV

    It’s a marvelous psalm of praise that captures the character of the Lord. He is faithful, loves justice, is righteous, and his love is faithful and steadfast. Those are things worth pondering on.

    A familiar line from Psalm 24 asks, “Who is the King of glory?” Psalm 24 is clearly attributed to King David, but Psalm 33 doesn’t say who wrote it. Traditionally, though, it too is attributed to David. I have to wonder, in some ways, if His thoughts were on the same topic both days.

    I can see Him sitting in the fields with His flocks or in one of the many forests (the land of Israel was once heavily forested, although it had its deserts, to be sure) and seeing the hand of God. Perhaps that is simply a flight of fancy on my part, but I can see it happening.

    When I do one of my forest rambles, I often think of questions about God and rejoice in my heart.

    I don’t know if you are a nemophilist like me, but wherever you feel God’s presence, may it move you to praise. From the depths of despair to the heights of rejoicing, He walks with us, and His love and mercy are worthy of praise.

    May you feel His presence and sing His praises today.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Walking in the woods isn’t hiking for me, it’s a slow ramble that quiets my mind and lets me see God’s hand in everything He’s made. On a recent walk, part of Psalm 33 came to mind, a psalm that captures who God is, and a reminder to praise Him.

    TAKEAWAY

    I recently learned there’s a word for people like me: nemophilist, someone fond of forests and woodland scenery, and that’s me down to the ground. 

    My slow forest rambles quiet my mind and let me see God’s hand in creation without distraction. 

    Wherever you feel God’s presence, whether in a forest or anywhere else, that’s an invitation to praise Him, from the depths of despair to the heights of rejoicing.

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