–William MacLeod Raine (The Sheriff’s Son)
“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”
–Proverbs 4:23(NKJV)
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My mercy, don’t the words of Solomon cause us to stop and think, then act? Look at Ecclesiastes 5:1.
“Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.” (NKJV)
Literally, “guard your feet,” or “guard your steps,” then be careful not to give the sacrifice, literally the “worship” of fools. We are to remember that sacrifices are not substitutes for obedience – neither is hyper pseudo-worship. That is worship on Sunday but give little regard to God the rest of the week. We are to walk before the Lord with caution, therefore, we need to watch our steps. The writer of the Hebrews says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (10:31, NKJV). In other words have proper reverence.
There is much giddiness and half-heartedness in our worship in the house of God. Charles Swindoll wrote, “Fools are characterized by mental thickness. They hear words and turn them off.” We are not to be that way; that’s why we need to consider that the whole service of a Sunday is one of worship. Oh there may be different modes, but it should all be worship–directed toward the Lord. In the service we should be ready to hear truth and it should be presented. That truth should be brought into our lives and if need be our lives should change. It is important that we let God be God, not only in the service, but in our lives. To often we let other things take away our focus.
Derek Kidner said that worship can become “verbal doodling.” Verse 2 of this chapter states, “Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few.” (NKJV) Listen to your words when you pray or praise. Are you redundant in your phrases? Do you think before you speak? Do we use the name “Lord” the same way young people use the word “like”? Over and over without any meaning, just to fill in space where we do not know what to say. Charles Wesley implores us to calm ourselves–become “lost in wonder, love, and praise.” Also hearken to the words of John Bunyan, “In prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.”
We hop and we skip. We lift our hands and utter words, but are they words without meaning? What about obedience following the service? Do we dare go to a service and offer the sacrifice of praise then walk a different walk throughout the week? Go back and read Hebrews 10:31. We serve the Almighty, and obedience is better than sacrifice. One of the great sins of Israel was to offer vain sacrifices; vain in the way the Lord would accept them for they were not accompanied with obedience. Proverbs 29:20 says, “Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” (NKJV)
God looks at your heart when you pray, when you praise, when you enter His presence in church and throughout the week. We should take seriously the fact that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit so where we go, God goes. Are we mindful of that? The truth of the Bible liberates the soul. “It not only reveals a stand, but will set you free to keep it.” (John White) We gripe over our lives, over the lot that God handed us. Instead, why don’t we listen!! Try this for a week: inventory your life at the end of each day. Check to see if you were in obedience to the Word of God. See if the things you were doing were bringing you closer to Him or not. Look at the places in which you found yourself–work, school, entertainment, recreation, etc.–and are you praising God through your life in these activities. Again, I say, heed the words of Solomon, “guard your steps.”
My mercy, don’t the words of Solomon cause us to stop and think, then act? Look at Ecclesiastes 5:1.
“Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.” (NKJV)
Literally, “guard your feet,” or “guard your steps,” then be careful not to give the sacrifice, literally the “worship” of fools. We are to remember that sacrifices are not substitutes for obedience – neither is hyper pseudo-worship. That is worship on Sunday but give little regard to God the rest of the week. We are to walk before the Lord with caution, therefore, we need to watch our steps. The writer of the Hebrews says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (10:31, NKJV). In other words have proper reverence.
There is much giddiness and half-heartedness in our worship in the house of God. Charles Swindoll wrote, “Fools are characterized by mental thickness. They hear words and turn them off.” We are not to be that way; that’s why we need to consider that the whole service of a Sunday is one of worship. Oh there may be different modes, but it should all be worship–directed toward the Lord. In the service we should be ready to hear truth and it should be presented. That truth should be brought into our lives and if need be our lives should change. It is important that we let God be God, not only in the service, but in our lives. To often we let other things take away our focus.
Derek Kidner said that worship can become “verbal doodling.” Verse 2 of this chapter states, “Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few.” (NKJV) Listen to your words when you pray or praise. Are you redundant in your phrases? Do you think before you speak? Do we use the name “Lord” the same way young people use the word “like”? Over and over without any meaning, just to fill in space where we do not know what to say. Charles Wesley implores us to calm ourselves–become “lost in wonder, love, and praise.” Also hearken to the words of John Bunyan, “In prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.”
We hop and we skip. We lift our hands and utter words, but are they words without meaning? What about obedience following the service? Do we dare go to a service and offer the sacrifice of praise then walk a different walk throughout the week? Go back and read Hebrews 10:31. We serve the Almighty, and obedience is better than sacrifice. One of the great sins of Israel was to offer vain sacrifices; vain in the way the Lord would accept them for they were not accompanied with obedience. Proverbs 29:20 says, “Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” (NKJV)
God looks at your heart when you pray, when you praise, when you enter His presence in church and throughout the week. We should take seriously the fact that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit so where we go, God goes. Are we mindful of that? The truth of the Bible liberates the soul. “It not only reveals a stand, but will set you free to keep it.” (John White) We gripe over our lives, over the lot that God handed us. Instead, why don’t we listen!! Try this for a week: inventory your life at the end of each day. Check to see if you were in obedience to the Word of God. See if the things you were doing were bringing you closer to Him or not. Look at the places in which you found yourself–work, school, entertainment, recreation, etc.–and are you praising God through your life in these activities. Again, I say, heed the words of Solomon, “guard your steps.”