We hope you enjoy this re-post from March 23, 2015. Be blessed! The Today’s Quote From God Team

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. – John 4:24, King James Version (KJV)

How well do you worship the Lord? After studying John 4:24, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a horrible worshipper. I hope you measure up better than I do.

The word “worship” in John 4:24 is the Greek word “proskuneo” (pronounced pros-koo-neh’-o), which has as one of its meanings “kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication.” The word “spirit” is the Greek word “pneuma” (pronounced pnyoo’-mah), which has as one of its meanings “the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides; a simple essence…possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting.” The word “truth” is the Greek word “aletheia” (pronounced al-ay’-thi-a), which has as one of its meanings “the truth as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of man, opposing alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles and the inventions of the Jews, and the corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians.” Putting these definitions together, worshipping God in “spirit and in truth” means this:

Giving to God the respect and obedience He deserves, both in our behavior as well as in our hearts and minds, and doing so in accordance with the way He is, not in the way we would have Him to be.

Many Christians – present company included – violate “spirit and truth worship” in one or more of the following ways:

1. Failing to truly respect God in the way He deserves. By reading the epiphanies (moments in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way) of godly men like Job and Isaiah, it’s not hard to see how even the most devoted Christians can misinterpret the level of reverence the Lord deserves. Too often I have approached my worship in a nonchalant (relaxed and calm in a way that shows that you do not care or are not worried about anything) fashion, and by doing so I have failed miserably to worship the Lord as I ought.
2. Failing to put all distraction aside so that they can truly commune with God while in church, reading the Word, or praying. Oftentimes we are in bodily position to worship the Lord, but our hearts and minds are far from Him. When we engage in worship, are we at Jesus’s feet – like Mary was – in body, mind, soul, and spirit?
3. Failing to worship God as He has revealed Himself, instead worshipping Him according to our own notions. The more ignorant we are of God’s Word, the more we shape God in our own, human image. We think, “Oh, God won’t mind if I do such and such,” and we think that because we don’t mind it. Yet, God clearly says in His Word, “Don’t do that!” We think, “Oh, God will understand if I think that thought; it’s no biggy.” The problem is that He does mind, and His Word says so! God created us in His image, not the other way around. We ought not think of Him from our human frame of reference. Instead, we ought to consider Him in the context of the supernatural frame of reference He gave us clearly in the Holy Bible.

I have been guilty multiple times of the failures listed in items 1-3 above. Have you? If so, let’s pray for each other. Let’s pray that we’ll grasp how kingly the Creator is. Let’s pray that we’ll give Him our undivided attention when we engage in our worship activities. And, let’s pray that we’ll behave in accordance with who He is, not as how we would like Him to be. If we can but do these things, we’ll see our relationship with God – and the joy and peace that comes from a strong relationship with Him – skyrocket!