21 Days

Day 19- Worship

Author: Allison Cunningham

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your reasonable act of worship." Romans 12:1

It is a fascinating concept that when the church, a gathering of Christ followers, come together, the Lord manifests His presence in the midst of His people and at the very same time meets people personally. At one of the worship nights, my family was sitting together enjoying the presence of the Lord. It was a beautiful night of worship and as it concluded, Pastor Ron gave a benediction and closing prayer. I picked up my purse to leave when my child next to me said, “Woah! That was powerful!” The Lord had baptized her in His spirit moments earlier while I was completely unaware. God is so big and powerful that in every moment He is aware of the whole world and yet His eyes are on you. His thoughts toward you outnumber the grains of sand and He longs for you to behold Him. To gaze upon Him with awe and wonder; to know His love. You are unique. Your personality, talents and quirks are a delight to the Father. Corporate expression of worship is powerful and energizing yet it still comes down to one. Worship is a one-to-one ratio. Worship is not a spectator thing reserved to a specific place and time. It’s giving honor, devotion and your heart’s affection to the One who is worthy. This requires time spent with Jesus. Worship is the opportunity to sit at the King’s feet and behold him. To know his heart. To see his beauty. At the King’s feet, who you are is clarified. Affirmation and love in the deepest places is realized. Every part of you is satisfied. 

Time spent in God’s presence empowers you to worship God in daily living. In view of Christ laying His life down, you surrender your life. This is worship. Clapping your hands, dancing, singing a song, preferring others over yourself, giving to the poor– worship is more than music. It’s a heart posture that exalts Jesus and is demonstrated in the words of your mouth and fruit of your life. There is no distinction between spiritual and secular in the Kingdom of God. Life in God’s kingdom requires living unto the King in the attitude of your heart and in the work of your hands. A living sacrifice sounds counterintuitive yet it’s an invitation to worship the Father by yielding your will and priorities at the feet of Jesus knowing He is worthy of everything you are! 

PRAYER

God, help me to prioritize my life to create space for one on one time with you. Give me courage to worship you with the expression of my words motivated by a pure heart that offers up a living sacrifice of a life that pleases you. Amen

Day 18- Tenderness

Author: Sydney Russom

My hope as I write this today is not to sum up the tenderness of Jesus in a few feeble paragraphs; rather, it is to set before you a spiritual appetizer that I pray would increase your hunger for greater knowledge and experience of His tenderness. 

If we should fight for one thing, I believe it should be that we continue to have a soft and tender heart before the Lord. Tenderness is a mixture of delicacy, vulnerability and youth. It’s a combination that puts us in need and makes our lives depend on the communion and the instruction of the One who has purchased us with His blood. Talk about tenderness! 

Jesus allowed His flesh, His heart and His Spirit to be exposed in this way before the Father and before all of humanity for the sake of love and redemption. If we should have any motivation to remain tender-hearted, it should be that the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth presented Himself to us in such a way. Tenderness is achieved through honesty. It is achieved when our unfiltered pain, thoughts and questions are met by the Lover who bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. Honesty before the Lord is a tender kiss of worship that chooses to submit all things to the blessed covenant (Proverbs 24:26). And when we encounter His covenant kiss toward us in the face of honesty, our hearts are softened in thankfulness and holy wonder. 

Today I am telling you that what is best for your heart is to tell the Lord how you feel and to wait patiently for His response, having already made the choice to yield to whatever He might say. His voice is the hammer that breaks up the stony recesses of our hearts and keeps us tender (Jeremiah 23:29). 

PRAYER

Jesus, you are precious. You have been and always will be the Forerunner of tenderness. Holy Spirit, would you open my understanding to know and experience the tender-heartedness of God, and would You write this truth upon my heart. Send forth Your word to break up every hard place within me that wants to turn away from You in unbelief or rebellion. I trust You. I choose to be honest with You about the good, the bad and the ugly because this is what You have asked of me, and this is the way of tenderness. I give myself to Your loving kindness today. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Proverbs 24:26 (NIV) "An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips."

Song of Solomon 1:2 (NIV) "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine."

Psalm 95:7-8 (AMP) "For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts and become spiritually dull as at Meribah [the place of strife], And as at Massah [the place of testing] in the wilderness…"