"To Kiss Towards"

John 4:23-24

"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

"God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth."

So the new year is all about fresh starts and new beginnings right? Last night, I thought it might be fun to begin approaching my Bible study in a different way:

I think I'm sometimes quite passive in my Bible study: I just sort of listen to a portion of scripture, waiting to see what the Holy Spirit wants to show me.

There's not necessarily anything wrong with this, but remember that Jesus said,

"And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given." - Mark 4:24

The Amplified Bible states it thus: "And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you—and more [besides] will be given to you who hear."

I really like that! In other words, you'll get out of your Bible study what you put into it--kind of like sowing and reaping.

So rather than listen passively, I thought it might be kind of fun to listen to the Bible with a particular theme in mind: worship/intimacy.

Did you know that the word "worship" in John 4:23-24 is "proskyneō"?

Proskyneo means 

1) to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence

2) among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence

3) in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication

Psalm 2:12 states, "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry , and ye perish [from] the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [are] all they that put their trust in him."

"Kiss" in this verse is the word, "nashaq," which means, "to kiss, to touch gently," but nashaq also implies "putting in order, fastening up, arming oneself"--sounds like holiness, right?

Holiness is tied to intimacy with God--no surprise there! :)

I don't know about you, but in my Christian journey, "worship" has been one of those nebulous things that has confused me from time to time: What is worship? What does it mean to worship? How does one become a "true worshipper" of God? How does one worship "in spirit and in truth"?

Physical acts in and of themselves are not worship: 

Singing a Christian or worship song is not necessarily worship--you can mouth the words to a song while your mind is on a million other things.

Bowing down before God, while your mind is on a million other things, is not worship.

Lifting up your hands to God, while your mind is on a million other things, is not worship.

Even praying half heartedly, while your mind is on a million other things, is not worship.

Singing, bowing, lifting our hands, praying--all these things can be expressions of our worship and possibly even vehicles for our worship, but the physical acts in and of themselves aren't necessarily worship.

So, obviously, a large part of true worship involves the attitude of the heart and focus of the mind (Isaiah 29:13); worship begins inwardly and is expressed outwardly.

Thus, worship seems like one of those beautiful, mystical things where we know what it is when we're truly experiencing it, in terms of giving it to God, but it's kind of hard to concretely define.

I'm sure a lot of brilliant theologians can provide all kinds of complex explanations of "worship," but I think it makes things a little easier if we simply stick with this definition: Worship means "to kiss towards"--to kiss God, to gently touch God. Not in a literal sense, obviously, but in a spiritual sense.

Unfortunately, though we yearn to, we can't reach up and physically hold Jesus in our arms or give Him a kiss (not yet anyways), but true worship seems to be humans attempting to lift up their hearts toward God, to reach up and hug or kiss God, to show Him love and affection.

Thus, when the scriptures command humans to worship God, it's not a mean barking out of orders--the scriptures are joyfully calling us to love and shower affection--hugs and kisses--upon God!

I think I can get down with that definition or understanding. What do you think?

So, I want to scrub my brain of everything I've learned in the past about worship and approach the Bible afresh, noting every act and instance of worship--from Genesis to Revelation--to get a better understanding of what worship is and how I can become an even more passionate, true worshipper of Jesus, how I can draw even closer to Him, to touch Him, to kiss Him!

How did the very first humans relate to God and show Him affection, and how did worship of God progress over time in the scriptures?

If memory serves me correctly, I attempted a similar Bible study approach years ago, and found it very enjoyable, but I got sidetracked, don't remember by what--something stupid, I'm sure.

But I'm hoping to finish this time. I'm tired of listening to the Bible passively. Bible study should be a literal treasure hunt! But I think it becomes more difficult when you're not exactly sure what you're hunting for. We study the Bible to draw closer to Jesus, to know Him more, to become a better servants to Him and I think that's a great macro approach, but I'm thinking that zeroing in with a more specific micro approach might be kind of fun and interesting!

So here goes! I'll keep you posted!

Do you have any cool Bible reading plans or Bible study approaches for the new year?