Truthful and Spiritual Worship

UV 3194/10000 Truthful and Spiritual Worship
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 v 23
This uni-verse distinguishes between true worship and false worship. Our Father in heaven seeks true worshippers in whom the fire of the spirit of worship, the sacrifice of praise and the joy of thanksgiving is always lit in their hearts. The Holy Spirit lights and keeps this fire fuelled and burning. Jesus by His own redeeming sacrifice made it possible for both Jew and non –Jew to know the Father personally, to know His heart, to receive the Spirit of God into their hearts and lives. Till then worship happened only in temples built with human hands but now worship happens in hearts shaped by God. It is not religious worship or ritual but spiritual worship. The honest worshipper knows in his heart that he is not even worthy to offer worship to the Father but he has been declared worthy by Jesus to experience the love, power, grace and majesty of the Lord.
The freedom to worship God in our spirits opens our lives to immense blessings. We no longer rely on a priest to lead and worship on our behalf but we ourselves are priests or Levites before the Father. The extensive grand clothing and vestments and ornaments that the Levitic priest was adorned with are a metaphor for the amazing blessings and grace that true worshippers are adorned with. As we worship and offer the fruit of our lips, our words are anointed to bless others and the world at large. Our hearts are the sanctum sanctorum of the living tabernacles our bodies and minds are called to be under the new covenant. Worship is not confined to a particular time or space, modes or postures, but includes all aspects of our lives. To worship God as Eternal Father means loving all others as brothers and sisters. Hence, worship has not only a vertical dimension but a horizontal dimension covering our relationship with our fellow beings.

The Living Water

UV 3193/10000 The Living Water
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God
Psalm 42 v 2
Living in this darkened world, our souls often become parched as dry land that cracks up in a famine. We are then most thirsty for the hope of eternal life that the living God gives us. The Word of God is described as the living water that can help us live life strong and victorious as it quenches our inner thirst. When we store the Word in our hearts as a camel stores water in its hump to endure the heat of the desert, we are enabled to be resilient, hopeful and we are able to endure great hardship. When we speak the rivers of life-giving, life-sustaining and life enhancing water that flows from our hearts are the Words of eternal life that Jesus gave us. The word is the pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne or the mouth of God and of His Son Jesus. The Holy Spirit helps us navigate this river. This river empties into the ocean of God’s agape or unconditional love- Jesus.
In the absence of God, our lives would be just a vale of tears. We would be flooded with sorrows and drowning in our own tears. We would be oppressed and defeated by the enemy. It is the fountain of blood of Jesus that washes us clean and the fountain of living waters of His word that refreshes us, renews us, reinvigorates us, imbues us with power, purpose and meaning. We no longer need to go around moping or mourning or wallowing in self pity. The living God does not want us to wilt in front of our challenges and problems. But He desires us to call out from the depths of our hearts to the depths of His heart.
Though our thirst is satisfied, we are not satiated or saturated for we can drink even more and keep drinking or meditating on the Word of the Lord. Our minds should not be like broken cisterns that do not retain the water poured into it. Our hearts should be like the hart that longs for the refreshing water of a river flowing through the forest of life. The water is crystal clear like a mountain stream as it is pure, uncomplicated, simple to understand and apply to our lives. As we imbibe the water of life, the Lord fills us with wisdom, joy, peace, power and grace. Life is no longer too heavy an yoke for us to bear. The Psalmist in this uni-verse asks the rhetorical question, “ When can I meet Him?” The Word answers that we can boldly enter His presence through the Blood of the Lamb. We can meet Him any time and all the time for He is with us and in us as Immanuel. We have 24 x7 access to the Living God and the Living water. We can keep returning to Him for our every need. The word “thirst” means a deep, persistent and crying need. The Word contains the spiritual seed to meet our earthly as well as eternal need.

The Old Versus the New

UV 3192/10000 The Old versus the New
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Ephesians 4 v 22
Our old nature before we believed and received Christ into our hearts and lives was corrupted by lusts of the flesh and of the mind. We were deceived like our first father Adam to think that the fulfilment of these desires would make us like God. We were deceived by the liar into lying. Anger, bitterness, envy, pride took root in the human heart due to such deception. But, this uni-verse exhorts us to put on the new man re-born through faith in Christ. Salvation is compared to a full set of clothes or armour that leaves no part of us naked or exposed to the enemy. Salvation or eternal life then is not only the prize that we receive at the end of a life of faith and faithfulness to God’s word but it is our conduct in this world.
Our conduct and our conversation ought to blemishless or blameless. We have to pass our thoughts, our motives, our words, our emotions through several filters provided by the word of God so that the end product is refined and faultless. We may fail often but as long as we repent and try harder depending on the grace of God or His power working in us, we are on track. We should take care not to feed the old man and to feed the new man. Like an iceberg, the old man lies largely submerged and surfaces whenever we let our guard down. The Word acts as a double-edged axe to keep chipping away at the submerged old man and to strengthen and establish the new creation nature in us.
St Paul writes of his own struggle with his old nature. He wrote that “ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life that I now live, I live by faith in Christ.” This implies that our new life is lived by putting to death our former self and crucifying the lusts and pride of the former self. We no longer live, judge, take decisions based on our senses and our human wisdom but by the wisdom we have through the Holy Spirit in Christ. Like houses that have three phase power connections, we need a three phase power connection with the Triune God in order to live a life of faith in Christ. In the race of life set before us by Christ, speed is not the consideration. Doing better than others is not the consideration. We are to be faithful to our calling and run by His grace in such a way as to complete it. If we complete the race by running patiently, by consistently moving forward in faith, we have won the race.

Uniqueness -the Stamp of God

UV 3191/10000 Uniqueness –the Stamp of God
To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
Isaiah 46 v 5
While human beings go for standardisation in order to manufacture anything on a mass scale, God is not only unique, He makes all things unique. No two creatures of the same species are exactly the same, no two humans even if twin are exactly the same, no two leaves or fruits or trees are exactly the same. Even the heavenly bodies like stars and planets are not exactly the same. God revels in uniqueness. This uni-verse extols the Lord for His incomparable nature, His uniqueness in heaven and on earth. Since He is unique and each of us is unique, our relationships with each other and with our Creator and Redeemer are also different from the other or unique. Our testimonies or life stories of the experience of the grace, power, truth and mercy of the Lord in our lives are unique.
The Lord is not only unique, He is non pareil or without equal in the universe or in heaven. We cannot compare Him with any other person. We are in awe of His greatness and yet He is more approachable and accessible at all times than any other person, living or dead. The open book of nature as well as the good book- the Bible speak of His love being without par, His generosity, His mercy, His grace and His power. It pleases Him when we find unique ways to extol Him, pray, praise and worship Him. He does not need our worship but for us as unique creatures on whom He has stamped His unique image, worship is a daily necessity for the blessings that come from such worship sustains us, enhances us, inspires us and elevates us.
Equating God with something other than His own authentic image is infra dig. It lowers or debases us. Hence, when we call a man a fool or a rascal, the Word of God warns us that we are insulting the image of God in him. The Lord is absolutely powerful but He is extremely restrained. He rarely intervenes in our lives without our invitation or appeal to Him. Exploring our own uniqueness is a way of discovering our God-given purpose and God-shaped destiny in life. The variations in our moods, emotions, thoughts, aspirations, actions, expressions are so great but the constancy of faith anchors us in the sea of change around us. Scripture or the word of God , too is unique. The very same words or context or import of meaning cannot be found in the pages of any other book. Though it is like the heavy chain that holds an anchor of a sea going vessel, it does not weigh us down or imprison us. It liberates and empowers us.

Carrying and Caring

UV 3190/10000 Carrying and Caring
And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Isaiah 46 v 4
The Lord commits in this uni-verse to carry us all through from the womb through our journey in this world, through the seven stages of life right into ripe old age, death and beyond. As a woman carries her child in her womb, He carries us, not just for nine months all through our lives. Since He has made us, He takes the responsibility to carry us. Death is the point of delivery from the uterus of this universe into the heavenly kingdom of the Father. We come into the fullness of the new life or re-birth we experience when we believe and receive Christ into our hearts and lives.
This kind of assurance from our Creator gives us cause for complete peace and zero worry. We need not have the kind of feelings the people of this world face when they confront the vulnerabilities of childhood, the convulsions of youth, the uncertainties of middle age, the insecurities of old age. At every stage of our faith-based life, we are building on rock, on infinite strength, infinite wisdom, infinite love and grace. The Lord knows He is responsible for our lives from beginning to end and He responds to our prayers, needs, feelings and thoughts. He owns us and never disowns us even when we tend to stray from Him and His ways.
If we carry His word in our hearts, He will always carry and care for us. Jesus carries us on His shoulders as a parent carries his or her child, as a shepherd carries the young lamb. He is protective, caring, loving and competent. We are never alone, uncared for, neglected or solitary. He is attentive to our most unspoken, unknown and intimate needs. For a believer there is no such thing as self actualisation for it is the Lord who fulfils us and it is not of ourselves. His security and self esteem needs are also met completely in Jesus. He does not find satisfaction in achievement or accomplishments but dedicates these to the Lord. The scarcities and challenges of his life are opportunities for his faith to be exercised and for the grace of God to be manifest. He sees the unseen but all powerful hand of the Lord acting behind every move and happening in his life. The cares of this world are meant to prove the caring and carrying of the Lord.

The Seer of God

UV 3189/10000 The Seer of God
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully
Psalm 24 v 4
The back up of patience is character, the back up of joy is hope, the back up of confidence is ability, the back up of courage is faith. A godly character manifests itself in the things we do and do not do. A person who fears God and desires to cultivate a pure heart and character, keeps his hands clean from bribes, from stealing, from shedding blood in violence. Scripture states that a person who steals or takes bribes allows a curse to enter his house to destroy it from within. A person who keeps his lips pure alone can remain a priest before God. He should use his words and his knowledge to preserve genuine faith in God and therefore, he helps to preserve and sustain life. He should not make false promises or raise his soul in worship or reverence to that which he knows not to be the Creator and Redeemer.
Jesus promised that , “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” When we wash our hearts every day with the word and lead a testimonial life, we have the grace to see God. It does not mean that we will literally see God but we will see God in everything we do and in everything that happens to us. We will perceive the mercy, grace, love and power of God at work in practical ways in our everyday lives. We continually experience the presence of God in our hearts and nearest to us at all times. Our souls become extensions of the kingdom of God on earth. We do not have to search for God anywhere for He is Immanuel –God with us and within us.
The presence of God with us blesses the work of our hands and the words of our mouth as well as the thoughts, emotions and intentions of our innermost being. We develop the patience to wait for His answers to our prayers in the time of His favour. We have the courage to face and endure anything as He is with us as a mighty warrior. He anoints our lips and makes our tongues like sharpened swords of fire, our mouths the scabbards. He keeps our eyes from tears and our feet from stumbling. He gives us unction or divine enablement in our functions. In short, the Lord beatifies our character and beautifies our lives. We yield ourselves as clay in the hands of the Divine Potter.

Being A Star

UV 3188/10000 Being A Star
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength
Revelation 1 v 16
The Lord Jesus has the amazing grace to turn zeroes into heroes. He holds us up as stars in His mighty right hand. The “seven stars” are not just symbols of the seven angels of the seven churches as explained by John, the revelator. It is a metaphor that all or complete dimensions of our lives are in the safe hand of Jesus. Unlike the rest of the world who do not yet trust Him, we who believe Him and His word yield willingly to the grip of His hand upon us and do not struggle to move away. We remain heroes as long as we depend and feed on the words from His mouth. His word penetrates every pore and part of our being like a sharp sword. It causes healing, wholeness, blessing, deliverance, victory everywhere it penetrates and touches. We are like the two olive trees in the prophet Zechariah’s vision whose branches are constantly dipped in the golden oil, a metaphor for the Holy Spirit, flowing from the seven pipes of the golden lamp. Our whole lives in Christ are an experience of intense spiritual immersion but we remain in this natural world just like trees rooted in the soil. Like olive trees, we bear fruit in our character and in our deeds. Even our leaves or our mere words will cause healing of people who hear them.
We obtain grace or favour from the resplendent face of Jesus even as we draw strength from His hand upon us. As our eyes are transfixed on Him, we are transfigured like the vision of the apostles when they saw Jesus conferring with Moses and Elijah. As stars we are called to be the wise who lead many into righteousness as prophesied by Daniel. As stars, we dispel darkness in this world by our words, deeds, prayers and the exercise of the authority vested in us as His viceroys on earth. The Lord will anoint our tongues with His fire so much so our tongues become a double-edged sword of fire and our mouths become the scabbard holding the sword. Our tongues are double edged as we should use it to subdue forces of darkness in this world with our Christ given authority and awesome power even as we use it to lead people into faith, righteousness, hope, grace and healing. Our close communion with the Lord would cause His radiance to also pass onto our own faces even as Moses’ face shone after He communed with Jehovah.
Moses climbing mountains to commune with God are a metaphor that when our challenges are as insurmountable as mountains that is the time our communion with the Lord is the closest and most impactful. I recently drove up to a hill to view through a powerful telescope the heavenly bodies and the stars that are placed in the universe as symbols of the infinite power and majesty of the Creator. I saw a thick cloud or nebulae of stars of the Orion in addition to the moon, Jupiter with its bands, Saturn with its golden ring around it. The presence of the Lord is also like a thick cloud around us though it is not visible to our naked eyes or souls. In addition to the stars, there are heavenly bodies like the planets that shine with borrowed light. The radiance from our lives light up the lives of others around us. The star metaphor also has an important lesson for all of us that we should finish well by continuing to shine in this world and beyond and not crash like comets. If we constantly obey the will and word of God, we will be held in our place in our due orbits. When I was young, I was inspired by the Chinese proverb, “Aim for the stars and hit the treetops.” But in the light of this uni-verse, Jesus tells each one of us, “Aim for the stars and be a star on earth and in heaven. “