Praising Jesus comes from a heart that is right with Him. The Spirit makes us ready for worship. What’s in your heart?

5 Evildoers do not understand what is right, but those who seek the LORD understand it fully [The Spirit opens our minds to spiritual things, especially what is right and wrong].

So far we have covered Recognition of God’s Character (Adoration), Acknowledgement of Our Character (Confession), and Affirmation of Grace in Christ (Assurance). Today, we look at Expression of Devotion (Thanksgiving).

This is the fun part of the service for me. It’s when we get to tell Jesus how much He means to us, how much we love Him, and pledge our lives to Him. Only Christians enjoy this part because we have a personal and growing relationship with Him. In fact, it’s during this portion of the service that many Christians renew their relationship with Christ. When the songs, prayers, and Scriptures are speaking directly to Him, we can’t help but get caught up in them. They express our hearts. Indeed, it’s what/Who is in our hearts that is the very thing that separates us from the world:

The world loves sin and hates anything and anyone that keeps them from their sin;
Christians hate sin and oppose anything and anyone that keeps us from our Savior.

The key to devotion is gratitude. When we recite what Christ has done for us through His birth, death, and resurrection, we are grateful! When we realize that He is in us and loves us unconditionally and completely, we are grateful! When we remember His promise to return and we get to live with Him forever, we are grateful! In the words of Paul (probably),

²⁵ And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25

I’m looking forward to Sunday as we meet together to express our devotion to our Savior, how about you?

Abba, I am reminded once again as I typed that last line that You are the One who calls us to assemble. Even as I turn my thoughts to worship on Sunday, it is You who is doing the turning. I know that You will be doing the same for all of us regardless of where we attend. May we worship You in spirit and in truth; may we exalt Your name, heavenly Father, confess our need for you, remind each other of Your sacrifice to make us Yours, and then devote ourselves to You for this hour, this day, and this week. May we encourage each other and exhort each other and spur each other on to good works until we meet again. Thank You, Abba. You’re wonderful. Amen.