BibleVersity

"And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped. "(Rev. 5:14, NASB)    Have you noticed yet in the Bible that in every instance of someone's vision of heaven we see worship happening? In Revelation chapter five John tells us that he sees the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders, the angels, "myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands" of folks, and "every created thing" singing about and worshiping. (v 11-14) This is not only the case with John's vision. We see the same in the visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Even Jacob's vision way back in Genesis 28 hints at this same occurrence. With all this worship taking place in heaven, what are we missing down here on earth?    We usually equate worship to singing, but worship is more. The word "worship", in the original Greek language ( προσκυνέω)  means to "prostrate oneself in homage."* It is an...

"An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.  If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it.  And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it." (Ex. 20:24-26, ESV)     Immediately after giving the Decalogue (ten commandments) to Moses and Israel, the Lord cites some instructions in regard to the building of altars. These rules were important considering the worship practices of the time. The Israelites were not the only people who used altars. To distinguish between the two the Bible often referred to these as "high places." Molech, Baal, Dagon, and other "gods" mentioned in the Bible demanded sacrifices from their worshipers. Some worship went so far as t...

"I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the the LORD." - Ezekiel 38:23 (NASB)    Ezekiel 38 is speaking about end-times events. Gog and Magog are speaking of the battle of Armageddon as we know it as presented in Revelation. This is the context of the verse above. We always want to make sure that we keep Scripture in its proper context.    Notice what the LORD says that He is going to do in view of the world. First He is going to magnify or elevate Himself. Since creation man has created other "gods" in his own image. God will make Himself known in such a way, working such magnificent wonders, that mankind will have no doubt that He is the LORD. Second, He will sanctify or separate Himself. We usually think of sanctification as a separation from sin. However, God has not and cannot sin. The sanctifying He is speaking of is setting Himself apart from every other "god"...

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." - Romans 12:1 (NASB)     Worship is not singing, although singing is a part of worship. Worship is not praying, although praying is part of worship. Giving is not worship, and neither is Bible reading, attending church services, witnessing, or any number of activities that we often combine together and call it "worship". So then, what is worship?    If you look at any Bible dictionary you will find a definition that states something along the lines of "homage paid to God." Paul notes above that worship is presenting our lives as a living and holy sacrifice (or offering) to God. In other words, worship is both an attitude and posture of the heart in which a person humbles himself (or herself) before God,  surrendering to His will, His plan, and His desires.    Please do not mi...

"...And what will You do for Your great name?" - Joshua 7:9 (NASB)    Israel was in a tough spot. After an incredible victory over Jericho, they faced a humiliating defeat at Ai because one man chose to defy the LORD's command. The verse above is the end of a prayer that Joshua is offering to God in trying to discover why God would let them fail after bringing them so far. The failure was not God's fault, but man's. And the verses that follow reveal the "rest of the story."    Look back at Joshua's prayer for a moment: "And what will You do for Your great name?" Contrary to what some may think, God is not in the business of exalting man. Yes, he elevate any man or woman in a public manner for His purposes, but the reason is never to bring attention to the individual. When man attempts to "touch" the glory of God, or try to "take" some of it for himself, he is setting himself up for failure. The LORD wants His creat...

"Praise the LORD? Praise the LORD from the heavens;" - Psalm 148:1 (NASB)    If it difficult to read through any of the individual Psalms in the collection without seeing the term "praise," and the task is impossible in this one. When it comes to praise, the Psalmist leaves no one and nothing out: angels, hosts, sun and moon, waters, fire and hail, snow and clouds, mountains and hills, creeping things, kings, and the list goes on. It is almost as if the Psalmist is trying to tell us that it is the responsibility, the purpose of creation to praise the LORD. If that is what you gather from reading the Psalm, then we agree. However, some interesting questions start to come to our mind, such as, "How can snow praise the LORD?", or "How do the mountains praise the LORD?", since both of these are non-living items. The answer lies in the meaning of the word "praise."    We tend to think of praise as singing songs or speaking good of, b...