First Off...
I want to begin by apologizing to the Worship Exposed audience. This post was originally supposed to be released last Monday, but due to the unexpected death of my grandmother. All of my focus and energy was put into being there with/for my family. Thankfully, my grandmother loved God with all of her being and followed Christ every day of her life up till the end. Now she is with Him, once and for all, forever. My family would absolutely appreciate all of your prayers during our time of mourning our loss here on Earth and our time of celebration for the wonderful child of God that has gained access to eternal Heaven with God. - Sam Lambert
The God We Worship - FATHER
I have to say, when the Worship Exposed team was approached with the idea of writing discussion posts about well…God…I was a bit worried. Honestly, I've seen so many articles and posts that attempt to say this and that about God, basically making Him into a clean, cookie cutter version of the writer’s perspective on how God should be. To be fair, it's only human nature to assign attributes to things based on how we perceive them. But is God, the Father, someone who we can even perceive? I would argue that He is far more than even our idea of what perception is. He is far more real than reality, yet at the same time He can't even fit inside our understanding of the word "real.” He just…IS.
This brings me to scripture. In the book of Exodus, Moses asks God what His name is; God responds with the phrase, "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh." Now, this phrase is kind of difficult to translate into English, but a close interpretation means, "I will be who I will be." Simply put, God is, and always will be who He will be…God.
God describes Himself to us as our Father, and God refers to believers as His sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18). I don't know about you, but I am so glad to know that the God of infinity would call you and me His sons and daughters. When you make the conscious decision to turn from sin and embrace the love that the Father showed you through His holy Son Jesus Christ (about whom you will read more later in this series), you become a member of the most incredible and infinite family tree that will ever exist. You become a child of the most incredible father figure the world has ever known. The Father is strong, He is protective of you, He is your Provider. He loves you.
Now you may say to yourself, “Sam this is all good, but how does this pertain to worship? What is my takeaway from this to strengthen my daily worship?”
It’s simple; yet, so few people grasp it.
God has called you His child. You have been reborn and saved into His loving arms forever! You no longer carry the name “Broken,” no longer are you “Sinful, Unlovable, Dirty, Unfixable.” No - you, my friend, are Made Whole. You are Dearly Loved. You are Spotless.
You aren’t defined by what the world tries to label you. You are a child of God! Your worth comes from what Jesus Christ said about you on the cross.
The Father’s everlasting love spoke genuine Mercy and Grace on all who believe. His love said, “You are worth dying for.” It doesn’t matter what kind of past you’ve had or how unworthy you may feel right now. God’s love has never been about your worthiness; it’s always been about His holiness!
You are no longer a slave; you are a daughter, a son of the God who holds the universe in the palm of His hand.
When that hits home in your heart, your worship to God will be forever changed.
I pray that every eye that sees this post will take this moment and pray to God. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you in a new way today. I pray that if you came to this page struggling with your identity or purpose, you will start the journey to realizing your true worth in Christ, alone. I encourage you to read the writings of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. Read all about a man who literally had every possession and experience that could be had, including more wisdom than any other man. Yet, at the end of his journey…well, here, let me share with you the very first verses of this ancient wisdom book:
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2
“1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
Challenge: Worship your heavenly Father today for who He is - the God who transcends all understanding and whose love for you and me brought meaning into the meaningless.
Exposing Worship in Spirit and Truth,
Sam Lambert
Recommended Track of the Week: “No Longer Slaves (Live)” by Jonathan David & Melissa Helser