Saturday, September 19, 2009

"It is Time to Worship"

Today's reading: Acts 7:6-8 (New International Version)

6God spoke to him in this way: 'Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 7But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' God said, 'and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.8Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

Here it is again “God spoke”. When the first words of a verse start with that phrase it is pretty assured what comes next is going to be powerful and ears should listen. All of scripture is divine with every word containing power and direction however; it is our human mind that causes the reader to put emphasis on one phrase over another. This is a good reason to ask the spirit to lead us as we approach and read the holy words.

Here we see again the dialogue between God and Abraham where God reveals the future of Abraham’s descendants. I am not so sure I would want to begin my families lineage knowing in advance of their plight. Four hundred years is a long time, probably 5 generations! God promises more than the covenant though, He promises they will survive and come out of slavery into worship!

I love going to Sunday morning worship; it is a retrieve from a week of enslavement to the world culture. A time to turn everything over to the Lord, bow down before him and give him our hearts. The act of worship has so much potential. As Christians, we worship the one true God, Yahweh, creator of heaven and earth. I am so thankful that Jesus Christ made worship available to me now and not 400 years from now.

It was important for Abraham to be circumcised and continue to pass this act of circumcision to his sons and their sons. Like our worship today, it means so much more than the physical, it means the total belief in God and what He offers us in the beyond! Dedicating our lives to His purpose to glorify Him. It is not about us, it is all about Him.

Sunday at Aldersgate is our annual “Homecoming” (formerly Rally Day) and pastor Dennis is going to be preaching out of Zephaniah and sharing how God has been and still is God of this City (Nixa). We believe, there is so much more to be done. Two of the praise songs we will be singing are Step by Step and Mighty to Save. I know that Step by Step He leads me and Abraham knew it also. So let’s not wait 400 years to worship Christ our savior, for He is mighty to save!

Dorothy Brucks

Aldersgate UMC, Nixa, Mo.

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