John 4:23-24 (AMP) But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

The Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. Who are such people? Those are the people who search within themselves. Part of my growing deeper in my walk with God has to do with the inward change, not just the outward change. I do care about how I present myself, but it should matter more how I present myself to God. The biggest tell is how I treat going to church. In my culture we have watered down reverence so much to go so far from legalism that it has turned into lawlessness. What is the difference, not much, because neither reveres a Holy God. It is how we see God. We treat church as common, not really special, something ordinary. We have gone so far from the importance of it because of the few that abused their authority in it. So much so, that I am even watching how I approach people in my own church. The enemy has a done a good job of making sure that when we join together, we are still powerless. However, there is a remnant. There is hope. I am not writing just about my church, but the body of Christ in general.

Psalms 145:18 (NLT) The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.

Isaiah 29:13 (NLT) And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.”

He also requests that we worship Him in truth. That is the opposite of lip service. Lip service is not taking God’s Word as serious, but as common, no real change happens. It is not taking the promises of God as real. Those who offer lip service, and still go through the motions, have missed out on what reverence means. How we receive the Word (spoken and written) has all to do with the honor we give it. Reverence is shown in the fruit of our application. It has come to a point that a common treatment of attendance, in fellowship or even how we approach worship is normal. That reverence is now seen as radical Christianity. We have made it a point to get so far from the legalism that the church got into (that the building is not the church but the people) that it has turned out that we do not even attend services with a reverence for a Holy God. We treat it as common. Even if you do not show up for a service, it will be okay, I can catch it later online…but really what do I miss. That is a common thought life on what God tells us is important.

Ephesians 2:21 (NLT)  We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

Hebrews 10: 24-25 (NLT) Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Acts 2:42 (AMP) They were continually and faithfully devoting themselves to the instruction of the apostles, and to fellowship, to eating meals together and to prayers.

During my time in corporate prayer yesterday I was interceding for the body of Christ and God put this on my heart. He asked, “am I glorified in this?” How we approach our fellowship with the body, is He glorified in this? In how we gather together for worship and the teaching of the Word, is He glorified in this? When we meet each other in public, is He glorified in this? I had to admit to myself, no. He does not get glory when we treat what should be in spirit and truth as common, nothing special.

Romans 12:1 (AMP) Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.

Colossians 3:12-17 (AMP) So, as God’s own chosen people, who are holy [set apart, sanctified for His purpose] and well-beloved [by God Himself], put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience [which has the power to endure whatever injustice or unpleasantness comes, with good temper]; bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive. Beyond all these things put on and wrap yourselves in [unselfish] love, which is the perfect bond of unity [for everything is bound together in agreement when each one seeks the best for others]. Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always]. Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind—permeating every aspect of your being] as you teach [spiritual things] and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus [and in dependence on Him], giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Nothing we do as born-again believers should be common. We should not treat anything as common. We should be excited to gather together. We should be in awe of the gifts in each other’s lives working together. We should be beaming with joy at the growth spiritually in each other. I was so excited to hear how God was speaking to each one of us individually during our corporate prayer yesterday. There are places that I go every day of the week, as a schedule, but my schedule should not be seen as common. There I can worship God in spirit and truth. Every day is another day to give Him glory. Every time I come into the house of God to worship, I expect to hear God in a different way than I did when I was seeking Him privately. He is the same, but it is never common. It may look radical to you, but it is definitely not common.

Abba, our Father, our Jehovah, You are Holy. You are everything we will ever need. You are so Marvelous and Wonderful. Thank You for You Son, our Redeemer and our Prince of Peace. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, our Teacher and Comforter. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your Presence that never leaves us nor forsakes us. Thank You for Your Mercy and Loving Kindness. We repent for treating our lives as common. We repent for acting like nothing special happens past us receiving Your Son as Savior. We repent for going through the motions of worship and not truly worshiping You in Spirit and in Truth. We repent for the lip service. Lip service does not glorify You. Our desire is to bring You glory, for Your Kingdom to be established here on earth. Check within us Lord, search within us, and remove anything that keeps us from growing deeper in You. You are anything but common to us. Your Word is a lamp to our feet. We take Your Word as special. Every day is special and new. We cannot wait to join in with other believers and glorify Your Name. We repent for not thinking meeting together as important to You. We choose joy today. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.