Made for Worship

We were created to worship God.

Our purpose is to glorify our Creator. However, we do not fulfill our purpose. This is the essense of sin - not being who God has commanded us to be (ie. worshippers of our Creator). In its essense, sin is not doing something, but rather not doing something, that something being truly worshipping and glorifying the God of the universe.

Think about why God created you. He made you for a specific purpose. Because He has created us for a specific purpose, we will only be completely fulfilled and satisfied when we are doing what we were created to do. To echo the words of John Piper in reverse, "We are most satisfied in God, when He is most glorified in us."

The glory of God is our goal and our purpose. Pray that God will keep you focused on that end and that end alone.

Made to Worship

Before the day
Before the light
Before the world revolved around the sun
God on high
Stepped down into time
And wrote the story of His love for everyone

All we are
And all we have
Is all a gift from God that we receive
Brought to life
We open up our eyes
To see the majesty and glory of the King

He has filled our hearts with wonder
So that we always remember

You and I were made to worship
You and I are called to love
You and I are forgiven and free
You and I embrace surrender
You and I choose to believe
You and I will see who we were meant to be

And even the rocks cry out
And even the Heavens shout
At the sound of His holy name
So let every voice sing out
And let every knee bow down
He is worthy of all our praise

You and I were made to worship
You and I are called to love
You and I are forgiven and free, yeah
You and I embrace surrender
You and I choose to believe
You and I will see who we were meant to be

Lyrics by Chris Tomlin. Check out the song, "Made to Worship," here.

You Are to Blame

I have been thinking a lot about God and His sovereignty and man and his depravity lately, and I just happened to listen to this song, You Are to Blame, by MercyMe. The words are simple, but the the message rings true and profound when you really think about it.

You Are to Blame
I'm not one to pass the blame
But this is one I cannot claim even if I wanted to
There's something happening
There's something going on with me
And I think I like the view from where I'm standing

You are to blame for anything that is good in my heart
You are to blame for this change that has taken me by storm

There's one thing I am wondering
What exactly do You see that makes You want to stay?
I don't deserve Your attention
Why would You ever mention me?
Why You're treating me this way remains a mystery

And I feel like I can fly
Knowing I am Yours
And knowing that You're mine
I cannot ask for more

Thank God that our salvation depends "not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy."

Aus tiefer Not

Aus tiefer Not
Martin Luther

I cry to thee in direst need.
O God, I beg thee hear me.
To my distress I pray give heed.
O Father, draw thou near me.
If thou shoudst wish to look upon
The wrong and wickedness I've done,
How could I stand before thee?

With thee is naught but untold grace
Evermore forgiving.
We cannot stand before thy face,
Not by the best of living.
No man boasting may draw near.
All the living stand in fear.
Thy grace alone can save them.

Therefore in God I place my trust,
My own claim denying.
Believe in him alone I must,
On his sole grace relying.
He pledged to me his plighted word.
My comfort is in what I heard.
There I will I hold forever.

Romans 7:15-25
The Apostle Paul

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

On the Third Day

Click here to download "On the Third Day" by Matt Maher. It is a great song of worship to our Risen King!

1Co 15:1-4 ESV Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, (2) and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. (3) For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, (4) that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Power of the Cross

Lately I have just been gripped by the lyrics of this song. Just listen to it and be awed by the Cross.

Oh to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.

Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

This the power of the cross:
Son of God, slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Lyrics from The Power of the Cross, by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

Only Grace

There is no guilt here
There is no shame
No pointing fingers
There is no blame
What happened yesterday has disappeared
The dirt has washed away
And now it's clear

There's only grace
There's only love
There's only mercy and believe me it's enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
There's nothing left now
There's only grace

You're starting over now
Under the sun
You're stepping forward now
A new life has begun
Your new life has begun

And if you should fall again
Get back up, get back up
Reach out and take my hand
Get back up, get back up
Get back up again

There's only grace
There's only love
There's only mercy and believe me it's enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
There's nothing left now
There's only grace

Lyrics from Only Grace by Matthew West
Click on the "Music" tab to download Only Grace for free.

I love this song. What other word is more cherished by God's children than the word "grace"? It is by grace that we have anything that is of any worth. It is by grace that we have the One who is of infinite worth.

Phi 3:8 ESV Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

1Pe 5:10-11 ESV And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (11) To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Rescue

You are the source of the life
I can't be left behind
No one else will do
I will take hold of you

I need You Jesus
To come to my rescue
Where else can I go
There's no other name by
Which I am saved
Capture me with grace
I will follow you

This world has nothing for me
I will follow You
This world has nothing for me
I will follow You

I need You Jesus
To come to my rescue
Where else can I go
There's no other name by
Which I am saved
Capture me with grace
I will follow you

Lyrics from "Rescue" by Desperation.

WorshipTogether.com

WorshipTogether.com is a great site! I signed up about six months ago and I have never regretted it! No spam! No junk! Just pure goodness! The site is really awesome, it's sole focus being the worship of God. It has many music resources (sheet music, songs, articles etc), a forum, an online store, Bible study resources and much more. It also has news on new artists, interviews and information on events around the country. The best part is that every month, you get an email with a link to a free song from some artist's newest CD. Just today I got the monthly newletter which had a new song by Charlie Hall (its real good!). A few months ago I downloaded "Lord You Are Good" by The Foundry Guys (I know...wierd name!) and I listen to it all the time! I would encourage everyone to go to Worship Together and check it out! You might just find that you really like it!

Click here to download "Closer" by Charlie Hall, for free!! (If you would like to donate, I do accept PayPal. Just kidding!)

The Martyr's Song

Sing O son of Zion.
Shout O child of mine.
Rejoice with all your heart and soul and mind.
I’ve been waiting to dance with you in fields full of colors you have never seen…

This is the beginning of The Martyr’s Song by Todd Agnew. He co wrote the song with Ted Dekker to go along with Ted Dekker’s new book with the same name: The Martyr’s Song.

The Martyr’s song is one of the most powerful books I have read in a long time. It opens with a mysterious lady named Eve, who desires to make a plain and in all honesty ugly, beautiful. Soon Eve begins to tell us the story of a small Bosnian village and their struggle with evil. The story is brutal and violent but it is also beautiful and filled with hope. People are beaten and killed but their deaths are simultaneously enormously sad and wonderfully joyous occasions. This book looks at the face of death but then masterfully demonstrates how Christ defeated death when He died on that cross and then rose again.

1Co 15:53-57 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (54) When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." (55) "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (56) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (57) But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dekker said in an interview that he started writing this book after a death in his own family. He began questioning how real his belief in a life after death really was. I think that is a question that we must all ask ourselves. Do we truly eagerly await the day that we will die; the day that we will be forever united with our Father? Paul believed this with all his heart which is why he said, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21).

Now, let me be clear. Death itself is not what is so great. Death was the result of sin; it is a curse. Jesus wept (not just cried but wept) when His friend Lazarus died, but not because He was sad for Lazarus! As many of you know, Jesus later raised Lazarus from the dead. As the great Christian author C.S. Lewis put it after he went into a coma and almost died, “Tho’ I am by no means unhappy I can’t help feeling it was rather a pity I did revive in July. I mean, having been glided so painlessly up to the Gate it seems hard to have it shut in one’s face and know that the whole process must be some day gone through again…Poor Lazarus!”

Many times I seem to forget the wonderful life that awaits me when I die. Death should not be dreaded – why would we dread our homecoming?! Death is merely the door to a new life. It is the new and wonderful life that comes after death that we, who are in Christ, look forward to. Indeed death for the sinner and the saint is the same. It is that which looms after death for each one that causes one to fear death above all other things and the other to eagerly await it above all other things. Lewis stated this very well when he said, “If we really believe what we say we believe - if we really think that home is elsewhere and that this life is a ‘wandering to find home’, why should we not look forward to the arrival?”

Lord, help us to faithfully look forward to the day that we are perfectly united with You for all eternity.

Sing O son of Zion.
Shout O child of mine.
Dance with all the strength that you can find,
For you are finally home.

Onefest!

So I didnt think that I would be going to Onefest. We were supposed to be in Illinois a bit longer, but we got home early last night. Then there was the problem of not having a ticket and I was not about to spend 50 bucks on one at the door. I had just sat down to read some C.S. Lewis when someone called me and told me that they had an extra ticket that I could have!! So, of course I jumped up and said I would take it. I got to the Dome at about 7 pm. It was awesome to walk into the Dome and see that huge stage set up, with hundreds of people all scattered around the floor and in the stands! The first thing that caught my eye was the Onefest banner that had their slogan on it: "As one body we come." I really like that - it is a worthy reason for having a huge concert festival like Onefest. Coming together and worshipping God as one voice.
So Newsboys was there. They were awesome as usual. And then there were a bunch of smaller, less known bands who were all pretty good. Then I went swimming...played racquetball...played pingpong and a few other things (not necessarily in that order). Then after all that (at about 4 am I think) we went back into the Dome and played cards/slept for a while. At 6 am the main concert stage opened up again with Shattered Reality. These guys were awesome. The whole group is made up of about 20 drummers, all playing together. It was really cool and really loud!
So yeah, then I left at about 7 am, so I was there for about 12 hours. It was so cool!


Hey, Aaron here. I also went to Onefest. It was pretty sweet. I helped set up the day before, like the huge central stage, a secondary stage, and then moved a bunch of stuff around. I hung out wiith a few friends, like Matt, and we went swimming, and I schooled him in ping pong, and we played racquetball, and he schooled me at poker, and we listened to the Newsboys, and all in all had an awesome time. It was cool. Good times, good times. Well, peace out all, have a Happy New Year.

Casting Crowns Concert!

Yea, it was awesome! By far the best concert I have been to. I liked Newsboys a lot when they were here, but Casting Crowns was better. They have some amazing songs! They opened with some unknown guy who was ok, then Building 429. They were ok....loud and hard to understand at times....but good. But then the "real" band came out! It was awesome!

I got to meet Mark Hall and Tony Nolan (who gave the Gospel in the middle of the concert) earlier before the concert. Tony is a GREAT speaker, and presented the Gospel sooo well last night. He didnt shy away from the Word and presented Jesus Christ unashamedly. It was great! And there were hundreds who stood up and said that they wanted to be saved. It was really cool!

But yea, anyways I would really recommend that people go out and buy Casting Crown's newest CD, Lifesong. It is a great CD!

Well, that was my Saturday night....