From the time we make the choice to open our eyes and get out of bed in the morning until we make the choice to go back to bed and close our eyes in the evening, our days are filled with a series of choices. We choose
where we go,
what we do,
what we believe,
and how we behave.
Our own lives, reputations, relationships, careers, health, future, and values are shaped by the choices we make. The choice
to lie or to tell the truth,
to seek vengeance or to forgive,
to ignore God or to acknowledge God,
determines the type of person we are. Without question, the most important choice you will ever make involves your attitude toward God and your relationship with Him.
God wants us to worship Him in spirit. What does that mean? It means we must be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We must be born again. It also means we must worship Him sincerely, earnestly, with a right spirit, with a sweet spirit. We are to worship from the depths of our beings as we are continually occupied with God. Worship is not just the act of going to church because we always have or because it’s the thing to do. It is not just putting your body in a pew while your mind is elsewhere. It is not just smiling serenely on the outside while on the inside you are filled with unconfessed sin.
God also wants us to worship Him in truth. What does that mean? It means there is no way to God, no way at all, without coming through Jesus Christ Who is the Truth. It also means that we must base our relationship with Him on His Word, which is the truth. And to worship Him in truth means to worship Him honestly, without hypocrisy, standing open and transparent before Him.
Are you the kind of worshiper God wants?
Winning a relay race depends not only on the speed of the runners but also on their skillful ability to transfer the baton. If the baton is dropped, precious seconds are wasted, and the race may be lost. If the runner fails to pass the baton, he is disqualified from the race altogether.
In the race of life, the “baton” is the truth that leads to personal faith in God. Each generation receives the “baton” from the previous generation, runs the race to the best of its ability, then passes the “baton” smoothly and securely to the next generation.
Every day we see advances in our civilization bringing better health care, longer life spans, and ever-expanding knowledge. But underneath all the progress and sophistication, our civilization is experiencing a bankruptcy of moral and spiritual values that threatens to erode our very existence. In the midst of wickedness and waste, we must strive to relay the baton of truth that leads to personal faith in God that has been handed down to generation after generation since Creation.
When have you observed the blazing glory of a tropical sunset
or the soft, silvery shimmer of moonlight on the ocean waves,
or a baby’s birth and first lusty cry,
or a bird weaving her nest, hatching and feeding her young
and wondered, who made it?
When we thoughtfully consider the world around us, we instinctively know our environment is not some haphazard cosmic accident but the handiwork of a Master Designer. The earth did not come about by the snap of some giant fingers but was deliberately planned and prepared in an orderly progression of events. Like Planet Earth around us, your life is not a haphazard cosmos, either. You were deliberately planned to be filled with the beauty of love and joy and peace and purpose-filled with God Himself.
