Spirit and Truth
Worship is a topic that pushes a lot of hot buttons in the church today. Is it a style of music? Is it certain instrumentation? Is it the way it makes you feel? I’ve been part of a worship team of some sort for more than two decades and I am sad to say, the debate spans the entire twenty years. Here’s what I have learned.
Worship has little to do with music! Worship is a state of heart. It really doesn’t matter what your preference is in church service style, what matters is your heart condition. Preference is personal. We all have a favorite color, shirt, song, food and detergent, but in the end, we don’t have a fall out because someone doesn’t agree with our favorite! The same should be true with our worship style. Whether you are a southern gospel, contemporary, hymns or praise and worship fan, the preference shouldn’t overtake the message—WORSHIP!
The most important thing is that when we worship God we worship Him in spirit and in truth. When my spirit is in tune with God’s, I am not worried about style—I am focused on truth. The truth is everything about God that we know is true…His goodness, love, strength, character, faithfulness—His very being. When I am in tune with the God I am worshipping, I am focused on the words of the song, the message preached, and the Bible passages read. It’s my heart condition that God is concerned with. He can handle the many styles of music—He’s big enough! I don’t even think He minds the drums so much! He’s focused on the hearts of the people worshipping.
When I sing, pray, or listen am I fixed on Jesus and His abundance in my life? Am I distracted by my own preferences? Can I find ways to participate in worship away from church? I’m finding my own worship experience can be magnified when I listen to preaching, music and testimonies in my car as I run errands or in my home while I clean. I’m thankful I am not confined to my church building for worship and that my heart can be fixed on the truth that Jesus is—no matter where I am.
QUOTE: “As John 4:23 says, it’s time, as worshipers of God, to give Him all we have. For when He is exalted, everything about me is decreased. So many times we stand in the way of really stepping into the secret place of worship with God. Just abandon tradition and the ‘expected’ ways of Praise & Worship and get lost in the holy of holies with the sole intention of blessing the Father’s heart.” – Jessica Leah Springer
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him,” John 4:23 KJV.
Today’s devotion is by Gina Stinson, wife to Bruce, mom to Savannah and Tucker, co-founder of The Mission in Gunter, TX, and publicist assistant for Kathy Carlton Willis Communications.
