I get it from a site called CFIRE, it is a Christian website that my job
offers put together by Christians all over for those of us who work for
the people myself and my wife work for, the only downside to this is,
the site can not be accessed outside of the office.

-----Original Message-----
From: The Electronic Church [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Vinny Samarco
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 7:23 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: THE HEART OF A WORSHIPPER

Jeremy,
    There certainly is a great deal to think about here.  It really 
witnessess to my spirit,  at least in a first reading of it.
As one who has been called to be involved with praise and worship, this
is a 
good jumping off point.
Thanks for sending it.  By the way, I am interesting in knowing the
source.

        Vinny


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeremy Gilley" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
you."
> "Tell me, Teacher'," he said.
> "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five
hundred
> denari, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him
> back, so he
> canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
> Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
> "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
> Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this
> woman? I came into your house. You did not give Me any water for My
> feet, but she wet
> My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give
Me
> a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped
kissing
> My feet.
> You did not put oil on My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet.
> Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she
loved
> much. But
> he who has been forgiven little loves little."
> Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
> The other guests began to say among themselves, "who is this who even
> forgives sins?"
> Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
> When this woman came into Jesus' presence, she was weeping. This was
the
> outward manifestation of a heart that was deeply stirred before her
> Lord. She was
> repentant, overcome, unreserved. This was not a show. This woman's
tears
> were sincere.
> I will confess that, as a man, I find it very difficult to cry. Few
are
> the times when I come to tears before God. And that concerns me,
because
> I ask,
> "Lord, is my heart too hard before You? I want to be soft and tender
in
> Your presence!" The times of worship that have been most meaningful to
> me are the
> times when I've cried before God. Brokenness and tears are truly key
> elements in worship.
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> The True Meaning Of Worship
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> We see also that this woman kissed Jesus' feet. This is a beautiful
> aspect of worship, for the Greek word for worship - proskuneo - means
> "to kiss the hand
> toward; to do reverence or homage by kissing the hand; to bow one's
self
> in adoration." The derivation of proskuneo is thought to come from the
> Greek word
> for "dog." Thus the original meaning was "to kiss, like a dog licking
> his master's hand."
> When I first discovered this, I was somewhat repulsed by the idea. I
> asked God, "Lord, am I like a dog before You? Is that all I mean to
> You?" But then
> the Lord began to show me some beautiful lessons through studying the
> origins of this word.
> Although I have always been a dog lover, I had a dog for only a few
> years while I was growing up. Among my fondest memories of "Buster"
are
> the times when
> we would come home from church and be greeted by him at the door. From
> outside we could hear his tail thumping against the wall and his paws
> scratching
> at the door. And when we stepped inside, he was all over us! Jumping,
> licking, wagging, thumping, twirling - you would have thought he
hadn't
> seen us for
> weeks! As I remembered those royal welcomes, the Lord whispered to my
> heart, "How excited are you about being with Me again when you enter
the
> house of
> the Lord?"
> Then there's the time when your dog comes over to sit by your chair.
But
> he isn't satisfied with sitting next to his master; he has to plop his
> body right
> on top of his master's feet. Dogs desire the closeness of physical
> contact with their masters. Let's not be satisfied just with being
near
> the Lord; let
> us come close to His heart in worship and lean upon His breast!
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> Fear Of Man Or Fear Of God?
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> worshippers cannot go unnoticed. They will attract attention to
> themselves. For this very reason, many have refrained from entering
into
> the fullness of
> worship. They are afraid of what others might think of them. Peer
> pressure affects worship. It has held back countless saints from the
> blessing of opening
> their hearts to the Lord. Some folks might say, "Oh, that's just
Sister
> Brown doing her thing again." Others might shake their heads and
think,
> "Straaaange."
> But this is part of the cost of being a true worshipper.
> Obviously Mary was not following the conventional forms of worship
> -weeping, kissing, and wiping His feet with her hair. There is no
> mention in the Psalms
> of pouring perfume on our Lord's feet. David gave no guidelines
> concerning these things. So we must consider how tolerant we are of
> unique or "overboard"
> expressions of genuine worship. There are no formulas for worship
> because worship is a function of the heart, and the heart will find
> expression in a variety
> of external forms.
> David escorted the ark of the covenant to Zion, and while dressed in a
> linen ephod and dancing before the Lord with all his might, he was
> rebuked by his
> wife, Michal - "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself
today,
> disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any
vulgar
> fellow
> would." (2 Sam. 6:20) Because of her criticism, Michal was barren for
> the rest of her life. Likewise, if we become critical of genuine acts
of
> worship,
> we are in danger of spiritual barrenness.
> In the church today, nothing is quite so controversial as worship.
> Entire churches have been split over matters of worship and the proper
> way to conduct
> it. But a choice is set before us: we can either choose to please men,
> or we can decide to please God.. It rarely seems possible to do both.
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> God's Loving Response
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> Mary was willing to endure the disapproval of others for the sake of
> hearing her Master's "Well done." The disciples were surely thinking,
> "Why doesn't
> Jesus do something? This woman is obviously out of order! Why doesn't
He
> rebuke her? Why is He letting this thing drag on?" And when Jesus
> finally did
> give her His attention, the disciples heaved a sigh of relief. "It's
> about time He took control of this situation!" But rather than
rebuking
> her Jesus
> commended her.
> What a beautiful assurance this is that when we worship, He will
> respond! He will turn to us! He will speak to us, for He is eager to
do
> so. The disciples
> had much head knowledge about worship; but it took a sinful woman -
> someone who was uneducated in the many forms of worship - to reveal
the
> heart of a
> true worshipper to these disciples.
> Spiritual maturity does not exempt one from being a worshipper. We
will
> never grow to the point where we are "above" worshipping the Lord. In
> the Book of
> Revelation we read of the elders repeatedly falling down in worship
> before the throne of God - "... and the twenty-four elders fell down
> before the lamb,
> having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are
the
> prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying 'Worthy art
Thou
> to take
> the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst
> purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and
> people and nation."'
> (Rev. 5:8-9 NAS) In truth, there should be a greater responsibility
> resting upon elders and the spiritually mature to worship the Lord and
> to be examples
> of worship to others.
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> The Cleansing Power Of Worship
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> The last words of Jesus to this woman - "Your sins are forgiven" -
> contain a beautiful lesson. The woman worshipped, and then she
received
> forgiveness and
> cleansing. The point here is that it is possible to approach God in
> worship, even if there is sin in our lives, and become purified. But
too
> often we allow
> feelings of guilt to rob us of this blessing.
> There was a time in my life when I was struggling with a specific,
> recurring sin that I had difficulty conquering. And oh, the guilt,
when
> it was time to
> worship! I could not find a release in my spirit because I felt like a
> failure before God. I withdrew from God, supposing that He was not
> interested in
> fellowshipping with a sin-ridden son. For years I allowed guilt and
> condemnation to rob me of the blessedness of continual communion wit
my
> Father!
> I had to learn that I must never allow sin to deter me from intimate
> fellowship with God. God is never shocked by sin in our lives. He
never
> condemns us
> for sinning. And He never holds us at arm's length when we do sin.
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> Conviction vs. Condemnation
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> God does convict, but He never condemns. Conviction and condemnation
are
> poles apart. Conviction leads to repentance. Condemnation leads to
> despair
> Conviction results in victory over sin. Condemnation results in abject
> defeat. Conviction motivates us toward God. Condemnation leaves us
> deflated and powerless.
> God convicts. We condemn.
> Jesus said. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the
> world, but to save the world through Him." (John 3:17). Jesus'
statement
> to the
> woman caught in adultery, after her accusers slipped away one by one,
> was - "Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin."
> (John 8:11).
> Guilt and condemnation are among the greatest hindrances in our
worship
> services. And for too long we have heard the wrong solution. We have
> been told "Repent
> before the Lord first, receive His cleansing, and then come into
> worship. Don't come before God unless you've first been purified."
> But God has never said that to us! That is a human solution The Lord
> made His solution very real to my heart one day as I was meditating on
> this passage
> in Luke 7. I was impressed with the fact that not until after this
> sinful woman had worshipped the Lord in such a beautiful and
extravagant
> manner did
> Jesus declare her sins to be forgiven. The progression was this: first
> she worshipped, and then she was forgiven!
> Jesus never says to us, "Wait a minute. There's sin in your life!
Don't
> try to get close to Me and love Me in that condition!" On the
contrary,
> He says,
> "Come close to Me; lean upon My breast, and let us commune together.
> Then His promise comes: "And you will be purified as you worship Me!"
> We do not get purified in order to worship - we worship and are
> consequently purified. The only time it is inappropriate to worship
God
> with sin in our
> lives is when we have no intention of changing. To worship while
> purposefully maintaining a sinful life, without any intentions of
> repentance and change,
> is hypocrisy. But to worship despite any known sin, when we
acknowledge
> it and desire to receive God's strength to gain victory over it, is
the
> first step
> toward the solution.
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> Flee Into His Presence
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> I am not supporting a new brand of "cheap grace" - God hates our sin!
No
> sin can survive in God's presence. But this is precisely why, when we
> need cleansing,
> we must flee into His presence. There we receive healing, cleansing,
> holiness, and purity. This was the message of Charles Wesley when he
> wrote:
> Jesus, Lover of my soul,
> Let me to Thy bosom fly
> While the nearer waters roll,
> While the tempest still is high!
> Plenteous grace with Thee is found,
> Grace to cover all my sin;
> Let the healing streams abound,
> Make and keep me pure within.
> Too often, in the throes of guilt and condemnation, we have turned and
> hidden ourselves from our source of healing and forgiveness.
> Condemnation has driven
> us away from the very Balm that would heal our souls!
> Condemnation will rob us of the blessed purification that will come
> through worship. Condemnation is a whirlpool that will siphon our
> spiritual vitality
> until we are consumed. The more we abstain from worship, the greater
the
> separation between us and God. It is our blessed privilege as God's
> redeemed to
> draw near to Him in times of sin and uncleanness and receive of the
> cleansing power that flows from His presence.
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> The River Of Life
> Block quote end
> Block quote start
> In worship, we partake of the very river that flows from the throne of
> God. The Psalmist wrote of that river, "There is a river whose streams
> make glad
> the city of God" (Ps. 46:4). This is an allusion to the water of
Siloam
> whose several different courses ran underneath and through Jerusalem
and
> supplied
> the city with water. Similarly the Holy Spirit provides us with
renewing
> waters as we worship from our innermost beings. Through our worship,
the
> river
> of God washes over our souls with cleansing and refreshment.
> When Ezekiel was caught up in this divine river, the waters rose from
> his ankles to his knees and then to his waist, until he could no
longer
> walk in the
> current. During this experience, Ezekiel was told, "And it shall be
that
> every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live.
There
> will be
> a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for
they
> will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. "
> (Ezek. 47:9
> NKJV). As the river of God begins to flow during our times of worship,
> it brings life, abundance, and healing, washing over broken hearts and
> restoring
> parched souls.
> Block quote end
>