If we’re not careful, our Christian walk can drift into becoming something else. Has that ever happened to you? It could be a series of meetings, a quest for personal significance or maybe looking for opportunities to meet the felt needs of people around us who are hurting in some way. Don’t get me wrong—these things aren’t necessarily bad but they can obscure the real center of our lives: Jesus. What I mean is that we can get so wrapped up in the day to day activities of life, even “Christian” activities, that we can forget that our lives should be all about Jesus. It’s not about Jesus solving our problems or making us happier; it’s about worshiping and loving Jesus for who He is. Today, let’s stop for a moment and let a passage from Psalms keep us on track:

O nations of the world, recognize the Lord; recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him. Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!” (Psalm. 96:7-9 NLT)

I like it! When this psalm was written, the predominant types of worship in the world were offerings to regional deities. There was the Nile, the River God, Asherah, the Ammonite “Queen of Heaven,” the Canaanite Moloch, to whom the worshipers sacrificed their children, throwing them into fires. The prudent “spiritual person” of that day offered a careful nod to each of these “gods” when they entered a culture characterized by their worship. The psalmist declares in today’s passage that there is only one God and He is to be worshiped by everyone. This is a reminder that God is, well, God. It is a call to worship the One God, the King of the universe. He isn’t “gentle Jesus meek and mild;” He is glorious and powerful, worthy of our praise and worship, our giving and our thanks. It’s not just a call for Christians or Jewish people to worship God; it’s a call to all of the nations of the world. Can we get our minds around that? Today, let’s take some time to lay aside all of the things which have taken our attention away from worshiping Jesus. Your work can wait; your trip to the store will wait; your household chores can wait. All of these daily duties can become our “regional deities.”

Come to Jesus today and offer your worship—all of your worship! Declare it among the nations: Our Lord reigns...and that is very Good News!