Worship:Seeking the Truth

     When we worship, we come seeking to hear a message from God's Word.  Well, I hope.  We should.  The music and prayer prepares our hearts for the message.  And, as we come to worship, we need to be challenged from the scriptures.  Even, when we worship in the privacy of our prayer closet, we need to be seeking God's truth, so we can apply the lessons and message to our daily living.
     However, first, before we open the Bible, we need to prepare our hearts for the message.  I like to think more of preparing the sanctuary.  Praying over the sanctuary that peoples' hearts will be open to the hearing of God's message.  Pray that hearts in certain pews will have no distractions.  Pray for the song leader and soloist. Praying for the pastor all week as he prepares.  Yes, do you pray for your pastor everyday?  The pastor or speaker is God's messenger to the congregation.  He needs our prayers daily to keep away temptation and to be open to God's message to him.   Then, as we come to worship, may our hearts be open to God's Word.
    Jesus makes this challenge to the Jews who were condemning him for healing the man at the pool of Bethesda on the sabbath.  He says, "Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39  Instead of the truth, the Jews challenging Jesus thought that they were justified by following the laws.  If they truly searched the scriptures, they would have known the truth.  This is the truth we seek in our worship.  
     "But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.  When you are in tribulation, and all these things are come upon you, even in the latter days, if you turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God): he will not forsake you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them." Deut. 4:29-31
     Truth is Jesus.  The scriptures are a testament leading to the Son of God, Jesus.  So, as we worship, seek to be closer to God in spirit and in truth.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24
     

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