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Strength for the Journey

05 Apr
Strength for the Journey

We’re continuing our study through the book of Ephesians. Paul is writing to us about the riches we share as the body of Christ on earth.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

Ephesians 3:14-15 NIV

Paul now gives us some insight into his prayer life. He’s constantly in prayer for the churches and people who have come to the Lord under his ministry. It was a great burden on his heart.

It’s important for us to see where this intercession starts. He doesn’t go right into the petitioning for God to bless these people. He starts out by kneeling before the Father.

That’s an important fact that we sometimes miss. Throughout the Bible, whenever worship is described, there are certain common elements. One of them is kneeling.

Whenever a body position is described, a worshiper is always kneeling down. Many times, they have their face to the ground. Most Christians don’t realize that this is the normal position for worship.

Because we call the songs before a service “praise and worship”, we think fast songs are praise and slow songs are worship. That’s an American church thing. It’s not the Scriptural definitions.

In reality, praise involves the body. It’s about what God has done. It could be music and singing, clapping, dancing, or loud declarations of thanks to God. Worship is very different.

Worship is about who God is. It’s an act of our spirit (John 4:23-24) with no body involvement. True worship is usually silent. It happens infrequently when a “holy hush” comes over the congregation. Most of the time we get uncomfortable and start to fidget, hoping the service will continue quickly.

Paul makes it clear that his prayer time starts with worship. He begins by quieting his heart before the Lord God. Only after his time of worship does he begin to lift up God’s people.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

Ephesians 3:16-17a NIV

Paul wants to see the church walking in the power of God. That’s how we can fully operate in the spiritual life God has for us. But, it’s important to note that this takes place through our spirits.

Again, it has a lot to do with our worship of God. We need to spend time praying in the spirit to see the power of God increasing in our lives.

The word, strengthen, in the above verse is not a one-time thing. That word implies an ongoing strengthening. We need to become spiritually stronger day by day. It’s a lot like becoming strong in the natural. I had to learn that lesson.

Now that we’re in the Spring season, my mind starts to think about hiking. Those who have read this blog for a long time will know that I love to get out and walk the Appalachian Trail. In order to be ready, I’ve been out walking whenever I can. I want to strengthen those lazy winter muscles.

Strength is a necessary part of the outdoors experience. When my wife and I started to add children to our family we stopped hiking because of the limited time we had. Since I’ve started back up again, I’ve lost 30 pounds. (Pounds that I had “found” up till that time!)

I can tell you by experience that out of shape people cannot enjoy hiking as fully as those used to the rigors of trail life. I remember well the pain in my legs and back when I first started. I had to stop every few feet while going uphill, just to breathe. Thank God, I’m starting to get in shape again!

More important than physical condition, however, is the shape of your inner being. The spiritual trail we’re on is far tougher than any wilderness trail. God wants to strengthen you for that journey.

It is going to take quality time spent in the presence of the Lord. That’s why prayer in the spirit is so beneficial. It builds you up internally. To do this you must free yourself from distractions so that you can concentrate on Christ.

As I’ve been saying, that’s what worship is all about. Spend time before Him just drinking in His Spirit. Take the time necessary so that your inner man is ready for the road ahead, no matter how rough the path.

Question: How strong is your inner man?

© 2023 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 5, 2023 in Ministry, Power of God, Prayer, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk, Worship

 

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A Son Coming Home

24 Oct
A Son Coming Home

In my last post I talked about Zacchaeus from Luke chapter 19. In looking at this encounter, I talked about the Biblical principle of Sonship. Jesus had just called him down from the tree and told him that He was coming to Zacchaeus’ home.

Zacchaeus had no idea what was about to happen.

So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’”
Luke 19:6-7 NIV

These two verses show us, in a tangible way, the difference between using the power of the law and the power of the Spirit. The law is always trying to block your way. It says that you must get yourself ready before you can abide with Christ. The religious people thought that there was no way that Christ should enter Zacchaeus’ home.

I’m writing this so that you’ll know for a certainty that it doesn’t matter how you start out. Your problems, failings and lack of commitment are all things of the past. You can start fresh by abiding with Christ today.

The time to run to the Lord is before you try to fix yourself up. It’s only as you remain in His presence that you receive the power for changing your life.

Look at what happened to Zacchaeus.

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
Luke 19:8-10 NIV

Salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ house. We usually misunderstand what salvation is all about. If you can grasp its total impact in Scripture, salvation actually includes all of God’s life changing and restoring power. It was this power that was manifest in Zacchaeus’ life that day. His love of money dissipated in the light of the Spirit’s love.

But, more importantly, Jesus said that he, too, is a son. He may have gone his own way for a while, but Zacchaeus was loved by the Father. The Lord was clear that He came seeking Zacchaeus.

It’s an interesting perspective because Zacchaeus thought that he was seeking Christ. It’s just like our spiritual worship.

Scripturally, the word, worship, means to bend forward as if to kiss. If we will bend forward to kiss the Lord, then He will bend forward to kiss us.

The greatest ministry of Christ was that He came to seek and save that which was ruined. Right now the body of Christ in America is full of ruined sons and daughters. It’s time to seek the Lord.

What we’ll find is that in our seeking of Him it’s actually the Lord who’s seeking us. It’s time for us as believers not get saved, but to BE SAVED. We need to rise up to our rightful place and position of Sonship.

This can only happen as we see the importance of our relationship with the Father. This means that we understand how to relate as sons and daughters to our heavenly Father.

Question: How does Sonship change your view of who you are as a believer?

© 2022 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on October 24, 2022 in Encouragement, Faith, Revival, Sonship, Worship

 

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Thankful People

21 Sep
Thankful People

We’re continuing through the Gospel of Luke. Now, we see Jesus traveling throughout Israel. He’s preaching the Word and doing God’s will. As the Lord is walking along, some men with leprosy approach Him.

You may want to read Luke 17:11-19 before going on with this post. This section of Scripture gives us some insights into what it means to be thankful. It should cause you to stop and think; how thankful am I for all that God has done?

In this portion of Scripture, a group of lepers went to Jesus for healing. In these verses, we see everything needed for obtaining the blessing of God. There’s faith, obedience, and expectancy. Jesus’ response to them is simple.

He told them to go and show themselves to the priests. There was no special religious display. The Lord didn’t touch them or even pray over them. He simply gave them a task to complete. As they obeyed His command, they found they were healed along the way.

One former leper had a great response.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.
Luke 17:15

The first thing he does is to come back to Jesus, yelling praises on the top of his lungs. The literal Greek uses the words mega-phone. This was not a quiet thankfulness of the heart. He must have attracted a lot of attention, but he didn’t care. He wanted to praise God for what happened to him. That’s the first thing we see…

Thankful people live loud for the Lord. We must learn to have a lifestyle of praise. It’s time that God’s people come “out of the closet” with their thankfulness.

That’s because this is a normal response to the hand of God at work. It doesn’t mean that you have to yell all the time. But I am saying that God’s work should be abundantly evident in your life. But there was more…

He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan.
Luke 17:16

Next thing we see is this man throwing himself at Jesus’ feet. This is the position of worship.

Thankful people live a life of worship. Because we’re thankful – we worship. Worship acknowledges God for who He is. We’re simply grateful because He allows us to come before Him anytime we want, clothed in His righteousness.

But that verse also said that he thanked Jesus.

…always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:20

Are we to thank God for everything? The actual Greek says over everything. I need to thank God over everything I receive. (I don’t receive sickness, etc.)

Thankful people thank God over everything. We know the source of life and blessing. Of all people, we should be the ones who are constantly thanking God for the good things we see in our lives.

But there’s one more aspect of thankfulness that we need to look at. It comes from Jesus’ reaction to the healed man.

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
Luke 17:17-18

This question gives us insight into the heart of God. We all want to be loved and appreciated. Where do you think that comes from? I’ll tell you – we were created in the image of God.

Thankful people are sought out by God. Thank offerings were not required by the Law of Moses. God wanted the hearts of the people to prompt them to be thankful. When we’re thankful, it opens the door for a richer walk with the Lord. We need to take the time to be truly thankful before God.

Questions: What are you thankful to God for? Are you willing to let people know about it?

© 2022 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on September 21, 2022 in Encouragement, Faith, Prayer, Spiritual Walk, Worship

 

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Thanksgiving Dinner

24 Nov
Thanksgiving Dinner

Tomorrow, in the United States, we will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday. This was originally established to give thanks to God, for His blessing on our nation. So, I want to take a post to get our minds into that frame of reference.

I was reading in the Old Testament about thanksgiving. It was interesting to see that, in the Law of Moses, God instituted a sacrifice of thanksgiving. It’s found in Leviticus 7:11-15, but I’ll only quote one verse here.

The meat of his fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; he must leave none of it till morning.

Leviticus 7:15

In the Old Testament there are different classifications of sacrifices. One of these is known as the fellowship offerings. They were the freewill offerings. They weren’t required. They were only offered if the worshiper wanted to.

Of these fellowship offerings, this is the “Todah” sacrifice. It’s an offering of thanksgiving by raising the hands.

In this offering, an animal was killed and the blood was drained and sprinkled upon the altar. Then, only the fat around the organs was burned on the altar.

The rest was cooked and eaten by the priest and worshiper. The priest and his family would get the breast and the right leg. The worshipers would get the rest. Along with this, the offering included four kinds of bread that they ate along with the sacrifice.

I found this to be very interesting. In the Old Testament, the Thanksgiving offering was a meal. They celebrated Thanksgiving just like us.

Did you know that a meal can be worship?

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Think about it. At one point Peter was rebuked for refusing to eat with Gentiles. In the New Testament we’re also instructed not to eat with hypocrites. That’s because a meal involves fellowship.

Do you see the Thanksgiving meal as worship? Make a point to mention it this year.

“This meal is an act of our worship to God.”

Why is this important? It turns out that in the Old Testament, the root of the word, fellowship, is the word, shalom. In that case, Thanksgiving is the celebration of God’s gift of shalom.

Even though shalom is usually translated as peace, there’s a lot more to it. It’s one of those huge words in Scripture. Shalom actually speaks of fullness of life, wholeness, prosperity, safety, and peace with God.

Isn’t that what Jesus came to accomplish in us?

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:10

The reason Jesus came was so that we could enter the covenant. The result of this is shalom – fullness of life.

The thanksgiving meal should celebrate what God has done for you. If you remember, you may want to pray with your hands raised this year.

Celebrate the good things God has done, and is doing in your life.

Question: What are you thankful for right now?

© 2021 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on November 24, 2021 in Encouragement, Faith, Fellowship, Worship

 

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Spiritual Death

15 Mar
Spiritual Death

We’re continuing our walk through the book of Romans. We left off talking about how the law puts a spotlight on sin. Here’s the verse we were looking at.

Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

Romans 7:13

In my last post, I said that when death came to Adam and Eve, it caused them to lose their relationship with God. I want to talk about that in a little more detail.

Remember, Adam was perfect before he fell into sin. That means that he functioned perfectly according to God’s plan for him. What does that mean?

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

John 4:24

This is something that Jesus said to the woman He met with at a well. A question we don’t usually ask is; did Adam worship God perfectly? I believe that he did. Adam and Eve worshiped God in spirit and in truth before they lost their perfect state.

If they worshiped with the spirit, that means that they didn’t have to use physical words. They talked and communed with God on His level. That’s what God created them for.

Does Scripture bear this out? I believe that it does. Look at what happened immediately after they sinned.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Genesis 3:8-10

This is the very first time a sound is ever mentioned in the Bible. This is the first time they hear God with their physical ears. That’s why they were so afraid.

Now sin had a spotlight, and serving God was by rules and the law. Right and wrong was now the rule of righteousness. In that sense they died – they lost their spiritual relationship with God.

This is the relationship that’s restored in Christ.

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

Romans 8:10

That’s the life we received in Christ. He renewed our relationship with God in the spirit. That brings us back to where we left off in Romans, chapter 7.

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.

Romans 7:14

Paul is now explaining to us a new concept. He’s telling us that the law exists spiritually. We have to realize that there’s a spiritual law.

Yes, Adam served God in the spirit. But spiritual laws work differently than physical laws.

Paul wants to make it clear that even though there’s a spiritual law, he’s talking about the carnal, fleshly law. It’s because of this law that we’re sold into slavery to sin.

Wait a minute! What about Christians? In my next post we’ll see how this principle plays out in the lives of believers. It’s an important concept for us to understand.

Question: How do you cultivate your spiritual relationship with God?

© 2021 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 15, 2021 in Legalism, Spiritual Walk, The Gospel, Worship

 

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Dark Thinking

02 Nov
Dark Thinking

In my last post, I began looking at Paul’s view of society without Christ.  He also made the point that God’s character is seen through His creation.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Romans 1:20

As a believer who loves the outdoors, this verse excites me.  To see the beauty of a mountain vista, fall colors, lake, sky, and wind.  They all combine together to give a sense of awe and wonder.  All of Creation seems to cry out that it’s the work of someone vastly more intelligent and powerful than you or I.

But that’s not how it is for everybody.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Romans 1:21-23

This passage reminds us that not everyone credits God for His work.  There are those who see a vastly different picture.  As I said in my last post, evolution and chance are the gods of this world.  There are many people who overlook the obvious in order to avoid giving account of themselves to God.

The fact remains that God has revealed Himself in the context of His Creation.  This is why society does not seek understanding even though it’s the most important issue of life.

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Romans 1:24-25

The problem is that understanding brings with it the desire to know God.  So, in order to deflect this knowledge, man has decided to worship creation rather than the Creator.

You may think that this section of Scripture is outdated.  People don’t worship images in the shape of humans or animals anymore.  But is that really the case?

We need to see the definition of the word, worship.  It means the act or feeling of adoration or homage.  It involves the giving of deference, respect or honor to someone or something.

Just because our modern idols are not statues of silver and gold doesn’t mean they don’t exist.  In our society, we worship athletes, entertainers, educators, politicians, and chefs to name a few.  We even have a popular show called American Idol. 

According to the verses above, this mindset causes us to walk in foolish and empty reasoning.  We end up worshiping things that are temporary and decaying.

Without Christ, we make a very foolish exchange.  We give up the glory of a powerful and eternal God for things that will never satisfy or last forever.

The worst part is that there are many Christians who are running after these same things.  They don’t understand that true satisfaction and fulfillment can only be found in the center of God’s will for them.

Make it your goal to seek the eternal.  Spend time getting to know the God of Creation through your relationship with Christ.

Question: What is the focus of worship in your life?

© 2020 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on November 2, 2020 in Creation, Spiritual Walk, Worship

 

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The Place of Worship

25 Jan

Worship is a word that we use a lot as Christians.  Do we really understand what it means?  We call church buildings “place of worship.”  But that’s not entirely correct.  Actually, there are many churches where there hasn’t been any real worship for years, yet they still call what they’re doing “worship services.”
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, the apostle is dealing with people who have lost sight of their spiritual identity.  They don’t really know who they are in Christ.  Consequently, their worship has become a set of rules.

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16

The Bible is clear that for us, the temple is not a physical building.  We find this thought in more than one spot in the Word.  When we’re told that you are the temple, sometimes the you is singular and sometimes it’s plural.

Regardless of the tense that’s used, the meaning is clear.  Worship takes place in people.  It’s not about a special location.  It takes place in me or in us.

But what is this place of worship that we’re called to?  Throughout the book of Hebrews, the writer uses the term, draw near, only for worship.

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.  You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.  You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Hebrews 12:22-24

The true place of worship is around the throne of God; for He’s the only one worthy to be worshiped.  The Apostle John had a vision of the majesty of this place.

Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders.  They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.  From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.  Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing.  These are the seven spirits of God.  Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
Revelation 4:4-6

True worship takes place around the throne of God.  The fact is that when we worship, we’re transported, in the spirit, to God’s throne.  That’s because worship is a supernatural encounter with God.  It has nothing to do with our flesh, but everything to do with our spirit.

In talking to the woman at the well, Jesus spoke about this truth.

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
John 4:24

When you pray in the spirit, you’re brought into the very presence of God.  Your spirit is there with others in God’s throne room.

That’s why it surprises me that there are those who simply ignore this awesome opportunity that we’ve been given.  We’re allowed instant access into the place of worship in the throne room of the Sovereign of the universe.  Take advantage of this great invitation that we’ve been given.

Question: How often do you worship in spirit?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on January 25, 2019 in Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk, Worship

 

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Four Common Worship Mistakes

16 Mar

Every weekend thousands of Christians around the world attend church.  They think that they’re worshipping God.  Unfortunately, in many cases, they’re doing just the opposite and God isn’t pleased with them.  Learn from their mistakes and offer true worship to the Lord.

I invite you to read the Gospel of Mark, chapter 7, verses 1 through 20, which is the basis for this post. Here are the four worship mistakes commonly made by modern Christians.

Making sure the outside is cleaned up, and not the inside (Verse 14-15).  Most people get all washed and looking their best for a church service.  That’s just normal.  You want to look nice when you’re around others.

It’s far easier to hide the dirt that can accumulate on the inside.  As we live in and interact with the world, we can pick up thoughts and attitudes without ever knowing it.  Over the course of time, they can lead us off track in our Christian walk.

We need to continue in the repentance and forgiveness that only comes from time spent in the presence of Christ.  That’s where our true beauty should come from – a life that’s kept clean before God.

Saying all the right words, but not living them (Verse 6).  You may not want to hear this, but in every service, churches are attended by many liars.  How can I say that?  Think about the songs we sing.

“Lord, you are more precious than silver…Nothing I desire compares with you.”

Then, during the rest of the service, we’re thinking about what’s for dinner.  We sing passionately about how we would do anything for God or how deeply we want to know Him.  Yet, once we leave the church, we don’t think twice about it until next week.

In many cases we act like the fact that we’re singing the words, automatically makes it true.  To live a life of worship, our lives need to line up with our “Sunday personas”.

Preferring to follow a set of rules rather than cultivating a relationship with God (Verse 7-8).  Sometimes we get the idea that just because we don’t murder, cheat, steal, or do drugs, then we’re okay.  We read the Bible and pray for our needs every day because that’s what a Christian is supposed to do.

What about simply spending time in God’s presence because He’s God?  The Father wants us to get to know Him personally.  He wants to speak to our hearts and enjoy our fellowship.

Being a Christian isn’t just a choice to do good things.  It’s a living relationship with a holy God.  Worship is not a chore to complete.  We are to become worshippers.

Giving money in the offering rather than giving yourself to the Lord.  This is one of the biggest mistakes that we can make.  Thinking that we own everything except what we willingly give to God.

God is the Creator of Heaven and earth.  It’s all His.  It’s my responsibility to acknowledge that fact.  I am His.  My greatest act of worship is to willingly give myself to Him.  Only Christ is worthy to receive an offering like that.

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
John 4:23

Don’t waste your life being a superficial believer.  Enter into a lifestyle of worship.  True worship is not a matter of what you do on Sundays, but who you are all week long.

Questions: What’s your definition of worship?  What worship issues have you had to deal with in your walk with God?

© 2018 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 16, 2018 in Revival, Spiritual Walk, The Church, Worship

 

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Worship – The Place of Change

02 Dec

LightningI’ve been posting about the worship that takes place in the throne room of God. We enter that place as we pray in the spirit.

From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
Revelation 4:5

Here is another picture of what happens before the throne of God. We need to understand that the term seven spirits of God could also be translated as the seven-fold spirit of God. I believe that’s referring to the Holy Spirit.

Also around the throne we see flashes of lightning. We see this happening throughout the Bible when God’s throne is mentioned. Lightning, loud noises, and thunder. But when you read Scripture there are only certain times when this happens.

We see this taking place when God changes something. In Revelation, chapter 8, we see the prayers of the saints offered like incense before God. Then, as they were being offered to God, the following takes place.

Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
Revelation 8:5

What was taking place in Heaven started happening on earth. That’s because worship is a place of change. It’s in His presence that our lives are changed.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16

The Apostle Paul understood this. When he wrote this, Paul was talking about himself and his ministry team. He knew that in the place of worship there could be daily change happening.

Just think about it; we can come into God’s presence for daily renewal.

We try so hard to be good. We fail. Then we keep trying to be better. We need to learn the truth of that old chorus…

“I am changed in the presence of an awesome God.”

Enter into God’s throne room through prayer in the spirit. Everything we need is there. It’s in His awesome presence that we find unity, peace, and a changed life.

Question: How has your life been changed in God’s presence?

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© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on December 2, 2016 in Prayer, Prayer in the Spirit, Spiritual Walk, Worship

 

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Worship Calms the Storm

30 Nov

ReflectionIn my last post I talked about being transported before God’s throne as we worship Him. That’s a wonderful place to be. That’s why we should all be worshippers. Look at where the Spirit brings us to.

Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
Revelation 4:6

In the book of Revelation and throughout the Bible, the symbolism of the sea speaks of nations. These are the saints of all nationalities worshipping Christ before His throne. But this sea is as calm as glass.

That’s because the place of worship is a place of peace. James talked about the negative reality of this truth.

But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
James 1:6

Doubt and unbelief puts us in a troubled sea of confusion. That’s not God’s will for us. The Lord wants to calm our sea. How does that happen?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6

The word prayer in this verse literally means to draw near. When anxiety, worry, and confusion try to stir up our “ocean”; there’s only one remedy. We must take the time to draw near to God. The next verse tells us that the results are supernatural.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7

This peace is ABOVE your understanding. When we come near to God in worship the things that should be causing anxiety melt away in God’s presence. I’m reminded of a chorus we used to sing many years ago.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full on His wonderful face,
And the things on earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”

That’s the place of worship. But we have to set aside the time for this. That’s usually our problem. We have plenty of time to wallow in confusion and doubt. But the very thing that will calm the storm just doesn’t fit into our schedule.

We need to get our priorities straight. I find that I’m much more productive when I’m operating in the peace of God. I think you will too.

Draw near to God with the things you’re anxious about. Let the place of worship bring peace to your storm.

Question: How has the Holy Spirit brought peace into your life in the past?

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©Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on November 30, 2016 in Faith, Prayer, Spiritual Walk, Worship

 

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