‘Worship is a submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose – and all this gathered up in adoration.’
Worship saves us from being self-centred and makes us God-centred. You were created to live in a relationship with God. That should be your number one priority. If you put God first in your life all kinds of blessings follow. Because God loves you he warns you of the dangers of disregarding the design for your life.
Worship includes the use of emotions to express your love and gratitude to God and to bring him honour.
You can talk to God not just in church or in set times of prayer, but anywhere and at anytime. I was taught very early in my Christian life to ‘talk as you walk’ through the day.
Humility is not something that happens to you. It is something that you are supposed to do to yourself. Rather than exalting yourself, you are supposed to ‘humble [your]self’. God promises that he will exalt you (v.14).
To be childlike is the opposite of being independent and ‘grown up’. Children tend to be open, receptive, trusting, humble, loving and forgiving. The God-centred life is a life of childlike dependence on him.
You become like a child again when you show and share your honest feelings, acknowledge how fragile and vulnerable you are and how much you need God and other people.
Children are instinctively driven to explore and discover. They neither dwell in the past nor settle for the present, but look forward – with an unquenchable curiosity – to the future, fuelled by wonder and an immense capacity for enjoyment.
Cultivate this freedom to respond instinctively, like a child, and to feel and express wonder, awe, love and joy – to rush in and eagerly explore, probe and discover things for yourself.
There is nothing more rewarding than following Jesus. The more we accumulate the harder it is to live God-centred lives. The rich young ruler ‘became very sad, because he was very wealthy’ (v.23). It is not impossible for the rich to enter the kingdom of God (v.27), but it is very hard (vv.24–25) – not because the standards are higher, but because the risk appears greater.
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