Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD?  Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts.

Psalm 15:1-2

Psalm 15 begins with the question of who may worship in God’s sanctuary. The answer: “Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right” (v. 2). Then the psalm lists examples of the kind of righteous living that should characterize those who worship God, beginning with “speaking the truth from sincere hearts.”

Because of what Christ has done for us on the cross, we do not need to live blamelessly in order to approach God in worship. We come before him in the freedom of divine mercy, knowing that we are forgiven because of Christ’s death for us. However, this does not mean our daily lives are irrelevant to our worship. On the contrary, we who worship God in our “sanctuary” are also called to worship him in our daily lives. As we present ourselves to God when we are gathered together as the people of God, we are preparing our hearts to worship him when we are scattered throughout the world. Thus our worship on Sunday inspires our worship each day. We honor God by the way we act among our families, friends, and colleagues. We worship him through offering each and every action to him. So, for example, we worship God by being people who speak the truth from sincere hearts.

Surely it’s easier to think of worship as something we do for an hour a week in church. The idea of worshiping God throughout the week can feel intimidating. But it can also transform our lives, giving new purpose and meaning even to the humdrum demands of daily life.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Do you think of worship as something you can do each and every day? Why or why not? What helps you to think of your daily life as a context for worshiping God?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, first of all I must thank you for the fact that I don’t have to live blamelessly in order to worship you. How grateful I am for the forgiveness you offer through Christ. How good it is to know that I can approach you, not in my own righteousness, but in the righteousness of the One who died for me.

In response to the grace you have poured out upon me, I owe you worship. Not just the worship of the “sanctuary,” but the worship of everyday life. O Lord, may I learn to worship you each moment of each day. Teach me to see my whole life as one great worship service, in which I honor you through every word, every thought, every deed. By your grace, may I learn to present my body to you as a living sacrifice, so that you might be glorified in every part of my life. I pray in the name of Jesus my Savior, Amen.