Begin Your New Year With Worship
I am so excited about the great feedback that many have shared about The Christmas Worship Challenge! A huge shout out to everyone who participated. Today post is the last of the worship challenge for now. The next post will give you all of the worship tools in one spot for a handy reverence.
Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Galatians 4:6
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We don’t worship alone.
When we worship in spirit and truth, whether we are singing or doing something else, whatever we are doing, our worship is a partnership of the Holy Spirit within us praising, lifting up the Father, bearing witness with us and through us.
A Living Song
A Song of Relationship
In the midst of relational worship, we discover that worship is not us on our side, trying to please God, who is on the other side.
Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, our sin is forgiven, and we can enter into the presence of God and worship and respond to His majesty. We don’t have to worship from afar—yet I realize that so often my worship does not have this intimacy or immediacy.
“Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.”– John 14:23 NLT
Too often, my worship is watered down with the diluting presence of pride and self-focus.
Too often, it is weighted down by the heaviness of circumstance, fear, guilt or sin.
Too often, it is hemmed in by the restrictions of duty or distraction.
Worship Tip: Press through circumstance; press in to worship.
A new song is often the result of God reaching into our distress. In Scripture, new songs often come in the midst or at the end of great trouble and heart-break. New songs are sometimes an act of faith, worshiping God in the midst of the unwanted or the unthinkable. Sometimes a new song is a faith-cry for help.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle;
My lovingkindness and my fortress,
My stronghold and my deliverer,
My shield and He in whom I take refuge….
Send out Your arrows and confuse them.
Stretch forth Your hand from on high;
Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters….
I will sing a new song to You, O God….
Rescue me and deliver me… Psalm 144:1-11, portions
Today’s Worship Challenge:
Ask the Lord to give you a new song. Ask Him to empower your worship.
Worship God in your distress, in the hurt and grief that preys upon the peace of soul and breaks open our hearts.
Worship God in the joy of celebration and blessing.
Worship God in the midst of the daily.
Worship with heart reaching wide.
Worship God this new beginning of a new year. He who is always faithful will be with you each moment of the days to come. May they be filled with blessings and joy as you let your heart rejoice.
So glad you're here. I help busy women—gals like you— build healthy habits for living well with biblical wisdom and practical steps to deepen your faith, increase your hope, and thrive in your purpose.
Thankyou, Ginger, for all that you have shared in the “Worship Challenge” over past weeks. I have appreciated the wisdom in it all and it played a part in my preparations for Christmas. I just couldn’t do the loud music and dancing bit at the time, as our dearly loved Sami ( elderly cat) was seriously ill and died around that time in the challenge, but I’ve made up for it a bit since! We are all so grateful to God for giving us Sami nearly a couple of years ago and she was a real blessing to us all, although we still miss her every day at the moment. Thankyou again for all your hard work and the blessing that you are to so many in all your sharings.
Lesley xx
Thanks so much for your comments, Lesley. I understand grieving the loss of a beloved pet as I have been through that myself. I am so glad that you have been blessed by the worship challenge. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience!