My apologies for the gap in the devotions - things have been hectic and, to be very honest, I have been a bit betwixt and between as to the next theme for the eDevs!
After some reflection, I've decided to pick up some key passages from our "Seven Laws of Spiritual Success" Course. The course is based on a book by the same title by well-known devotional author Selwyn Hughes, who in his late 70s with terminal cancer, decided that there was one more book in him and felt led to try and put into book form the irreducible minimum of habits or principles that a Christian should have in their lives.
Here are the Laws:
1. Put Worship of God First.
2. Learn to live with a Gratitude Attitude.
3. Push through and Persevere.
4. Learn to Forgive.
5. Make Service a Lifestyle.
6. Stay Close to God.
7. Cultivate your Soul.
The course has been well-received and we are on Law 6. The devotions will pick up a few verses on each of the laws.
Enjoy!
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"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks." John4:23
Jesus spoke these words while in a discussion with the Samaritan Woman at Jacob's Well near Sychar. There were all sorts of things wrong with the picture:
- She was a Samaritan (not a pure Jew)
- Samaritans worshipped on Mount Gerizim and not the temple on Mount Zion
- She had a poor moral track-record
- She didn't fully understand all that Jesus was saying to her.
But Jesus answers the woman's argumentative theological question ("Which mountain are we supposed to worship on anyway?") with the statement that true worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth. The awesome implication is that this is an invitation very clearly indicating that as far as Jesus is concerned, the woman could be one of those worshippers!
Worship is the true language of the soul: It's about responding to God at the most basic level and being completely real with Him.
By the end of the interview, the woman has acknowledged that she has no husband, that she has been cast aside by men and is currently in an abusive situation (the man she was with wouldn't even give her his name) and she has aired her cynicism with regard to organised religion. She has questioned and challenged Jesus and His responses have opened her heart and touched her soul. Listen to what she says in v.29: "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"
But the eloquent language of her worship is in v.28: She _left_ her water jar and went to call the people to _come_ and _see._ She had gone to fetch water during the hottest part of the day to avoid the crowds, now she was calling the crowds to taste and see that the Lord is good.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
