Daily Reading for Tuesday, Jan. 22: Passion

“And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart out of and with all your soul (your life)…” Mark 12:30a The Amplified Bible

Exuberant praise and worship of God is certainly in order in any worship service—whether you are worshiping at home alone or with thousands of other believers. The emotional expression of our passion for God is not only appropriate for believers—it is essential. God created us to experience emotions, for they add depth and color to our lives. When we experience great joy or great sorrow, it is our emotions that help us fully express ourselves. Yet, often, we don’t engage our emotions in our worship of God; we may read the Word, we may pray, but we do those things in the hollowness of ritual and not in the fervency of our passion for God. Passion is not all about emotion, but it does have a powerful emotional component. And too often, we don’t allow that power to flow into our worship for God, and thereby we don’t fully engage ourselves in worship. This does not mean, however, that you must always shout, or dance, or weep, or bow in order to worship; it does mean that if we never exhibit such expressions, we have not engaged our hearts and we have not obeyed the command of the Lord. Love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and soul—out of that emotional realm, let the floodwaters of praise and worship burst forth. With the emotions that tumble out, let his praises be lifted on high. And as these praises are lifted on high, let our intimacy grow with Christ as He receives the sacrifice of our lips and the cries of our heart.