1 Chronicles 22—24, John 8:28-59 • Key Verse: 1 Chronicles 22:19

People will stand in long lines this summer waiting for their turn to ride a roller coaster. After perhaps an hour or more, they will get their three minutes of thrill—or terror, as the case may be. At the end of the ride, some will immediately go back to the line and wait to ride again.

Amusement parks employ people whose responsibility it is to “test ride” the rides. Every day begins with hurtling along the tracks. No lines, just get in and go. What an enviable job! How great it must be to get to do that every day. For these workers, however the roller coaster ride is just that—work. The thrill is gone; the ride is routine.

This happens in ministry also. We get so used to going to church, teaching Sunday school, singing in the choir, that ministry becomes a routine.
Worship was important to David, so he wanted to build the place that would be the center of worship.

He made preparations for the temple to be built, assembling the workers and materials.
But worship, is more than a building. It is an issue of the heart. To the workers David gave this additional instruction: “Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God” (22:19). The work of our hands is important, but so is the worship of our hearts. The things we do must not become so routine that we lose the thrill of serving God.

_Has your service of God become routine? Then its time to “devote your heart and soul .” That will involve a conscious effort to keep yourself from just going through the motions. Your service is to be an act of worship._

Woodrow Kroll & Tony Beckett
www.backtothebible.in