The Gospel, The Gospel

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“The Gospel, the Gospel,
Fragrance in words.
The sea of my soul is calmed when it’s heard.”
(The Gospel, Jimmy Needham)

It’s the focal point of scripture. The entire Old Testament points forward to it, and the entire New Testament points back to it. If the Bible were a novel, the Gospel would be the climax. If it were a musical score, the Gospel would be the resounding fortissimo after an intensifying crescendo.

The Gospel is nothing short of awesome.

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Surround Me Not, Oh Lord!

During our church service today, we sang a song entitled "Surround Me, Oh Lord:"

"Surround me, oh Lord.
Surround me, oh Lord.
Surround me, oh Lord.
Let Your presence fill this place."

Perhaps it's not the most doctrinally enriching of songs in history, but I give it credit.  As I stood with the rest of the Praise and Worship team singing, a thought hit me and resonated throughout the rest of the service: Do we really want God's presence?

Sure, we love the idea of the Lord's presence surrounding us.  We want to feel empowered, uplifted, and filled with joy and zeal.  And indeed it is right that we should desire these things!  But if this is what we expect from an encounter with God, many of us will be woefully disappointed.

Think of Jesus in the temple (John 2:13-22).  I'm sure that, when the religious leaders looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, they expected a similar feeling to ours.  But what did they find instead?  The Christ drove out the merchants and animals, poured out the coins, and flipped the tables in righteous anger.

Are we ready for this same Jesus to surround us with such holiness and power?

The truth is, this Jesus wants and is ready to surround us with His presence.  But, because of our desire to dwell in our mediocre comfort-zones, we actually push Him away at the moment He tells us something we don't want to hear!

Don't get me wrong, our Father will fill us with joy and zeal; He will empower us and uplift us.  But He will also change us.  Any experience of God will undoubtedly result in a change.  Worship is the realization of who God is - in all His might and majesty - and therefore, it is a realization of how small and unworthy we are.

If we are truly surrounded by the presence of God, we will seldom be comfortable.  He will tell us things we may not want to hear.  We will be convicted and pushed out of our comfort-zones.

Do you really want to experience such a God?

I do.

Make Me a Servant

Photo from deviantarts.com

     This isn't exactly a typical post of mine, but I just wanted to share some lyrics.  Our Friday night Bible study sang this song last week, and now I can't stop singing it!  The words are really powerful and the melody is equally meditative.  I know I desperately need God to make me His humble servant, content in simply doing His will.

Make me a servant, Just like your Son

For He was the servant; Please make me one

Make me a servant, Do what You must do

To make me a servant, Make me like You.

Make me a servant, Take all my pride

For I would be lowly, Humble inside;

Giving to others With all that I do

In love for my brother; Make me like You

Make me a servant, Filled by Your might

And may all my labors shine with your light

Show me Your footsteps and what I should do;

For now and forever, Make me like You.

"They Called You All That?!" "Well, It was Shorter in Hebrew..."

     Christmas is just about here!  Among the gifts and decorations everywhere, it's important to remember just who this holiday is about.  We tend to get quite distracted with all that the holiday has to offer, so we have to make sure that He gets the honor and glory that He deserves.
     Being that I play two instruments myself, one of my favorite parts of Christmas is the music.  So instead of writing a long post today, I put several songs below for you to enjoy.  These are some of my favorite Christmas songs and have a great message within each of them.  Enjoy the Christmas Season!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6, ESV