Prayer: Lord I humble myself before your holy and righteous throne. You are above all our ways. Lord guide men in your righteousness and cleanse me of all impurity. Thank you for your unending grace and love in this and every day. In Jesus name. Amen.
Verse of the Day: "Our LORD, no other gods compare with you- Majestic and holy! Fearsome and glorious! Miracle worker!" Exodus 15:11(CEV)
Worship Song of the Day: God of Wonders by Marc Byrd and Steve Hindalong
Welcome back. Today is the 3rd day of the Core devotionals that we are doing at Beltway and as the title of my post says its all about God's Holiness, Righteousness and Justness. We are continuing to study more about who the bible says God is. In this case I find this easier to grasp that some other concepts around God. These are identities of God that I continually stand in awe of. I see my own weakness and shortcoming and think how awesome is it that there is one being in all the universe that is above such weakness and is perfect in every way. Then I think about how awesome it is that Christ has made me perfect in God's eyes through faith in him.
Its interesting in the devotional today is makes a statement that if God is anything less than holy, righteous, and just, then He would not be worthy of our deepest affections and adoration. In what ways do you notice God's holiness and righteousness and justness? Perhaps you never have given it much thought other than words you have sung in a worship song. Its easy to go through life and fail to see God's miracles. Even the small ones out there. All miracles are not big grandiose moving mountains types of miracles. Things we experience in daily life like the birth of a baby or how we can harness electricity. Science has explained these things but does it make them any less miraculous and awesome?
I'm going to go ahead and leave it there for today. Tomorrow is day 4 of Core and learning more about who the bible says God is. I challenge you that in your worship today that you praise God for being holy, righteous and just. To God be the glory forever and ever.
In Him,
Brian
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Day 2: Good and Loving
Prayer: Lord please reveal to me more deeply the love you have for me. I can never thank you enough for your grace and your mercy which you have poured out to your children. Lord help me to show others your goodness and love in my life. In your holy name. Amen.
Verse of the Day: "The LORD is merciful He is kind and patient, and his love never fails." Psalm 103:8(CEV)
Worship Song of the Day: Father of Lights by John Barnett
Good morning friends. It is day two of the Core series devotionals and today is all about God's love and goodness. Well there is obviously a lot that can be said about how great our God is. The bible is full of references to his love and patience. One of the things we can struggle with sometimes, or at least I can, is the depth of God's love. While I know in my heart that he sent Jesus to die for me so that I could have eternal life, I sometimes don't understand the true depth of his love for me. When the bible says that nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus that is a powerful statement. It means that no batter how bad I screw up(believe me I screw up plenty bad), I can never lose God's love. That is an amazing feeling to know that despite my flesh which gets in the way I know I always have God to help me and pick me up.
Song's about God's love are also all over the place in Worship. You would be hard pressed to find a worship song that doesn't mention God's love. The one I chose for today's worship song is a personal favorite of mine from a few years back. Father of Lights is a simple worship song which reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes from God. God delights in us, his children. That's right the God of heaven ,that created all things, delights in you. That is the depth of his love. That he would delight in the things I do even though they aren't hugely kingdom moving things, is beyond my grasp of understanding. I mean, who am I that God would think of me?
Take some time today to ponder God's love and the depths of his goodness. Also ask God to reveal to you how you can better share that love with others in your life. Keep on reading and I will talk to you all tomorrow. Until then blessings and praise to the God of love Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Brian
Verse of the Day: "The LORD is merciful He is kind and patient, and his love never fails." Psalm 103:8(CEV)
Worship Song of the Day: Father of Lights by John Barnett
Good morning friends. It is day two of the Core series devotionals and today is all about God's love and goodness. Well there is obviously a lot that can be said about how great our God is. The bible is full of references to his love and patience. One of the things we can struggle with sometimes, or at least I can, is the depth of God's love. While I know in my heart that he sent Jesus to die for me so that I could have eternal life, I sometimes don't understand the true depth of his love for me. When the bible says that nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus that is a powerful statement. It means that no batter how bad I screw up(believe me I screw up plenty bad), I can never lose God's love. That is an amazing feeling to know that despite my flesh which gets in the way I know I always have God to help me and pick me up.
Song's about God's love are also all over the place in Worship. You would be hard pressed to find a worship song that doesn't mention God's love. The one I chose for today's worship song is a personal favorite of mine from a few years back. Father of Lights is a simple worship song which reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes from God. God delights in us, his children. That's right the God of heaven ,that created all things, delights in you. That is the depth of his love. That he would delight in the things I do even though they aren't hugely kingdom moving things, is beyond my grasp of understanding. I mean, who am I that God would think of me?
Take some time today to ponder God's love and the depths of his goodness. Also ask God to reveal to you how you can better share that love with others in your life. Keep on reading and I will talk to you all tomorrow. Until then blessings and praise to the God of love Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Brian
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Day 1: Real and Personal
Prayer: Lord help me draw near to you. God my desire is that you more fully reveal yourself to me. Lord give me spark that causes me to pursue you with all that I am. Help me to never boast in myself but boast only in your and the good things that you do. In your son's holy name. Amen
Verse of the Day: " The LORD says, 'Wise people should not boast that they are wise. Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. Rich people should not boast that they are rich. If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the LORD, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the Earth and that I desire people to do these things,' says the LORD."( Jeremiah 9:23-24)
Worship Song of the Day: Our God is Greater by Chris Tomlin
Good Morning or Evening or Night depending on when you read this blog. Well today was my first day of personal devotionals accompanying the Core series at Beltway. Well first off let me say again how excited I am about this series. I desperately need to reconnect to God and discover more about his nature and exactly who the bible says he is. I have all too often fallen into the trap of trying to define God to fit in my own little box and world view. As someone who on occasion actually tries to write worship songs it makes what you write a little narrow.
The best worship leaders and songwriters have some of the deepest understandings of who the bible says God is. For example our song of the day is by Chris Tomlin, who I consider to be one of the best worship leaders and songwriters alive. His songs have such depth and biblical root that it gives the song that much more power. This is what separates a great worship song from just a song sung about God. This is part of the reason I'm so excited to learn more about the depth of God and the reality of him in the word. I desire to do as John 4:23 says and worship God in spirit and in truth. See all too often we are guilty of just worshiping in spirit or just worshiping in truth.
I find it best to look at worship music in two ways. There are horizontal and vertical worship songs. If you have never head those two words then let me explain. Horizontal worship songs are songs that sing about God and vertical worship songs are songs sung to God. Think about some of your favorite worship songs and identify which category they fit into. The other thing that I tend to look at is that horizontal worship songs tend to be focused on truths about God and therefore might go under the category of worshipping in truth. Vertical songs however tend to be sung from the hear to God and might qualify as worshipping in spirit. While there is truth and spirit in both types of worship songs it seems each one is more focused how I described them above.
That's where I'm going to leave things today. As you do your bible reading today perhaps you can identify some worship music your fond of that use the qualities of God that you read about today. Seek hard after him and worship him in spirit and truth. Until next time blessings from the God of heaven and his son Jesus Christ.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
Verse of the Day: " The LORD says, 'Wise people should not boast that they are wise. Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. Rich people should not boast that they are rich. If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the LORD, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the Earth and that I desire people to do these things,' says the LORD."( Jeremiah 9:23-24)
Worship Song of the Day: Our God is Greater by Chris Tomlin
Good Morning or Evening or Night depending on when you read this blog. Well today was my first day of personal devotionals accompanying the Core series at Beltway. Well first off let me say again how excited I am about this series. I desperately need to reconnect to God and discover more about his nature and exactly who the bible says he is. I have all too often fallen into the trap of trying to define God to fit in my own little box and world view. As someone who on occasion actually tries to write worship songs it makes what you write a little narrow.
The best worship leaders and songwriters have some of the deepest understandings of who the bible says God is. For example our song of the day is by Chris Tomlin, who I consider to be one of the best worship leaders and songwriters alive. His songs have such depth and biblical root that it gives the song that much more power. This is what separates a great worship song from just a song sung about God. This is part of the reason I'm so excited to learn more about the depth of God and the reality of him in the word. I desire to do as John 4:23 says and worship God in spirit and in truth. See all too often we are guilty of just worshiping in spirit or just worshiping in truth.
I find it best to look at worship music in two ways. There are horizontal and vertical worship songs. If you have never head those two words then let me explain. Horizontal worship songs are songs that sing about God and vertical worship songs are songs sung to God. Think about some of your favorite worship songs and identify which category they fit into. The other thing that I tend to look at is that horizontal worship songs tend to be focused on truths about God and therefore might go under the category of worshipping in truth. Vertical songs however tend to be sung from the hear to God and might qualify as worshipping in spirit. While there is truth and spirit in both types of worship songs it seems each one is more focused how I described them above.
That's where I'm going to leave things today. As you do your bible reading today perhaps you can identify some worship music your fond of that use the qualities of God that you read about today. Seek hard after him and worship him in spirit and truth. Until next time blessings from the God of heaven and his son Jesus Christ.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
Monday, August 27, 2012
Excited About Core
Prayer: Lord I just ask for your grace during this week as I endeavour to draw closer to you. I love you Lord and thank you for all you do. In your holy name I pray, Amen.
Verse of the Day: " For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7(NKJV)
Worship Song of the Day: The Heart of Worship by Matt Redman
Well hello again. I obviously took a couple month hiatus from writing. Life gets busy from time to time and I was trying to focus on other things but I am back. I am super excited to share with you again. The thing that has me excited and what I want to share about today is our new series at church called Core.
Over the next few months our church is going to be focusing on the Core of who God is and why we believe what we believe. One of things that struck me in Pastor David's first sermon was that we somehow think we can create God. All too often we have a picture of who we think God is in our lives. Some people prefer to see God as an old father time, or perhaps you see him as mainly an encourager. There are many things God is but all too often we tend to focus on a particular aspect of God and neglect the rest. When we do this we are creating our own Idol. The whole of who God is can only be found in his word.
This connects with our worship song of the day as well. Going back to the heart of worship is more than just how you feel or communicate with God, it is also worshiping him in spirit and truth. How can any of us reach that goal of worshiping in both spirit and truth when we don't read his word and don't know what the bible says about who God is. Would you step out on a limb with me and commit for the next week to read your bible for at least 15 minutes a day. As Pastor David said if you think you don't have 15 minutes to spend ask yourself how much TV you watch? The interesting statistic there is that the average person will watch 9 years of TV in their lifetime. If you truly have a problem finding 15 minutes to read the Bible then your doing too many things in your life right now. How can God ever be a priority in our lives if we can't even spend 15 minutes reading his word?
So lets get reading. I will talk to you all tomorrow. Be blessed and continue praising our great God in heaven.
In Him,
Brian
Verse of the Day: " For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7(NKJV)
Worship Song of the Day: The Heart of Worship by Matt Redman
Well hello again. I obviously took a couple month hiatus from writing. Life gets busy from time to time and I was trying to focus on other things but I am back. I am super excited to share with you again. The thing that has me excited and what I want to share about today is our new series at church called Core.
Over the next few months our church is going to be focusing on the Core of who God is and why we believe what we believe. One of things that struck me in Pastor David's first sermon was that we somehow think we can create God. All too often we have a picture of who we think God is in our lives. Some people prefer to see God as an old father time, or perhaps you see him as mainly an encourager. There are many things God is but all too often we tend to focus on a particular aspect of God and neglect the rest. When we do this we are creating our own Idol. The whole of who God is can only be found in his word.
This connects with our worship song of the day as well. Going back to the heart of worship is more than just how you feel or communicate with God, it is also worshiping him in spirit and truth. How can any of us reach that goal of worshiping in both spirit and truth when we don't read his word and don't know what the bible says about who God is. Would you step out on a limb with me and commit for the next week to read your bible for at least 15 minutes a day. As Pastor David said if you think you don't have 15 minutes to spend ask yourself how much TV you watch? The interesting statistic there is that the average person will watch 9 years of TV in their lifetime. If you truly have a problem finding 15 minutes to read the Bible then your doing too many things in your life right now. How can God ever be a priority in our lives if we can't even spend 15 minutes reading his word?
So lets get reading. I will talk to you all tomorrow. Be blessed and continue praising our great God in heaven.
In Him,
Brian
Friday, June 15, 2012
A Man After God's Heart
Prayer: Lord please make me a man after your heart. Give me the grace to live out the destiny you have laid down for my life and to do your will in all areas of my life. Thank you for blessing me with everything and everyone you have put into my life. You are the awesome God and I will forever praise you. Amen.
Verse of the Day: "After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.' (Acts 13:22)
Worship Song of the Day: Hosanna by Brooke Fraser
Good morning everyone. It seems like forever since I have posted. I feel like I want to share with you a little about our study from church last Sunday about David. David is a very intriguing man. He was the lowest regarded of his brothers yet God chose him to replace Saul who by all rights seemed like a good king. However as pastor David told us Saul's heart wasn't quite right. When he defied God he failed to have a repentant heart about it. He made excuses and tried to justify himself. For that reason God rejected him and selected David whom he called "A man after My own heart".
David had his struggles no doubt. I mean this man was a murderer and adulterer among other things. So what I found fascinating was how God determined that David and not Saul was the man after his heart. Pastor David said something that struck me and that was the fact that in many peoples earthly eyes you would see what David had done vs. what Saul had done and think David was way worse. However, God looks at different things than man. God does not see one sin and worse than another. God looks at your heart and he saw that Saul was a man full of rebellion and would not admit and turn from that rebellion. David on the other hand was humble and repentant and God saw that in him.
This statement alone should give you some serious hope. This was pointing to God's grace already. God already saw David's heart desired after God's will and was truly contrite after committing his grievous sins. So it was already pointing to the grace of God to say you can never screw up bad enough for me to not love you. He just desires you own up to your sin and repent. A repentant heart is a true heart of worship. Look at David. The guy wrote most of the psalms which where the worship songs of the Israelites. David was a true man. He was both warrior and poet. He embraced his warrior nature and yet was gentle enough to write songs and poems.
His humble and repentant heart helped him to be a true worshipper of God. The bible says God desires people who worship in Spirit and in Truth. The power behind David's psalms weren't just that they were true but that they came from his heart. Remember its a heart God has said was after His own. One thing I have often on this blog is that any activity can be worship if its done with the right heart or mind towards God.
I have a confession with a good ending. My wife and I had not been tithing the last few years even though we sort of knew we should. Recently we started tithing again and God is right about one thing. This is indeed something to test him in. We didn't know how we would make it giving God 10%. We make it by but not by some great excess and to sacrifice 10% of our income seemed to be more than we could do. But immediately upon our being faithful to do so. God in turn began living up to his faithfulness and we have had no added financial stress to speak of. In fact God has continued to bless us in many ways. I would encourage you to Tithe. The first fruits of our labor belong to God. If we keep it we are in essence stealing from God. Also on this point its the only time in the Bible that god tells us to test him in something. Be faithful and give with a cheerful heart and God will return to you and multiply that which you have. On that note we shall end for today.
Love you guys and blessings to you and praise to the Great I Am our king Jesus.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
Verse of the Day: "After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.' (Acts 13:22)
Worship Song of the Day: Hosanna by Brooke Fraser
Good morning everyone. It seems like forever since I have posted. I feel like I want to share with you a little about our study from church last Sunday about David. David is a very intriguing man. He was the lowest regarded of his brothers yet God chose him to replace Saul who by all rights seemed like a good king. However as pastor David told us Saul's heart wasn't quite right. When he defied God he failed to have a repentant heart about it. He made excuses and tried to justify himself. For that reason God rejected him and selected David whom he called "A man after My own heart".
David had his struggles no doubt. I mean this man was a murderer and adulterer among other things. So what I found fascinating was how God determined that David and not Saul was the man after his heart. Pastor David said something that struck me and that was the fact that in many peoples earthly eyes you would see what David had done vs. what Saul had done and think David was way worse. However, God looks at different things than man. God does not see one sin and worse than another. God looks at your heart and he saw that Saul was a man full of rebellion and would not admit and turn from that rebellion. David on the other hand was humble and repentant and God saw that in him.
This statement alone should give you some serious hope. This was pointing to God's grace already. God already saw David's heart desired after God's will and was truly contrite after committing his grievous sins. So it was already pointing to the grace of God to say you can never screw up bad enough for me to not love you. He just desires you own up to your sin and repent. A repentant heart is a true heart of worship. Look at David. The guy wrote most of the psalms which where the worship songs of the Israelites. David was a true man. He was both warrior and poet. He embraced his warrior nature and yet was gentle enough to write songs and poems.
His humble and repentant heart helped him to be a true worshipper of God. The bible says God desires people who worship in Spirit and in Truth. The power behind David's psalms weren't just that they were true but that they came from his heart. Remember its a heart God has said was after His own. One thing I have often on this blog is that any activity can be worship if its done with the right heart or mind towards God.
I have a confession with a good ending. My wife and I had not been tithing the last few years even though we sort of knew we should. Recently we started tithing again and God is right about one thing. This is indeed something to test him in. We didn't know how we would make it giving God 10%. We make it by but not by some great excess and to sacrifice 10% of our income seemed to be more than we could do. But immediately upon our being faithful to do so. God in turn began living up to his faithfulness and we have had no added financial stress to speak of. In fact God has continued to bless us in many ways. I would encourage you to Tithe. The first fruits of our labor belong to God. If we keep it we are in essence stealing from God. Also on this point its the only time in the Bible that god tells us to test him in something. Be faithful and give with a cheerful heart and God will return to you and multiply that which you have. On that note we shall end for today.
Love you guys and blessings to you and praise to the Great I Am our king Jesus.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Sinful Desire
Prayer: Lord please help me keep my thoughts ever on you and off of impure thoughts. Lead me safely through the valley of temptation so that I can continue to walk strong in the faith. Thank you for your love and understanding it leaves me in awe every day. Amen
Verse of the Day: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13(NIV)
Worship Song of the Day: Overcome by Jon Egan
Today I want to talk a bit about standing up to temptation and correcting our own fleshly desires. This is a difficult thing to me as it is for most believers. Denying our flesh and resisting temptation is one of the toughest parts of our daily walk. We are constantly deceived by Satan who is very very good at his job as deceiver. Sometimes Satan has to work hard to deceive but most of the time we ,as Christians, make it very easy on him by having our focus in other places than where it belongs, with Christ.
Satan also has an easy go of deceiving us because of a lack of knowledge of God's word. I've said before how vital reading God's word is but I want to let you know that if you hope to defend yourself against the arrows of sin that Satan launches in your direction you better know the word so you can stand up to him with scripture. Our authority comes from Christ who is the living word of God. Not reading the bible would be like trying to fight a war with a water balloon instead of an M16 or using a golf cart with a water gun attached instead of a Tank. Don't get caught in the battlefield without your weapons.
The best part about temptation is that the word says temptation will never be too great for us to stand up to it. If you seek God's heart and resist the devil he will flee from you. Be ready though as you start walking in faith and resisting him cause if he can't tempt you he will try to knock you down with other trials in your life. He will try to discourage you and make you give up or change your focus to some problem you are dealing with in your life and then when you are most vulnerable he will come in and entice you into sinful desires.
We were created by God to worship so if you aren't worshipping God then you will worship something. It could be yourself, video games(guilty before), movies, TV, Money(how many of us on this one), or for the musicians out there how about your gift for music. It can be easy to focus on the creation and not the creator. When your focus switches to the creation from the creator God then you are wrong. Do all things to the glory of God in Christ Jesus.
Helping to control fleshly desire is largely about where your focus remains throughout your day. Is your mind always on the things of the kingdom? Let your mind focus where it needs to be to accomplish a task but a part of your mind should always be focused on Jesus. Its hard to do. I struggle with that a lot but I have noticed that I don't sin while I'm truly focused on Jesus. When my mind and heart wander is when I fall into the trap of temptation. Jesus told us that all the thins he did we will have power to do and greater than that. Well the Bible says that Jesus was tempted in every way and yet he stood up to the temptation because of having the fullness of the Holy Spirit in him. We now have that gift as well and have the power to fight off the evil one.
Fight hard and be blessed. Praise to the Lion of Judah who sits on the throne.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
Verse of the Day: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13(NIV)
Worship Song of the Day: Overcome by Jon Egan
Today I want to talk a bit about standing up to temptation and correcting our own fleshly desires. This is a difficult thing to me as it is for most believers. Denying our flesh and resisting temptation is one of the toughest parts of our daily walk. We are constantly deceived by Satan who is very very good at his job as deceiver. Sometimes Satan has to work hard to deceive but most of the time we ,as Christians, make it very easy on him by having our focus in other places than where it belongs, with Christ.
Satan also has an easy go of deceiving us because of a lack of knowledge of God's word. I've said before how vital reading God's word is but I want to let you know that if you hope to defend yourself against the arrows of sin that Satan launches in your direction you better know the word so you can stand up to him with scripture. Our authority comes from Christ who is the living word of God. Not reading the bible would be like trying to fight a war with a water balloon instead of an M16 or using a golf cart with a water gun attached instead of a Tank. Don't get caught in the battlefield without your weapons.
The best part about temptation is that the word says temptation will never be too great for us to stand up to it. If you seek God's heart and resist the devil he will flee from you. Be ready though as you start walking in faith and resisting him cause if he can't tempt you he will try to knock you down with other trials in your life. He will try to discourage you and make you give up or change your focus to some problem you are dealing with in your life and then when you are most vulnerable he will come in and entice you into sinful desires.
We were created by God to worship so if you aren't worshipping God then you will worship something. It could be yourself, video games(guilty before), movies, TV, Money(how many of us on this one), or for the musicians out there how about your gift for music. It can be easy to focus on the creation and not the creator. When your focus switches to the creation from the creator God then you are wrong. Do all things to the glory of God in Christ Jesus.
Helping to control fleshly desire is largely about where your focus remains throughout your day. Is your mind always on the things of the kingdom? Let your mind focus where it needs to be to accomplish a task but a part of your mind should always be focused on Jesus. Its hard to do. I struggle with that a lot but I have noticed that I don't sin while I'm truly focused on Jesus. When my mind and heart wander is when I fall into the trap of temptation. Jesus told us that all the thins he did we will have power to do and greater than that. Well the Bible says that Jesus was tempted in every way and yet he stood up to the temptation because of having the fullness of the Holy Spirit in him. We now have that gift as well and have the power to fight off the evil one.
Fight hard and be blessed. Praise to the Lion of Judah who sits on the throne.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
Monday, June 4, 2012
Our Worship Battle
Prayer: Lord may my worship to you always be as incense that is a pleasing aroma. May you ever move my heart in worship and reveal yourself more deeply to me in my walk with you. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do. Its in Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Verse of the Day: "May my prayer be counted as incense before you; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering." Psalm 141:2(NASB)
Worship Song of the Day: One Thing Remains by Brian Johnson, Christa Black & Jeremy Riddle
I wanted to talk a bit today about some worship concepts and what I think makes worship great. All too often in the past I have looked for music that had a catchy tune ,but more recently I have started looking for songs that really reflect my heart in worship no matter the tune associated to it. I believe it is more important what the song says than how it sounds. We can't get much better in a worship song than singing direct words of the bible that describe God and what he has done.
The best worship song writers do this so well. Your Chris Tomlins and Matt Redmans of the worship world write powerful music because it speaks to the awesomeness of our creator. Songs like 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman are great examples of what I am talking about. The song is taken right out of scripture. There a many countless songs like that as well. Almost all worship music has its concepts at least taken from scriputre but I find some of the most powerful worship is worship that takes its lyrics directly from scripture.
I have said this before but Worship is not about what you sing or the instruments used. Its about a response to the moving of God in your heart. Worship is not a spectator sport. We are active duty in the army of the Lord. Basic training is like reading the word. It is the manual that all believers need to be intimately familiar with to be a successful warrior for God. Worshiping puts you on the front lines of the war though. In the old testament when the Israelites would go to fight a battle it was the priests and worshipers that went before the army to seal up the victory for the children of God. In God's warfare worship is the weapon at the forefront of the battle. So if knowing the bible is our basic training then worshiping in spirit and in truth(John 4:24) is the first weapon we as believers need to know how to use. Worship gives us strength to fight in the battle. It is also warfare itself. When you worship as John 4:24 says then Satan is cringing and cowering. When you worship you put the enemy on the run. So seek out worship music that accurately reflects the character of God and find lyrics you can honestly sing in Spirit and Truth.
Don't sing just to sing. If the words are not in your heart then be silent and seek out God's heart while worship is happening. You have to believe the words in your heart for your worship of God to be truly effective. Don't be a casual worshiper. Be a professional. This doesn't mean you have to have a perfect voice or be able to play an instrument even. It means to sell out in worship. Give your wholeself to God in that act. We are all priests of God in Christ. So participate in worship. You were called and God wants speak to you in worship.
Well lets leave it there for today. Remember to be active duty and don't set back in the reserves. Its our battle to fight and worship prepares us and helps us fight that battle. Always praise God in all you do.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
Verse of the Day: "May my prayer be counted as incense before you; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering." Psalm 141:2(NASB)
Worship Song of the Day: One Thing Remains by Brian Johnson, Christa Black & Jeremy Riddle
I wanted to talk a bit today about some worship concepts and what I think makes worship great. All too often in the past I have looked for music that had a catchy tune ,but more recently I have started looking for songs that really reflect my heart in worship no matter the tune associated to it. I believe it is more important what the song says than how it sounds. We can't get much better in a worship song than singing direct words of the bible that describe God and what he has done.
The best worship song writers do this so well. Your Chris Tomlins and Matt Redmans of the worship world write powerful music because it speaks to the awesomeness of our creator. Songs like 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman are great examples of what I am talking about. The song is taken right out of scripture. There a many countless songs like that as well. Almost all worship music has its concepts at least taken from scriputre but I find some of the most powerful worship is worship that takes its lyrics directly from scripture.
I have said this before but Worship is not about what you sing or the instruments used. Its about a response to the moving of God in your heart. Worship is not a spectator sport. We are active duty in the army of the Lord. Basic training is like reading the word. It is the manual that all believers need to be intimately familiar with to be a successful warrior for God. Worshiping puts you on the front lines of the war though. In the old testament when the Israelites would go to fight a battle it was the priests and worshipers that went before the army to seal up the victory for the children of God. In God's warfare worship is the weapon at the forefront of the battle. So if knowing the bible is our basic training then worshiping in spirit and in truth(John 4:24) is the first weapon we as believers need to know how to use. Worship gives us strength to fight in the battle. It is also warfare itself. When you worship as John 4:24 says then Satan is cringing and cowering. When you worship you put the enemy on the run. So seek out worship music that accurately reflects the character of God and find lyrics you can honestly sing in Spirit and Truth.
Don't sing just to sing. If the words are not in your heart then be silent and seek out God's heart while worship is happening. You have to believe the words in your heart for your worship of God to be truly effective. Don't be a casual worshiper. Be a professional. This doesn't mean you have to have a perfect voice or be able to play an instrument even. It means to sell out in worship. Give your wholeself to God in that act. We are all priests of God in Christ. So participate in worship. You were called and God wants speak to you in worship.
Well lets leave it there for today. Remember to be active duty and don't set back in the reserves. Its our battle to fight and worship prepares us and helps us fight that battle. Always praise God in all you do.
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
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