Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love-gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded (see Exodus 16:20). God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others.

Bethel is the symbol of fellowship with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abram “pitched his tent” between the two. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time— there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life— worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.

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January 6, 2010

Journal Entry for Today-JDV

Father God, what should my worship resemble? Should it be as Oswald Chambers says; a combination of worship, waiting and work?  I hear what he is saying, but I seem to be able to focus on only one area at a time. When I am worshiping you, I am forgetting my issues, circumstances and trials; yet when I am waiting, I seem to be remembering my circumstances and am waiting for you to rescue me. And working? Well, I seem to be waiting on your specific leading to show me the work you have for me…… so I can then act in obedience.

And God says…”Delight yourself in the Lord. ..When you worship, delight yourself in Me…..drown yourself in My Holy Spirit, allowing Him to guide you into the waiting and working,  trusting that as we are connected through your worship you will know My leading in both your waiting and work. You can continue in daily worship, waiting and working through obedience as you clearly hear my voice…. And you hear My voice as you continually worship and pray without ceasing.