Distracting Worship
Disclaimer: “ 16. This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. 17. Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: 18. and the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; 19. and to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.”
Deuteronomy 26:16-19 KJV
We Are No Strangers To Worship
As another season of awards shows presents itself on our various screens, I am reminded of our God-given inclination to worship the things we find worthy of admiration. Gathered around television screens to see people dressed up to receive acclaim for works done in pursuit of self-ambition, fame, personal glory, and fortune. Reliving the highlights and fawning over the people, some of us feel live an enviable life of grandeur and success we long to have.
No, we are no strangers to worship; we clap or are dismayed when people we value do not get the praise we feel they deserve in the form of a uniquely shaped golden graven image, Isaiah 44:9.
Golden idolatrous statues that only have the misplaced value we give them. Are they worth us taking roles that dishonor God, or singing songs displeasing to Him, gyrating and degrading ourselves, dancing in choreographed sin, immodestly clad on a stage to a watching world? Galatians 5:19-21.
Then as we watch with gleeful anticipation as our ‘idol’ wins, takes the stage, and more often than believable, begins to thank God for an award merited to bodies of work that usually does the very opposite of honoring, glorifying, or pleasing the Lord. Bodies of artistic expression that most often promote the very sins God was assigned as death worthy. Just like the thief here, Proverbs 30:9, they take the Lord's name in vain.
No, we are no strangers to worship. With unbridled cheers, we celebrate when our favorite sports teams hold their silver or golden trophies over their heads—prompting us to partake in the glory of their victory over their opponents. Parades stretching for blocks with masses of jubilant painted faces, charismatic shouts of fervor, sounds of whistling whipping in the air, jumping with jubilant unrestrained praise, dancing with all abandon in the streets to music blaring an invitation for us to join. As our conquering team passes by, to our waves of time-consuming, carefully crafted signs to their admiration, some gladly spending unimaginable resources on sports paraphernalia and decked head to toe in branding! Oh yes! we are….for lack of a better word …fanatics, Isaiah 44:10-11.
We never tire, year after year, season after season, playoff after playoff, series after series, award show after award show of celebrating the honors we believe some have earned and are worthy of, Isaiah 31:7.
The devil has us so distracted from focusing on the matters of God and his kingdom purposes that we draw ire at not receiving our fair share of the pagan’s idols. So furious are we at the snub of validation that the enemy did not reward us equally with their abhorrent worthless idolatrous mementos of pride!
Anything that elicits your trust, praise, or worship higher than or in place of God is an Idol, Isaiah 30:22, Menstrual cloths, ouch. Let the pagans have their treasured golden graven images; you belong to a God who treasures you more, Isaiah 43:1-5.
No, we are no strangers to worship.
Holy Spirit, Please Transform and Renew Our Minds
We are in no way discarded rubble in a war-torn country; we are Israel, the city on the hill, we, which the holy scriptures call 'a WORLD without end ’, Isaiah 45:17 KJV. We should demand from each other, brothers and sisters, the same respect that we demand from the pagans, if not more! We who are the elect, the chosen, the Spirit indwelled. Our standard of perfection is not set by this world; it is set by its maker, Isaiah 40:28.
We are so focused on the pagans and their treatment of us that we have neglected our treatment towards each other, Ephesians 5:21,” submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”
How many little squabbles turn into agitated conflicts or verbal altercations snowball into physical aggression because we fail to treat others the way we ourselves want to be treated? Matthew 7:12.
Some heart-wrenching painful interactions escalate even to grave fatalities from our lack of respect for each other as people, as brothers and sisters, or from our refusal to submit to each other's authority and position. The devil has us so focused on the wrongs of the enemy that we fail to see the wrongs of ourselves. This observation is in NO WAY intended to blame but lovingly rooted with the intent towards meaningful change. Hebrews 13:3.
Don't allow the Devil’s intentional and often egregious mishandling of the beautiful word, submit, to distract from our heavenly fathers' intended purpose. To glorify him as we honor him in our actions toward each other and to promote unity, peace, love, and oneness within his kingdom.
The devil laughs. He has distorted the true intent of the word ‘submit’ to the point that we rebel against it, and deliver the very blows of destruction to ourselves that the Lord intended to prevent when he breathed this directive in His holy scriptures in the first place.
Kingdom Centered Focus
Although there are more scriptures, we will focus on these few below for this article, highlighting the behavior God wants, commands, and expects from his children. So Let’s Dive in, shall we? Firstly, Romans 12:10, “ 10. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.”
Brotherly love, this language connotes familial affection and consideration of each other. Patience and regard you would have towards someone who is a blood relative. And in all actuality, if we are all descendants of Jacob, then we are. No matter our earthly citizenships or nationalities formed and granted by man, God calls us the nation of Israel.
Take, for instance, the woman at the well; she is described as a woman of Samaria but refers to Jacob as, our father, John 4:12. She is an Israelite woman, as she shares the same forefather as we do, Jacob. Similar to how I am an Israelite woman with American citizenship of artificial nationality, I am called American. And there are more similar instances like this occurring elsewhere in scripture.
The name America is not found in the bible. If asked today, we would most certainly say our nationality is the name of the nation-state of whatever the geographical location was of our birth or migration. Israelites, we are the seed of Jacob, the nation of Israel. All glory be to God!
And then we come to John 13:34-35, “34. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” I have stressed in other articles, and it bears repeating that we are to be obeying the commands given to us by God; here is one such command. I want us, at this time, for a particular point, to hone in on the last verse, 35.
Jesus made it a point to emphasize that all men knew that his disciples were his disciples. We are to love each other in such a way that any nation of people that looks at us sees Christ and his great love for us lived out on display through our love for each other. That should be important to us, not to gain the world's approval, acceptance, or misguided pursuits for equality, but because it is important to our Lord and savior.
Our Messiah, whose blood soaked the cross he was nailed to for our transgression of the law, wants us, His disciples, to be marked by our love for one another.
Plainly, Yeshua tells us that loving each other is the behavior reflected in people that belong to Him. All glory be to God.
Distracting Pursuits
We who are the beloved of God, his chosen race, his very own possession, cherished to the point of our Messiah's death, burial, and resurrection, shouldn't be life consumingly concerned with wanting to be included in this passing world. Especially since we have been divinely elected to be included in His kingdom, wake up!
My Loves, we must be renewed in our minds, our thinking, and our focus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to the truth and understanding at our core of not only who we are but who we belong to! Isaiah 41:8-9.
What does it convey to our God of our trust in Him or the watching pagan nations when we seek their love or respect, as if we desperately need their acknowledgment, recognition, or approval? What eternal value is it to us!? LET THEM KEEP IT! WE HAVE HIM! Exodus 14:14, “ 14. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent ”.
Or is Yahweh’s value of us, his beloved children, and His invaluable worth not enough? Love you. His Glory
