True worship?
Feb 25
"God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). The word "worship" is used frequently today in Christian circles--in addition to worship services, we now have worship choruses, worship teams, worship manuals, worship seminars, etc. Often, however, the basic meaning of worship is misunderstood. In the original Hebrew and Greek, the respective words translated "worship" mean simply to "bow down!" The Hebrew is so translated the first time it is used. When Abraham saw God and two angels approaching, "he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground" (Genesis 18:2). That is, he recognized God's "worthy-ship" and was submitting himself to do His will. The last time "worship" is used is when John "fell down to worship before the feet of the angel." He was corrected by the angel with these words: "See thou do it not: . . . worship God" (Revelation 22:8-9). Only God, our Creator and Savior, is worthy of true worship, and that worship involves simply bowing down in submission to do His will.
No man takes His life
Feb 18
"These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as He taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on Him; for His hour was not yet come" (John 8:20). This is the last of seven times in the gospel of John that the phrase "not yet" is used in reference to the forthcoming death of Christ. Although this was the very reason He came into the world, the event itself could not be hurried. When His mother wanted Him to provide wine for the wedding, He said, "mine hour is not yet come" (John 2:4). When His brothers urged Him to show His mighty works in Jerusalem, His answer was, "My time is not yet come" (John 7:6,8). When His enemies tried to take Him at the feast of tabernacles, "no man laid hands on Him, because His hour was not yet come" (John 7:30). Even when He preached His great promise of living water, John noted parenthetically that "the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified" (John 7:39).
The days of God
Feb 11
"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" (John 8:56). Jesus spoke to the Pharisees about "my day"--a day which Abraham had "seen" 2000 years before. This evidently referred to the time when Christ would be on earth, which God had enabled Abraham to see in prophecy. But of all the days when He was on the earth, the most glorious was the great day when He rose from the dead. "He hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee" (Acts 13:33). As a result of His death and resurrection, "behold, now is the day of salvation" (II Corinthians 6:2). The day of salvation is any day in this age of grace when a person believes on Christ for salvation. He then receives "the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). This great future day of redemption evidently is the same as "the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6), when He comes again.
Prosperity from God’s perspective
Feb 04
"Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you" (Romans 1:10). This mention of the word "prosperous" is the first of the only four occurrences of the Greek word enodoo (meaning literally "good journey," but translated "prosper" or "prosperous") in the New Testament. Here it is actually rendered "prosperous journey." It is obvious that Paul was not praying for his journey to prosper financially, for the next verse indicates his long desire had been to "impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established" (Romans 1:11). However, the word has come to include any kind of prospering, as in I Corinthians 16:2, when Paul urged Christians to provide financial help for other Christians in need. "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him," he said.
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