Psalm 46

Georgia day 4

Georgia Day 3, now come on

Georgia Day 2, ya hear

Georgia Day 1

Not sure about Worship

"Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally."
-Matthew 28:16-17

To get an idea where this is, this is at the end of the book of Matthew, right after Jesus rose from the dead. These are the eleven disciples, that were with Jesus during the gospel, his ministry, these are the guys who saw all his miracles. They heard all his teaching breathed the same air, walked in his footprints. If anyone should have known he was God in flesh it was them.
Just to clarify Jesus did just rise from the dead, a culminating victory. I would expect that any lingering doubts would be dissipated at this point. So we are left with eleven guys who know Jesus is God. What do they do when they see him for the first time since the cross? Worship him, well most of them do. The bible says some "held back." Remember who these guys are, what they have seen, what they know. Yet some held back from worshiping him, Jesus. Afraid to risk themselves totally.

What does this mean for our worship?
We have all heard people say "If only, i could see him, touch him, experience a miracle, hear his voice, then i would know he is real, and i could worship him, Jesus, God. This is an excuse we use to distance our selves from God. The disciples for crying out loud "held back," and the bible tells us their motivation, their risk.
They knew it was all or nothing, either worship Jesus who they know is God and give your entire life to him. Or they could hold back, restrain themselves, keep it repressed in their hearts. The risk is too big, in this sacred moment they clung to themselves instead of the cross.

How much do we hold back? What is it we keep from God, that keeps us from fully worshiping him. Excuses aren't important, repentance is, cleansing and healing, selflessness.
Worship is not always easy, because the risk is so big, the obstacle, the divide. But the reward is life, Jesus, the truth, and victory. In our surrender, sacrifice of our selfishness, is victory in our hearts. We tend to think of surrender as loss, failure, in this case it is Victory.

The Initiative to serve others

"Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them." -Matthew 7:12 (Message)

I did research project a few months ago on, "How to determine those who take initiative in an interview." There were a few companies who have some interesting methods. An example would be the interviewer would be let into the room he was to be interviewed in and find that there are no chairs. The interviewer would then say something like, "Ohh they were cleaning the carpet i think the chairs are in the room next to us." Weather or not this person was hired depended on how they respond to the situation. If they said something like, "well let me go grab two chairs." They were probably in, if they let the interviewer go and get them, they were out.

All this is interesting but how does it relate to scripture? Well the interview-e would have gotten the job every time if they took the attitude Jesus is speaking of here. "What would i want for myself? That's what i need to do for others." We have an easy time knowing what we would like for ourselves. It would for example be nice not to have to open a door for yourself, even more so if the handle is cold in this winter weather. The barrier we run into is thinking of others, then taking the initiative to DO for them. This takes a little courage and boldness. I have found a smile always makes it easier.

What does this mean for our worship?
Jesus is calling us to do for him the things we would want ourselves. I think we would all like to be told by someone every day that we are loved. I think we would all like for others to speak highly of us.
One way to explain worship is as an attitude. To have an attitude of worship would mean maintaining a sensitivity to God's presence carrying yourself with an outlook that gives first to others, and takes initiative for them. Thinking of your wants last, a giving personality, not handing "things" to others, but kind words, encouragement, spreading God's presence. Share Joy. I will share joy with others because i love when people share their joy with me. The wonderful thing about joy is it never runs out when you share it, it multiplies.