Worship!

 Thursday, September 14, 2023 (5:13 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy God,

Thank You. You are so good. Great. Glorious. Gracious.

(6:05 a.m.)

Thank You Father for the freedom to explore. Seek. Find. Read. Worship. Mm, yes. Worship! You.

Take me by Your hand. And lead me into Your Word this morning.

So far I’ve visited Psalm 139:14 (New Living Translation). “Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it.” Yes. Agreed!

It’s in the New King James Version that I find all 4G’s in one section. Psalm 145:5-8.

“I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness. And sing of Your righteousness. The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.”

Blessed Father God, we rely on the Truth and promises we find here in Your Word. Empower and enable us in living them.

Just as I begin scratching the surface of this section, here I read it again. This time in The Voice. Thank You God for such ready access to the same Truth found using different words.

“Your majesty and glorious splendor have captivated me; I will meditate on Your wonders, sing songs of Your worth. We confess - there is nothing greater than You, God, nothing mightier than Your awesome works. I will tell of Your greatness as long as I have breath. The news of Your rich goodness is no secret - Your people love to recall it and sing songs of joy to celebrate Your righteousness. The eternal is gracious. He shows mercy to His people. For Him anger does not come easily, but faithful love does - and it is rich and abundant.”

(6:36 a.m.)

Father, thank You! Just as I think I’m heading off in one direction [worshiping You in spirit and in Truth (John 4:24)] You point me to another. Praise You Lord.

The very last sentence of verse eight. “For Him [that’s You!] anger does not come easily…” My first thought when reading this was, “Wow! What must that be like?!”

And then I realized! You’ve been doing this with me. Slowing anger WAY down for me. Thank You Father!

“… but faithful love does - and it is rich and abundant.” Let me think about this Lord. Your rich, abundant, faithful love comes easily. Yes! Sign me up for learning this.

Easy-to-Read Version is exactly what it says. Easy to read. And begin to grasp.

“Your majesty and glory are wonderful. I will tell about Your miracles [how You have completely changed my life!]. People will tell about the amazing things You do and I will tell everyone how great You are [provide the words and opportunity I ask (Matthew 7:7)]. They will talk about Your goodness and sing about Your justice [Yes please!]. The LORD is kind [gracious] and merciful, patient and full of love.”

Oh most dear and awesome God, I love You! And want desperately to worship You “in Spirit and in Truth” (John 4:24).

This is where I confess to not knowing how. Or even what it looks like. And this is when trust comes along. Reminding me that “I can do all things through Him [Christ] who gives me power [strength]” (Philippians 4:13 Complete Jewish Bible).

Do all You must Blessed God. In. With. By. Through. And for me. That I will come to worship You as directed by Your Holy Spirit.

(7:44 a.m.)

Phone interruption. With You still in my heart.

My soul. My mind. My strength.

Back over to Your Truth. Reading again in the Contemporary English Version. John 4. Verses 23-26.

Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well. Who didn’t yet recognize Him as the Messiah she was waiting for.

And here my time of worship with You just keeps expanding. Going ever deeper into the Truth You have for us!

Jesus speaking, “But a time is coming, and it is already Here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship Him according to the Truth” (vs. 23-24).

“The woman said, ‘I know that the Messiah will come. He is the one we call Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’ ‘I am that one,’ Jesus told her, ‘and I am speaking to you now’” (25-26).

How blessed and privileged we are to have You speak to us now Dearest Jesus! Unqualified, with questionable pasts. We are free to approach You. Accepted. Not rejected, condemned, or shunned.

It is the strength of Your mighty power (Ephesians 6:10) on which we are to rely. Trusting Your Spirit to keep us alert and persistent in our prayers (v.18).

Yes Father. Teach me to live each day completely dependent on Your gloriousness. Your greatness. Your goodness. And Your graciousness.

I love You! I need, trust and want You as absolute Lord of my life. Thank You. Praise You. Use me. Amen.

(897 words ~ 8:05 a.m.)