Category: Worship

Every Knee Will Bow

Romans 14:11

It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’”

Do we ever stop and think about the truth of this verse?  Here Paul is quoting Isaiah 45:23, and I would like to reprint it in context for our consideration:

Isaiah 45:22-24 (NIV)

22 “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. 23 By myself I have sworn. My mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. 24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.’” All who have raged against Him will come to Him and be put to shame.

It reminds me of another instance when Paul penned a similar expression of reverence:

Philippians 2:9-11 (NIV)

9 Therefore God exalted Him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So back to my question.  Do we think about the implications of what Paul has asserted?  What the Prophet Isaiah before him preached?  It is the same expression of reverence Moses delivered to the Israelites on the tablets of stone: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7)  And believers have often been admonished, “Do no forget the covenant I have made with you … and do not worship other gods.” (Cf. 2 Kings 17:37-38) God has made it known that all people will bow to their knees before Him.  We are wise to do it now … for everyone will most certainly do it later when we stand before God’s judgment seat.  Yet, I scarcely think any us will have the strength to stand when we see Jesus.  Oh … we will bow … and we will call Him Lord out of awestruck wonder and extreme reverence and honor….

So whatever you and I do each day … whatever demands our attention or draws us into the world … I pray that we will take a moment each morning or evening and just bow before God.  He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;  I will be exalted among the nations,   I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10) “Give unto the Lord the glory due His Name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” (Psalm 29:2) I believe when you take time to bow before God and acknowledge Him … you will find the stress of the day diminish and your heart will find complete rest. Oh, God wants us to know Him and to reverence Him in sincere love.  And when we know Him … our hearts are filled with full conviction that He is worthy of all praise, glory, honor!  Yes, we desire to worship Him and His Majesty.  We joyfully and reverently bow in submission before Him because of who He is … and because of who we are.  When we fall down on our knees before His presence, we express the genuineness of our faith in Him. For without faith, it is impossible to please God. (Cf. Hebrews 11:6)

So Now You Know….

Have a Blessed Day!

Verse of the Day – 02/04/19

Psalm 18:1-2

[ Psalm 18 ] [ For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:] I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Another Psalm of praise for us to reflect upon … perhaps even sing within our spirits.  Beautiful words of affirmation that God is indeed the refuge for our souls.  He is trustworthy!  He is a sanctuary to all those who love Him.  I sense someone reading this blog needs this verse for confirmation! Someone needs to feel assurance that God is for them! My friend, if you ever doubt that God is for you … just read this Psalm of salvation and know that your enemies are defeated!  Call upon God in your distress. Ask for help.  He will hear from His holy temple.  He knows your voice.  He knows your name.  He will deliver you.  Trust in Him!  His love is faithful.  It is unfailing.   It is everlasting.  He is worthy of all praise!

So Now You Know….

Have a Blessed Day!

Verse of the Day – 01/28/19

John 4:24

God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in Truth.”

I love this Verse of the Day because it addresses two great points about worship.  Jesus taught that our worship of God must be specific and intentional.  Specific addresses that worship must be spiritual.  Intentional addresses that worship must be sincere.  To explain spiritual matters in practical terms, I always look to the Apostle Paul for insight.

Romans 12:1 (New International Version)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Romans 12:1 (English Standard Version)

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 (rational) spiritual worship.

Romans 12:1 (New American Standard Version)

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your (rational) spiritual service of worship. 

Romans 12:1 (New King James Version)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable (rational) service.

I reprinted several translations of Romans 12:1 because I wanted you to get a diverse since of how the Greek is translated in this passage.  Regardless of how the relationship to worship is presented (i.e. true and proper worship or spiritual worship), all the passages agree that acceptable worship to God is the presentation of yourself … your body as a living and holy sacrifice.  In other words, true and rational worship in bodily action is how your spiritual worship is manifested. And Paul indicates to us that true worship is sacrificial in conduct and holy in nature.  Acceptable worship means we have set ourselves apart (consecrated ourselves) to serve God and His Kingdom in these vessels He has given us – that is our human bodies….

Perhaps easier said than done, but spiritual worship … true worship is ultimately a sacrificial offering of our “surrendered” selves to God.  It means everything we are in our inner being … our souls… is focused on pleasing Him and doing His will. That requires submission not to religious rites or human constructs; rather, it requires a reverent fear of the holy God who saved us and calls us to be holy just as He is holy. (Cf. 1 Peter 1:16) It means that we must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow Jesus. (Cf. Luke 9:23) It means to do what is right and just … which is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifices. (Cf. Proverbs 21:3) And it is because of His mercy toward us that we feel compeled to do so.

Isaiah 29:13-14 (NIV)

13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.  14 Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”

You see, worship is not something we can pretend. It is not merely following a prescribed set of rules or rituals taught by organized denominations or hierarchies.  Worship is ultimately the sincere, rational expression of the personal relationship you have with Jesus Christ.  The closer you draw to Him … the more you submit to His authority … the more you will abide in Him (and He in you).  Worship then becomes a natural expression of your life in Christ. Everything you do in your body, as a living sacrifice, is Spirit led, so it will not be contrived or feel unnatural.  It will be an outpouring of the wellspring of living water within you…. 

So Now You Know.

Have a Blessed Day.