6/15/25 Worshiping God in Spirit and Truth

Takeaway: Living in the freedom that comes from knowing God.

Opening Prayer (Sunday)

Lord, this is Your day, and I come before You with a heart of worship. Prepare me to hear Your voice, to grow in faith, and to reflect Your love in all I do. Be glorified in my life today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reflection

For much of our lives, we may worship a version of God shaped more by fear, culture, or misconception than by truth. As Paul writes to the Galatians, he reminds them of their former life when they “did not know God” and were enslaved to those things that are “by nature not gods.” This is not just about ancient idolatry, but rather it is about the human tendency to create substitutes for the living God. Even today, many believers still live as if bound to false versions of God. We may attend church, read scripture, and sing worship songs, but in the hidden corners of our hearts, we may still be serving a god who is always disappointed, or demanding more. Paul’s question remains relevant: “Now that you know God,or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back?” Paul’s plea is not just for us to believe differently, but to live in the freedom that only comes when we worship God as He truly is.

Paul’s concern in Galatians is not that people have become irreligious, but that they have become disillusioned again, under the guise of religion. Rules replaced relationship. Effort replaced grace. Fear replaced freedom. And yet, the gospel had already freed them, not just from sin, but from false ways of relating to God. To return to slavery is to forget who God is and who we are in Him. Living in freedom means refusing to measure our spiritual worth by performance or comparison. It means recognizing that our relationship with God is not maintained by our strength, but by His covenantal love. We are known by God not superficially, but deeply and intimately.

When we know God as He truly is, everything shifts. Worship becomes less about ritual and more about relationship. Obedience stops feeling like pressure and starts being a joyful response. We stop striving for approval and begin to live from acceptance. Even our struggles begin to look different. We see them not as failures that disqualify us, but as opportunities to experience God’s grace again and again.

Questions

How does knowing that you are fully known and still fully loved by God change how you approach worship and prayer?

What false gods or distorted images of God do you need to surrender in order to live in the freedom of being a beloved child of God?

Application

Make space today for worship that is not performance-based but intimacy-centered. Whether through music, silence, reading scripture, or prayer, approach God as your loving Father, and not as a resentful God.

Closing Prayer

Father, You are the God who sees me, knows me, and loves me. Forgive me for the ways I’ve returned to old chains of fear, duty, or false worship. Help me tear down every lie that distorts Your image in my heart. Draw me deeper into relationship, and let my life reflect the beauty of knowing You as You truly are. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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