A HEART FOR WORSHIP

** Writer’s Note: I am safely in my first stop, Bahrain, on a two and a half week work trip that will also take me to Bahrain, Crete, Sicily, Italy, Germany and Spain. I will still be writing and posting while on the road. My posting times may be a little skewed because I will be as much as 8 hours ahead of EST. I’ll do my best to be timely and ask for your patience and prayers as I travel. God bless all of you and may the joy of the Lord be your strength…now and forever. In Christ, Mark

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the Lord said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp." So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses." Numbers 15:32-36

We’ve already seen where God does not favor anyone who chooses to sin defiantly against Him. The scripture today underscores that.

The Israelites have been turned from Canaan by God and sent back into the desert where they would journey for 40 years, one year for each day that the scouts had went into and surveyed the Promised Land before reporting back. Our scripture begins "while the Israelites were in the desert" with "a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day". You’ll remember that the Lord had commanded:

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." Exodus 20:8-11

Clearly, the Lord expected the Sabbath to be holy...a day of worship and reverence. Israel knew this well. Clearly, the Lord expected no labor to be done on the Sabbath. Israel knew this well. Clearly, not all of Israel was obedient to God’s command. The man showed this. Finally, clearly all of Israel was aware that God’s judgment could rain down on them all as a community of His standards were not met. Their actions regarding the man gathering wood on the Sabbath show that.

For our scripture shares that the man was "found gathering wood on the Sabbath". Someone saw him breaking the commandment but instead of turning the other way and not doing something about it, they took action. They "brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him". Enter the Lord who told Moses that "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp." This was God’s will. The man blatantly disobeyed His command and the people were to carry out the judgment. God could have done it Himself but we sense that God was trying to send a further message to the people of Israel. Disobey and disrespect Him and there will be a price to pay.
So our passage ends as "the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses." The man paid the ultimate price for His sinfulness. If only his heart had been in the right place.

The Sabbath day was to be centered on God and in order to do this, one’s heart had to be centered and focused on Him. This is why the Lord commanded people to not labor on the Sabbath. He wanted no distractions. But the man in today’s scriptures had no interest in God’s desires…only his own. On the day he should have been turning toward His Father, instead he turned to wood. His heart was as hard as the stones that would eventually kill him.

Today, I get very concerned about our approach to worship. For nothing has changed regarding God’s call to keep the Sabbath holy…for us to rest. Remember these words from Paul in Hebrews:

"Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest…" Hebrews 4:1-3

God still expects us to rest. He also expects us to keep His Sabbath day holy which includes worshipping Him. One thing we don’t see is God coercing us to obey or worship Him. He doesn’t strike us down when we fail to keep His commandments. No…He wants us to obey and worship Him because we want to…because we have a heart for Him. He wants us to want to obey and worship Him because it’s our desire to do so.

In the bible, 250 scripture passages that mention the word "worship". For this devotional, I ask you to consider this passage from Romans:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

God’s "good, pleasing and perfect will" is for everyone to "not conform any longer to the pattern of this world" but instead "offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God." We are to do this "in view of God's mercy"…a mercy that would have us viewing an old rugged cross on Calvary where His Son suffered, bled and died for our sins…the very sins we commit when we choose to not keep God’s command…the very sins we commit when we decide our desires are more important that obeying and worshipping Him.

Friends, Jesus had a heart for worship…and a heartfelt, passionate love for us like no other. His act of love displayed at His crucifixion showed His willingness to offer Himself as a living sacrifice…to pay the price for us…all because He loved us, just as His Father does. The least we can do is return the favor in our own lives.

Let us today and ever more recommit to fully worship and adore the Father and His Son. Let us all recommit to having a heart for worship. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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