^“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe…—Hebrews 12:28 ESV

 Because God gives, I receive with grateful worship

 Unshakable. God has given us a kingdom that is unshakable, a kingdom that is indestructible by His very presence. What security and strength this reminder stirs forth in me. When I look around at the instability of culture, the unsteadiness of our chaos-bound world, I can easily loose sight of God’s power, permanence, and sovereignty.

Remembering what I have received through this holy child we celebrate today–the sin-breaking magnificence of salvation, I respond with gratitude that worships. This passage clearly states the specifics of worship that is acceptable to God, worship that is girded by the pillars of gratitude, acceptance, reverence, and awe.

Framed by the boundaries of my current understanding of who God is (holy and just) and what He offers (entrance into his presence, a kingdom that cannot be shaken), my response should be an ever-deepening worship.

Worship Tip: Receive God’s Gifts with Gratitude

Do my choices and attitudes, the postures of my heart, offer God my reverence? My tendency is to give God my feeble worship based on what pleases me, my earth-bound preferences, my convenience. In this verse, acceptable worship is not a choice of music, activity, or ritual. True worship is not half-way, going-through-the-motions lip service that lingers on the surface of my wandering attention.

True worship is not empty ritual plagued by distraction; it is not casual or hurried. When my eyes are on myself, my worship shrivels, weak and lifeless.

Worship that pleases God is a holy awe, bathed in grace, and entered into by gratitude.

I look beyond my limited definitions of worship to God’s preferences of worship. A life that worships God is only possible by the continual grace of gratitude.

Today’s Worship Challenge: Take Time for Gratitude

What gifts have you received from the Lord? They come in many shapes and sizes; physical and spiritual. Take time today to be thankful for the unshakable kingdom God has given us. Praise Him that today is not the end of the story. Rejoice that He is God over all history–for it is His Story. The child, born in a stable, is the One who has opened the keys to God’s eternal presence. Enter in and rejoice.