The bottom line of worship is to become captivated by the presence of God. Or, the point of worship is to practice the presence of God. As seen in Luke 7:37-38, this woman's story is a reminder that true worship begins with recognizing God's presence. We see, all through scripture, that people encounter God and then they respond to the encounter with worship.
Bottom line, worship is not about what "style" of worship, what kind of music, who is leading worship, or how it is being led. It is about the people of God gathering in awe of Him, captivated by His glorious presence, and keeping the focus on Him. We need to be careful that we are not people who are very critical of a worship service. This could be a sign of a spiritual problem. If we fall into this trap we are failing to acknowledge and keep the focus on God's presence. And, in some worship environments it is harder to stay focused on Him.
There should be no such thing as wonderful preachers, wonderful singers, wonderful instrumentalists, wonderful songs or great performances in the presence of God. And there are no horrible preachers, horrible musicians, or horrible performances, if all the focus is on Him!
When God's presence is the focus, all those other things are not all that important. In the Ozark Hills of Arkansas this week, we've seen some very gifted people and talked about their giftedness. At these gatherings we tend to focus on the giftedness. At these gatherings we tend to focus on the gifted. But, when the Body of Christ gathers, we focus on the Giver.
God's presence makes all things lowly and humbled and all things blessed by Him. mjm
Questions/Comments: michaelj@fbcrockwalltx.org
A Melody from Michael J. . . . a Personal and Worship Blog
