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Worship
the Lord in Truth and Spirit
John
4:13-26
Vs.
24 "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in
spirit and truth.”
A God who moves is hope for a worshiping Christian
Community. We cannot place God in one particular place. Now a days
most of the people are trying to place God in one place as deity
i.e.; they are not interested in a God who is watching, travelling
and correcting them.
True worship leads to meaningful participation and
existence in Kingdom of God. Worship should encourage people to take
new challenges of life. When we analyze the people of Samaria and the
people of Israel who are in a conflict about the place of
worship, there were so many rivalries between them. Such kind of
worship doesn’t lead to fellowship of life but destruction of
relationship.
People like the Samaritan woman faces so much
discrimination at that time, even though Jewish people had cultural
and spiritual barriers towards Samaritans. Jesus reached out to her
and spoke with her. Jesus is not a law breaker, instead He is a
reformer of law. Jesus offered eternal life to her, not worldly
things, so she understood that He is a Great Master or Messiah. Most
of the people have a nature of hurting to such a kind of people but
Jesus applied a meaningful method of counseling and brought her back
to a meaningful life existence. We are living in a world of sinners,
if we face them with prejudgment we can never save them for God.
Jesus said to her, "Quench our thirst not
through worldly matters but through living water" - that is
Jesus Christ. We know this is a divided world that is divided due to
religion, church, caste, etc. Worship on mount of Samaria or Sinai or
Jerusalem is not a problem. Worship should be in Spirit and
Truth. Truth is Jesus and that is through worship where
restoration should be occur, restoration from death, separation and
temptation. Worship is a process of transformation. Through
worship, Spirit of God enlightens us and gives us new discernment.
What is the quality of today’s worshiping community?
Most are not living by faith; there is
increase in separatism, hatred and disrespect. Holy Spirit will make
believers aware of sin, need for right relationships, and
responsibility to the world around us. There is a powerful
relationship between Truth and Spirit. John's Gospel defines Jesus
Himself as Truth, truth is not just proclamation but it should live
with integrity and Christian witness. Holy Spirit empowers us to face
experiences of the Cross in our faith journey to reveal the authentic
truth that is Jesus Christ.
PRAYER
God
of Spirit and Truth, help us to understand authentic truth in our
different life situations by the help of Your Holy Spirit and help us
to lead a Christian witness before and after worship service. Amen.
THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY
Christian
God is moving God and fellow traveler, not a God of particular
space and time.
Rev.
Sony Philip, Ebenezer MTC, NY
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