Tuesday, October 29, 2024

PT-1 "Worship" (Matt. 28:17-18a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/29/2024 8:52 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                      Focus:  PT-1 “Worship”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Matthew 28:17-18a

 

            Message of the verse:  “And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.  And Jesus came up and spoke to them saying,”

 

            I just posted on my other blog a SD that came from July of 2011 from the book of Ezra, and what went on in the ninth chapter of Ezra is the opposite of worship, as seen in this section of Matthew.  It is part of three great prayers that is found in the Old Testament, prayers that have to do with repentance.  Repentance is what our country needs at this very fragile time in its history, repentance for all of the terrible things that are going on in our country, repentance as seen in the three prayers from Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel are what we as a people need in our country now.  Look at Ezra chapter nine, Nehemiah 1:4-11, and Daniel chapter nine.  I have to say that I am most familiar with Daniel chapter nine as that chapter has one of the, if not the greatest prophecies in all of the Bible in it, so if one reads over these three prayers of repentance and applies them to what is going on in not just the United States but all over the world then perhaps the Lord will hear our prayers and bring mercy instead of judgment on us.

 

            I am coming to the end of my study in the book of Matthew, and it is my belief that the Lord desires for me to begin to study 2 Timothy, which is the very last letter that the Apostle Paul wrote and he wrote it from prison where very soon afterwards they would take him out of the awful place where he was and cut off his head, and then immediately he would be taken to heaven to be with his Lord and Savior.  I believe that this will be a very profitable study for me and for those who will read my Spiritual Diaries on that book which will be posted on my blog.  Please pray for me as I end this study in Matthew, and then begin the study on 2 Timothy.

 

            Now the subject today is worship and I want to look at that word’s meaning from my online Bible dictionary:

 

4352 προσκυνέω proskuneo pros-koo-neh’-o

 

from 4314 and a probable derivative of 2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); v; TDNT-6:758,948; { See TDNT 670 }

 

AV-worship 60; 60

 

1) to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence

2) among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence

3) in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication

3a) used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank

3a1) to the Jewish high priests

3a2) to God

3a3) to Christ

3a4) to heavenly beings

3a5) to demons

 

            Now that we have a meaning of this word, which is used 107 times in the Bible and it is interesting to me that the first time that we see this word is in the following verse from Genesis 22:5 “Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.’”  Allow me to talk about this verse for a moment.  This is the story of Abraham taking his son, his only son to place him on an altar and sacrifice him to the Lord.  Now I believe that the Lord was testing Abraham, and when He saw that he would obey Him the Lord stopped him and sacrificed a ram caught in the thicket that the Lord provided.  Abraham knew that if he was to sacrifice his son, his only son that God would bring him back to life because it was through him and his family that the Lord would bring the promised Messiah into the world.  Now the place where Abraham was is called Mt. Moriah which is where Solomon would build the temple of the Lord.  There is more to this story as one fast forwards towards the end of King David’s life we see that the text says that David sinned greatly as he numbered the people.  David’s two major sins found in the Word of God was to kill one of his mighty men in order to steal his wife after David got her pregnant.  And in that case we see that the Lord said that David sinned, but in the case of numbering the people God said that David sinned greatly.  The place where the killing of the children of Israel stopped was the same place where Abraham was about to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to the Lord. I have to think about Romans 8:28 for a moment “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” God used both sins in David’s life in a special way, and I am not saying that a person should knowingly sin in order for God to do something special, but the truth is that sinners are all that God has to work with for “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  God used the sins of David to bring about a son to him and Bathsheba, Solomon who would build the temple of God on the exact spot where Abraham was about to offer Isaac, and on that spot where God stopped the killing of the children of Israel because of David’s sin as David would buy that piece of property and offer a sacrifice in order to stop the killing.

 

            Ok I did not get too far in writing about our verse and a half in the gospel of Matthew, but sometimes I have to follow what I believe the Lord is prompting me to write about even if it is not about the verses I sought out to comment on.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  To worship the Lord is a privilege that I have because of what the Lord Jesus Christ did for me in dying in my place on the cross.  It is my desire to worship the Lord in a way that would be pleasing to Him as I owe Him everything.

 

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  To worship the Lord in a way that is pleasing to Him, and then to trust Him to use the Spiritual Diaries that I write for His glory.

 

10/29/2024 9:36 AM

 

 

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