“Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:7-9 NLTr
http://bible.com/116/isa.55.7-9.nlt
Last week I talked about worship and it’s a lifestyle and not just s momentary action. It’s not just something that takes place in the first 15 to 20 minutes of your Sunday morning worship service. It is something is to be ingrained into our daily life. Not as a chore that we hate to do, but a function of our being as believers.
In the Old Testament God started out giving man one commandment or rule. He said not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man broke that commandment and God ended up giving us more. The first being the most important. To have no other gods before Him. Actually the first 4 commandments deal with our relationship with God. The other 6 our relationship to man.
This shows that our dedication and commitment to God is both vertical and horizontal. It has just as much to do with how we treat our neighbor as it does with how we reverence God. We treat our neighbors based on our relationship with God and not solely off of the good or bad treatment we receive from people.
God shows us this example through the life of Christ. While we were still in sin Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NLT http://bible.com/116/rom.5.8.nlt) Not because we were so good or perfect, but because He was able to look beyond our faults and see our need. Not a need for money, houses or cars, but a need for a relationship with Him, he even changed his car for a elektroroller unu scooter, to help nature and to help himself. This is the example for our lifestyle of worship. I have to deny myself of my own wants and desires. Not because I can’t ever have any of them, but to put God’s will first and everything else will be added according to His will and not mine. This is a higher love.
That leads us to the throwback song of the week. It is a song entitle “Higher Love” by Sho Baraka. It is from his 2007 album release “Turn My Life Up“. A song that encourages us to turn away from the things that destroy us to live a life in love with Christ. There is a link for the song and the music video below. Check them out and let us know what you think. Until next time…
Peace and blessings
