Phil,
Thanks for writing this and sharing it with us.
Funny you should mention meditation.
Every time I tried meditation, I could not accomplish it.
I felt it was not right, or else something was wrong with me.
Thanks for that clarification!
Virgie At 03:24 PM 7/4/2005, you wrote:

>Learning To Worship
>
>
>By Phil Scovell
>
>
>
>
>
>      Many find it difficult to worship God because they don't know
>how.  They don't know how because they've never been taught.  Some
>believe, based upon many church services I have attended,
>worshipping the Lord is accomplished by raising your hands,
>praising the name of the Lord loudly, running up and down the
>aisles, shouting amen until the rafters vibrate, waving flags and
>banners, pounding on objects which generate a lot of noise,
>leaping into the air, dancing, hand clapping, laying on the floor,
>foot stomping, yelling hallelujah over and over again until their
>tongue snaps off its roller, and generally creating as much
>racket as humanly possible.  None of which, by the way, am I
>against.  If you study Old Testament worship, you will find many
>such things practiced by the Jews so I am in no way belittling
>such forms of worship.  Moreover, I've done a great deal of what I
>just described.  It is why we do it which causes me to consider
>the motives.
>
>      Is the purpose of worship to generate a lot of enthusiasm so
>the preacher's sermon sounds better or a lot of hyped emotions so
>we can feel God?  Does worship make us a better Christian?  What
>if we don't worship like everybody around us or like the person
>who is instructing us up at the pulpit?  Are we sinning if we
>don't raise our hands?  Is speaking in tongues worship?  If so,
>why do some believe it isn't a gift for today even if the Apostle
>Peter in Acts Chapter 2 said it was?  With all this in mind,  let
>me tell you a true story about how to worship God which likely is
>rarely considered to be worship.
>
>      My 75 year old friend, of whom many of you have heard me
>speak before, picked me up one night for our traditional, waist
>of time, Wednesday night bible study.  I say, waist of time,
>because we, in that church, rarely studied the bible.  Oh, the
>Bible was preached but it got to a point where it was no longer
>taught by the pastor.  This I never understood because the pastor
>was a great preacher and he was as good of Bible teacher as I have
>ever known.  However, our Wednesday and Sunday night meetings had
>decayed into book reading sessions.  He would read to us from some
>famous book that was currently popular among mega churches across
>the country.  Why we couldn't read these books on our own was a
>mystery to me but then, I wasn't the pastor.
>
>      This particular Wednesday evening was starting out just like
>all the other boring Wednesday night bible studies, so called.  We
>had six to eight people who showed up and we met in the basement
>and sat at a long table.  I was dreading the Standard Operating
>Procedure I knew was about to begin.  I also knew that the man who
>brought me, and with whom I normally rode with Wednesday and
>Sunday nights, was discouraged.
>
>      That very week, a friend of the family's son had been run
>down by a hit and run driver and killed.  This man, and his wife,
>my friends, had lost two sons to similar accidents.  One was
>changing the tire on his car along side the highway when he was
>struck and killed.  The other son, and his fiance where likewise
>struck and killed as they simply crossed the street as they were
>on an evening walk together.  So, my friend was feeling the grief
>of the death of his own two boys based upon what had just happened
>to someone they knew.
>
>      Wishing we didn't have to sit and listen to a book being read
>to us, other than the Bible that is, someone made a comment about
>an animal.  I can't remember what it was, I think it was about a
>pet, but within moments, as the Holy Spirit took over the meeting,
>everyone at the table began telling stories, some very miraculous,
>about animals.  Some stories were very serious while others were
>very funny to hear.  Soon, a general discussion about God's
>creation came up and how marvelous God's handiwork was.  These two
>basic themes of discussion continued to expand at such a rapid
>pace, the pastor never had a chance to crack his most popular book
>he had been reading.  Before long, it was 9 o'clock, the time we
>normally stopped, and the pastor closed in prayer.  Big deal!
>
>      Walking out of the building, I easily noticed the emotional
>change in the elderly man with whom I was riding.  Walking down
>the stairs to the sidewalk, he chuckled and said, "Boy, I feel
>good.  That was wonderful."  Keep in mind, we hadn't prayed
>collectively as we often did, we hadn't read the bible, which we
>normally didn't do anyhow, and the pastor didn't even read his
>book which we always did.  Yet, this man was refreshed in the Lord
>but didn't know why.  I waited till we got into the car to tell
>him.
>
>      As I clicked my seat belt in place and my Brother in the Lord
>started the engine, he said, "You know Brother Phil?  I wasn't
>feeling too well when we came tonight but I sure feel good now."
>
>      I said, "I knew you were feeling poorly due to the death of
>your family friend and how you could identify with those feelings
>but do you know why you feel good now?"
>
>      "No," he replied as he did a U turn on the side street the
>church was on and drove up to the corner and waited for the
>traffic before turning left.  "Tell me why?" he asked.
>
>      "Because," I said, "tonight, we worshipped the Lord."
>
>      "We did?" he said; puzzled.
>
>      When I pointed out that all we did tonight was talk about
>God's creation, I said, "we were magnifying the Lord.  Soon the
>Lord became bigger than our personal problems and that always
>makes a person feel better to know that he has such a big God that
>can do anything."
>
>      He said, "Well, what do you know.  That's exactly right.  We
>did worship the Lord tonight, didn't we?"
>
>      I laughed and said, "We sure did, Brother, and you are right;
>it was good."
>
>      If you read the Psalms carefully, and much of the book of
>Proverbs, you will notice the focus the authors placed on God by
>circling the wagons, sort of speak, around God's creation.  King
>David was especially notorious for this.  Read it for yourself if
>you doubt the validity of my statement.  How did King David
>magnify God in his life?  Just read the 23rd Psalm.
>
>      One reason why I enjoy our African Gray parrot so much is
>because he always reminds me of God's creation.  Sure, we have
>dogs.  We even have a cat and rabbits and guinea pigs, a couple of
>turtles, a frog, and a rat;  a pet rat, I mean.  Most, if not all,
>of these pets are domesticated.  Well, as domesticated as a frog
>or turtle can be, I mean.  The parrot is, too, of course, but he
>still possessed with the wild nature God gave him.  Yes, he bites
>hard when I stick my fingers in his cage.  When we let him out to
>play on his cage or his fake tree perch, he loves to nibble and
>bite my fingers.  He loves walking up my arm, if I lay it down
>flat, and crawling up the front of my shirt to stand on my
>shoulder.  He likes pulling my hair, what's left of it, nibbling
>on my ear, trying to jam his beak down my ear canal, biting my
>nose, and picking at anything he thinks looks interesting.  Then I
>bend down closer to his cage or perch and he jumps off my
>shoulder.  He is still a wild bird and that alone always makes me
>think of God and how He is the creator of all things.  So what am
>I doing, you may ask, when I am thinking this way?  Yes, that's
>right.  I am worshipping my Creator.  No, I am not worshipping the
>bird; I'm worshipping the bird's Creator who just so happens to be
>my Creator as well.
>
>      I'm even weirder than just that.  I talk to the parrot, his
>name is Chester, and I tell him about God and that He, God,
>created him and made his nice feathers and his beak so hard that
>he is able to crack nuts opened to feed himself.  Now, I know some
>are thinking that this bird doesn't know any such thing.  I
>believe he does.  I believe he is in touch with the Creator more
>than I am so I talk to Chester about it all.  I said I was weird.
>
>      How do you learn to worship God?  The best way is to pray.
>How do you pray?  You sit in a chair quietly, or kneel in front of
>the couch, the settee if you live in England, and you wait before
>the Lord silently.  You push away all the thoughts of the world
>when they try to come regardless of what they are.  No, I didn't
>say you attempt to empty your mind; that's a form of meditation
>which isn't wise for anyone to practice for any reason.  Why?  It
>leaves you exposed and unguarded.  Just pushing away worldly
>concerns, however, isn't meditation; it is active concentration.
>It is mental adjustment which allows for your mind to focus on
>more important things.  This takes practice.  The worldly problems
>love to crowd our minds with worry and doubt and unbelief and fear
>and guilt and shame and frustration and stress, and a lot of other
>such things.  No, you don't need to picture the cross in your
>mind, or what Jesus may have looked like, or Heaven, or focus on a
>burning candle, or anything.  You simply exercise discipline over
>the thoughts that are trying to commandeer your mind and emotions.
>Then, as the things of the world begin to fade and drift out of
>focus, you do one thing and one thing only.  You listen.  For
>what?  You listen for God.  If you are born again, I guarantee you
>will eventually hear Him.  Oh, maybe not at first because we carry
>around a large amount of doubt and unbelief in our thinking and we
>feel its effect deep within our emotions.  If you continue doing
>what the Bible calls, "Be still and know that I am God," (Psalm
>46:10), you will soon begin to, not only worship the Lord in your
>mind, but in your spirit where the Holy Spirit dwells.  You will
>also begin to hear God.  Maybe not in words or pictures but you
>will sense His presence in a way you likely have never experienced
>before.  Then what happens?  You will begin to worship Him for who
>He is.  Who is He?  He is God; your Creator.
>
>      When I do this, I wait until the things of the world grow dim
>in my thoughts.  Based upon circumstances, this might take a
>little longer than what feels comfortable.  The more we pray this
>way, on the other hand, the quicker the worldly things begin to
>drift away from the forefront of our minds.
>
>      At this point, I often begin to just randomly think of God's
>creation.  Think about His eternality and how He has always been
>and always will be.  Consider the creation of the universe which
>is without end or containment.  He created the universe as a
>reflection of His nature.  Eventually, as you attempt to get your
>thoughts around these humanly impossible things, you will settle
>on Jesus and who He is and why He wants to be in your life.  Why
>will you defer to Jesus instead of God?  Because, you, nor anyone,
>can comprehend God.  Jesus, who is God, became a man for 33 years
>so He could identify Himself with us as His creation.  Now we can
>identify with Him because He became like us to make that possible.
>Now do you understand why Jesus came to earth?  He came for you
>because He wants to get to know you in a very personally intimate
>way which words cannot describe.
>
>      I still find Christians uncomfortable with this type of
>prayer and worship.  In my life, I have read dozens of books on
>meditation.  What I am describing as prayer is nothing like
>eastern meditation techniques.  I know I am repeating myself but
>that isn't prayer and it isn't worship so don't do it.  If you
>have trouble with this, go back and read the Psalms, especially
>those of King David, and you'll see exactly how David focused on
>God, His nature, and his creation.
>
>      There is one other way of achieving this form of intimacy in
>prayer.  It is called, singing.  It is quite simple and the New
>Testament is in no way silent on this subject of worship through
>singing hymns and songs and spiritual songs.  Singing, by its very
>nature, causes the world to fade and our minds and emotions to
>focus on the Lord.  Instant worship!
>
>      I want to tell you about one of the bravest men in the Bible.
>His name is Elijah.  I say, his name is, because, Elijah never
>physically died.  He was miraculously and spectacularly carried
>into Heaven by God and there was an eye witness to confirm it.
>
>      Long before this miraculous home going, Elijah experienced
>some amazing things through the power of God.  But, since he was
>only human, he also became fearful and scared and frustrated from
>the stressful activities of the ministry.  It gets worse when the
>wife of the King puts out a contract on you to have you killed.
>So, Elijah did the only thing he could think to do.  He ran for
>his life.
>
>      during his flight, he ended up in a cave.  God did something
>quite humorous.  He asked Elijah a question.  "What are you doing
>here, Elijah," God wanted to know.  Well, Elijah hawked up this
>bilge, which is another way of saying he coughed up this
>theological garbage, about how he was the only person left serving
>the Lord (he didn't know about the other 7,000 people the Lord
>already had working for Him at the time) and that, dad gum it, the
>queen was trying to have him killed.  God told him to go out and
>stand on the mountain.
>
>      Something mighty unusual happened as Elijah made his way out
>of the cave.  God passed by, the Bible says, and the wind that was
>generated was so powerful bolders split in half.  Now, I've been
>through Wyoming many times but I have never witnessed a wind so
>powerful and so strong that it could split big rocks in half.
>Yet, the Bible says, God was not in the wind.  Odd, you might say.
>
>      After this big God generated wind storm, there was a massive
>earthquake that rattled Elijah false teeth.  Again, the Bible
>says, God was not in the earthquake.
>
>      Finally, there was a fire.  Now, stop and think about this.
>Elijah is hiding out high up in the mountains where not much is
>growing.  Yet, we are told there was a fire.  Were the rocks on
>fire or what?  It kind of makes you think that way.  Still, the
>Bible says, God was not in the fire.
>
>      Then, the Bible does say, God spoke to Elijah in that same
>small still voice and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
>You can read about this in First Kings chapter 19 if you doubt my
>interpretation.
>
>      So what do you suppose Elijah learned about worshipping God.
>Being on the mountain isn't what's important.  Hearing God's voice
>is.  In fact, it is all that is important.
>
>
>Phil C Sharp
>The Coil Of The snake
>A Free Online E-Novel
>www.SafePlaceFellowship.com
>
>
>
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