A Reason to Worship by Angela Thomas-Pharr

A Reason to Worship When you first believe in Jesus, there is a deep and immediate gratefulness for the unearned forgiveness of sin, the assurance of God’s love, the promise of heaven, the restoration of our relationship to God, and the sacrifice of Jesus. The more we grow in the knowledge of Christ, the more we mature as believers. As a result, our gratefulness is ever-increasing. Worship is some days gathering with other believers and singing songs in church. But the definition of worship in the Bible goes further. Worship for believers is so much more. The worship God desires means submitting my entire life to be transformed, becoming a reflection of His glory. All of life is intended to be worship for the redeemed. In other words, “Worship is about what you live for.” Those words gave such clarity to me. If worship is about what you live for, then I need to ask, What am I living for? What is the focus of my attention? The desire of my heart? What drives me? Moves me? Inspires me? All of life is worship. We cannot turn off our worship or stop being vessels of worship. Humans were made to worship. We will either worship the one, true God, or we worship idols—but either way, all of life is worship. With this understanding of worship, I can truly say I long to worship God with my life. I long to live for God. My acts of worship come from a desire to please God, but on their own, they would never be enough. Yet they are enough because each act, word, thought, feeling, and song I sing is hidden in Christ, my Savior. The Redeemer covers me and makes my worship acceptable and pleasing to God. Just like my life, my acts of worship are being redeemed. And praise the Lord, I don’t have to worry about doingworship right. The greater act of obedience is keeping a check on my desire. How will I know if I am worshiping God in spirit and in truth? My life will proclaim the truth by: The things I make important The objects that hold my attention The way I spend my time The way I work The way I relate to others. My life, and yours, will shout the truth of our heart’s desire.

Excerpted from Redeemed by Angela Thomas-Pharr. © 2016. LifeWay Press. Used by permission.