Why Worship?

"Take heed to yourselves, that YOUR HEART be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;" ... 
"And it shall be, IF THOU DO AT ALL FORGET the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish." (Deut 11:16 and 8:19).

Why worship?

It is very important we know what worship is, for it is the Honor, reverence, homage, in thought, feeling, or act, that must be paid to God alone. When this is instead paid to other gods, then is the people or nation cursed and set for destruction. It is the very reason God gave Worship as the first commandment. The violation of this first commandment: "THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER gods BEFORE ME." (Exo 20:3) is what is destroying many nations today. 

And when this first law is broken, it opens the way for the violation of the rest of the "10 commandments" as listed below:-

Law 2- Making of graven images, open defilement, etc;
Law 3- Taking the LORD's name in vain;
Law 4- No holy days*;
Law 5- Parents are dishonored;
Law 6- Killings, murdering, suicide, genocide, homicide,etc; 
Law 7- Adultery, fornication, divorce*, etc ;
Law 8- Stealing, theft, racketeering, etc;
Law 9- False accusations, double standards, etc;
Law 10- Covetousness, greed, etc; and the nation is cursed and set for destruction. 

So, how can the heart be deceived?

If your heart should forget the first law, you will be deceived. You must know everything about the first law else you will be deceived. To be deceived means you won't know what you are doing, or whom you thought you're worshiping is false. The heart is the place of worship in you, for you are God's temple, and if you don't know what you are doing, you could bring curses on yourself. [Note - search my other blogs for more on the heart.]

How can we avoid being deceived?

The only way is to KEEP the Words of God deep inside our hearts and DO THEM. The more of the Word we APPLY into our lives, the more we are blessed,  practice they say, makes perfect.

"Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, AS THE DAYS OF HEAVEN UPON THE EARTH."(Deu 11:18-21).

The only way of escape for us, our families, and nations is to personally lay up the Words of God in our hearts and souls, and teach them through its application to our children. There is no other way that is fool-proof, and I know you might be wondering why this is the only way to avoid being deceived. The reason is that the WORD OF GOD IS A PERSON (Rev 19:13). The Word is active, intelligent, full of wisdom, all-knowing, and interactive. It brings Light (i.e, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding) about God and creation. And this can only happen in your heart.

When the heart fails. 

A heart emptied of the Word of God is set for destruction (Please read the parable of the sower in Mat 13). Any nation filled with people of such hearts, will be cursed and destroyed in due time. "As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God." (Deu 8:20). Nations were destroyed by the LORD because their hearts were deceived, and the land cursed (i.e, demonic infestation), and so are we to take our cue from them, lest we ourselves are destroyed the same way. [Note - "when the heart fails" is a huge topic that I hope to complete in another blog.]