Daily Devotional

Jesus blends two important aspects of our spirituality for us to receive the full benefit of our personal walk with God—sincere commitment to God, which is a definition of discipleship; and loving treatment of each other.
Ralph P. Martin, in his book, The Worship of God, writes, “God is Holy, yet seeks our communion; God is great, yet in some way He is enriched by our praise; God is love, yet He desires His love to be acknowledged and enjoyed and shared by us. We are presented with a momentous task. How can we offer to God a sacrifice pleasing before Him? How can we aspire to be both solemn and glad in His presence, since His holiness requires a due sense of awe, and His grace frees us from anxious fears?”
The answer to Martin’s question comes in our willingness to rely on the Holy Spirit to perform in us, through us and to us that which we can’t do for ourselves. There is no question about the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives; we are promised the Holy Spirit dwells within believers. But the question for us is, “Will we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us?”
In our worship, the ministry of the Holy Spirit liberates us from the confines of emotional introspection and oversensitive preoccupation with our feelings. We move to a state of spiritual awareness that is conducive toward genuinely embracing God in worship. Our reliance on the Spirit should also cause us to want to offer our best in worship.
Three points from this Word of Jesus may be drawn:
1. God must be sought. Jesus said that we must Ask…Seek…Knock, to enjoy the relationship with God that meets Divine expectation.
2. Evil must be rejected. The temptation of evil is that it is what the natural person craves—revenge, domination, superiority of others. The allure of these things must be rejected, as we actively seek to draw closer to God.
3. Practice justice. Treating people fairly, providing equal access to things that are needful and equal opportunity to enjoy them must be intentional. Our worship of God is seen at its highest in our service to each other.

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