Monday, June 23, 2014
Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
CHURCH IS WORSHIP AND MEDITATION
When we think of our formal church service, the word "worship" is one of the first to come to mind. Worship is certainly a very important part of our services, so much so that they are often called "worship services." The word "worship" points at that which we give to God, whether it be praise, thanks, or adoration. There is no doubt that this is an extremely important thing to do at church, and much of our Lutheran service is built around worship of God. But worship alone is not the only function of a church service, even though we often give it the most attention.
The LORD emphasized another important part of church to Joshua and the Israelites as they prepared to enter the promised land. The LORD told them to "meditate" on His Word. When God uses the word "meditate" in His Word He means to think, study, and listen. Although our church services contain many different features, they often could be narrowed down as either worship or meditation. Meditation involves listening to and focusing on what God tells us and what He has done for us. Worship is the proper response we return to God for all He has done for us. Both meditation and worship are important parts of church, but in our culture worship is often over-emphasized to the point that people don't even think about meditation.
Let's remember what God told Joshua and His people: Don't forget to listen to what He says. Church provides a great opportunity to do that very thing. It's a time for us to take a moment out of our busy and fast-paced lives to quietly meditate on God's truth and allow Him to teach us. It is when God speaks to us with the good news that our sins are forgiven -- then our hearts are moved to worship Him with joy!
