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IMG_0942Who do you worship?

Before you go and give me the “right” answer. Think about it with me.

Worship is more than some lyrics, more than a passing glance, more than sitting in a church service, more than putting money in the offering plate. Worship is a whole-life attitude.

You can sing a praise song, sway with the music, close your eyes with hands lifted high, or fall on your knees and cry and yet you’re heart can be as far away from “true worship” as the sun is from the Earth.

But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers
will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for such people the Father seeks
to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and
those who worship Him, must worship in spirit and truth.
John 4:23-24

Jesus Himself boldly declares that worship is more than an action, more than a thought, more than a checklist. A “true worshipper” worships the Father in spirit and in truth.
Worshiping many things isn’t an option.
Worshiping with false pretenses isn’t an option.
Worshiping by actions only isn’t an option.
When it comes to worship, only one thing matters.

One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD
And to meditate in His temple
.
Psalm 27:4

One Worship.
True worshipers only worship one thing. If we’re worshiping many things, it’s impossible for us to be truly worshiping anything.
Worship One.
True worshipers only worship the One. Unless we are giving our complete worship to the One True God, everything else falls into the category of “idol”.

Songwriter Jimmy Needham says it this way in his song, “Clear The Stage”:

Anything I put before my God is an idol
Anything I want with all my heart is an idol
And anything I can’t stop thinking of is an idol
And anything that I give all my love is an idol

To put it even more clearly:
When I’m stressing out about the cleanliness of my house (or lack thereof), I’m worshiping my house. It’s an idol.

When I’m fighting with my spouse and all I can think of is how my feelings are being hurt and he won’t listen to me, I’m worshiping myself. I’m an idol.

When all I can think about is how many likes my picture got on Instagram. I’m worshiping my pride. I’ve become an idol.

When I’m worried about finances. When I’m spending my time being jealous. When I’m sinking in self-pity. When I’m frustrated by my lack of sleep and taking it out on my kids. When I’m annoyed with the messes and with my 2 year-old not being potty trained and with cinnamon sugar spilling on the floor. Those are the times I’m worshiping an idol. Those are the times I’m trading in my One Thing for many things. Those are the times that, like Needham sings about, I’m worshiping “something that’s not even worth it.”

This concept of One Worship and Worship One is something God has been pressing in on me about in the last couple of weeks as I’ve been considering the psalmist’s words, “One thing I have asked…”  In those moments when I’ve caught myself worshiping an idol, I’ve asked God to help me shift my focus back to worshiping Him.

Incredibly, my world falls back into place.
It’s like I was suffocating, and then someone gave me an oxygen mask.

It’s like Peter on the sea. He was able to do the impossible thing of walking on water by keeping his eyes on Jesus (the One Thing), but as soon as he got side-tracked and started looking at the waves, he sank like a rock (hehe, Peter was the Rock…get it?!). Seriously though, it happened so fast for Peter…and it can happen just as fast to you and me. But when we deliberately choose to Worship One and have One Worship, it frees our hearts to love like He loves and walk in freedom.

One Worship. Worship One.

Who are you worshiping?