Tag truth

Worship in Spirit and Truth: A Call Back to the Heart of God

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Worship has always been at the center of God’s relationship with His people. Yet, it is one of the most misunderstood realities in the modern church. We often reduce it to music or structure. Sometimes, it’s even reduced to atmosphere. We forget that Scripture presents worship not as a formula to follow. Instead, it is a life awakened by the presence of God. The clearest definition we have comes from Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman. “The hour is coming, and is now here. The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father is seeking such people to worship Him” (John 4:23). In that single sentence, He dismantles every man‑made system and calls us back to the heart of worship. What follows is a return to that simplicity—ten truths that shape what true worship really is.

1. Worship Begins With God’s Revelation, Not Our Initiative

Every genuine act of worship in Scripture begins with God making Himself known. Abraham responds to God’s voice (Genesis 12:1). Moses removes his sandals because God appears in the burning bush (Exodus 3:4–5). Isaiah cries, “Woe is me,” only after seeing the Lord high and lifted up (Isaiah 6:1–5). Worship is always a response to revelation. We do not start worship; God does. He speaks, He reveals, He draws—and we answer. This is why Jesus says the Father is seeking worshipers, not worship. God desires hearts awakened by His presence, not people performing religious duties.

2. Worship Is Spiritual Before It Is Structural

Jesus’ declaration that “God is Spirit” (John 4:24) means worship cannot be confined to buildings, rituals, or formulas. In the Old Covenant, worship was tied to a place—the Temple. In the New Covenant, worship is tied to a Person—the Holy Spirit. Paul reminds us that we “are the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Worship is no longer about sacred architecture but about a Spirit‑filled life. The Spirit animates, breathes, convicts, comforts, and leads. True worship is alive because the Spirit is alive within us.

3. Worship Is Truth Before It Is Technique

Truth is not merely doctrinal accuracy; it is reality as God defines it. Jesus Himself is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). To worship in truth is to align our hearts with who God is and who we are in Him. It means rejecting pretense, performance, and self‑deception. David prayed, “Behold, You delight in truth in the inward being” (Psalm 51:6). Worship in truth is honest, humble, and anchored in the revelation of God’s character. It is not about doing the right things in the right order. It is about standing rightly before the God who sees all.

4. Worship Is Surrender, Not Performance

The first time the word “worship” appears in Scripture is when Abraham prepares to offer Isaac. He states, “I and the boy will go over there and worship” (Genesis 22:5). Worship is sacrifice. It is yielding our will, our pride, our preferences, and our plans. Paul urges believers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice. He indicates this is your spiritual worship (Romans 12:1). Worship is not about how well we sing or how deeply we feel; it is about how fully we surrender. The heart bowed low is the truest instrument of praise.

5. Worship Is Participation, Not Observation

In the Temple, worship was performed by priests on behalf of the people. But in Christ, every believer becomes a priest (1 Peter 2:9). Worship is no longer a spectator event. Paul commands the church to “speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19). Worship is congregational, participatory, and mutual. It is the gathered people of God lifting one voice, one heart, one confession. When worship becomes a performance to watch rather than a sacrifice to offer, it ceases to be worship at all.

6. Worship Is a Life Offered, Not a Moment Experienced

Paul’s call is to present our bodies as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). It reframes worship as a lifestyle, not a segment of a service. Worship involves obedience on Monday. It requires purity on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it means showing mercy. Generosity is emphasized on Thursday. Forgiveness follows on Friday. Finally, rest is paramount on Saturday. The songs we sing on Sunday are the overflow of the lives we live throughout the week. Jesus rebuked those who honored Him with their lips while their hearts were far from Him (Matthew 15:8). True worship is not measured in moments but in a life aligned with God.

7. Worship Is Encounter, Not Engineering

Throughout Scripture, worship erupts when God reveals Himself. His glory fills the Temple (2 Chronicles 5:14). His presence shakes the thresholds (Isaiah 6:4). His Spirit falls like fire in the upper room (Acts 2:1–4). These moments cannot be manufactured. They cannot be scheduled, scripted, or controlled. Elijah prepared the altar, but only God could send the fire (1 Kings 18:38). True worship prepares the heart and waits for God to move. It is not about creating an atmosphere; it is about welcoming the King.

8. Worship Is the Recognition of God’s Worth

The English word “worship” comes from “worth‑ship”—the act of declaring God’s worth. The elders in Revelation fall down and cry, “Worthy are You, our Lord and God” (Revelation 4:11). Worship is the soul’s recognition of God’s infinite value. It is the moment when everything else fades and only His glory remains. Whatever we value most, we worship. Jesus warns that we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). Worship is the reordering of our loves until God is supreme.

9. Worship Requires the Right Garment

Scripture often connects worship with garments. Priests wore holy garments (Exodus 28:2). Isaiah saw filthy garments replaced with clean ones (Isaiah 61:10). Jesus spoke of wedding garments in His parable (Matthew 22:11–12). Paul tells believers to “put on Christ” (Romans 13:14). The garment of worship is not fabric but heart posture—humility, repentance, purity, and gratitude. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Worship begins when we dress the heart in the righteousness Christ provides.

10. Worship Is God’s Presence Resting on God’s People

The essence of worship is simple: God is here, and we respond. Moses refused to move without God’s presence, saying, “If Your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” (Exodus 33:15). David longed for the courts of the Lord because God dwelled there (Psalm 84:1–2). The early church gathered because the Spirit was among them (Acts 4:31). Worship is not about the right order, the right elements, or the right structure. It is about the right God meeting the right heart. When His presence rests on His people, worship becomes inevitable.

A Final Word for Worship Wednesday

True worship is the living, Spirit‑led, truth‑aligned response of a surrendered heart to the revealed presence of God. It is not a formula to master but a relationship to embrace. It is not a structure to defend but a Person to adore. It is not a moment to engineer but a life to offer. May we be the worshipers the Father seeks. We should worship in spirit and in truth. Our hearts should be awakened, our lives surrendered, and our eyes fixed on the One who is worthy.

Promoting the General Welfare

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Philippians 2:4 (HCSB)
4 Everyone should look out not ⌊only⌋ for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

The Preamble to our Constitution reads: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. The Constitution therefore was established with an express purpose of securing justice, domestic tranquility, defense, promote the well-being of its citizenry, and secure liberty now and into the future. How are we doing?

“Tocqueville began with a shocker: That the first political institution of American democracy is religion. His thesis went something like this: The premises of secular materialism do not sustain democracy, but undermine it, while the premises of Judaism and Christianity include and by inductive experience lead to democracy, uplift it, carry it over its inherent weaknesses, and sustain it.

[Because of its] own inherent tendencies, democracy tends to lower tastes and passions, to devolve into materialistic preoccupations, and to undercut its own principles by a morally indifferent relativism. Further, democracy left to itself tends to surrender liberty to the passion for security and equality, and thus to end in a new soft despotism, tied down with a thousand silken threads by a benign authority.”

Liars Will Be Punished!

Allen Frederick 2 Comments

Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land?”

Acts 5:3 (NRSV)

Lying has consequences, or at least should. Today it would appear lying has become an art form, even garnering praise from others as somewhat noble! What a sad commentary on contemporary life. One can expect to find lying in the secular realm since it is predominately under the influence of old slew foot himself Satan, the father of all lies, but when it is pervasive in the church then we have a real systemic problem.

Ananias and Sapphira wanted to be charitable and sell some of the land they owned and give it to the Apostles. They did so but instead of giving as they said they would they withheld a portion for themselves. When asked they said that the amount given was the full amount they got on the purchase. They were struck dead for lying! WOW, now that is quick, and some might say extreme, punishment for what many would say was a small matter. To God however, this was a big deal.

Could you imagine, during an election season, what would happen if candidates running for office would suddenly drop dead while speaking to crowds? If this happened on a consistent basis do you think these politicians would end their constant lying? Why did God treat Ananias and Sapphira so harshly? Because they had taken an oath to God and lied while under that oath. Know anyone who has lied under oath? I can name a whole House and Senate full of liars and deceitful people. They all took an oath by swearing to God to uphold the laws of this land and defend the Constitution and have gone about doing as they please, while enriching themselves in the process. Now I don’t know about you, but a huge part of me wishes lying members of our political class would start dropping dead while speaking! Some might even be thinking of that used car salesman who sold them that lemon last year. Lying is serious business and God does not take kindly to lying lips.

22The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. Proverbs 12

So then why do liars seem to prosper and get away with their multitude of falsehoods? Why isn’t the damage they do being punished to vindicate the victims? Those who wield unfettered power continue to gain even more power by deceitful practices and seem to be immune from any law and order, where is God?

9The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. 10But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare. Thessalonians 5:9-10

We’ve heard the old adage that give a man enough rope and he will hang himself, well this could be said of God who allows evil men and women to continue in their wickedness with the hopes that they will repent and turn from the evil ways, however, if they don’t judgement will be sure, swift and final!

Lying is a BIG DEAL, and there is no such thing as a little lie. Ananias and Sapphira learned too late that telling lies under oath is a death sentence!

I suspect before long to start to see corpses piling up around State Houses across the country and in D.C.

His Truth Keeps Marching On

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Christian wallpaper Psalm 57:3
Amidst all the lies and deceptions there remains an undercurrent of truth. A solid foundation as sure as the mountains. This truth is the truth of God’s word. His truth keeps marching on.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Famine’s Acomin’

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Amos 8:11-14

(11) "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land? not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. (12) Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD , but they will not find it. (13) "In that day "the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst. (14) They who swear by the shame of Samaria , or say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the god of Beersheba lives’ they will fall, never to rise again." New International Version

The first victims of this famine are the young. They are more susceptible because their parents failed to provide a solid foundation of truth . The young only know what the older generation has taught them. With anything remotely Christian being banished from public schools and colleges and ridiculed in the media, and with churches increasingly neglecting the Word of God , the youth are being supplied with a very weak or non-existent diet of truth. David C. Grabbe

It is very important that our youth learn truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help us God. They need to have a moral center, a sense of right and wrong. Unfortunately our culture has abandoned the Gospel of truth found in the word of God and replaced it with a subjective truth, one that is based on one’s own viewpoint of is right or wrong.

We are loosing an entire generation because of this lack of an absolute truth. Intead they are being taught that everyone’s opinion is valid (unless that opinion happens to be biblically based), and that the only modern sin is to judge. All of this because God’s words are not being heard, and something else has taken their place.

Amos 8:14 describes those who are so spiritually sick from malnourishment, that they will "fall and never rise again."

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bx03g