Called to Be Worshipers

We are all called to be worshipers. Jesus’ command does not apply only to musicians and singers, but to all believers in Christ. Of course, we all know we need to worship, but sometimes we are just plain too religious to really worship. The Samaritan woman at the well that Jesus met on his way back to Galilee dealt with a similar issue. When Jesus mentioned an area that needed work in her personal life, she immediately responded with a loaded question about the differences between Jewish and Samaritan worship. Jesus’ response to her was amazing: “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4-21-24 NIV)

Worship in spirit and truth means we cannot neglect our minds or our emotions in our worship. Sometimes we worry that our worship can get out of hand when our emotions are involved, but our faith is one that transcends just our intellect. Our faith must engage all aspects of our lives, and our emotions play a major role. So if the Spirit moves you, be encouraged that a healthy, heart-filled response is completely in order in our worship services. I pray that we get excited about Jesus and excited about our times of worship together on Sundays and Wednesday. I pray that we all can strive to come to worship services prayerfully ready to hear the word of God and to worship our Creator and Lord with spirit and in truth. If we come expecting great things from God, we will receive great things from Him. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8a NASB).