lifestyle of worship
"This fiftieth year you shall make sacred by proclaiming liberty in the land for all." —Leviticus 25:10
We all must worship. If we don't worship God, then we worship ourselves, and eventually demons. "What am I saying—that meat offered to an idol is really offered to that idol, or that an idol is a reality? No, I mean that the Gentiles sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become sharers with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord also and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and likewise the table of demons" (1 Cor 10:19-21).
Society may appear to hinder worship, but actually worship dominates society. A new worship is the only force that can stifle another worship. For example, the purpose of the jubilee year was to overcome the worship of greed, money, and self-glorification (Lv 25:1ff). In Egypt the worship of work and pleasure hindered the worship of God (Ex 5:3-4). Herod's worship of sex stifled worship in Spirit and truth (Mt 14:4). In modern America, we continue to worship money, work, pleasure, and sex. The Lord's Day is not the Lord's but ours. Our holy days are weekends and holidays.
The worship of this world has increased and the worship of the true God has decreased. We can reverse this diabolical trend by repenting and changing lifestyles because styles of life become invariably styles of worship. "Worship God alone!" (Rv 22:9)
Prayer: Father, I repent of ungodly, perverted worship of self and creatures rather than of You, the Creator.
Promise: "It shall be a jubilee for you, when every one of you shall return to his own property." —Lv 25:10
Praise: St. Peter marveled at how Christ "raised man to God and left in him neither sin, nor death, nor travail, nor pain, nor anything earthly."
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our tape on Keeping the Lord's Day Holy on audio AV 45-1 or video V-45.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 20, 2004
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.