Adoration & Worship - David Hand

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Adoration and Worship

Romans 12:1-2 

1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 

So what’s the difference between adoration and worship? Adoration is an action of religious worship, while worship is the condition of being worthy. Adoration is respect, reverence, strong admiration, or devotion to a certain person, place, or thing. 

“The first time we read the word worship in Scripture is in connection with Abraham’s willingness to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God. Abraham was willing to offer his only son as a sacrifice” (Stanley) due to his adoration to God. 

God has shown us mercy by sending Jesus to die for our sins. No longer will there be sacrifices to God. Jesus has paid our price.  

The verses above tell us how we should live after we come to know God through faith in Christ.  

“At times we make the mistake of thinking worship is something reserved for church” (Stanley) on Sunday. Worship is expressing our love to God, and we can do that anywhere; in the shower, while mowing the lawn, washing dishes, driving, walking on the golf course, or in my case, riding an ATV with my son. We can sing, pray, confession, reading his word, listening, giving, and serving.  

Blessing,

David 

(Charles Stanley (November-03-2019) Daily Devotion: The .... https://sermons-online.org/charles-stanley/the-sacrifice-of-worship)


Self Denial and Fasting - David Hand

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The first thing that comes to my mind when the word self-denial is brought up this time of year is the Disciples.

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up the cross, and follow me." -Matthew 16:24

"Jesus tells his Disciples that following him will require self-denial and sacrifice. We do not gain virtue points by saying no to eating a hot dog or not eating chocolate during the season of Lent, but we do learn the habit of setting aside our desires to make room for pursuing God’s will." (Sytsma)

"We willingly give up some good things to better experience the best of things. We create margin in our schedules, we clear clutter from our lives, and crowd out noisy distractions in our heart so there is space for us to again taste and see the glory, grace, and goodness of Jesus." (indycrowe.com)

(Sytsma, Bill, https://todaydevotional.com/devotions/practicing-self-denial-2012-05-13)

(https://indycrowe.com/2019/03/06/a-word-on-self-denial-and-fasting)