No Other Gods

I think often of what it means to worship God. Certainly, as a worship leader, that's vital to how I do my work. But every believer should consider what it means to be a worshiper of God.

We can learn a lot about what it means to worship God by looking at the first of the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20). God begins by reminding the people of Israel that it was He who brought them out of Egyptian slavery. That statement must have immediately brought to their minds the many great miracles and wonders involved with their exodus from Egypt. When we worship, we should also begin with an understanding and acknowledgement of who God and who we are as His people. God goes on to tell the people in the first commandment that they are to have no other gods before Him (20:3). A good understanding of this commandment is that they were not to have any other gods "before His face." To do so would be an insult to who He is. God does not share His glory, and there is none worthy to be in His holy presence pretending to be Him.

So how does this affect our worship today? In corporate worship, we gather to first of all declare who God is -- that He is awesome, holy, and righteous in all His ways. We further declare that as God's people, we are aligning our lives to please Him. We have gotten rid of our idols, so to speak. "Idols"are anything that we may esteem or value more than God Himself. Psalm 139:23-24 says "Search me, O God...test me... see if there is any offensive way in me...". God, through his Holy Spirit, will reveal areas of our lives that where we have allowed the things of this world to take His place in our lives.

When we come together in worship, let us exalt the Lord, and let Him speak to our hearts. He calls us to bow down and worship Him alone.