Place of Worship

          In my reading today of John 4 we come to the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.  One thing that stood out to me was what she had said in John 4:20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.  First you have to understand that the Jews hated the Samaritans and would actually travel around Samaria so they would not have to come in contact with the Samaritans.  So it was not normal for Jesus to travel the road He did through Samaria, actually it was not normal for any Jew to travel that road.  So the Samaritans could not go to Jerusalem to worship even if they had wanted to for the Jews would have ran them off.

          Jesus’ reply should be heard by all today as well as when the woman at the well heard it.
 
21 "Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."  John 4:21-24

          Jesus is letting us know that true worship does not come from a particular place, but from the heart in truth.  This does not mean that we should not go to church because we are worshiping God in our hearts.  We still need to gather as a body of believers especially in a sinful world where we are worn down.  Gather together helps us regain our strength for the following week’s trials.  Getting back to worshiping in Spirit and truth there are still many who do come to church and do not worship this way.  So it is not the building of the church you attend, but your heart in which you worship.  Think about that the next time you are singing worship songs or listening to the message.  Where is you heart at in that moment?  Where are your thoughts, because that will tell you where your heart is.

          So as believers in Christ let us come together not only in our physical bodies, but in our Spirit and our hearts.  Can you imagine how glorifying this would be to God if we all gathered this way and the power of the Spirit in that gathering?  So let us keep our worship to God in our hearts on a regular basis and let every thought be on Him as we go throughout our day.  This is true worship.