Making 2015 the Year of Worship

God created you for a personal relationship with Him and for worship to be your primary characteristic. Worship is the single fruit of knowing God more and more through personal faith in Jesus Christ. There are many expressions, flavors of worship, but worship is the sole result of God's revelation of Himself to you through His Son, Jesus Christ.

King David was the worshipping king. He united the nation of Israel in worshipping God. He was after God's heart, as in pursuing God with a passion. He wrote more of the Bible than anyone and he only wrote one thing, worship songs to God, about God, for God! The book of Psalms is his book, the worship book of the Bible. It is the longest book of the Bible and is quoted more in the New Testament than any other Old Testament book.

Every occasion in David's life was an occasion to see the greatness, the power, the goodness of God. When the lion and the bear threatened his life and the life of the sheep he cared for, David as a young shepherd boy, was filled with courageous rage, fueled by his love for God, and attacked them, and killed them. His passion for God was greater than his fear of physical harm. When King Saul and the army of Israel were overcome with fear by the ranting and raving of Goliath, David was offended that God's Name was being defiled and was filled with contempt for the Philistine champion. His love for God was greater than his fear of the giant and the armies of the Philistines. Attacking Goliath was a worship experience for David. He came against the enemies of God in the Name of the Lord of hosts and wrote songs about it!

On his best days, like when he brought the Ark into Jerusalem, David worshipped God. On his worst days, like when he and his men returned to Ziklag and found everything destroyed and all of their families gone (his own men broke down and wept and plotted to kill David), David worshipped God. Worship was the chief characteristic of his life. Worship was greater than anything else in his life.

The Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ based His whole Life on glorifying (worshipping) the Father in Spirit and in Truth. He said that the Father was looking for true worshippers. He taught us to pray with the priority of worship. He worshipped the Father on the Mount of Transfiguration as well as the hill called Calvary.

So how can you make 2015 the year of worship, the priority of your day, the chief characteristic of your life? Glad you asked. First, know that this is something to pray earnestly for. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and to lead you into worshipping the Father and the Son with His burning passion of love for the Father and the Son. Choose to become and desire to become a true worshipper.

Know that if the Holy Spirit is to be your teacher and guide, it will be His Word, the Bible, that you will learn from and be shaped by in worshipping each day.

Make time at the beginning of your day (for some this is early in the morning, for others it is late at night) to sit before the Lord, to present yourself before the Lord, and worship Him. This is done with an open Bible, an open ear, a focused mind, a learning spirit, a loving heart for God.

Begin your time with God each day with a Psalm. This is the worship book of the Bible. Begin your daily Bible reading (if you don't have a Bible reading plan for 2015, get one before Thursday!) with a Psalm. There are 150 of them, one for each day in a five-month cycle. Let that Psalm and worshipping God set the thermostat of your time in God's presence. Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and is in its entirety a song of worship for God's Word. It is divided up into twenty-two, eight-verse sections. Each day, supplement the Psalm for the day with a section from Psalm 119. Take one verse from that prayer, memorize it and pray it throughout the day, that day.

The months that have 31 days, you will repeat the Psalm on the next day in order to stay with the five-month cycle. On February 28, (Psalm 58), include Psalm 59, and then on March 1 begin with Psalm 60 and 61. On March 2 (Psalm 62) you will be back on track.

I have prayed the Psalms in this fashion as the beginning of my time with God for several years and have decided to (led to) begin writing a book on what I am sharing with you today. Look for it this time next year! In the mean time, allow God's Word to teach you to become a true worshipper in Spirit and in Truth.