GOD – The Sovereign. One who has no beginning and certainly no end. Ruler of the universe. Our King. Our Father. Our source. My people call him ‘ OLUWA’, ‘OLORUN’, ‘OLODUMARE’
The Holy one of Israel. God is beautiful and makes all things beautiful. He is love. He gives and keeps giving; He gave his life! He is plenteous in mercy. He is wonderful. His voice resounds like thunder. He is the Father of lights in whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning. God is strong and mighty. He is mighty in battle! He is God of vengeance. He destroys his enemies and brings them to ruin. He is a stumbling-block to those who won’t believe. The Lord of hosts who destroys. He makes his enemies as a fiery oven in the time of his anger, he swallows them up in his wrath and destroys them! Psalms 21:8-9. He is I AM THAT I AM
The man– One whom God made and gave him total dominion over all things. He was told to tend and keep it!
Tend 1. To look after; to accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard. 2. To kindle; ignite; set on fire; light; inflame; burn.
Keep 1. to uphold or maintain. 2. To watch over, look after, guard, protect. 3. To supply with necessities and financially support a person 4. To raise; to care for.
God does all these and more, infact, much more for us all. No wonder the scriptures often use the pronouns ‘he’, ‘his’ and ‘himself’. Why won’t God be regarded as a male? He seems to have a lot on his shoulders, yet he remains unfazed! He never sleeps nor slumber, keeping watch over his household (you and I). Indeed, he is the man of the house. He is our husband! Is God a man?
God told the man ‘to tend’ & ‘to keep’, and he(God) himself does this; is he a man?
The woman – the ‘helpmeet’..
Did you see the scriptures call God our help? Heb.13.6 – So we may boldly say: The LORD is my helper. He is our helpmeet
Let’s take a walk through the scriptures
Proverbs 1:20-21 (AMP) – Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words
Proverbs 3:18 – She is a tree of life to those who lay hold on her; and happy (blessed, fortunate, to be envied) is everyone who holds her fast.
Who is this wisdom Solomon called ‘her’?
1 Cor 1:30 – God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself…
So then, Christ is this wisdom.
Not totally convinced that this same wisdom referred to as ‘her’ is Jesus? Check out Proverbs 8:12-17,Proverbs 8:22-31 & John 1: 1-3. We have a lot of similarities between Wisdom(as seen in Proverbs) and Jesus(as seen in John), who we know to be LORD
Here the Scripture (in Proverbs) regards to Jesus as ‘her’. Our Lord, who has all the power and authority in heaven and in earth, regarded as ‘her’?
See Wisdom was shown to be a helper in Proverbs. Giving instructions, reaching out, helping those who have her gain wealth, helping rulers rule well, teaching men what to do (just like a mother would!) and lot’s more..
Even God himself gave us his Spirit as ‘our helper’. The spirit that was present before the beginning of the world is our help!
We’ve seen God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as our help. God made the woman a help and he himself does this, is God a woman?
Is God a man? He is the head! Over all things! All authority in heaven and on earth is his.
Is God a woman? He gave his own life! No one took it from him, he gave it himself. He ‘submitted’ himself, as it were. The Immortal who washed the feet of mortals. The one who helps us daily and gave his Spirit to be our helper; glorious ‘helpmeet’.
Friend, God is not man! Numbers 23:19 – God is not a man, that he should lie. Neither is he a woman. God is a spirit!
John 4: 24 – God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
God is more than a man or a woman; much more! He is a Spirit; he has a personality, yet a spirit! Men and women are made in his likeness (now applies to those who are regenerated), so each gender got his attributes. God tends and keeps; yet he helps! He encompasses all.
God is a spirit and those who will worship him will do so in spirit and in truth; beyond the realms of the physical, beyond the barriers of gender, but in spirit!
THE LOVER’S GIFT
Every one values a gift from their lover. You look forward to it, treasure it and try your possible best to reciprocate- that’s if your love is true anyway. We all get gifts and present them to our lover!
We say God is our lover and yet we aren’t interested in bringing him gifts; not cool. For some whose interests may have been piqued and are now interested, the question is ‘what gift do I bring to a lover who has and owns all things?’
Worship! Yes! But do you see giving your all to the one who paid the price for your sin and died for you as a gift or as his due? (WORSHIP – check a previous article)
Souls! Yes! Paramount to Him! But is this really a gift or a commandment to you whom he has saved and beautified? Matthew 28:20
In this relationship, we get all the gifts! Anything we think to give him is his due in the first place. Even the offerings you give are just a token out of what he gave you 1 Corinthians 4:7b.
Perhaps he only requires that you truly love him back- every lover’s desire. And you do that by total obedience.
1 John 5:3 – For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandment. And his commandments are not burdensome. John 14:15 – If you love me, keep my commandments.
Give your lover a gift, obey him totally!
WORSHIP
Worship, is a word that has been commonly used and perhaps commonly misunderstood as well.
A “slow song” you may call it, or that one song that unerringly produces gooseflesh and seems to catapult you into the “spirit” and suspend you there for as long as it is played. For some others, it is the perfect name for their first born child. For some who deem themselves mature, and are only able to feast on dry bone and not milk anymore, worship just means ministering to God!
The above and lots more are some of the perspectives people have about worship. But let us take a quick walk through the scriptures, shall we?
The place of first mention in the scriptures, of the word “worship”, was in Genesis 22:5 where Abraham, one of the first to be “declared righteous” described his intended sacrifice as worship. A rhetorical question at this junction, if you may. What exactly is the meeting point between sacrifice and Worship? Just stay with me.
Some chapters after the happenings of Genesis 22, we see what happens in Genesis 24 verses 6 and 52, where Abraham’s servant worshipped God by bowing himself to the earth, the lowest level he could probably go.
Also, in the book of Exodus 12:27, it is recorded how that the Nation beloved of God bowed down to worship him after the widely shared story of the God-orchestrated freedom from their task masters.
You might ask, “what is this writer driving at?” or “what has the old testament got to do with this?”. Mathew was inspired to record the beautiful story where the wise men worshipped our saviour and fell down to do that!; a powerful message to us all who claim to worship the saviour. These men bowed down to worship Jesus and they presented their gifts to him- the best they had with them perhaps.
Friends, worship is more than that slow song or the silent mood; It may involve these but it is much more. Abraham’s decision to sacrifice his son meant he was willing to give all to God. It meant he submitted to the LORD, totally recognising him as the final authority. Abraham’s servant, the Israelites and the wise men fell down in total submission to God. Recognising him as king and Lord, giving him total control. The wise men even went as far as presenting gifts to him. They gave him their best. Can we then see worship as a lifestyle of total surrender to God? Where God is placed first and above all. Where his will is what drives us. Where our best and our all goes to him. Where we are ready to say YES LORD even when it may not be convenient for us. It’s a point we get to, where we are always eager to give him credit. Is God indeed your LORD? Will you at every point bow in submission to him? Have you given your best to him or you are still holding on to it?
Little wonder the Most High was accounted by John, in the Gospel according to John, to have said that there’ll yet come a time when those who will worship will do so in spirit and in truth. It gives me great joy to say we are now in this dispensation. Where God doesn’t require physical sacrifice and external show of bowing down any longer. What he wants is a people who have sanctified themselves, who have submitted all their will and will continue to. People who have indeed recognised him as Lord. People who will, everyday, put him first (Mathew 10:37). Who will everyday place him above all else. Who will daily submit to him and give their best to him.
This a call. God seeks men after his own heart. Who will indeed worship him in truth and in spirit. GOD HELP US!
Introduction
Boluwatife keeps a journal of important instructions and things to note as she studies the word of God. More often than not, she gets inspired to write a thing or two. This blog came to be as a result of a heart yearn to share her inspired writings also with others. Let’s learn and grow together! Thank you.
Read, be blessed, comment and feel free to share. I love you with the love of Christ.
Introducing me😊
