Once Distant

Even though you were once distant from Him, living in the shadows of your evil thoughts and actions, He reconnected you back to Himself. He released His supernatural peace to you through the sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus Christ, as the sin-payment on your behalf so that you would dwell in His presence. And now there is nothing between you and God, for He sees you as holy, flawless, and restored, if indeed you continue to advance in faith, assured of a firm foundation to grow upon. Never be shaken from the hope of the Gospel you have believed in. And this is the glorious news I preach all over the world.  Colossians 1:21-23 TPT

Amazing grace!

Romans 12:1-2 CSB Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

When we think about worship, our thoughts often go to the stage - whether it be a couple of musicians in a church sanctuary that has seating for 100 or a large band with a light show, and vocalists that put out albums-

But while all these things are good, they aren’t the only way necessary to worship God.

Do you remember when you first came to know Jesus, and when your faith felt exciting and new? Can you remember feeling led to worship because of who God is or what He had done for you? 

Or maybe as you are discovering your walk with Jesus you can reflect on sharing worship at a church gathering and even though not quite ready to “shout to the Lord” you could sense the presence of Holy Spirit singing among the people

Those moments of honest praise when we get to worship with whatever we have - that is our go to and it doesn’t have to be a physical place, because God can show up anywhere. He is within us as much as He is around us! Hallelujah!  

In the Bible, we learn of times when God's people created markers or reminders at the place where God's presence met them, places that become tangible locations to praise and worship Him. 

Jacob did it in Genesis 28: 18-22….Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house. 

The Israelites did it in Joshua 4:5-7…. So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.

If men and women of God throughout scripture did this, maybe we should too, actually we can and we get to! In our kitchens, at the park, heading out on our motorcycles with the wind as our audience 

What are those times when God showed His faithfulness and unconditional love to you?

Where have you seen His compassion and glory on display? 

Where were you when you recognized the joy of His salvation? What songs and verses remind you of that place?

And maybe we're not going to use a pile of rocks on a regular basis as a marker of where God meets us, we can certainly be more conscious of remembering those intimate moments of worship with God.

Take a moment right now to ask Holy Spirit to remind you of a Jesus filled time or many times - write them down if you haven’t yet. Then, praise Him in whatever way you feel led.

Think of the goodness and love of Christ towards you. And then times that by a billion when you grasp the fact He loves each of His creation too! 

Reflect on the original joy of your salvation when you came to know Jesus Christ. The more we praise Him, the closer we become to Christ - amazing grace!