The Marks of a True Worshipper

The Marks of a True Worshipper
What prompts a young man to love God so much that he relentlessly serves Him and hangs out in His House? These two photos are of my grandson, Payton Wallace: the first one, at age 15, and the second (now age 18) was Sunday when he was praying for a businessman at church. The back of his shirt explains it: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:6.

Payton has a true heart of worship. He is an extraordinary young man who could care less what someone thinks about his extravagant love for God. He would rather hang out at the church with his fellow musicians and crew members (the guys that set up the stage, props, and tear down) than anything else. When I hear about all the negatives in this world, I only wish that more focus would be placed on kids like this who are making a difference in their generation.

So what's the big deal about this kind of praising and worshipping God -- people of all ages raising their hands while singing songs of praise? Among the reasons are to show surrender, submission, humility, dependence on God, adoration, to give their all to God. I love the parallel of the universal act of someone surrendering by putting their arms and hands in the air. Another visual is a child reaching up for his father to carry him. Both examples apply to us as we raise our hands in surrender and ask for our Father to carry us..

The Bible says that God looks at the heart us. (1 Samuel 16:7). I honestly don't think He cares if we are standing in place, arms at our side, or raising our hands and can't stand still. He doesn't care if we are worshipping with hymns or choruses. But, He DOES care if we are TRULY worshipping Him. In defense of raising hands in worship, there are many places in the Bible that speak of it: Nehemiah 8:6, Psalm 28:2, Psalm 134:2, Psalm 63:3-4, Psalm 88:9, Luke 24:50, and more.

God looks at OUR heart in worship, and most importantly, is that He has our hearts -- surrendered and tender toward the ONE Who gave His all for us. We will NEVER experience all that God has for us until we are able to TOTALLY surrender and love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, just as Jesus said in Mark 12:30 -- "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." True worship flows from our total love and devotion to God. We will never fully know our Lord until we are able to be a true worshipper that is not just for an hour, one day a week on Sunday. True worship is a lifestyle. Dear Lord, please help us show in our words and actions, our desire to love You and worship You with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. In Jesus' precious name, Amen.

What Would You Request of Your Genie?

When driving my two youngest grandsons to school, the older one, Brennan, asked his younger brother, Bryson, "If you had a genie in a bottle, what would you wish for?" They certainly earned love tokens when they both replied "For Nana to live with us forever!" Of course they had some other outlandish wishes, but that one put a big smile on this Nana's face.

Now, how about you? What would YOU ask for if YOU had a genie in a bottle and he'd grant just one wish to you? What does YOUR heart long for the most? No doubt, our answers would vary. More time. A healed body. A restored relationship. A financial breakthrough. A child. A spouse. Passing the BIG test that enables a BIG promotion.

King David's wish (or ask) went like this: “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.” Psalm 27:4

When I read that scripture, I am drawn to the “one thing” David asked of God — to dwell in His house forever. How can we live in God's house while we're still here on this side of heaven? More than anything, David longed to be in God’s presence. No wonder he was called “a man after God’s own heart.” Though David experienced many highs and lows in his life, I think the one major theme in his life was a singular longing to be in God’s presence.

Psalm 16:11 speaks more to dwelling in God's presence and the greatest perk from doing so is joy! It goes like this: " In Your presence is fullness of joy." And that's my "wish" and my prayer today, that our hearts will be filled with this one thing . . . a desire to dwell in His presence. I’m pretty sure God delights in lavishing His love upon us. In fact, Jesus tells us God takes it to a level beyond anything any parent has ever done for their children. After all, He has already been more generous toward us than we will ever deserve. To live daily practicing His presence, creates plenty of opportunities for God to show up and show out. No, He's not a Genie or Fairy Godmother, but He is the God in WHOM all things are possible. What better place to be than in His presence?