Tag: praise

Heart of Worship

Marissa

In my last post on worship, I talked about blowing kisses to God, from the Greek word proskuneō. This time, I want to write about a more sobering verse, contained in one of Christ’s discussions with the scribes and Pharisees.

Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Matt 15:7-9; Mark 7:6-7)

This word for worship is sebomai (G4576 σέβομαι), which Zodhiates lists as a synonym of proskuneō. It means to fall before, worship, adore. The word translated “in vain” is matēn (G3155 μάτην). It can also mean, “In a casual sense, meaning groundless, invalid” (Zodhiates). Used together, it means worship that is a vain and idle show of adoration rather than the real thing.

Trying to understand what invalidates a person’s worship of God, I went to the verse Christ was quoting from Isaiah. It reads, “this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men ” (Is. 29:13).

The state of our hearts is extremely important when we consider what genuine worship involves. It is clear from statements throughout the Old and New Testaments that “the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7) and expects His people to be pure on the inside. The last thing we should do is remove our hearts from God.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Prov. 4:23)

And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. (Jer. 24:7)

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (Matt 5:8)

It is equally clear that we cannot fool Him with worship that is not genuine. Read Psalm 139. God knows us to the very center of our being. He is the one who searches the heart and discerns our thoughts and intents (Jer. 17:10; Heb. 4:12). An idle show of adoration certainly will not fool our God, nor will He accept such worshipers when He is seeking those who worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).

I want to close with a lovely song, from which I have borrowed the title for this post.

Blowing Kisses To God

Marissa

This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for some time. I had intended for this to be my first blog post, but didn’t like the way it was coming together. Now, after hearing a seminar title “Wasted Worship” this weekend, I think I’m finally ready to write it and I think it will be at least two articles.

It all started, as so many of my Bible studies do, with looking in to the words for worship. The Greek word most often translated “worship” in the New Testament is proskuneō  (G4352 προσκυνέω). Its most basic meaning is to adore, show respect, bow down, or prostrate oneself. My favorite Greek dictionary says it literally means, “to kiss toward someone, to throw a kiss in token of respect or homage.” It is connected with an ancient oriental greeting. When one party was “much inferior, he fell upon his knees and touched his forehead to the ground or prostrated himself, throwing kisses at the same time toward the superior.”

I love this mental image. Worship involves us bowing down and blowing kisses toward God. I think of small children who loves their parents so much that they blow kisses to them at every opportunity. We should be so in love with God, so much in awe of Him, that we want to spend time every day seeking to “worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23).

There is no room for pride in this definition of worship. It is the kind of worship that happens before God’s throne, which we are given a glimpse of in Revelation:

And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Rev. 4:9-11)

And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. (Rev. 7:11-12)

And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. (Rev. 11:16-17)

What should blowing kisses to God look like for us? Assuming that worship is more than falling to your knees and literally blowing kisses sky-ward (though I’m certainly not excluding that), what do you think worship should be like?

I have some thoughts about this, but I’d love to hear what you think. Part of worship involves demonstrating our love for God by keeping His commandments (John 14:15), praying and praising Him, and studying His Bible. What are other practical, daily ways that you think we can show God our adoration and love?