Jump Start # 523 

Psalms 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”

  I love Sundays—its not the fat newspapers, the mega sports day or the shopping that makes it special, it is the Lord. It’s worship. It’s being with God’s people. It is a day that is unlike the rest of the week. The routine is different on Sunday. There is a sense of recharging and connecting with God on that day.

  For David, who wrote our passage today, his worship would have been on the Sabbath in the tabernacle. He lived long before the Messiah came. He did not know hymns such as Amazing Grace. He didn’t live with the hope of a coming resurrection. The stories of the incredible Savior were not known to David. His world was animal sacrifices, priests and incense. Yet for him, he was glad to worship the Lord.

  Worship is so much more than “just going to church,” as some phrase it. It’s connecting with like believers, it’s magnifying the Lord, it’s  understanding God’s nature, it’s expressing our love for Him. Worship is looking back to that old rugged cross. Worship is looking forward to Heaven. Worship lifts our spirits and answers our questions. Worship ought to be passionate, personal and involving all that I am. Worship requires my mind, my heart, my love, and even my body. So anything that affects those things will affect my worship. When I’m not feeling well, it hits my worship. When I’m tried, my worship is off. When I’m bothered, my worship becomes bothered.

  Worship is not about what I get from church services, but rather, what I give. The very word, ‘worship’ means to kiss forward or as the Latin brings to us, “worth-ship.” It is esteeming the “worth” of something. In worship, therefore, what I am saying is, “What is God worth to me?”

  I wish every day was Sunday. I wish we only had to go to work two days a week and we could go to worship services five days a week. Wouldn’t that be awesome!

  I sense in many places and among many people, a tired and bored look when it comes to worship. I get excited. It’s not preaching, it’s being together and with the Lord. That’s amazing in my book.

  Someone had asked David to go to the house of the Lord. David was glad. He knew he’d meet the Lord there. He knew that worship has a way of calming a troubled heart and putting our order back in order.

  How about you? How do you feel about Sunday? Dread it? Just go through the motions? Can’t wait until church services are over so you can do what you want? Or, like David, are you thrilled to be able to be in the presence of God?

  Much of what happens on Saturday night determines what will happen on Sunday morning. The ancient priests in David’s time prepared before worship began. They had to have sacrifices, fire and many, many things to make their worship proper. That meant getting animals inspected and ready. That meant having wood for fires. Our preparation is mental, physical and emotional. Get a good nights sleep on Saturday because Sunday is coming. You are going to meet the King. Don’t fuss with TV, paperwork, dishes, or other things that get you sidetracked, stressed out, and bothered. Remember, you are going to meet the King. Read a verse or two. Say a pray or two. You get to meet the King, that ought to make the blood race through you.

  I was glad, David said. I agree.

Roger