The Lord is our God, the Lord is one [the only God]! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and with all your soul and with all your strength [your entire being]. Deuteronomy 6:4-5

"Everyone worships something. What do YOU worship?" that was a penetrating question our pastor asked at church yesterday. The obvious answer is Jesus (Sunday school anyone? The answer was always Jesus), but as I honestly searched my heart, I realized that there were competing alliances with whom I've linked arms. I give fear my allegiance more than I like to admit. I want for my kids, occasionally at the expense of others who should come first. I find solace in perceived security. When I come before the Lord, I don't intentionally serve two God's, but truth told, I do bow down to false God's when I'm not very, very intentional about watching out for it. As human beings, on this side of heaven, we all battle. There is a constant war between the flesh that screams, "Serve me!" and our spirit that longs to lead us into truth. We tend to gravitate toward man's esteem, control, money, and promotion. It's the human condition. When you search your heart and ask, what false gods are vying for your allegiance, how do you answer? When this battle is our reality, how do we worship well?

We accomplish undivided worship by following the instruction given to us in the Word. We give God our entire heart. We think of His truth. We meditate on the words of scripture. We renew our minds regularly and rigorously. We fill our soul to overflowing by declaring His promises. And we give him our entire life, every ounce of our being, surrendered and in desperate longing to be used of Him for His kingdom purpose. We worship well as we waive our will to His. We worship well as we relinquish our white-knuckled attempt to control what is not ours to control. We worship well as we seek with absolute abandon His nod of approval over that of anyone else. Today, as you go about your life, simply commit, and recommit your worship to the One True God of your life. The God who will never forsake or fail you. He is always your best-case scenario. Bless you, today.