Ascribing Worth

Posted on July 13, 2023 by Elizabeth Welte in Freedom Fighters

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

O nations of the world, recognize the Lord, recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.

Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!

Bring your offering and come into his presence.

Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.”

(1 Chron 16:28-29, 34)

 

Worship in the Bible is described as, “to bow down, to prostrate oneself” and is the Hebrew word “Shachah.” The Greek word used most often is “Proskyneō” meaning to “kiss the hand or to fall on the knees.” Our English word simply means ‘to ascribe worth to’ as seen in David’s hymn above.

Now worship today is often described as something we go to and as an event we participate in. This may be true to an extent, but when Paul describes “our true and proper worship” in Romans 12:1, he is urging us “in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” He goes on to say we can do this by ‘taking our everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. This is unlike the culture around us that is always dragging us down to its level of immaturity. God brings the best out of us and develops well-formed maturity in those who relent or give over their whole lives into His hands” (vs. 1-2 MSG).

My favorite example of this is described in a few short verses that often get skipped over when we read about Daniel and the Lion’s Den. Yes, Daniel was delivered from being eaten by the animals, for ‘God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they did not harm him, inasmuch as he was found innocent before Him; and also toward the king, he had committed no crime’ (Daniel 6:22). All of this occurred because Daniel ‘Trusted God’ and only worshiped Him.

The little focused on incident that portrays this truth is described as “When Daniel learned that the decree had been signed and posted, he continued to pray just as he had always done. His house had windows in the upstairs that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he knelt there in prayer, thanking and praising his God” (Daniel 6:10). Daniels life was not altered by cultural bias or governmental threats. Even at the cost of his life, we find him in his daily routine of “Shachah” and “Proskyneō”; ascribing worth to God alone.

I urge you to not wait for an event or look to culture for a way to worship, but too let your daily living be driven by yeilding to the leading of The Spirit in your life, humbling praying to God, seeking Him in His Word, and praising His Name in all you do. Let your life be filled with joyous service as you find rest In Him.

Choose wisely….

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.” (Psalm 95:6-9)

Praying 4 U

 

Written by David Brown: David Brown is a husband, father, grandfather, Pastor with a Masters of Religious Studies and a Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Religions. Dave is the Associate Pastor of Pemberton’s First Baptist Church. He is the author of two devotional books, “From a Chair by the Window.” And “#PrayerWinsThe Day”.

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This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12