What is worship?

So this morning I had to give a devotional to the high school teachers here at the school where I work. I came home from church last night tired and exhausted. After a little bit of downtime (think CSI:NY), I gathered some things and began trying to decide what I should speak on today. I started by going through several books of ideas that usually get me going into some line of thought appropriate for a devotional, but nothing was coming. I tried a few more books... but nothing. Eventually I just sat there looking at my bookshelf, staring at the books, and hoping for a source of "inspiration."

But nothing came.

Then, my eyes happened to fall upon a new book that I just picked up this last Sunday - True Worship by Ward and Whitcomb. Now, I've barely even opened the cover to the book, but it got me thinking. Worship happens to be a topic that has interested me in the last year or so, and with the adjective "true" in front of it, it started me thinking. What is true worship? As I began thinking through Scripture, my mind landed on the idea for my worship devotional - personal encounters with God and their results. I present a brief synopsis of it here for your edification:

Exodus 3. The burning bush incident. Moses is instructed to remove his sandals because he is standing on holy ground.
Exodus 19.16-25. God appears to the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai. Moses is instructed to establish a boundary around the mount so that none of the people get too close to God's holiness.
Exodus 33.18-23 and 34.29-35. Moses sees the back of God's glory. Moses' face requires a veil whenever he is in the presence of other people because his face is shining too brightly.
Isaiah 6. Isaiah sees the Lord "high and lifted up." He is immediately struck by his own sin and his nation's unworthiness.
Matthew 17. Peter, James, and John see the Christ transfigured before them. Peter's initial response (however incorrect it might be) is to build a place of worship there on the mountain.
Revelation 1.7. Christ will return someday. Every one on earth will see Him, and all tribes of earth will wail (mourn).
Revelation 1.12-17. John sees one like a Son of Man standing in the middle of the seven golden lampstands. John falls at His feet as if dead.

Now, this list is by no means exhaustive. There may be other passages that should have been included in this listing, but due to lack of time I've not yet spent time looking for them. (Feel free to add them as a comment, if you want!) However, in every one of these instances, seeing God for Who He is makes a noticeable and normally physical change in the life of the one viewing Him.

The thought for today then is this: How often do you truly see God for Who He is? We talk so much about "worship" today, but do we really have true worship? Do we see the God of the Bible or a god of our reasoning and imagination? When was the last time you were physically affected by worshipping God?

What about those "worship services"? When was the last time you walked out of church changed because of Who God is? If God isn't worshipped, please don't blame the music director... the musicians... the preacher... the other members... or even the congregation at large. If God isn't worshipped, it's usually because you and I weren't looking for Him. We don't want to worship Him... because true worship will change us.

So... when was the last time you truly worshipped?