May the mumbling commence!
How can we truly worship the Lord? That’s a good question. How about another one? Where can we truly worship the Lord? I travel around the city of Hutchinson quite
frequently now that I am a bus driver for Reno County Area Transit. There are many churches sprinkled throughout
town. Some right next door to one
another!
The Samaritan woman at the well had a similar question
to the latter one. Read Jesus’ response
to her from John chapter four:
Jesus replied, "Believe me, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you
worship the Father here or in Jerusalem.
You Samaritans know so little about the one you worship, while we Jews
know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But
the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who
will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him
must worship in spirit and in truth." (Verses 21-24)
How do we worship the Lord? We worship God in spirit and in truth. But, what does that mean? We truly worship God when we follow the
leading of the Holy Spirit into all truth.
It doesn’t matter if you worship at the Mennonite church or the Episcopalian
Church or the Baptist Church or the Catholic Church or the Methodist Church or
the Brethren Church or the nondenominational church.
What matters is how you worship. Let’s worship in spirit and in truth. And worshipping in this way means some
self-examination. Let’s become aware of
our sins so that we might purge them.
Read the laundry list of sins that Ezekiel records in chapter
twenty-two:
"Every leader in Israel who lives
within your walls is bent on murder. Fathers
and mothers are contemptuously ignored. Resident foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and
oppressed. Inside your walls you
despise my holy things and violate my
Sabbath days of rest. People accuse others falsely and send them
to their death. You are filled with idol
worshipers and people who take part
in lewd activities. Men sleep with
their fathers' wives and have intercourse with women who are menstruating. Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors'
wives, who defile their daughters-in-law or who rape their own sisters. There are
hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere! They never
even think of me and my commands,
says the Sovereign Lord.” (Verses 6-12)
Surely we do not have the same problems today, do
we? Not so fast!
Attempts at mass murder seem the way to be going out
among a certain set of people. Children
ignore their parents – check. Foreigners
go unprotected – check. Orphans, widows
and single parents are wronged and oppressed – check. People violate the Sabbath day rest – most definitely
check. Idol worship – though it’s
changed over the years it’s still here – check.
People take part in lewd activities – check. People commit adultery – check. Hit men and loan racketeers and extortioners,
O my – check. Just look at all the pay
day loan places in our town!
Indeed, not much has changed over the years. Help us, O Lord, to purge the sin from our
midst so that we might worship you in spirit and in truth. The time to do so is NOW.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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