The first century money changers were in the temple, but they didn’t have the spirit of the temple… They were out of sync with the whole purpose of the Lord’s house. “The atmosphere of my Father’s house,” Jesus seemed to say, “is to be prayer. The aroma around my Father must be that of people opening their hearts in worship and supplication. This is not a place to make a buck. This is a house for calling on the Lord.
Worship
Darlene Cunningham
God has planted in each nation sounds and colors and celebration that He longs to have released to bring glory to Him. These cultural expressions, when in alignment with the Word of God, allow people to express their love for Jesus from the core of their being. From the yoiking of the Scandinavian Sami, to the haka of the Polynesian Maori, to the arias of Italian opera, to the hip-hop of young Latinos, to the drums of the Africans, to the fan dances of Korea, and the Hallelujah Chorus of Handel’s Messiah. When the aim is to bring glory to Jesus, the joy is contagious. The celebrations of different cultures help all of us to worship God more freely!
Don McMinn
Our entire being is fashioned as an instrument of praise. Just as a master violin maker designs an instrument to produce maximum aesthetic results, so God tailor-made our bodies, souls and spirits to work together in consonance to produce pleasing expressions of praise and worship. When we use body language to express praise, that which is internal becomes visible.
Julia Loren
Worship moves you into a place of peace where you can receive His love. No matter what is going on in your life, entering into the presence of God through worship will enable you to drop the shield of anxiety, release your pent-up emotions, calm your heart and receive a peace that passes all understanding. Once that peace settles in, God’s loving presence floods in. It shields you from fear of the future and enables you to enjoy His presence in the now. Focus on the face of Jesus—no matter what storm rages around you—and though the storm rages, you will no longer notice because you are captivated by Him.
A W Tozer
The presence and the manifestation of the presence are not the same. There can be the one without the other. God is here when we are wholly unaware of it. He is manifest only when and as we are aware of His presence. On our part there must be surrender to the Spirit of God, for His work it is to show us the Father and the Son. If we cooperate with Him in loving obedience, God will manifest Himself to us, and that manifestation will be the difference between a nominal Christian life and a life radiant with the light of His face.
Samuel Rutherford
We may sing beforehand, even in our winter storm, in the expectation of a summer sun at the turn of the year; no created powers can mar our Lord Jesus’ music, nor spill our song of joy. Let us then be glad and rejoice in the salvation of our Lord; for faith had never yet cause to have wet cheeks, and hanging-down brows, or to droop or die.
Samuel Logan Brengle
I praise him! I adore him! I love him! My whole being is his for time and eternity. I am not my own. He can do with me as he pleases for I am his. I know that what he chooses must work out for my eternal good. He is too wise to make mistakes and too good to do me evil. I trust him, I trust him, I trust him!
Samuel Logan Brengle
Daily Christian Quote Website
———
I praise him! I adore him! I love him! My whole being is his for time and eternity. I am not my own. He can do with me as he pleases for I am his. I know that what he chooses must work out for my eternal good. He is too wise to make mistakes and too good to do me evil. I trust him, I trust him, I trust him!
Darlene Cunningham
Of course, no culture is perfect, and if something is evil in a culture, we should stand against it. But a musical instrument, for example, is not bad just because historically, it was used for pagan worship. That same kind of instrument can be used to worship Jesus, and that is what is happening around the world. I love seeing the Korean fan dance used to worship King Jesus, with all its grace and colorful beauty – or to hear the powerful sound of Korean drums. I love the beauty of African worship with all its creative dance and energetic voices lifted high in praise to God. I love the beauty and harmonies of Tongan “sweet song.” I believe we are called to celebrate the beauty of the nations and their languages and cultures.
Jeremy Riddle
When we allow worship to become about a worship leader, a song, a musical expression, a church growth agenda, a brand, an industry, a musical gig, a personal need for breakthrough, or any other agenda that is self-seeking and self-serving—anything besides ministering to Jesus—we allow the life it carries to be trampled out of it.
Stasi Eldredge
There is nothing wrong with falling at the feet of Jesus in silence. God can hear your tears, he knows your heart, he knows you. You don’t always have to speak.