He loves us

Just discovered this song a few months ago... amazing. Hope you enjoy it too!



The song is mostly background for this one. Heads up: I cried - you may need tissues too!

The Romance of Worship

I am married, and have been for the last 5 1/2 years. At our ceremony, Ethan and I promised to love one another. Now, over the course of our marriage, I’ve had to learn how to love Ethan the way he needs to be loved. And Ethan is in the process of learning how to love me, as well. I have learned that I cannot dictate the way he loves me. But if he should ask for suggestions, I can give him some ideas as to what would really bless me.

A big part of romance is the aspect of surprise, and of spontaneous affection. If I had to ask Ethan to bring me flowers, the romantic aspect of actually receiving them would actually diminish. If however, Ethan took initiative to do something he knew I liked without me having to ask, that would be romantic. 

God has told us, through His Word what he likes, dislikes, loves, and even hates. Through the Word we understand what pleases God; we discover what blesses His heart. Reading the Bible allows me to get to know God, and it tells me how I can love Him. I find that too much time apart from that Word leaves me catering to my own desires, and less aware of what God wants to do in the world around me. However, if I am diligent to learn about God, it shows me how to act when I am with God. - Which is all the time. 

Anyway . . .

Romancing God, worshipping God, means I take initiative when it comes to living a life that He will be blessed by. 

For example:

Nehemiah, rebuilding the walls, without God telling him to Nehemiah 1,2

David, killing Goliath in righteous anger because of his defiance of God - I Samuel 17 (Notice David did not have to pray to know how to respond to Goliath’s slander; his course of action was the most reasonable response given the time he had spent getting to know God.)

The Sons of Thunder, wanting to call fire down on a city because they refused the words Jesus spoke. How amazing that Jesus had deliberately called these men and intended to keep these men as his disciples. Although they’re motives were wrong, they were obviously disciples willing to take action - even if it was the wrong action at that moment.                  Luke 9:53-55

Jesus - The Bible says Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for us. Did God have to coax Jesus into becoming a human? Was there any hesitation when considering what should be done to bring redemption to humanity? We are not given a glimpse of the moment that determined how our salvation would come about. But we do read that Jesus was willing when the time came, even though he knew the price was high.                 Rev. 13:7-9

The romance of worship is that it is our gift to God. He has asked for our life. But we have the ability to decide what that looks like. Sometimes we know exactly what that looks like, because we recognize his voice, and our only obligation is to simply obey what we know to be true. However, there may be times when you don’t have a clear word or understanding about what what God wants of you. Take initiative and study up - romance is not a challenge when you know the person you are courting.

According to Bono . . .

Religion is when God leaves and men make up rules to fill the void.  - Bono

Sometimes I wonder if that is what our worship is like. “Worship is when we’re unsure of where God is, so we sing songs to fill the void.”  When the elusive vibe is sought and found, does it bring satisfaction? Or are we left wondering, ‘Is that all there is?’ After the last song is sung, and the good feelings dissipate into the realization that there is still work to be done, have we truly met with God? Are we awed by the glimpse we have caught? Does the knowledge of the character of our God leave us hungry for more, or are we easily satisfied by a musician’s lullaby? 

May we never allow men or music to pacify our hunger for the Living God. We should feel like someone who has just downed a 36oz bucket of popcorn, and is now in dire need of a tall glass of the Living Water! 

Our time within a church building was never intended to be a time to bring satisfaction to the hunger of a man’s soul. It’s original intent and purpose was to study the Word (which was not readily available to all) and to fellowship amongst believers. May we never allow our time in a corporate meeting to be the only time we seek after God. If that is the case, we are not truly hungry. 

When Jesus died, the veil was rent from top to bottom. Since that time, we have insisted on paying men to mend the veil, by opting to hear eloquent sermons in place of spending time with God ourselves. Why is that? The Word promises, “Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled” . . . This is God’s only prerequisite for dwelling with us. If we truly want to meet with God, he has promised to draw near to us. However, we must be wary not to allow men to fill the place God deserves, because anything less than a true hunger for the Living God will only be met by substitutions. 

Stop Pointing!

I have been involved with leading or assisting in worship times for nearly twelve years. As my walk with God has progressed, my definition of worship leading has changed. So much so, that I can confidently declare that you too are called to be a worship leader. Not in the confined sense of playing an instrument or singing songs on Sunday, but in a lifelong-look-at-me sort of way.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever had the experience of staring into a sea of unreadable faces, but if you can, imagine with me what a challenging prospect that would be. It’s a tremendous pressure to feel that you are supposed to move a group of people towards some sort of outward response, when there is no positive indication that they intend to do so. I used to think that way. It was frustrating to play music with the hopes of herding the crowd. But that was the goal: to find out where the people were and get them where God supposedly was.

However, I have just recently began to grasp the concept that leading worship is not about pointing to where God is, it’s about standing beside Him and beckoning others to come. Not, Oh there He is! Let’s go over there! but, Come, see! Isn’t He beautiful? Isn’t He amazing? My job as a worship leader  is to go there first; to be the one who recognizes the fulness of who God is, and draw attention to the fact that He is worthy. How could we not worship this God who has made his love for us so evident, so obvious? Worship, our lifestyle of continuous pursuit to know God, is the most intelligent response we can have when we are faced with the reality of who Jesus is. And this is the only lifestyle that is attractive enough to be a magnetic force in the world.  

This is your call to become a worship leader. If your life does not hold the authority of the words, “I know who I have believed in,” then what authority do you have?  Our lives are the only reflection of God to this world. If your mirror is broken, if your perception of God is skewed, what kind of image are you presenting? Our lives should be testimonies of the goodness of God. “You are living epistles, read and known of all men.” The desired result is that people would see God's goodness in our lives, and that ultimately, it would lead them to repentance, and restored relationship with God.