Category Archives: Worship

Bible, Fear, Honor, Reverence, Scripture, Worship

NO FEAR

ROMANS 3:18

“THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

Some people aren’t scared of anything. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the situation. As I have gotten older, I have become a little more cautious. I have done some pretty stupid things in the past without regard of the consequences. I won’t elaborate on that. Suffice it to say, I was reckless. I had no fear. I want us to look at what no fear of God can do in your life.

Paul quotes Psalm 36:1 in today’s verse as he wraps up these pasts several verses of quotations. That verse says, “Wrongdoing speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes.” Paul is referring to a healthy reverence for God, a humble approach to Him. I get the picture of Moses taking off his sandals when God told him he was standing on holy ground. I see David humbling himself before a holy God when he was confronted about his sin with Bathsheba. The fear of God is healthy.

APPLICATION

We are told in Proverbs 9:10 that, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” I remember writing my big brother, Tim, while he was at college and quoting this verse. I was a brand, new Christian, and he was in his fourth year at the University of Georgia. My brother was a brilliant guy, but I wasn’t sure he was walking with the Lord. I was just giving him something to chew on.

Right after the “Shema Israel” passage in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Moses tells the people in 6:13, “You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.” The Hebrew word for “fear” means to revere, to hold in awe. We have lost a lot of that today. We don’t seem to hold God in awe. We kind of take Him for granted and have made Him our buddy. He is a holy God deserving all our honor, glory and praise.

The result of not fearing, not reverencing God is a society that will tolerate anything. We are seeing that today. There are groups of people who do not see the importance of worshipping God and holding to His standards. The result is anarchy. The result is a lack of importance placed on life. The result is…exactly what the devil wants. Let me urge you today to bow and revere your God. He is worthy of it all.

O Lord, forgive me when I do not show You the reverence You deserve. 

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Idols, Reverence, Scripture, Service, Worship

WHAT ARE YOU WORSHIPPING?

ROMANS 1:25

“For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

Man, we can really worship the wrong things. Some of us worship our sports teams. As we enter into the Fall, football here in America is kicking off. It’s played by all ages and billions are spent to play and watch. Some people plan their whole lives around the game. Those same people wouldn’t put church on their schedule, though, or make time to pray and read God’s Word. Wrong worship!

Until I dug into this verse, I did not know the Greek word for “worshiped” was sebazomai, which only occurs here in this verse. It’s a different kind of word for worship. HELPS Word studies says it means, “to revere; be in awe by one’s own twisted definition of what deserves reverence.” It is clear that Paul is saying that even though these individuals are totally confused, they still have the desire to worship something. It’s just sad that it’s the wrong thing.

APPLICATION

So, my question for you today is – What are you worshipping? Well Carl, of course I am worshipping the Lord. What else would I worship? Oh really? Are you sure that is all? How about that job? Do work to live or live to work? So many of us can be so driven by our job ambitions that we put everything else on the back burner. Family time suffers. Church attendance is low on the priority list. What are we worshipping?

I receive a newsletter each month from “Voice of the Martyrs.” In it are stories of Christians under persecution for worshipping Jesus. They risk it all to serve the Lord. Many, if not most, have lost loved ones to terrorist who killed them just because they were Christians. And we can’t worship correctly? What a shame!

I want to ask you today to take a look at what you are worshipping? How much time are you spending with Jesus each day. Martin Luther once said, “I am so busy today I only have time to spend four hours in prayer.” How about you? We are told to worship in Spirit and in truth. Are we doing that?

Father, show me how to worship You in truth every day. Let me not waste time worshipping false gods in my life.  

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Allegiance, Bible, Bowing, Jesus, Kneeling, Scripture, Worship

KNEELING

PHILIPPIANS 2:10

“so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,”

I’m at the age now when I kneel down to get something, I pause to see if I need to do anything else while I’m down there. Lol. Can you relate? Kneeling gets harder with age. Our bones crack and moan more. Our backs strain getting back up. Now, I’m not in awful shape physically, but I definitely feel my age more these days. Maybe helping watch my ten-month-old grandson has something to do with it. You think?

Paul makes a declaration in today’s verse which is directly from the mouth of God. He says that one day, “every knee will bow.” And when he says “every” he means EVERY. He covers them all – in heaven, on earth and under the earth. Everyone will bow before the only true and holy Savior, Jesus Christ. He is Lord! John says something similar in his vision statement in Revelation 5:13. “And I heard every created thing which is in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, or on the sea, and all the things in them, saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion forever and ever.’”

APPLICATION

The Greek word translated as “will bow” is kamptó which “primarily means to bend or bow, often used in the context of bowing the knee as an act of submission, worship, or reverence. It conveys the physical act of bending as well as the metaphorical act of showing humility or deference.” (Strong’s Lexicon). It is only used three other times (Romans 11:4. 14:11; Ephesians 3:14).

In Romans 11:4 Paul writes about the story of Elijah when he was complaining to God and was told by God that He had kept 7,000 men in Israel who had not bowed to Baal. In other words, their allegiance was to Jehovah and bowed only to Him. Later in Romans 14:11 Paul is quoting God from Isaiah 45:23 which says, “‘I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.’”

Finally, as Paul begins his prayer in Ephesians 3:14, he writes, “For this reason I bend my knees before the Father,” You see, Paul knew there was only one God and to Him only would he bow. Paul would bow to no man. Kind of reminds you of three youth who got thrown into a furnace for refusing to bow to an earthly king, doesn’t it?  Today, bow your knee, bow your heart, kneel and pray and lift up the name of Jesus.

O Lord, I will bow before You and praise Your holy name.

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Bible, Church, Home, Scripture, Worship

YOUR HOUSE CHURCH

COLOSSIANS 4:15

“Greet the brothers and sisters who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house.”

There is some disagreement whether Nympha was a man or a woman or a family name. In this day of gender disorder, I don’t want you to be confused about this. Nympha comes from nymphe which means “young woman” or “bride.” That is probably the best reason to say this was a Christian woman who had opened her home up as a house church. The name is not the important thing. The important thing is what she did.

Paul obviously knew her or knew a lot about her. In the early church period, people met in homes for worship. Where else would they go? Jewish believers couldn’t worship Jesus in the synagogues. Gentile believers couldn’t enter a pagan temple and worship Him. They bonded together in their homes, sharing meals and praising the Lord. Nympha’s home was a well-known gathering place, and Paul sends his greetings.

APPLICATION

Today, we don’t see a lot of house churches in the West. We have built thousands and thousands of church buildings ranging from mega churches to small country chapels. There has been a movement to start house churches but only out of desire, not necessity.

In many parts of the world, however, house churches are a necessity. For instance, in China house churches are the norm. People have to move from house to house to avoid detection by the Communist government. Christianity is frowned upon, and people can be imprisoned for gathering for worship. House churches there take on the same atmosphere as the first century churches.

Why the history lesson? I want to ask you to make your home a place of worship. I don’t mean that you have to start a house church. But let worship spread through your home, giving glory to Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Let all who enter your home know immediately that Christ reigns there. Don’t wait to go to church on Sunday to worship. Worship every day right in your home.

Father, I commit my home to You to use as You see fit.

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Bible, Scripture, Singing, Worship

SING A SONG

EPHESIANS 5:19

“speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord;”

I have been singing in choirs since @ 1975. That’s almost 50 years. I have sung in youth choirs and ensembles, college choirs, barbershop quartets and choruses, church choirs, praise teams, quartets and solos. I love to sing. Since moving to Knoxville back in March of this year, I have been relegated to being a part of the congregational singing. I have enjoyed that. I even break out in song some mornings on my morning walks as I listen to praise songs. I am sure my neighbors love that at 5:30 a.m. lol

Paul knew the importance of singing praises with other believers. He lists “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” in today’s verse. I don’t think the type of song was as important as “singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord.” Paul didn’t say that only the gifted musicians should sing. This command was given to all believers. You may be the most tone deaf person in the crowd, but the Lord takes pleasure when you sing to Him.

APPLICATION

The psalms were literally Scripture set to music. These psalms were sung in the temple and in the early church. They speak of God’s love, protection, and redemption. David wrote between 73 and 80 of the psalms in our Old Testament. Some of the psalms give instructions to sing with a musical instrument. There is just something about singing the words of God in worship.

I love the hymns. Unfortunately, many churches have disregarded the hymns in favor of more contemporary songs. I am not writing this to start a debate about hymns. I am simply pointing out that Paul saw the value in singing hymns. HELPS Word studies says this about this word. “Hýmnos (“hymns”) is used only of praising the triune God, manifested in the flesh in Jesus Christ, the God-man. It occurs twice in the NT (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16), pointing to well-known songs of praise to God that became established hymns for the early Christians.”

And what are these “spiritual songs” Paul references? These are more spontaneous songs of praise to God. I love what it says in Revelation 5:9-10. “9 And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slaughtered, and You purchased people for God with Your blood from every tribe, language, people, and nation. 10 You have made them into a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.’”

Whatever and however you choose to sing, make it a celebration of our one true God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Just sing!

I love to sing unto You, O God, my Rock and Salvation!

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Affection, Bible, Correction, Disappointment, Gifts, Giving, Guilt, Holy Spirit, Hypocrisy, Praise, Scripture, Worship

FORGET THE GIFT

MALACHI 1:10

“‘If only there were one among you who would shut the gates, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar for nothing! I am not pleased with you,’ says the LORD of armies, ‘nor will I accept an offering from your hand.’”

I have to admit something to you. I have given gifts out of guilt. Yep, I’ve done that. Don’t point your finger at me, though. I bet you have done the same thing. I have hurt people in the past, most of them unintentionally. So, what do I do? I try to find a way to make it up to them. That may involve a small gift of some sort. That is such hypocrisy, isn’t it?

The Lord speaks through Malachi in today’s verse and tells the priests, “nor will I accept an offering from your hand.” God doesn’t want gifts that are made half-heartedly. He wants us to come to Him with sincerity and purpose. God even hinted at even closing the doors of the temple to prevent them from offering sacrifices erroneously.

APPLICATION

Jeremiah 6:20 says something similar. “‘For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable and your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.’” This thought wasn’t exclusive to Malachi. All through Scripture God abhors false worship.

Carl, what’s all this talk about worship. Can’t we just restrict that Sundays? Are you kidding me? Worship is a daily event. We should be worshipping the Lord every day through praise, through thanksgiving and through listening for His voice. By the way that is PTL – Praise, Thanks, Listen. Try that today and see if you don’t worship.

This past Sunday at the church I attend, the worship service was truly Spirit-filled. I don’t mean we got Pentecostal (nothing wrong with that if it’s genuine). After all, we are Baptists, lol. But there were tears shed. There were hands raised. There were people standing up in their pews in celebration of praises going up through music. But I know my worship isn’t just on Sundays at my church. It’s every day.

I worship, O Mighty God, there is none like You.

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Attitude, Bible, Devout, Following, Heart, Purity, Scripture, Worship

SNOBBY WORSHIP

MALACHI 1:9

“’But now, do indeed plead for God’s favor, so that He will be gracious to us. With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?’ says the LORD of armies.”

Have you ever visited a church, and no one spoke to you? You walked in, and no one greeted you. Perhaps you even sat down, and someone gave you the stare that meant you were sitting in their seat. Everyone seemed to have their nose up in the air as if they belonged there and you didn’t. You know what I am talking about. They almost seemed to give off the impression that they were doing God a favor by being there.

That is exactly what the Lord is addressing in today’s verse. These priests totally ignored God’s commands. They did as they pleased in regards to worship. God should be pleased. After all, they were doing something. Something is better than nothing, right? Nope, it’s not, and they will find out soon enough.

APPLICATION

How do you ensure your worship is pure and holy? How do you present yourself before the Lord? I want my worship to be what He wants, not what I want. If you are like me, I have my own preconceived ideas about worship. I like this or I don’t like that. I want the choir to sing this song. I want the pastor to preach longer (come on now, who says that, lol).

We are told that “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” That’s John 4:24. What does that mean? Albert Barnes says this about that verse. “A pure, a holy, a spiritual worship, therefore, is such as he seeks – the offering of the soul rather than the formal offering of the body – the homage of the heart rather than that of the lips.”

Oh, to do that each and every time we enter into worship. Worship is about our heart attitude, not what we sing or preach. It’s a heart issue. So, is your heart right when you enter into worship? Are you bringing in unresolved grudges or ill will towards someone? If you are, confess that and get your heart right before worship. Then your heart will be what God desires.

Father, help me worship You in spirt and in truth. Let my heart cry out to You.

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Bible, Glory, Honor, Praise, Reverence, Scripture, Sincerity, Truth, Worship, Worthy

DEFILED WORSHIP

MALACHI 1:7

“‘You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, “How have we defiled You?” In that you say, “The table of the LORD is to be despised.”’”

Worship is something I take seriously. I hope you do also. In my ministry experience over the past 4+ decades, I have seen quite a diversity of worship. Some has been pointed more at man than God, unfortunately. As I preach or sing in worship, it is my prayer that everything done is pointed heavenward.

The Lord is chastising the priests of Israel because of their manner of worship. They were bringing defiled offerings to Him, and He was not pleased. Their excuse was that since the people were not taking it seriously, it did not matter what they did. They missed it. They were wrong.

APPLICATION

So, how do you know if you are doing it right? By listening to Him. By making it all about Him and not you. If you are a singer, sing to the Lord. If you are a preacher, preach to draw people to Christ, not yourself or your church. If you are sitting in the pew or chair, forget about yourself and concentrate on Him. If we shy away from the truth, we have despised worship as much as those priests who brought defiled offerings.

Psalm 96:7-9 is a beautiful picture of worship. “7 Ascribe to the LORD, you families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name; Bring an offering and come into His courtyards. 9 Worship the LORD in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth.”

Now, if we do that, we are truly worshipping. This Sunday, as you are in church, reflect on today’s verse and this Psalm. Check your attitude at the door. Spend time BEFORE you go to church worshipping in your Quiet Time. Prepare your heart for worship before you ever set foot inside the church. Let Jesus see your heart and feel your reverence.

O Lord, my God, You are too wonderful for words. I worship You.

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Belief, Bible, Exalting, Joy, Love, Praise, Scripture, Worship

THE LORD BE EXALTED

MALACHI 1:5

“And your eyes will see this, and you will say, ‘The LORD be exalted beyond the border of Israel!’”

The Lord never ceases to amaze me. He has done such incredible things in my life these past almost 63 years (hint, hint! I’ve got a birthday this month). I shouldn’t be amazed. I know His character, but it seems every time the Lord “shows out” in my life, I stand amazed.

Judah is being addressed here by Malachi. In today’s verse, he tells them to stand back and look at what the Lord has done for them. And goes on to say that they should be praising and celebrating Jehovah God “beyond the border of Israel.” Guess what? That is being done. The Lord is being praised all over the world.

APPLICATION

How are you exalting the Lord today? I don’t know, Carl. I save all my exalting for Sunday at church. No, no, no! We are to exalt and praise the Lord every day. Psalm 104:1 says, “Bless the LORD, my soul! LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty,” How about Psalm 33:2? “Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.”

Nowhere in those two verses do you see any mention of only praising the Lord on Sundays. Every morning in my Quiet Time, I have a time of Worship as part of my prayers. I praise Him in words, in song and in silence. When we lift praises to the King of kings, He is pleased. Don’t you want to please Him?

Read Psalm 100 today. Meditate on each phrase. Take the time to dig in a little deeper. Then you can praise Him. He wants to reveal Himself to you. He often does that as we are lifting Him in praise. I am reminded of the hymn that says:

Praise Him! Praise Him, Jesus, my blessed Redeemer. For our sins He suffered and bled and died

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Belief, Bible, Death, Grief, Scripture, Sorrow, Uncategorized, Worship

WORSHIPFUL MOURNING

ZECHARIAH 12:13

“the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves;”

As a minister for over four decades, I have had ample opportunities to come alongside a family or individual during their time of loss. There are few moments as tender as when you are standing beside someone as their loved one transitions from this life to the next. As much as you pray beforehand and prepare for the moment, there is still a huge jolt for them as that time arrives. Real ministry is done at these times.

Why do I mention that? Because in today’s verse, Zechariah mentions the house of Levi and the Shimeites. These were part of the priestly line in Judah and are representative of that group. Mourning (the theme the past few verses) was not just a national thing or even a personal thing. It is a worshipful moment. The priests knew that and could show the people how to mourn and give God praise.

APPLICATION

We are to give praise in all things. I know! I know! That is easier said than done. But if God tells us we can do something, then it is possible. James 1:2-4 tells us, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith will produce endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

So, how do you give praise, how do you worship and mourn at the same time? You point all your grief heavenward. You acknowledge your God above all things. There is probably one of the best illustrations of this in the book of Job. After Job has suffered great loss (property, livestock and all of his children), this is what happens in Job 1:20-22.

“20 Then Job got up, tore his robe, and shaved his head; then he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.’ 22 Despite all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God.”

Don’t miss that last line – “nor did he blame God.” Remember, as you worship in your mourning that God never inflicts harm on His children. He only wants to comfort and console us during these times of grief. Mourn, for sure, but as you do, worship the Lord Almighty who is and was and is to come.

Father, I worship You, no matter my circumstance, no matter my grief.

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