Week 8 - Day 2

DAY 2 – In the following verse, a woman asked Jesus about the
right PLACE to worship.

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in
Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Jesus said to
her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will
neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship,
for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is,
when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and
truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is
Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and
truth." John 4:20-24 NKJV

The following verse from Isaiah gives us an idea of what
worshipping in “spirit and truth” looks like.

When you cry out for help, let your collection [of idols] save you!
The wind will carry all of them off; a mere breath will blow them
away. But the man who makes me his refuge will inherit the land
and possess my holy mountain." And it will be said: "Build up,
build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way
of my people." 15 For this is what the high and lofty One says--he
who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy
place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to
revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the
contrite. Is. 57:13-15

The words contrite and lowly are translated from Hebrew words
that mean, “Crushed, bruised, broken, and depressed.”
When I (Amy) am feeling really down, I like to go to a quiet
place and worship God as my “hiding place” and “lover” of my
soul.

Now, let’s look at two more passages from Psalm and 1 Samuel.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You
do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take
pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Ps 51:15-17

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the
LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD." But the LORD
said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for
I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man
looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD
looks at the heart." 1 Sam 16:6-7

True worship comes from a sincere and humble heart. A heart that
walks in the truth, obeying God’s laws out of love for Him. A
heart that has come to the realization that apart from God there is
no hope. Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.