“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
(Romans 12: 1-2, MSG)
The intent is for us to recognize and act on who we are as worshipers and what the purpose is. Worship doesn’t end at the church door. I often think we really don’t understand what worship is. It truly encompasses and goes beyond singing to the Lord. It’s personal and private, it’s group based, it’s a noun and a verb. Simply… it impacts every area of our lives: “Take your everyday, ordinary life… and place it before God as an offering”
Webster says:
“…in Christianity, worship is the act of attributing reverent honour and homage to God. In the New Testament, various words are used to refer to the term worship. One is proskuneo (“to worship”) which means to bow down to God or kings.”
However, it is Vine’s Dictionary that is closer to the heart of worship:
“do reverence to” (from pros, “towards,” and kuneo, “to kiss”), is the most frequent word rendered “to worship.” It is used of an act of homage or reverence; … to revere,” stressing the feeling of awe or devotion”
While I could continue providing definitions and considerations, Vine words about worship may hold the best clue:
“The worship of God is nowhere defined in Scripture. A consideration of the above verbs shows that it is not confined to praise; broadly it may be regarded as the direct acknowledgement to God, of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such acknowledgment.”
Another way of saying this is the Amplified Bible’s version:
“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you]. (Romans 12:1-2, AMP)
I would recommend that if you consider both the Amplified and Message Bibles translations, you will have a more complete understanding of what worship is and does. Truly, it does involved a 24/365 mindset.
How do you worship? Only in church with a group? Worship is so much more and you are depriving yourself of some wonderful times with the Lord when you limit this ‘activity’. When you really consider worship, you’ll quickly see that it’s really for us. Worship is a way for us to express our love and devotion to the Lord of Lords. It’s a form of communication that emanates from us toward the Creator of the Universe. And this only scratches the surface… I would suggest that it is in the doing that understanding will come and grow you as a worshiper.
