Purifying Yourself Before Worship

Nehemiah 12:27:30

At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres. The musicians also were brought together from the region around Jerusalem—from the villages of the Netophathites, from Beth Gilgal, and from the area of Geba and Azmaveth, for the musicians had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem. When the priests and Levites had purified themselves ceremonially, they purified the people, the gates and the wall.

Greetings, My Beloved!

I hope you are having a fabulous week. A couple of weeks ago, we went to visit our friend in Nacogdoches, Texas. We visited her church that Sunday, where they were studying Nehemiah 12. I'll be honest; I had not spent much time in Nehemiah 12. Usually, when I'm studying Nehemiah it is at the beginning of the book - the building of the wall. I was particularly blessed by verse 30 where it spoke about the priests and Levites purifying themselves. It is so important that we purify ourselves before we bring our offering of worship before the Lord. After these verses the chapter goes on to describe two choirs that surround the wall: 

Nehemiah 12:31
I had the leaders of Judah go up on top of the wall. I also assigned two large choirs to give thanks. One was to proceed on top of the wall to the right, toward the Dung Gate.

Nehemiah 12:38

The second choir proceeded in the opposite direction. I followed them on top of the wall, together with half the people—past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall,

I can only imagine how beautiful it sounded to have 2 choirs. In fact, the chapter goes on to describe just how loud, how magnificent these praises were.

Nehemiah 12:43
And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.

This is my prayer, that when we go to church on Sunday, we aren't going just to go through the motions. Singing the same old songs, all while going through our grocery lists in our head. Okay, maybe you aren't thinking about the grocery list, but are  you setting your mind on higher things? God deserves the best of ourselves, but are we only giving Him a portion? God doesn't ask for much, just our whole selves. So, let us prepare ourselves for pure, authentic, beautiful worship to our King. Worship is beyond the songs that we sing at church on Sunday. God asks us to do everything wholeheartedly as unto Him, for we aren't truly doing things for others, but rather we are doing it for Him, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! 

Colossians 3:23-24

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving

I pray that you find it in your heart to take your worship to God to a whole new Level. Let's go Deeper with God. Worship with me, if you will:

Blessings!

Christina