What does it mean to truly worship God as He desires to be worshiped?  Let’s reflect on God’s Word for wisdom and understanding.

Jesus tells us this:

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24

But you may wonder, what is truth?

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Here we learn that true worship must acknowledge the truth that Jesus is Our Lord and Savior.  Jesus is the Way to heaven.  Jesus gives us His Holy Spirit to enable us to worship.  If we want to truly worship God as He desires to be worshiped, we must be attentive to all of the teachings of Our Lord Jesus.

True Worship is a Matter of the Heart

Jesus challenged people’s authenticity “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.  Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”  Matthew 15: 8-11

Jesus is not looking for a casual encounter with us; He wants our hearts devoted to Him, moment-by-moment, day-by-day.

Our words matter, but if we recite prayers and our mind is elsewhere is that ‘true worship’?

True worship is rooted in everything our Lord Jesus taught us.

True Worship is an Imitation of Christ

“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.  Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Philippians 2:8-11

Humility and obedience are key to true worship. We must acknowledge our profound need for God’s grace and strive to live in accordance to His Holy Will.  In every situation, in every moment, we need to strive to imitate Jesus and the only way we can do that is by getting to know Him through His Word.

True Worship is True Repentance

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8

We are all sinners; that is truth.  It is also true that Jesus is always ready to forgive us, but we must do more than confess our sins, we must be ready to truly repent which means we must be ready to turn away from them for good.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

“Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God…”  Luke 3:8

True Worship is Forgiving Others

Just as Jesus is ready to forgive us, we must be ready to forgive too.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7

True Worship is Prayer that is Reverent, Full of Awe, Praise and Thanksgiving

This is what we are called to be on a day-to-day basis, reverent and thankful for God’s many blessings.

In every solemn celebration of The Mass we are given an opportunity to receive a miracle.

This miracle comes when we honour the special instruction Jesus gave us before He died:

At His Last Supper, Jesus said “…do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19 and then He fed His apostles with a miracle!

The miracle I am speaking of is The Eucharist, The Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.

This miracle cannot be seen with our eyes but we must acknowledge it with faith.

St. Paul cautioned the first disciples of Christ to receive the Body of Christ with reverence.  He said, “For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.” 1 Corinthians 11:29

True Worship is Charitable, Loving and Merciful

Jesus calls us to see Him in the people around us.  He said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” Matthew 2:40

Charity must begin at home as we love and forgive one another, acknowledging our errors, striving to be compassionate and loving.

Giving our time to one another, volunteering for good causes and financially supporting them to the extent we can is all ‘true worship’ giving glory to God.

True Worship is Remembering The Infinite Price Jesus Paid

True worship is all about LOVE IN ACTION!

Fall in love with Jesus by taking a walk with Him to the place of His crucifixion. Remember Him lying down on the Cross saying “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

For the last twenty years I have been doing one important thing every day.  I have been stopping @ 3 o’clock, the Time Jesus died for us, to take a walk to Calvary to remember the Passion of Christ.  This has resulted in a deep personal relationship with Jesus.

Temptation dies at the foot of the Cross.  Remember Jesus dying for you and your heart will be changed by the greatness of His Love.

Join Christians all over the world who stop every day @ The Time Jesus died for us, 3pm, to remember the greatest love the world has ever known and will ever know, the love of Our Saviour Jesus Christ.

True Worship is Jesus working through us to build a better world, a better future for all our children.

Peace be with you!