Last Sunday my husband and I stopped at a highly recommended donut shop. The fragrant aroma of the decadent pastries filled the air as we selected from a wide array of raspberry filled donuts, sugar glazed donuts, chocolate coated donuts, cinnamon sprinkled donuts and many more. It was quite a spread. They all looked so yummy. I could hardly wait to dig in.
Then, we got to the check-out counter.
“We only take cash for payment. We don’t take cards.” The casher’s matter of fact voice brought my excitement to a screeching halt.
“What,” I thought. “You have got to be kidding me. Who in this age takes only cash payments?”
We didn’t have any cash on us and as this store was located in an industrial and residential part of town there were no ATM’s nearby. So, whether we liked it or not we walked out empty handed.
This Sunday however, we stopped at an ATM and came prepared with our cash to get some of the yummy pastries. And yes, they were truly worth the wait, as every bite was delicious.
As we drove home I thought about the process of getting the donuts and the inspiration for this month’s blog post came to me like a light bulb being switched on.
Many people want to worship God on their terms.
Just like us, we came to the donut shop and wanted to make a purchase on our terms.
In the first place, even though we had heard that they made some spectacularly yummy donuts we didn’t know about their payment terms. The knowledge we lacked prevented us from qualifying to buy the donuts last week.
How can you worship a God you don’t know? The first protocol to true worship is
Know God’s terms for approaching Him.
Many people are searching for the creator. From generation to generation and from centuries to centuries the search has been going on endlessly. Some questions in the heart of many:
Who am I? What am I here for?
What is this world about?
Is there a God out there? How can I get to know Him?
To get answers people turn to their ‘gods,’ which are often man made carvings, artifacts, beads, stones, trees, human philosophies, myths and even ideologies.
Is it possible to worship what you don’t know? Is it possible to serve a non-existent god?
In the Bible in John Chapter 4, Jesus had a conversation with a woman at a well and said to her in verse 22 “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.”
Yes, it’s possible to worship what you don’t know. In fact, multitudes all over the world are doing it right now. Any ‘god’ that can fit into your purse or luggage and needs your help to move from location to location can’t be the God that created the universe. Creation cannot be more powerful that the creator.
The purpose of God giving the Jews the message of salvation and Jesus The Messiah, God’s Anointed One, was so that the good news of His redemption, on His terms can be spread first to the Jews and then to the rest of the world.
You see, you can’t effectively worship someone you don’t know. Your lack of knowledge of who God is and how to worship Him will prevent you from approaching Him on His terms. When you approach on your terms, you’re disqualified.
Jesus said to Thomas one of His disciples in John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Men insisted that we couldn’t take possession of their donuts until we complied with their terms of purchase which was using cash, and we had no choice but to comply.
How much more then, when it comes to eternal and really valuable things should we expect that the creator of the universe will clearly spell out the terms to know Him and to worship Him?
Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
Jesus is God’s term for knowing Him. No one comes to The Father except through Jesus. He is the way to the creator. There is only One Mediator, only One Savior between God and man and His name is Jesus.
You see The Father provided salvation for whosoever, just the same way the baker provided donuts for whosoever.
We decided that we wanted some donuts. To take possession of the donuts we were required to come with come cash and make payments for the donuts and then we got it
When you decide you want salvation and to make peace with God, you require Jesus as your peace payment for salvation. You come through the way of Jesus and you get salvation.
Have you accepted Jesus as God’s term for approaching unto Him?
Let’s confess this together: Lord Jesus I acknowledge I cannot come to The Father on my own terms. I receive you are as the way to God. I receive you as Lord. Thank you for taking away God’s anger towards me and helping me to come to my Father on His terms.