First Thought.

Worshiping God.

Thoughts on a quote- continued…

"I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this earth who is bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven." — Whatever Happened to Worship? A.W. Tozer

Bored? Turned off, by worship? Then you're worshiping all wrong. Right? What creates boredom?

We're going to grab a dictionary definition.

In a nutshell, it is- tedium, monotony, dullness, a feeling of being bored. So what is bored? Definition- tired of and slightly annoyed by a person or situation that is not interesting, exciting, or entertaining. Uninterested. And we all know what being turned off towards something means- it doesn't interest you, in fact, it might repulse you.

This quote of Tozer's speaks about being turned off and bored by worship, so in effect, those who are not interested, not excited, and possibly repulsed by worship are not ready to live with our Savior when He returns to take us back to heaven with Him.

How many people put on an act of worshiping God by going to church? By completing a Bible study once a day, week, month, year? How many people proclaim their worship of God but it goes only as far as their mouth speaking the words, and no further? How many say they love God, but live without any interest in worshiping God? God knows all about those who will speak empty words, but whose hearts are far from Him.

Yesterday I mentioned our waking up and our first cognizant thought being turned towards God. Is it possible? Yes, it's possible. However, Satan will be right there invested in turning your mind elsewhere- like the fact you don't want to be awake, you want ten more minutes of sleep. Maybe he'll direct your attention to the coffee brewing and just waiting for you to get a cup so you can really start the thinking part of your day. Perhaps you'll be thinking about what lies ahead in your day- a test at school, a project at work. Maybe you've got other really important things going on- a fight with a friend, an annoyance towards a spouse, kids who are going to be very grumpy when you get them out of bed and start their days. All these things and a million more are legitimate thoughts to have as we live day to day in a world that rarely stays stagnant in routine- life and it's changing events are constantly happening.

Training our thoughts to seek God first should be our very first act of worship towards God every single day without fail. If tomorrow morning when you wake up your very first thought after recognizing you're awake isn't about God, then as soon as you do remember you wanted it to be about God- make it about God and keep at it until He becomes your first thought. Once God becomes your first thought in the morning, remember you'll need to continue the trend and on days you are distracted start over by pulling your mind to Him. Just give Him your will, let Him have you and your life, place it ALL in His hands. It is true that things bad or good, are going to happen to us all the time, and in those bad and good times we need to know that we've placed ourselves in God's will- without any comprehension of the whys and wherefores, but in trusting His will to be done in your life, as it will and is done in heaven.

Isn't that a part of what is known commonly as the Lord's Prayer from the book of Matthew?

Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Talk of the coming kingdom of God and then God's will being done in earth as it is in heaven. Yes, it's right there, that desire for God's will to be done. And when we want God's will to be done we are putting our own will after His will- not before it.

More on all of this tomorrow….yes, I'm going to say it… by the WILL of God!