A Lifestyle of Worship

Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done. Sing to Him; yes, sing His praises. Tell everyone about His wonderful deeds. Exult in His holy name; rejoice, you who worship the LORD. Search for the LORD and for His strength; continually seek Him. 

(Psa 105:1-4 NLT)

This passage is one that I have simply been meditating on all week.  Sometimes I will simply swing the pendulum the other direction and read the interpretation from the Message:  

Hallelujah! Thank GOD! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek GOD. Live a happy life! Keep your eyes open for GOD, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence. 

(Psa 105:1-4 MSG)

I seem to have been working backwards in this... First with God sightings (be alert for signs of His presence MSG); Next, I focused on  "search for the Lord and His strength (NLT)."  In continuing to look at this passage, today I'm focusing on "Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. (Psa 105:3 NIV)"  In other words WORSHIP!

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. 

(Rom 12:1 NLT)

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 

(Rom 12:1 MSG)

As we spend time remembering Pete's Dad this week, I see how he lived out his worship of God in every aspect of his life: 

• His choices of career - police officer, homicide detective, coroner's office - are ones that focused on righteousness, justice, and honor.  
• His personal life draws the tie from this to God as the source.  Bernie had a strong faith - right is right and wrong is wrong was defined by God's standard.   He pointed his family to God and His righteousness but he also demonstrated unconditional love that transcended times of failure.    
• His life's mission these last couple of years has been to brighten the lives of others with unexpected blessings of praise and appreciation.

Honor His holy name with Hallelujahs [praises], you who seek God.  Live a happy life! - Bernie did this!  Now it's our turn...


This week has its sadness with loss but we also don't grieve as those without hope.  That hope is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   This life is but a blink of an eye in comparison to what God has in store for eternity.  


The God-sightings and searching for God's strength are simply tools for helping us to live a life of worship.  It is so easy to bring Him honor in both good times and bad when we see His hand in the circumstances around us and His strength being provided through others.  He is bigger than anything we face in this life!  


While I have used the Message phrasing of "Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs...Live a happy life!" because of its strong emotional impact, I think it is imcomplete without a more intellectual understanding.  The NIV translations reads "Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice."  Happy gives a simple emotional connotation while, for me at least, rejoice carries a connotation of happiness that transcends physical circumstances.  (i.e. glory in His name -Shine because of God and what He can do not because of the situation you are in!)  It is why Paul could rejoice in prison and through beatings - he saw that his temporary discomfort and  pain were for God's greater glory and that overflowed in happiness/rejoicing.  It is why people being persecuted for Christ around the world today continue to stand firm and rejoice knowing that the kingdom of God is furthered.  They glory in God and that continues to draw others and grow the church.  These people both then and now live a life of worship through whatever circumstances they find themselves...


I want to live a lifestyle of worship... Many of you see the work that I do, the hours that I put in and in our culture I'm sure that that can spell workaholism and raise other such flags, but through this blog what I want you to see is that I don't work for praise or money or success... it is my act of worship.  It is my means of honoring God in all that I do and of contributing to the advancement of His kingdom.  This is only secondary to the worship that I live out as I support my husband's life's mission and raise my kids to seek God... His strength... and to live their own lifestyle of worship.


At times I lose focus but this is my goal... to shine for Him so that others are drawn to Him and to worship Him in all that I do.  May God be praised!


Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 
(Psa 105:3 NIV)


Are you experiencing true worship - the everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering - kind of worship?  Begin by seeking Him at work around you and look for His strength in life, then worship will begin to overflow from the reality of God's greatness!