Today's Passage - Luke 10:25-28

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 10:25-28   "On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.  'Teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?'  'What is written in the Law?' he replied. 'How do you read it?'  He answered: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  'You have answered correctly,' Jesus replied. 'Do this and you will live."   First of all, we need to worship God with all our heart.  It doesn't just mean to let the worshipping come from our heart, but also to make sure it pleases God.  Worship is a subjective experience, and everyone does it differently; however, if the Lord is in our midst, will He enjoy the worship?  We often value our own tradition, habit or taste more than what pleases God.  If we are persevering through our own worship more than enjoying it, of course God will not be enjoying it.  The Bible taught us to "worship the Father in spirit and truth," because God is a spirit, and thus we need to worship Him in spirit and truth.  While our own spirit and truth are both important, it's even more important for the Holy Spirit and teachings of the truth to guide us to worship God.   Next, we also need to worship with all our soul.  When we think about loving God, we most likely will associate it with paying a price, responsibilities, sacrifice, etc.  When we come before God, we often ask more than praise, and we seldom come before God just to say "I love you."  We feel uncomfortable when we see others raising their arms and sing "I love you Lord!"  We, however, are more than joyful when our kids come to us asking for a hug; we will eagerly embrace them and kiss them.  If we are so willing to receive the openly-expressed love from our children, wouldn't God also want us to openly express our love for Him?  May God help us, let us turn back to be like children.   Third, we should worship with all our mind.  Truth worship is not just an emotional experience, but it should also elevate our understanding of God.  Isaiah said that when he went before God to worship, he realized how holy and righteous God is and that He is our Master who's sitting on the throne.  Because of such understanding, he laid down on the ground and acknowledged that he was unclean.  We cannot separate worship from knowledge of God.  In fact, a person's worship will never surpass the level of his knowledge of God, for one will only weep for his sin when he knows the holiness of God, and one will only dare to surrender everything to God when he knows God's love and faithfulness.   Finally, we need to worship with all our strength.  The Bible has associated body language with praise and worship.  The various formats of worship, including raising hands, shouting in joy, clapping to proclaim victory and laying on the ground, are not just trademarks of the Charismatics or product of western culture.  In fact, these expressions during worship gave the believers in the early traditional church great relief in the spirit.  While true worship is not about singing particular songs or using certain format, but some formats or songs undeniably make it easier for us to open our hearts.  May God help us to worship Him with an open heart today!     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you for teaching us to worship you with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength and all our mind.  Let us open our heart to worship you, and let your will be greatly satisfied.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!