Where Do You Worship?
As you think about the New Year, setting goals and making resolutions, consider the one act that will affect you and your year more significantly and powerfully than anything else, where you worship.
What’s the temple(s) of your life? What do you give your resources to, energy and time, to cultivate in your life? How do you make your decisions and choices? What do you sacrifice other things and people for, including your sacred time with God each morning? What are your priorities that come above all else? Mark 12:30-31 What/who do you put above God and abiding in His truth? Matthew 6:33 What doctrines and philosophies are you truly serving and worshipping with your thoughts and actions? Write out the answers to these questions and be honest, it will reveal what you truly serve. True change follows honesty.
Below is just a sampling of the temples we build, sacrifice for and thus worship at … when these are our temples, there is one outcome …
Career achievements
Job Security
Intellectualism
Health
Beauty
Money
Family
Relationships with other gender
Self-empowerment
Control
Victim/Helplessness
Religion/church
Self-righteousness/being right & fair
Pride
Consumed in the darkness of the lies of this world, we build, sacrifice, serve and thus worship at a myriad of temples, like those above, trying to create the rest, fulfillment of hope, purpose, peace and love we desperately long for. Yet, God in His love for us has shown us how to obtain what we truly long for exceeding our expectations. For the life we seek, God instructs us to forsake and destroy all other temples in our lives, and take part in building His temple. Mark 14:58 It’s the temple of truth in our souls in which God’s spirit dwells. Eph 2:19-22 It’s the kingdom of God within us. When this is our temple, then all else in our lives follows as it should and as we deeply desire.
The temple(s) of your choosing will lead to one of two outcomes because there are only two paths in this earth pilgrimage; one of truth and one not, one of life and one not, one of God and one not. If you choose temples like the ones listed above the outcome is of increasing angst, hardship, worry, fear and stress. If you choose to build God’s temple within you, the outcome is growing peace, rest, joy and love.
What are you experiencing, which outcome? The outcome reflects the temple(s) you are currently worshiping at. If it’s the results of angst and fear, are you going to continue to build and worship at the same temples and get the same results?
Not only does only one temple bring the life you truly seek, but there is only one which will stand as all the rest are cast down.
1 Corinthians 3:13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is
In the Day of the Lord, all temples, the work of our hands, will crumble except the One. As the Day of the Lord dawns, now is the time to examine and realign your life to build the everlasting temple, the kingdom of God within you. If the presence of the living God is within you, you need nothing else for His presence manifests every need and desire as it should be.
As you decide your path for this year, meditate on these verses …
Psalm 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
Psalm 34:10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
John 6:28-29 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
Living Light 
January 4, 2012 at 4:49 am
Rachel
If we, I would apply Phil 2:3-4 to our hearts we would see that those idols you listed would begin to fade away. We associate people and relationships around our idols. Example church, if you are not united with a local fellowship Sunday after Sunday, but are a committed believer and follower of Jesus, you are less or even disobedient, stained with sin and rejected. If one leaves on bible study for another most times those relationships are severed. Even some in certain careers, we associate based on what we think and believe and scrutinize against those who may not be the same in career, gender, and christian walk.
James 2 I believe really speaks about this. Just some random thoughts
Mike
January 4, 2012 at 10:19 am
Hi Mike – it’s true fellowships, people can be idols as well. We are to serve God and wherever He leads us, and we know His ways are not our ways, so He may call us away from something that others would look down upon. We can’t see the end of any one act, so we have to follow His lead in each situation. It amazes me how deeply ingrained into our thinking these idols can become. Our rationalizations and justifications compleletly deceive us. We need God to awaken us and show us the way out, which in itself can be quite the process, but He is faithful.
January 4, 2012 at 7:49 pm
Our Father in Heaven is A Spirit,..and can and wants us only to Worship Him in our spirit, through His Chosen Son, Our Teacher now!, through the Holy Spirit,…and as Written,will be Our Future Earthly King,..Who Himself will Teach us in plain and simple language. how to Worship His Father Correctly,like Him,..just like Him
until then,..as in Matthew 6 v 6,..we must do it in private,..in our chambers,..doors closed,..in the inner most place in side us,..mouths closed!
Acts 4:11
Yahuwshuwah is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
Ephesians 2:20
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Yahuwshuwah ha Mashiach,Himself as the Chief Cornerstone.
1 Peter 2:6
For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a Chosen and Precious Cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
to those that want to build a ‘temple’ to Worship, The Father, Most High!,..must start with His Son as ‘The Rock’ to build it upon,..or else when He Comes in All His Glory,..everything else thats not built on Him will fall down!
one of the most wonderful things to building a relationship With The Father Through His Son,..is,..its a very very personal relationship, a One on one,..theres around 7 billion people on this His Earth,..theres been around 59 billion,..He knows every single one of us! ..better than we know ourselves…we are not all the same,He didnt make us all the same,the relationship He has with one will differ from another,..but,..there is still only one way and one truth,..it starts with The Son, Our Savior,Lord of lords,..
one of the most wonderful pieces of Scripture to wayward sinners like me is.
He’s a loving kind understanding beyond our comprehension,.hmmmm, He.must take after His Father
He said,(and its to everyone)
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “ Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
January 5, 2012 at 11:06 am
Hi Brian, Thanks for adding your thoughts to this topic. It is amazing the idols we establish and serve as God has unveiled mine, I had no idea the hold they had on my soul and the depth they penetrated my life… we are to not serve anything in this life, but God and His truth. In light of this concept, the verse really struck me today, John 12:25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. How we get caught up in serving the ideas and philosophies of this world … when God has a much better way. May we seeking to diligently enter into His rest in all areas so that He reigns through us. He is resurrection and the life.