Friday, December 16, 2016
Worthy of Our Worship
When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.—Matthew 2:10–11
The wise men, these followers of the stars, met the Lord Jesus Christ who created the stars. They were occultists, yet God reached into their dark world with a star to bring them to their Creator.
Matthew’s gospel tells us, “They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (2:11).
Everyone worships at Christmas. There are no exceptions to this. Christians worship. Atheists worship. Skeptics worship. Republicans worship. Democrats worship. Independents worship. Everyone worships at Christmas, but not everyone worships God at Christmas. Some worship material things, which they never seem to have enough of. Others worship their bodies. Others worship their families. But everyone worships something or someone.
The wise men worshiped Jesus. And what does it mean to worship? Our modern word worship comes from the old English word worthship. We worship the One who is worthy. A god of our own making isn’t worthy of our worship, but the true God is worthy of our praise.
Two words often are used in the Scriptures to define worship. One word means to bow down and do homage, which speaks of reverence and respect. The other means to kiss toward, which speaks of intimacy and friendship. So when we put these two words together, we get an idea of what worship actually is. To worship is to bow down and have reverence, and it is also to have tender intimacy.
Jesus was born, He died, and He rose from the dead so that you and I could come into a relationship with Him and become God’s adopted children. Simply put, we should worship the Lord because He deserves it—every day of the year.
Dig Deeper:
Today’s Radio Program
“The Gift!–1”
This Week’s TV Program
“What Is the Meaning of Life?”
Today’s Bible Reading
2 Peter 1-3; John 1
| When the angel announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, they were essentially giving the gospel in a nutshell: “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christthe Lord.”
Because we have a Savior we don’t have to be afraid. That’s a message that more than 45,000 people responded to this year through the ministry of Harvest. Will you help us share it with even more in 2017? Please consider making a year-end gift to Harvest Ministries to help proclaim the “good news of great joy” worldwide. |
Used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie, PO Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514.
