Post by MIRIAM JACOB on Jan 20, 2007 9:25:09 GMT -5
Today's Scripture
"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." (Matthew 6:7)
Today's Word
Jesus commanded for us to love God with all our mind, all our heart, and all our soul. One problem with many church goers these days is that a lot of the time we get caught up more in our doctrines and unison of hymns and prayers that we lose the true meaning of worship. Much like Christmas, where many of us will acknowledge the true meaning of Christmas with our mouths, yet then it is so easy for us to not truly consider it in our hearts.
God is not pleased by thoughtless worship. A congregation singing a hymn together, reading a prayer in unison, or even people saying "Praise the Lord", "Amen" and "Hallelujah" over and over, is not what pleases God. These are good things of course, but they are outward expressions, and they can be deceiving, even to ourselves. What pleases God is the true desire in our hearts. The Bible says that man focuses on what is external and what is easily seen, but God focuses on what is internal, what is in our hearts. The way we live and worship will reflect those true feelings in our heart however, but simply reciting prayers or singing hymns isn't what pleases God if there is no real thought behind them.
My immediate family is very lukewarm unfortunately, they're "Sunday Christians". As an example of this, each night at dinner, but only if my parents cook and we eat at the dinning room table, they will say the same exact 14-word blessing. It has become so dull and monotonous that I wonder if they even have a clue what they are talking about. It has simply become a ritual, a tradition, something they do to start the meal. But there seems to be no real thought behind it.
There are some churches that may use the same Bible verse at the beginning of a service every single week. Sometimes even Bible reading can become "vain repetitions" that have no real thought behind them. One thing I recommend doing is not only reading the Bible daily and memorizing scripture, but reading many different Bible translations. You may have noticed that so far I've used a different version for each verse on each of my devotionals. The reason is because if we read different versions of the Bible, it broadens our understanding of scripture and can help us to be more expressive in the ways we worship. If you use different translations, then even if you do simply recite the same verse at the beginning of each service, the wording is not always the same, which can force us to stop and truly think about what it is we're saying.
God would rather receive a few compliments and true words of praise from our hearts, than dozens of repetitive phrases read off of a sheet of paper. If someone tells you several times a day that they admire or respect you, what makes you feel good about that isn't the simple fact that you are being called an admirable or respectable person, but the fact that you believe that this person really does value and respect you. If it was simply the words that pleased us, then we could program our computers to tell us every day that we are an admirable and respectable person, and we'd be happy campers. God knows whether we truly mean what we say or not, and it is the real thought and meaning that matters, not the words. So don't stop participating in worship and singing of course, but don't simply limit your praise to this. We need to more often think about what it is we are really saying in these prayers and songs, and be sure that we are putting real thought behind them. Not only does this please God, but it helps us in our relationship with God and can make even the most dull and boring services very interesting and valuable.
Today's Prayer
Dear Lord, forgive us for the times when we may speak thoughtless prayers. Sometimes we may drift too into our worldly doctrines and traditions instead of putting the true focus on you. Help us to remember that you are more than just a word and are far more worthy than simply a room full of songs and Bible quotes. Please help us to remember that real praise comes from our hearts and how thoughtful we are in what we say, rather than the words themselves. Amen
Today's Task
Today when you read your Bible try to be more interactive with what it is you are reading. Try to really ponder and meditate on what the Word says and apply it to your life, and when you pray remember what it is you read so that you can thoughtfully make use of the reading. Or find a prayer in the Bible (the Psalms is a good place to look) that you feel applies to your life right now and pray that prayer with real thought behind it, truly thinking about what it is you are saying.
Written by: Scott Morgan
Scripture verse taken from the King James Version
"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." (Matthew 6:7)
Today's Word
Jesus commanded for us to love God with all our mind, all our heart, and all our soul. One problem with many church goers these days is that a lot of the time we get caught up more in our doctrines and unison of hymns and prayers that we lose the true meaning of worship. Much like Christmas, where many of us will acknowledge the true meaning of Christmas with our mouths, yet then it is so easy for us to not truly consider it in our hearts.
God is not pleased by thoughtless worship. A congregation singing a hymn together, reading a prayer in unison, or even people saying "Praise the Lord", "Amen" and "Hallelujah" over and over, is not what pleases God. These are good things of course, but they are outward expressions, and they can be deceiving, even to ourselves. What pleases God is the true desire in our hearts. The Bible says that man focuses on what is external and what is easily seen, but God focuses on what is internal, what is in our hearts. The way we live and worship will reflect those true feelings in our heart however, but simply reciting prayers or singing hymns isn't what pleases God if there is no real thought behind them.
My immediate family is very lukewarm unfortunately, they're "Sunday Christians". As an example of this, each night at dinner, but only if my parents cook and we eat at the dinning room table, they will say the same exact 14-word blessing. It has become so dull and monotonous that I wonder if they even have a clue what they are talking about. It has simply become a ritual, a tradition, something they do to start the meal. But there seems to be no real thought behind it.
There are some churches that may use the same Bible verse at the beginning of a service every single week. Sometimes even Bible reading can become "vain repetitions" that have no real thought behind them. One thing I recommend doing is not only reading the Bible daily and memorizing scripture, but reading many different Bible translations. You may have noticed that so far I've used a different version for each verse on each of my devotionals. The reason is because if we read different versions of the Bible, it broadens our understanding of scripture and can help us to be more expressive in the ways we worship. If you use different translations, then even if you do simply recite the same verse at the beginning of each service, the wording is not always the same, which can force us to stop and truly think about what it is we're saying.
God would rather receive a few compliments and true words of praise from our hearts, than dozens of repetitive phrases read off of a sheet of paper. If someone tells you several times a day that they admire or respect you, what makes you feel good about that isn't the simple fact that you are being called an admirable or respectable person, but the fact that you believe that this person really does value and respect you. If it was simply the words that pleased us, then we could program our computers to tell us every day that we are an admirable and respectable person, and we'd be happy campers. God knows whether we truly mean what we say or not, and it is the real thought and meaning that matters, not the words. So don't stop participating in worship and singing of course, but don't simply limit your praise to this. We need to more often think about what it is we are really saying in these prayers and songs, and be sure that we are putting real thought behind them. Not only does this please God, but it helps us in our relationship with God and can make even the most dull and boring services very interesting and valuable.
Today's Prayer
Dear Lord, forgive us for the times when we may speak thoughtless prayers. Sometimes we may drift too into our worldly doctrines and traditions instead of putting the true focus on you. Help us to remember that you are more than just a word and are far more worthy than simply a room full of songs and Bible quotes. Please help us to remember that real praise comes from our hearts and how thoughtful we are in what we say, rather than the words themselves. Amen
Today's Task
Today when you read your Bible try to be more interactive with what it is you are reading. Try to really ponder and meditate on what the Word says and apply it to your life, and when you pray remember what it is you read so that you can thoughtfully make use of the reading. Or find a prayer in the Bible (the Psalms is a good place to look) that you feel applies to your life right now and pray that prayer with real thought behind it, truly thinking about what it is you are saying.
Written by: Scott Morgan
Scripture verse taken from the King James Version