Worship Is Not a Location But The PERSON of JESUS!
A few years ago (in 2017 to be exact) I met God face-to-face while sitting in my living room. Now, this might sound strange, maybe one might even scoff and say, “Really! You met God? Face-to-Face?” To this, I say, “Yes! Yes, I did, and the proof that I did can be found within my marriage.
Before I explain, let me describe my yesterday.
- God woke me early before light because of my tender back, and I must admit that I have become quite thankful for my back ache that wakes me each morning. I can enjoy the quiet of the house (while darkness covers the outdoors) as I can find my way through the dark house.
- Prior to church, I enjoyed time with my Savior.
- God has grown our church to a place where we now have two services, and my husband and I have begun the practice of attending both. In doing so, we are afforded conversations with many brothers and sisters in Christ (both the old and young), and if you know my husband and me, then you know how much we enjoy conversations with others. Yesterday, thanks to the Navy, I went alone to church where I was surrounded by a village, by a family, by brothers and sisters, too numerous to count, who are a blessing to my life.
- Prior to the second service, I was given the opportunity to share a Bible lesson with my small group (a beautiful group). It is these dear ones that I can be real and can express what God has laid upon my heart. Yesterday, our lesson theme: Jesus Christ understands our doubt & loves us anyway!
- After church, I enjoyed lunch with family: burgers, slaw, salad, pickles, and water. Yum. Yum.
- Then I raced off to a church building south of town to sit beside my best friend and her family as we enjoyed music provided by children. A piano & vocal recital. So much talent within one room (not mine but theirs).
Let me pause here to ask a question:
As a child, did you ever create a note such as this?
Do you love me? Circle Yes OR No
Maybe another note went like this—
Will you “go out” with me? Circle Yes OR No
Oftentimes, I offered to create and to deliver these notes for my friends to their “loved” ones, and as the delivery girl, I never knew the implication and depth of these two questions. One day, so long ago, I received a note directed at me from my “loved one.” THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING!
Let me explain. In the Bible, God provides us with so many passages to reveal the truth of God that we need. Let’s pause and read two passages together: One found in the Old Testament & the other found in the New Testament. So, grab your Bible and read with me verses found in the books of Ruth and John, passages that reveal the actions of women.
The Old Testament passage from Ruth: After a season of death, one where a father and his two sons died, three women were left as widows, a difficult life at any age. In this passage, we see Naomi, Orpah, Ruth, and even ourselves.
“And they raised their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law,
(Ruth 1: 14-17 NASB)
but Ruth clung to her.
Then she said,
[Naomi said to Ruth, her other daughter-in-law]
“Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods;
return after your sister-in-law.”
But Ruth said, “Do not plead with me to leave you [Naomi]
or to turn back from following you; [Naomi]
for where you go, I will go, and
where you sleep, I will sleep.
Your people shall be my people,
and your God, my God.
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.
May the LORD do so to me and worse, if anything but death separates me from you.”
The New Testament passage from John: After a time of traveling, Jesus left Judea and headed toward Galilee. Now, Jesus could have taken the long way around the dreaded city of Samaria, but he did not. So at the sixth hour (at noon), Jesus needed to rest from all his walking, so He sat down at the well of Jacob. There, in the hot sun, during the heat of the day, Jesus encountered a Samaritan woman. In this passage, we see Jesus Christ the Savior, the woman, and even ourselves.
“The woman said to Him, [to Jesus]
(John 4: 19-24 NASB)
“Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and yet you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one must worship.”
Jesus said to her, [to the Samaritan woman]
“Believe Me, woman, that a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But a time is coming, and even now has arrived, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Let me pause here to ask another question:
Would knowing you would be a martyr for Christ cause you joy or anxiety?
Oftentimes, I have wondered just what I would do if confronted with the decision—my life denying I know Jesus—OR—my death as I testified Jesus as my Savior and Lord? In looking up the word “martyr,” we find that the word comes from the same Greek word as “witness.”
Let that sink in for a moment.
As I said, a few years ago I met God face-to-face while sitting in my living room. The year was 2017, and my husband was soon to return from a military deployment, and after so many months of separation, my marriage felt as if it was fractured beyond repair.
To explain the connection, let me finish describing my yesterday.
7. After enjoying a time of music at the piano & vocal recital, I hugged my best friend and went to meet another friend so that we could drive to a third church to attend a funeral visitation for another friend’s mother. (I know, that’s a numerous number of friends and churches—The blessings of life.)
8. During our drive to and from the funeral visitation, we talked about life. That’s what friends do. It was during the return journey back to her vehicle where our conversation turned to the topic of broken marriages. Immediately, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me to share my season of 2017 and the day I met Jesus face-to-face in my living room.
- The location where we worship God does not matter.
- What matters is the PERSON WHOM we worship.
That day, in 2017, I encountered GOD in the person of JESUS in my living room while sitting in my blue rocker.
Then yesterday, I encountered GOD in the person of JESUS on my drive back toward town while sitting in my green Subaru & while sharing a conversation with a good friend.
God gives us seasons of struggles to walk through, and as we do, we sometimes do not understand (during the struggle) how God will use our struggle to encourage and help others later on in life. That’s what God did for me. Back in 2017 when his deployment was completed, my husband and I spent several weeks walking through a godly devotional book about marriage and prayer. Through God’s direction, our marriage was healed. As a daily blessing, thankfully, God gives us others to walk with, to talk with, and to share with as we go through life. With those others, we are afforded opportunities to share JESUS. It is a blessing of GOD! Someday, Jesus will bring the believers, the children of God home to heaven, and when He does, we will never tire of the beauty of His presence: HIS INFINITE—AMAZING—ASTOUNDING—BREATHTAKING—MIND-BLOWING BEAUTY!
- We are God’s Children!
- We are to witness, to be martyrs, to testify of Jesus!
- We shall be like Jesus!
- We shall be clothed in His glory! &
- We shall see Jesus as He is!
May we worship Jesus today: as we go, as we journey, & as we share life with others.
May we see Jesus face-to-face!
May we raise our voices, our hearts, our eyes, and our souls in worship to the KING of Kings!
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
(John 4: 24 NASB)