Day 17: Respond In Awe
Hebrews 12:28-29 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Devotional · · · The Bible tells us that our worship must first and foremost be acceptable to God, not what is acceptable or pleasing to us. What should be the real objective of our worship? Doesn't it have to do with the God whom we worship? Worship is a response of reverence at the revelation of God, acknowledging His worth and realigning us to His reality. And, we worship a truly awesome God. The author of Hebrews is referring here to God as “a consuming fire” from Deuteronomy 4:24 and 9:3, revealing His jealousy and warning against idolatry but also pointing to His power in clearing the way for the Israelites to enter the Promised Land. God’s holiness burns up anything that is unholy. Isaiah 33:14 declares how sinners shake with fear and asks, “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?” The answer is none of us, if we don’t have Christ. We are only able to come before a holy God because Jesus made a way by dying for our sins and making us citizens of His kingdom! So, we respond with thankfulness, with reverence and with awe.
Prayer · · · Almighty God, may we worship you with a holy reverence and may it be pleasing and acceptable in Your sight. We desire to give you our best and to bring joy to Your heart rather than our own. We reject anything that would take a higher place in our life than You. We are so thankful for the good news of forgiveness found in Jesus and the access we now have, because of His sacrificial death on the cross, to come with confidence before Your throne as members of Your kingdom. We pray Paul’s prayer of Ephesians 1:8 for spiritual wisdom that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened to see the confident hope we have through You, the glorious inheritance we have as Your people, and that it would increase our worship for You all the more.