I am glad that the month of June has been completed. I just wish I could say the same for the move.
It is turning out to be the move that won’t end.
Looking back at the devotions, we covered a lot of ground.
Let's Put It into Context
To read devotions in the Habitual Holiness of Heart and Life theme, click the button below.
Here is a running list of nuggets for the theme.
Devotions in the Finding Jesus through Spiritual Worship study
Here is a running list of nuggets for the study.
The foundation of this series is Menander and Charnock’s Spiritual Worship.
Resource
Main Nugget
Forming Our Habits to Grow Our Relationship with God
- We can confidently worship God because He is holy and unchanging. We don’t have to fear that we are worshiping the wrong One or that He will go off on a tangent and pull us away from what is good (Spiritual Worship Performed in Holiness).
- We can confidently worship God because of Jesus’ sacrifice (Spiritual Worship Performed in Holiness).
- God’s laws, like His character, are perfect. Because they are good and not associated with evil, they never fail (Spiritual Worship Performed in Holiness).
- We were created for the pleasure of God and to worship Him. No, that doesn’t make God selfish. God created us through love. We were created because of Who God is. That should lead us to worship Him (Thanksgiving and Adoration in Spiritual Worship).
- God calls us to voluntarily accept the Plan of Salvation. He wants us to choose to follow Him. It is only through our acceptance of God’s Plan of Salvation that we can develop the dormant holiness, righteousness, and perfection that is within us because we were made in His image (Elements Needed for Building Habits for Spiritual Worship; Thanksgiving and Adoration in Spiritual Worship).
- God calls us to evaluate our faith so that we know that we are worshiping God correctly and determine where our weaknesses are. God doesn’t want us to be worshiping only through lip service. He wants a strong relationship with us (Elements Needed for Building Habits for Spiritual Worship).
- We read God’s Word to gain an introductory knowledge of Him. After we become His children, He reveals Himself to us through the Holy Spirit and His creation (United of Heart in Spiritual Worship).
- God wants us to learn more about Him. What is God teaching us? His laws and commandments. By learning them, we learn about God’s character (United of Heart in Spiritual Worship).
- We worship because of God’s holiness. We are adoring God’s perfection. God’s perfection is highlighted because of our imperfections. God accepts that — for now (Thanksgiving and Adoration in Spiritual Worship).
- Even our very best praise and worship fall short of what Sovereign God deserves. But God still says it is our duty to worship Him. He accepts our praise and worship (Spiritual Habits in Spiritual Worship).
- Our worship of God will lead us to perfection. We are called to be holy as He is (Spiritual Worship Performed in Holiness).
- We don’t want to worship based on earthly things. But we must worship. That is the foundation of all the covenants God has made with us (Elements Needed for Building Habits for Spiritual Worship).
- We do have some symbols. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper give us a framework but not step-by-step instructions on how to perform them. God tells us to worship Him but doesn’t tell us how to do it. Instead, God wants us to worship Him His way (Elements Needed for Building Habits for Spiritual Worship).
- Regardless of how the articles matched exactly God’s specifications, they are just tools to be used in worship. It is when they are used to worship God correctly that they become tools of worship. Only then is worship acceptable to God. In other words, if we do not have sincere faith in God, our worship and our tools of worship are suspect (Elements Needed for Building Habits for Spiritual Worship).
- God doesn’t want us to replace ritual for our relationship with God. He has supplied the truth (Jesus) to give us spiritual truth. It gives us spiritually of mind and heart (Elements Needed for Building Habits for Spiritual Worship).
- It isn’t about the spectacle of the service. It isn’t about good music, good sermon, and good friends. It is about spending time with our Heavenly Father. It’s about building our relationship with Him (Spiritual Desires after God).
- We are to thirst after God, but there are some in our worship services that aren’t really doing that (Spiritual Desires after God).
- Desire leading to spiritual worship should focus on seeking God (Spiritual Desires after God).
- We will be worshiping God in thanksgiving and adoration through all eternity (Thanksgiving and Adoration in Spiritual Worship).
- God knows evil will come. He didn’t plan for it or make it come, but He knew it would and will come. Therefore, God has a judgment for the evil. He predestined that those who would commit evil and not repent would be judged. So, the bottom line is that we shouldn’t get conceited. We are only worthy to worship God because He has made it so (Paid with Humility to Obtain Spiritual Worship).
Glossary
Forming Our Habits to Grow Our Maturity
- The foundation of salvation is in our hearts. If we don’t fix our hearts on God, we haven’t really accepted His gift of salvation. Our faith is a decision; our worship is a result and a duty (Spiritual Habits in Spiritual Worship).
- The knowledge part and the reverence part must go hand in hand. That leads to walking with God (United of Heart in Spiritual Worship).
- We unite our hearts with God when we walk with Him, are sincere, and separate ourselves to be with God (United of Heart in Spiritual Worship).
- We need to look to God so that He can reveal those plans to us. They are plans to fix our spiritual condition so that we can worship Him (United of Heart in Spiritual Worship).
- We can’t be united with God when we don’t spend quality time with Him or are wandering away from Him. For that reason, we need to ensure we stay in lock step with Him. We must spend time with God — seek Him — if we are going to imitate Him (United of Heart in Spiritual Worship).
- The activity of worship has to come out of our desire to praise Him (Spiritual Habits in Spiritual Worship).
- Our focus shouldn’t be doing worship. The focus should be on God, with worship an outpouring of our hearts (Spiritual Habits in Spiritual Worship).
- Our worship should flow out of our faith for God because He wants us to simply believe in Him. It should flow out of our love for God because He has adopted us as His children to remove our bondage (Elements Needed for Building Habits for Spiritual Worship).
- We must want to perform the duties of being a disciple. In doing that, we draw closer to God because we want to be with Him (Elements Needed for Building Habits for Spiritual Worship).
- We have to pay attention to how we worship and the motivation to do so (Reverence in Spiritual Worship).
- Our desires must be the product of spiritual motivation. Worship isn’t about what we receive; it is about honoring God with holy fear and awe. The object of our actions must be God. Our spiritual worship must be offered because we want to worship God (Spiritual Desires after God; Delight in Spiritual Worship; Reverence in Spiritual Worship).
- The intent of our spiritual worship should be to see God in all His power and glory. Regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves, we must praise God (Spiritual Desires after God; Spiritual Habits in Spiritual Worship).
- In order to worship spiritually, we need to build spiritual habits (Spiritual Habits in Spiritual Worship).
- We have to respect God’s truth and do things God’s way. That means we have to know God’s laws and commandments – and do them – all of them We have to sincerely follow His direction. We can’t be trying to rewrite God’s Word and redefining sin (United of Heart in Spiritual Worship).
· We have to be an active participant in worshiping God. Our lives have to live out the fact that we believe in Him. We have to be a living sacrifice (Delight in Spiritual Worship). - Our spiritual worship must be offered because we understand what God wants us to understand (Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- As disciples, we should want to attend church regularly. We should desire the closeness with God that we can only get by meeting Him at His place. There is no substitute for corporate worship (Spiritual Desires after God).
- We need to want to meet with like-minded believers. We learn so much from them. When our worship is combined with theirs, God is praised even more (Spiritual Desires after God).
- Desire leading to spiritual worship should be intense. Since we desire God, we are to cling to Him (Spiritual Desires after God).
- We are to humbly worship God because we are sinners saved by grace. We are to worship God humbly because He is King— Sovereign God — and we aren’t (Paid with Humility to Obtain Spiritual Worship).
- Our worship, motivation, and obedience must get to the heart level. It is based on faith. We are to want to follow God through the good times and the bad (Spiritual Desires after God).
- Yes, worship is a duty, something that is expected of us. That does not make worship a chore. We are to worship God joyfully (Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- We worship because we want the communion with God. It opens those lines with Him. It is all about connecting with God. God can and does communicate with us individually wherever (Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- We have to bring ourselves to Sovereign God for consecration (Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- Worship can’t be lip service, pretending to be self-sacrifice. It has to be the real deal. Only when worship is real do we find joy in the Lord (Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- Spiritual worship helps strengthen and expand our spiritual faculties. As we praise God more and more, He blesses us with more strength and understanding (Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- We have to be engaged in service for the Lord because we want to do the work that he has for us to do. Just as we need more than just knowledge of God to gain salvation, we have to do more than just perform the acts. Service is also worship. It must focus on God. We worship through service because of God’s love and actions toward us. Worship is making ourselves available to complete His work (Reverence in Spiritual Worship).
- We must be holy as God is to worship Him. The only way we can be good — be holy — is through believing in Jesus. We are totally unworthy to even go near God unless we have asked Jesus to be our Savior and Redeemer (Spiritual Worship Performed in Holiness; Paid with Humility to Obtain Spiritual Worship).
- An important aspect of worship is our willingness to say as Isaiah did, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.” We have to be totally committed to God, regardless of what is asked of us (Paid with Humility to Obtain Spiritual Worship).
- Our worship of God has to bubble out of our love for Him (Paid with Humility to Obtain Spiritual Worship).
- We must have faith to engage in spiritual worship for spiritual ends (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- Our faith is only as strong as our understanding of the object in which we are putting our faith. In this case, our faith is hindered by our lack of understanding of Who God is (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- Our faith will start out the size of a mustard seed, but God doesn’t want it to camp out there. He wants it to grow. That is the whole point of sanctification. God takes us from where to are to where He wants us to be – like Him (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- Our worship needs to affect us so much that we have a physical reaction (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- God is expecting that we get something out of our worship. This something has to draw us closer to Him (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- When our motivations are wrong, we need to correct them to focus on God (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- Our worship has to be sincere because our faith is sincere. We have to diligently seek God and worship Him and only Him (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- We are to participate in corporate worship. But individual worship must be in addition to corporate worship. Spiritual worship isn’t a Sunday-and-done thing. Spiritual worship is 24/7/365/eternity (Spiritual Habits in Spiritual Worship; Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- There is going to be continuous worship in Heaven. Isaiah 6: 3 says it will come from the four living creatures. I, personally, don’t think that cuts us out. What did Paul say in Thessalonians? “Pray without ceasing” (I Thess. 5: 17 ESV). We aren’t expected to worship God continuously here but give that up when we hit the pearly gates. We will still be praising God. That, too, will never cease. Every creature in Heaven is going to worship God (Thanksgiving and Adoration in Spiritual Worship).
- Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and Redeemer will be worshiping God for eternity (Thanksgiving and Adoration in Spiritual Worship).
- As disciples, we should want to attend church regularly. We should desire the closeness with God that we can only get by meeting Him at His place. There is no substitute for corporate worship (Spiritual Desires after God).
- We need to want to meet with like-minded believers. We learn so much from them. When our worship is combined with theirs, God is praised even more (Spiritual Desires after God).
- Desire leading to spiritual worship should be intense. Since we desire God, we are to cling to Him (Spiritual Desires after God).
- We are to humbly worship God because we are sinners saved by grace. We are to worship God humbly because He is King— Sovereign God — and we aren’t (Paid with Humility to Obtain Spiritual Worship).
- Our worship, motivation, and obedience must get to the heart level. It is based on faith. We are to want to follow God through the good times and the bad (Spiritual Desires after God).
- Yes, worship is a duty, something that is expected of us. That does not make worship a chore. We are to worship God joyfully (Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- We worship because we want the communion with God. It opens those lines with Him. It is all about connecting with God. God can and does communicate with us individually wherever (Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- We have to bring ourselves to Sovereign God for consecration (Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- Worship can’t be lip service, pretending to be self-sacrifice. It has to be the real deal. Only when worship is real do we find joy in the Lord (Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- Spiritual worship helps strengthen and expand our spiritual faculties. As we praise God more and more, He blesses us with more strength and understanding (Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- We have to be engaged in service for the Lord because we want to do the work that he has for us to do. Just as we need more than just knowledge of God to gain salvation, we have to do more than just perform the acts. Service is also worship. It must focus on God. We worship through service because of God’s love and actions toward us. Worship is making ourselves available to complete His work (Reverence in Spiritual Worship).
- We must be holy as God is to worship Him. The only way we can be good — be holy — is through believing in Jesus. We are totally unworthy to even go near God unless we have asked Jesus to be our Savior and Redeemer (Spiritual Worship Performed in Holiness; Paid with Humility to Obtain Spiritual Worship).
- An important aspect of worship is our willingness to say as Isaiah did, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.” We have to be totally committed to God, regardless of what is asked of us (Paid with Humility to Obtain Spiritual Worship).
- Our worship of God has to bubble out of our love for Him (Paid with Humility to Obtain Spiritual Worship).
- We must have faith to engage in spiritual worship for spiritual ends (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- Our faith is only as strong as our understanding of the object in which we are putting our faith. In this case, our faith is hindered by our lack of understanding of Who God is (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- Our faith will start out the size of a mustard seed, but God doesn’t want it to camp out there. He wants it to grow. That is the whole point of sanctification. God takes us from where to are to where He wants us to be – like Him (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- Our worship needs to affect us so much that we have a physical reaction (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- God is expecting that we get something out of our worship. This something has to draw us closer to Him (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- When our motivations are wrong, we need to correct them to focus on God (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- Our worship has to be sincere because our faith is sincere. We have to diligently seek God and worship Him and only Him (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- We are to participate in corporate worship. But individual worship must be in addition to corporate worship. Spiritual worship isn’t a Sunday-and-done thing. Spiritual worship is 24/7/365/eternity (Spiritual Habits in Spiritual Worship; Delight in Spiritual Worship).
- There is going to be continuous worship in Heaven. Isaiah 6: 3 says it will come from the four living creatures. I, personally, don’t think that cuts us out. What did Paul say in Thessalonians? “Pray without ceasing” (I Thess. 5: 17 ESV). We aren’t expected to worship God continuously here but give that up when we hit the pearly gates. We will still be praising God. That, too, will never cease. Every creature in Heaven is going to worship God (Thanksgiving and Adoration in Spiritual Worship).
- Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and Redeemer will be worshiping God for eternity (Thanksgiving and Adoration in Spiritual Worship).
Glossary
Forming Our Habits to Grow Our Relationship with Others
- Our church must be made up of believers and non-believers. If there are no non-believers in our midst, we are not fulfilling the Great Commission to make new disciples (Spiritual Desires after God).
- Everyone is seeking some form of god, whether they acknowledge it or not. It can’t be some worldly draw. This isn’t an intellectual pursuit. We have to make sure we are seeking the One true God to put our faith and trust in Him. We have to seek the living God (Spiritual Desires after God).
- We are all going to sin. We are all unworthy of having a relationship with God. God, however, doesn’t see it that way. We are only worthy because we have been saved by His grace. God sees us covered by the blook of Jesus Christ. He sees those who believe in His Son as their Savior and Redeemer as being worthy (Paid with Humility to Obtain Spiritual Worship).
- Some non-believers like to think that God is not prejudiced about the sins they commit. On the flip side, other non-believers claim He is prejudiced because He does have a very strict policy against sin (Spiritual Worship Performed in Holiness).
- God has no part in wrongdoing. He does not sin (Spiritual Worship Performed in Holiness).
Making the Connections
- In order to worship spiritually, we need to get our hearts involved (Spiritual Habits in Spiritual Worship).
- Spiritual worship can only come out of a strong faith and is nothing without it (Spiritual Habits in Spiritual Worship; Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- Worship has to come out of our faith. Faith has to be about God, or it isn’t faith (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- Our worship has to have an object on which to focus that worship. That focus has to be God to make it spiritual worship. That means God is our motivation (Motivation and Posture in Spiritual Worship).
- Holiness cannot be achieved without worship, and vice versa (Spiritual Worship Performed in Holiness).
