Category: Devotional

The Position, Posture & Place of our worship Part 2

In the book of Mark is a story of a woman’s act of love, service and devotion to the Lord. Her story is lost to time, not even her name is given in this passage. We don’t know her life story, we don’t know her past but we do see a glimpse of her heart. It is a story that shows us the position, posture and place of our worship.

Mark 14:3-9 ESV

3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

  1. THE POSTURE OF WORSHIP

THE BIBLE RECORDS NO WORDS FROM THIS WOMAN, JUST A SIMPLE ACT OF DEVOTION. A lot of times especially in worship, we come to know God with and without words. We don’t always have to sing along with a song in order to worship Him. We worship from the heart than with our lips.

IT’S NOT HOW WE LOOK WHEN WE WORSHIP, ITS ABOUT THE POSTURE OF OUR HEART.

GOD HONORS WORSHIP FROM THE HEART, JOHN 4:24 “GOD IS SPIRIT, AND THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH.”

WE MUST GIVE OUR ALL JUST AS THIS WOMAN DID.

///REFLECTION///

ONCE THE VESSEL THAT HELD THE OINTMENT WAS BROKEN, THERE WAS NO STOPPING IT, IT HAD TO BE USED AT ONCE. ARE WE STOPPING OUR PRAISE FOR ANY REASON? HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE GRIEVED THE SPIRIT FROM HOLDING BACK OUR PRAISE?

The Position, Posture and Place of our Worship Part 1 – The Position of our Worship

In the book of Mark is a story of a woman’s act of love, service and devotion to the Lord. Her story is lost to time, not even her name is given in this passage. We don’t know her life story, we don’t know her past but we do see a glimpse of her heart. It is a story that shows us the position, posture and place of our worship.

Mark 14:3-9 ESV

3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

Part 1 – The Position of our Worship

  1. THE POSITION OF WORSHIP.

We must know who we are in Christ when we worship! If we have repented, we are no longer that man or woman who we once was. He has forgiven you! “Our sins are as far as from the east is from the west.” Psalms 103:12

That’s why we can come into His presence boldly!

HEBREWS 4:16 “LET US THEREFORE COME BOLDLY TO THE THRONE OF GRACE, THAT WE MAY OBTAIN MERCY AND FIND GRACE TO HELP IN TIME OF NEED.”

THIS WOMAN WHO COULDV’E HAD A HORRIBLE PAST, LABELED IN SOCIETY AS AN OUTSIDER, TALKED ABOUT, MOCKED AT, POINTED AT BUT SHE CAME BOLDLY. SHE WASN’T THINKING THAT HER PAST WAS TOO BAD.

When we worship the Lord He Doesn’t see who we used to be, He sees our position in Christ.

Let’s look at verse 4 “There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that?

THIS WOMAN WHO IS SEEN POURING HER MOST VALUABLE POSSESSION ON JESUS HEAD GETS MOCKED BY THE VALUE OF THE PERFUME, THEY WERE MORE WORRIED ABOUT THEIR POSITION IN SOCIETY MORE THAN THEIR POSITION IN CHRIST. WHILE GIVING MONEY TO THE CHURCH AND TITHING IS BIBLICAL OR GIVING TO THE NEEDY; IT’S ONLY IF WE ARE “IN CHRIST” THAT MATTERS.

They were more worried about their position in society more than their position in Christ.

ONCE THE VESSEL THAT HELD THE OINTMENT WAS BROKEN, THERE WAS NO STOPPING THE FLOW OF THE OIL, IT HAD TO BE USED AT ONCE. 

How many times have we grieved Holy Spirit by not giving our all to Him in worship?

PRAYER: Lord, bring us back to the heart of worship, let us give you our all and not to hold back. Let us realize the authority, the power & our position in You when we worship. Amen

Your Thoughts Matter

There is one mission, one priority that the enemy aims to do — destroy our fellowship with the Lord. He did this in the beginning when Eve believed the lie and at times we fall victim.

So we know the enemy doesn’t come to us with a pitchfork or as some other mythical creature. We know he is real and his mission is never going to change. So how do we not fall into sin? How do we not believe those lies that Eve fell for? How did they all start? Our thoughts.

THE WAR AGAINST THOUGHTS OF SIN AND STRONGHOLDS ARE FOUGHT IN OUR MIND.

The question to ask ourselves is what type of thoughts are we letting in?

Here is what we should think about:

PHILIPPIANS 4:8 “FINALLY, BROTHERS, WHATEVER IS TRUE, WHATEVER IS HONORABLE, WHATEVER IS JUST, WHATEVER IS PURE, WHATEVER IS LOVELY, WHATEVER IS COMMENDABLE, IF THERE IS ANY EXCELLENCE, IF THERE IS ANYTHING WORTHY OF PRAISE, THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS.’

We may think, “But why is it so hard to focus on whatever is pure, or honorable, or etc?.”

  • If we are watching TV programs that you know you shouldn’t be watching.
  • If we are socializing more with unbelievers than believers.

2 CORINTHIANS 2:15 “TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST.”

Are we truly taking every thought captive? Do we filter our thoughts?

We may think — it’s just one look
We may think — it’s just one more drink
We may think — It’s just one more hit
We may think — it’s just one more, one more.

What we may think is small in the beginning, can wreak havoc in our walk with God now or later on.

Galatians 6:8 “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

REFLECT// Ask Holy Spirit to search your heart, your mind, what am I thinking on? What do I need to do different? Remember that thoughts can change your life.

Seek Him, Continually

Are we seeking God for what He can do for us? Or for who He is?

1 chronicles 16:11 Seek the Lord and His strength; seek his presence continually!

There’s one thing that we need and that is God, you would not have been reading this devotional if you were not seeking God or seeking something from Him today.

This verse tells us that we seek God for what He can do and also for who He is. 

Why does the Word tell us to “Seek His strength”?

  • God is all powerful and we need His strength in every aspect of our lives.

Why does the Word tell us to “Seek His face continually”?

  • His strength is what He can give us, His face is who He is, we need His presence.

We don’t need His presence just today, but day after day, continually seeking after the face of God.

Why His presence is so important:

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fulness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

When we seek after His presence we receive all of Him… strength, peace, love, mercy, that is why our enemy the devil uses the tactic against us for staying busy so that we don’t seek after His presence but rather, bothered with life’s daily tasks to seek our own ambitions.

Redeemer, Restorer & Rescuer

Redeemer

9 He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever— holy and awesome is his name. – Psalms 111:9

He is the God who can take your mess into a miracle.

He is the God who can take your ashes and turn them into beauty.

It all happens at the cross. There is a great exchange that takes place and not only once but every time we come before him. He redeems us of our past.

Restorer

10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. – 1 Peter 5:10

He not only redeems our past but restores ourselves, our identity, our failures our mishaps. He restores us into the image of His Son.

Rescuer

27 He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in Heaven and on Earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions den.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy 4:18

He is a rescuer. He rescued us from a miry pit and has set our feet on a rock not any rock but The Rock. He still rescues when we call out to Him. He still rescues us out of temptation and every trial if we just wait up on Him, He will redeem, restore and rescue!

How Worship Wins the Battle

Part 1: Choosing to Worship

The battle of Jericho, Paul & Silas in prison and the story of Jehoshaphat. We read many times in the Bible when worship won the battle and it still is the key today in our lives.

We must realize that when we have battles they are of the Lord’s not ours. But our purpose is to worship!

____________________________________________

How worship wins the battle:

  1. We must choose to worship (Part 1)
  2. It re-directs our focus (Part 2)
  3. Worship makes the enemy scatter (Part 3)

2 CHRONICLES 20:1-6

20 It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites,came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

– Jehoshaphat didn’t seek a board meeting.

– He didn’t ask his advisors what he should do.

– He didn’t let his feelings of fear disrupt his choice to worship.

BUT he invited everyone to ask help from the Lord.

When believers are united with

  • one mind
  • one accord
  • one passion
  • one will
  • one heart
  • one agenda
  • one mission, under one name under Heaven.

SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN!

WE MUST CHOOSE TO WORSHIP!

  1. WORSHIP IS A CHOICE

WORSHIP IS NOT A FEELING, IT IS NOT AN EMOTION. IT IS A CHOICE.

3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord,

When we’re feeling overwhelmed by our circumstances, the last thing we may feel like doing is praising God. But it’s the first thing we should do.

PROVERBS 3:5

“Trust in the lord with all your heart, and do not Lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.”

One way to acknowledge him is to worship him. We may not understand what His plan is at the moment, but He is still worthy of praise. Choos to Worship!

In Him: We Are Forgiven

It’s a fact: Satan tries to remind us of our past mistakes, our past sins and intimidating us that they are not forgiven. We then if we believe those lies begin to step back, become weak or even retreat from God in shame.

But we have this promise 👇🏼

1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrightesouness”

We have a responsibility to confess, bring them into the light and repent from them.

“…he is faithful and just.”

It’s not because we were faithful to come to him that sets us free, it’s because when we do come to him, he is faithful and just.

It’s all because of what happened at Calvary that sin has no power over the believer.

Today remind yourself that because he has risen we no longer have to be that person. That sin no longer has a hold on you. You stand today forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness — holy in his sight!