"Nothing But His Blood" - Lyrics

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but His blood O nothing but His blood
That sets the sinner free, and breaks his chains
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but His blood O nothing but His blood
My ransom paid, my life He came to save

My confidence is in the cross alone
Where the Savior gave His life to sin atone

Glory, Hallelujah!
For Your blood, that was shed on the cross
Grace and forgiveness, flowing from Your throne
Glory, Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory, Hallelujah!
For Your blood, that was shed on the cross
O Son of God, You gave Your life for love
Glory, Glory! Hallelujah!

Clothed me in His righteousness
Nothing but His blood O nothing but His blood
My darkness changed forever with His light
Though Iʼm a sinner, he calls me saint
Nothing but His blood O nothing but His blood
Awakened my dead heart from the grave

Eternal life and Hope I came to find
Where the Righteous went to die
To bring the unrighteous back to life

Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but Your blood! Nothing but Your blood!
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus

Music & Lyrics by Jonathan Jerez ®

New Song - By Your Grace

Jesus You are the way for all the broken and lost
And our soul finds its rest at the feet of Your cross
All our sins and our shame the Father placed on You
We are strangers no more, for You make all things new

Jesus You are the life that brought us out of death
You awakened our hearts to see the light of Your Word
You’ve been faithful O Lord to keep the words You gave
By the pow’r of You hand You’ll Keep us to the end

By Your Name we are saved and free
Only by Your grace our eyes are open to believe
Jesus You are the hope that takes our sins away
How we long for the day, we see You face to face
O how we long for the day, we see You face to face

//Lord we thank You for the grace that saved us
Grace that made us new creation
Thank You for the love You’ve shown us
Love that flows down for us// from the cross

Words & Music by Jonathan Jerez ®

More Than Enough

Matthew 13:44; Galatians 2:20-21; Phillipians 1:12-30; 3:1-11; 4:4-13

Verse 1:
I never knew You were all that I needed
‘til I realized You’re all that I have

Verse 2:
From the joy that I’ve found, in this hidden treasure
What I thought was gain, I count it as loss

Pre-chorus:
For to me, to live is Christ
And to die is my gain

Chorus:
I lay down my life now I’m found
For all I have in You it’s more than enough
I leave all I’ve treasured behind
For all I have in You it’s more than enough
You’re more than enough

Verse 3:
I’ve been crucified with Jesus my Savior
My will it’s been broken, to Him I belong

Bridge:
No matter the pain, the trials or fire that I’m going through
I will sing praise, rejoice and know it’s all about You
All about You


Words & Music by Jonathan Jerez ®

The Battle For “True Worship” Part II

This is the second part of “The Battle For True Worship”. You can read the first part here.

Some Christians say that during our days Christian worship has become more worldly because of the use in church of new forms and styles and tools that the world also uses. They say that some genres and styles are more “ecclesiastically acceptable” and that there are others that are “culturally acceptable”, and associated with the “worldly culture” that surrounds us, and therefore, these must be avoided by the Church. They argue that Christians are to be “counter-cultural” and differentiate themselves from the world. So they think that the Church must never use styles and forms that the world also uses. The more I inquire, I realize this view of worship and Christian life is very rooted in Old Covenant theology. I think there is a misunderstanding of the essence of the whole Bible here - the Gospel; what Jesus came to accomplish though His perfect life and atoning sacrifice.

The first problem I see with this view, is that it completely ignores the fact that everything we use in Church today, even things that today are “ecclesiastically acceptable” were part of some culture at some point in history. Man changes, culture changes, forms change, styles change, times change, the Churches change, but the Word of God never changes (Malachi 3:6; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33; James 1:17); and that is why we do not determine what we do or what we don’t do by what is “culturally acceptable”, nor by what is “ecclesiastically acceptable”, but by what the whole Revelation of God teaches as good and acceptable.

Second, some say that if we do what the culture does, then we make of the culture our standard and what governs the Church. That is absolutely right, the culture does not determine what we believe and practice. But I would also say this problem goes either way. If we don’t do what the culture does, just because the culture does it, just for the sake of being counter-cultural, then we are also making of the culture our standard and what determines our decisions. So, this does not solve the issue, it’s just a shortcut to the same place. Christians don’t try to be different from our culture just for the sake of being counter-cultural or revolutionists; that is no different than being political rebels. We are different because Christ makes us different, because He transforms our lives and conforms our minds, our hearts, and actions according to His Word. So the standard is what the Bible says, not what the world does or does not do.

Third, as I said before, we have misunderstood the Gospel if we try to live Christianity today and to do Church today as if we were Old Covenant-people. We are Gospel-people, New Covenant-people. We must never forget that we live on this side of the cross. The Messiah that was coming, the One in whom the people of the Old Testament hoped for hundreds of years, the One to whom all the prescriptions of the law appointed to, and in whom all prescriptions were fulfilled (Matthew 5:17), already came to us. Nothing is more important for us today, than understanding and living the Gospel. And for this it is important that we correctly understand the essential transition from the Old Covenant (The Law) to the New Covenant (Grace).

Some Christians seem to cling to practices and prescriptions that God gave to Israel to perform when they worshiped in the Old Covenant. They say these are to be performed by us today in a spiritual sense in order to worship God in a worthy manner. Things like: the washing of their garments (Exodus 19:10), the Priests washing themselves to be consecrated to the Lord (Exodus 29:4), washing the ram that was presented as a offering to the Lord (Exodus 29:27), the Priests washing their hands and feet before offering a sacrifice to the Lord, so that they would not die (Exodus 30:19-20), the Priest had to have holy garments, for glory and for beauty, to consecrate them for the Lord’s priesthood (Exodus 28:1-3), etc; this seems to be their focus in worship. These brothers say we must be different than the world, and therefore cleanse ourselves from the “worldliness” that surrounds us, just like the people of Israel. And they say we do this, by using different kinds of clothes, haircuts, styles of music, and forms, in order to be a holy and distinct people of God.

These practices are biblical, they are in the Bible, specifically in the Old Testament. But I may ask, is this the way we ought to see these practices as New Covenant-people? Is this view consistent with the whole Revelation of God? Well, I think this view is not consistent with “the whole” of the Bible, and that actually contradicts some things that God has revealed in it.
We see God in the Old Testament several times commanding Israel to even look different from the other nations, to not imitate their customs and their practices (Leviticus 18:3). God gave them a different culture, language, food, dress code, etc (Exodus 12:9, 15, 20, 43, 48; Leviticus 19:19). He wanted to make very clear that they were different from the world, because they belonged to Yahweh. They were not just another nation, they were His people, and therefore they would be different. But the problem with viewing worship and Christian life today this way, is that it misses the whole point of the purpose of the Old Covenant prescriptions. It focuses on the wrong things, and gives little importance to the things that are actually essential.

The rituals performed by Israel in their worship, such as the washing of the hands and feet, washing themselves to enter the presence of a Holy God, sacrificing rams for the Lord, using holy garments; these things pointed to something greater, to the greatest sacrifice, to Jesus, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Christ came to completely fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17) and He accomplished what He came to do. And when He said “It is finished” (John 19:30), it was all done. We don’t need to wash ourselves anymore, we don’t need to wash our hands and feet in order to worship God, nor to wear a different kind of garment for worship. Jesus is our cleansing, He washed us already. We are completely clean before God (Hebrews 10:4) because of what He has done for us. He is our holy garment, He is our sacrifice. He provided the righteousness and holiness we need to stand forgiven and clean before the Father, and there is nothing we can do in order to add to His great work of grace (Ephesians 2:9). These practices were not meant to be there forever. God has made His people different by doing something a thousand times greater than those things, He sent His own Son to do that for us, and has put His Holy Spirit within us. To be cleansed by Christ and to have His Spirit dwelling within me, is way better than my pathetic and insufficient effort to be good on my own. Praise God for all He’s done for us in Christ Jesus.

This is the message we learn from Christ Himself in the Gospels. It’s what we learn from Paul in all his letters to the Church. The law pointed to a greater reality, it pointed to Christ; its purpose was to bring us to the Jesus (Galatians 3:24), not that we would continue in it forever. The apostle Paul rebuked believers that had known this grace (the New Covenant) through Christ Jesus, and now wanted to live again according to the works of the law (the Old Covenant) (Romans 2:25-29; 3:28-30, Galatians 2:11-21, Galatians 3, and Colossians 2); they didn’t get it well, they were missing the Gospel, the essence of the Bible, the essence of Christianity, and we could be missing it too.

What does the New Testament say about the way in which we must be different from the world? I think the Bible is pretty clear about that. In Galatians 5:1-6, Paul writes about the freedom from the law that we have in Christ Jesus. Paul says:
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love”.

Immediately after this, Paul gives us a list of virtues and values that are completely contrary to this world’s ways of thinking and lifestyle, and that all of us Christians should practice; these things must be the distinctive difference between disciples of Jesus and disciples of this world. Paul writes:
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:16-25)

The Battle For “True Worship” Part I

Everybody has something to say about the practice of corporate worship. I have talked to many friends that are very conservative when it comes to the use of music and arts in church. Many say that worship has become mere entertainment instead of true worship based on biblical truth. It is true that in our cultures today entertainment is probably one of the highest values. Even Churches today try to keep people pleased and entertained, and sometimes Pastors don’t really care if their congregations are thinking rightly about God as long as they are pleased and entertained by what they do and keep coming to church.

In some churches worship is all about the head, thinking correctly about God. In other churches worship and Christian life is all about the emotions, and they end up compromising biblical truth. Some worship leaders manipulate their congregations with attractive and moving words and tone. It’s all about choosing the right songs, saying the right things that move people’s heart and make them do what they what. This kind of worship leader appeals only to people’s emotions during worship services, instead of trying and working hard to engage, teach, and encourage them with biblical truth.

So, some conservative brothers would say: “well, to solve this problem we just need to get rid of everything that entertains people and that distracts them from true worship. After all, worship is not about our emotions, it’s about having the right knowledge of God”. That is exactly how John Calvin thought about the use of music and arts in worship. He wrote: “And we have never been forbidden to… delight in musical harmony… But to wallow in delight… to intoxicate mind and heart with present pleasures… such are very far removed from a lawful use of God’s gifts.” (Pietsch, 163. Taken from Charles P. St-Onge, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN. “Music, Worship and Martin Luther”).

I think there is a legitimate concern here. We need to instruct people with the Word (1 Timothy 4:11-13; 2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 2:1), so that they might worship God for what He really is and has done for us, and not just seek for shallow and momentary entertainment in God’s gifts, but in Himself. But I don’t think this formula correctly approaches or solves the problem. I don’t think it’s the best option just to get rid of things God created for Himself, and that give Him glory.

The first problem I see with this is that I think it is a poor, deficient, and inaccurate view of God’s worship to think that true worship only takes place when we encapsulate ourselves in body and mind, and enter into some sort of mystical state, isolated from the world around us, and then think about God, and try to avoid being distracted by anything, whether it be lights, or instruments, or people clapping their hands and singing around us. I think that’s very far away from what we see in Scriptures about corporate times of worship. Yes, there were many times when God encounter people and they worshiped Him by falling on their knees, facing to the ground, with no words, just in awe; but that is not the pattern we find in Scriptures when the people of God were called to sing His praises together. It is not the way the Psalmist describes a pattern of corporate worship in the Psalms (Psalms 33:1-3; 47:1-2, 66:1-5; 87:7; 92:1-4; 95:1-2; 96:1-3; 98:4-6; 100; 133:1; 134; 150), and it’s not how the New Testament describes it either (1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

I think the Bible is very clear that when the people of God come together for corporate worship, they come in unity and to edify one another and to sing praises directly to God in unity as one body in Christ Jesus. This does not mean that there is no place in our services for private confessions of faith, or individual confessions of sin, time for individual prayer, time to sing to the Lord out of our individual experience and relationship with Christ. Yes, in our corporate worship there is time for individual experiences, but this should not be the norm that governs the spirit of our worship services. Corporate worship by definition implies “a group of people”, it is not individualistic.

The second problem I have with this view of worship is that I think we worship God when we enjoy things He created for His glory. We were made for God’s glory (Isaiah 43:7), everything was made for God’s glory (Colossians 1:16). Music and arts are gifts from God. They help us express and communicate our thoughts and emotions in a way that honors our Savior. It’s true that worship is not only about our emotions; our emotions are fallen and sinful. But neither is worship only about our brain, which is fallen and sinful as well. What we need is to put together our head (thoughts) and heart (emotions) and submit both to what God has revealed about Himself in His Word.

True worship is the appropriate respond of creation to God’s revelation of Himself through Jesus Christ. It’s prideful to think we can come before God and not respond to Him appropriately. And it’s foolishness to think that we can come to Him in our own terms, without knowing what He has revealed about Himself. So, we need both, right knowledge about God, and a heart that responds to revelation. Right knowledge of God without emotions to respond, that leads to legalism. Emotions without right knowledge of God, that leads to idolatry.
There is nothing wrong about enjoying music and arts; on the contrary, that honors God. God is worshiped and honored when we enjoy His gifts and attribute the glory to Him for such things. We worship God, the Creator of music; not music itself. But we worship God when we value and enjoy music, even as a Church.

Without Christ There Is No Gospel. The Centrality Of Christ In Scriptures.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)


We are “Gospel-people”, we are “New Covenant-people”. We must never forget that we live on this side of the cross. The Messiah that was coming, the One in whom the people in the Old Testament hoped for centuries, the One to whom all the prescriptions of the law appointed to, and in whom all those prescriptions were fulfilled (Matthew 5:17), already came to us. Nothing is more important for us believers, than to know how to live in the Gospel and to preach the Gospel to ourselves all the time. It is important that we truly understand the essential transition from the Old Covenant (The Law) to the New Covenant (The Grace).

In doing this, we must be careful of not being caught up living and preaching a Gospel without Christ. For it is through Christ that the wrath of God is removed from us and placed over Himself, and God’s justice is fully satisfied. It seems easy to think that we are saved by grace, and then live trying to satisfy God’s justice according to the works of the law. But at the end this will cost us everything. This is what the apostle Paul condemns about the Churches in Romans 2:25-29; 3:28-30, Galatians 2:11-21, Galatians 3, and Colossians 2. Believers that had known this grace (the New Covenant) through Christ, and now wanted to live according to the works of the law (the Old Covenant). They didn’t get it well.

In Romans 3:24, Paul says that we are justified by grace, referring to that day when we were saved, referring to our conversion, when we trusted in Christ as Lord and Savior. But also, in Romans 5:2, Paul talks about this “grace in which we stand”. Paul says here that our day to day before God relies on the same foundation as our justification — on His grace. But this grace, for both our salvation and for our daily lives is granted to us through Jesus Christ, not on the basis of our fragile and imperfect obedience to the demands of the law.
To approach the Old Testament and the prescriptions of the law without having in mind the essential reality of the cross and with any other purpose but pointing us to Christ, in order that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24) and live in His “grace in which we stand” (Romans 5:2), is to twist the message of the Scriptures. This is the essence of the whole Bible. Everything in the Old Covenant and in the New Covenant points to the centrality of Christ in our lives.

Hello All!

Hello Everyone!

Well, here we are again...after sooo long! Sorry about that. We are still learning to be habitual bloggers. Anyway... we've been up to a lot lately.

First of all, our trip to the Dominican Republic. This was a great, jam-packed trip! We spent most of our time preparing for the conference "Back to the Cross". The conference was a success, with about 7,000 people in attendance! Praise God! We had a wonderful time of worship and the Word, and we were confronted and inspired to return to the cross - to remember that Jesus is the center of all we are and do and that we live under His cross, under His sacrifice in our stead, in His grace forever.

Apart from the conference we spent a good time of fellowship with our friends back at church and with family. Jonathan's sister, Jennifer got married as well, so it was a blessing for us to have been able to be there. And we got to go to the beach of course! It was a wonderful trip and we're so grateful to God for the opportunity He gave us to go.

Back to Minnesota.... summer here is beautiful! Beautiful and hot! Not as hot as the DR of course, but hot enough! But it is wonderful to see so much green and to see the sun going down after 8 pm.

Sarah had to work a few weeks over the summer at Hope Academy, during their summer school program. But now she's pretty much on break from everything, which is nice. She'll be starting up College classes with Moody Bible Institute again in August, and work again at the end of August.

When we got back from the DR, Jonathan had to take the Greek National Exam. He would have to pass it in order to confirm his spot in Seminary... and thank the Lord he DID! Praise God for getting him over that hurdle after a year of Greek. Now, Jonathan continues to work for Bethlehem's Hispanic ministry. Last Sunday we had our first out door service, which was a nice change. He's also working hard finishing a worship paper due at the end of this month.

Apart from this we are both working on blogging a lot more. Jonathan will be focusing on this blog, and Sarah is working on starting her own blog "Imperishable Beauty". We are also dedicating a lot more time to writing and recording new songs which we hope to put on the blog VERY SOON! (and hopefully even on iTunes!) we'll see how that goes... We'll also be singing at our friends, Ben & Erica's wedding in California. We'll be there from about August 11-17. So, we're looking forward to sharing with them during that special time in their lives, and just visiting Cali!

Oh yeah! And we're moving! Just to another house... Our current landlords are selling the

property, so we'll be moving to a nice, new, little house on August 7th. Pray for a hassle-free move and and easy adjustment. (Pictures coming...)

Last but not at all the least, we will be celebrating our 1 year anniversary on August 1st! Wow! One whole year already! Time sure flies... God has been so very gracious and faithful to us during this year together. We pray that He continues to grant us with Gospel grace for one another, as He as displayed and poured out His grace on us!

Thank you for your much needed prayers!!

Love in Christ Jesus,

Jonathan & Sarah

Who Do You Worship?

The words of Allen P. Ross hit me over the head today: “People are more interested in their own personal success than in service to others and more desirous of receiving a blessing than being a blessing; they want some experience but show little interest in spiritual growth; they gravitate to entertainment and leisure and are indifferent to the needs of people; and they are excited about being healed but do not comprehend what it means to count it joy that they suffer so that they can minister to others who are suffering. They worship themselves, not God."

True Religion

I’ve been learning a lot about true religion these past few months. It’s common to find either churches with excellent doctrine, but little focus on justice and compassion, or churches with poor doctrine which focus completely on social reform. Sometimes our fear of falling into human-centered activisim keeps us from doing anything at all and putting aside passages like:

James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”; and

Matthew 25:31-46 “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me...I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me”; and

Micah 6:8 “And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Christians are called to do good intentionally to reflect the love of Christ and to show mercy, because they have been given much mercy. As Pastor Kenny Stokes (Bethlehem Baptist Church) recently said in a sermon on the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), “As mercy lovers, we become mercy showers.” Love the mercy God showers over you daily and shower it over others. “Be imitators of God as loved children” (Ephesians 5:1). Pastor Stokes continues to say “My life should be a series of stories or parables of Christ’s relationship, God’s treating of me.” “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

I have been confronted by these things and have reflected much on whether I am really living out the gospel and being salt and light wherever I am. As Pastor Timothy Olonade said in a sermon “The power of God - that is, His Spirit and the Gospel - are what differentiate agents of divine transformation from agents of social reform.” I do not want to fall into empty, human-exalting, social activism; however, I do not want to shy away from Christ’s commands and example. I cannot excuse my lack of compassion and action. As a reciever of Christ’s love, mercy, and compassion I must be overflowing with good works in the Spirit that bless others and exalt the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that God would continue to reveal to me His heart in this area and that I might move into action because “the love of Christ compels me” (2 Corinthians 5:14).

Hope this post motivates you to join in this prayer,

Sarah

Be Still and Know - He Will Be Exalted

Be still and know that I’m God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10)

There is no doubt that our God is all that He says He is, and He accomplishes everything He says that He will do. “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases” (Psalm 115:3). Matt Redman reminds us of this truth when he says in one of the songs on his latest album “We Shall Not Be Shaken”: “He never changes, He never fails, He never fades. He is the God of unbroken promises”. But then we may ask what does God say in His Word about the times when we are afflicted? What is His ultimate purpose behind His promises?

“Be still and know that I am God...”

His Word says He will provide for our needs, so I believe He will. But he doesn’t say He will provide for everything we want. Our prayers must be according to His will. “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us” (1 John 5:14). The Bible also tells us why we don’t receive what we’re asking sometimes: “You ask and do no receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your own pleasures” (James 4:3).

What, when, and how? Those are things that we normally don’t know, because they belong to God. Now, those things are always the ones that make us become anxious and sometimes can lead us to question God’s plans. Then we try to fix our little world ourselves. We start making plans, thinking about logical and rational solutions to our problems. We forget that God not always works by logical and rational means. Most times He provides by unusual means, so that would be clear that His sovereign hand was there.

However, our sinful nature likes control, we want all the answers. We love to feel we did something, and that somehow we have some kind of credit for what “we earned”. But we sin against God with our unbelief, self-sufficient attitude, and deceitful heart and actions, telling Him that we do nor need Him. We do not trust in Him, therefore we sin."For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). We are forgetting this is how we honor Him - with our faith. By trusting Him in all He does; trusting that all His plans for us are so much better than anything else we could ever desire. Or we should say that we trust that He is so much better than anything else we could desire. Faith is not just something we needed to believe in Christ once; it is also something we must exercise every day. That is the difference between “saving faith” and “ fruit of the Spirit faith”. C.S. Lewis said:“Relying on God has to begin all over again every day, as if nothing had yet been done”. So, let us be still and know that He is God. But, for what purpose does God call us to “be still and know”, and trust Him?

"I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

God has been teaching me, sometimes the hard way, how much I need to learn how to trust and wait on Him, instead of trying to do something to fix my own problems or to take care of my needs (as if I could). The times I’ve been in situations when I can’t do anything else but trust and wait for Him to rescue me, I have grown in faith and I have seen the way He provides for my needs, sometimes in ways I couldn't even think. He makes me exercise my faith. I have also realized there is something those situations have had in common; the thing that have happened only He could have done, so He has taken away any possibility of boasting; and after them, my response to Him in worship changes and grows as I trust Him more, because I see Him greater than ever before. My attention and thanksgiving are drawn to Him alone. Which is exactly what God wants. “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"; and Oh! how often we ignore this part of the verse. If we are still and know that He is God, we might not get exactly what we were looking for, but one thing we must be sure of - God will be exalted among the nations, He will be exalted in the earth. This should be what we yearn for; that God would be exalted and glorified in our lives, through every situation.

He takes all the glory; He is the only One who deserves it. We have nothing else to boast in, but in the only One who’s worthy. In every situation we must point to Christ and make Him famous. We must draw all attention, dependance, affections, and gratitude to Him who is faithful in every season; and then we will able to see His abounding grace and steadfast love every day.

So, instead of being afraid of adversity and affliction, we should ask God to bring situations to our lives that would help us to feel our need for Him and wait on Him, so that when we overcome it would be plain to us that He alone sustains us. Then our worship response will be genuine and glorious. God will be honored with our faith, and we will be free from our fears, doubts, anxieties, and unbelief. We will learn to treasure Christ above all earthly things (education, economic security, jobs, status, houses, cars, clothes, etc), and God will be exalted.

Father, help us to be still and know that You are God, and treasure Christ in such a way that You would be exalted among the nations, in all the earth, and in our own lives.

Trusting God to His glory,

Jonathan

"Quest For Joy" By John Piper

Quest for Joy

Six Biblical Truths

Did you know that God commands us to be glad?

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."(Psalm 37:4)

1) God created us for his glory

"Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth,... whom I created for my glory" (Isaiah 43:6-7)

God made us to magnify his greatness - the way telescopes magnify stars. He created us to put his goodness and truth and beauty and wisdom and justice on display. The greatest display of God's glory comes from deep delight in all that he is. This means that God gets the praise and we get the pleasure. God created us so that he is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

2) Every human should live for God's glory

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).

If God made us for his glory, it is clear that we should live for his glory. Our duty comes from his design. So our first obligation is to show God's value by being satisfied with all that he is for us. This is the essence of loving God (Matthew 22:37) and trusting him (1 John 5:3-4) and being thankful to him (Psalm 100:2-4) It is the root of all true obedience, especially loving others (Colossians 1:4-5).

3) All of us have failed to glorify God as we should

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

What does it mean to "fall short of the glory of God?" It means that none of us has trusted and treasured God the way we should. We have not been satisfied with his greatness and walked in his ways. We have sought our satisfaction in other things, and treated them as more valuable than God, which is the essence of idolatry (Romans 1:21-23). Since sin came into the world we have all been deeply resistant to having God as our all-satisfying treasure (Ephesians 2:3). This is an appalling offense to the greatness of God (Jeremiah 2:12-13).

4) All of us are subject to God's just condemnation

"The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23).

We have all belittled the glory of God. How? By preferring other things above him. By our ingratitude, distrust and disobedience. So God is just in shutting us out from the enjoyment of his glory forever. "They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might" (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

The word "hell" is used in the New Testament twelve times¹—eleven times by Jesus himself. It is not a myth created by dismal and angry preachers. It is a solemn warning from the Son of God who died to deliver sinners from its curse. We ignore it at great risk.

If the Bible stopped here in its analysis of the human condition, we would be doomed to a hopeless future. However, this is not where it stops...

5) God sent his only son Jesus to provide eternal life and joy

"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..." (1 Timothy 1:15)

The good news is that Christ died for sinners like us. And he rose physically from the dead to validate the saving power of his death and to open the gates of eternal life and joy (1 Corinthians 15:20). This means God can acquit guilty sinners and still be just (Romans 3:25-26). "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18). Coming home to God is where all deep and lasting satisfaction is found.

6) The benefits purchased by the death of Christ belong to those who repent and trust him

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out" (Acts 3:19). "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).

"Repent" means to turn from all the deceitful promises of sin. "Faith" means being satisfied with all that God promises to be for us in Jesus. "He who believes in me," Jesus says, "shall never thirst" (John 6:35). We do not earn our salvation. We cannot merit it (Romans 4:4-5). It is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is a free gift (Romans 3:24). We will have it if we cherish it above all things (Matthew 13:44). When we do that, God's aim in creation is accomplished: He is glorified in us and we are satisfied in him - forever.

Does this make sense to you?

Do you desire the kind of gladness that comes from being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus? If so, then God is at work in your life.

What should you do?

Turn from the deceitful promises of sin. Call upon Jesus to save you from the guilt and punishment and bondage. "All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). Start banking your hope on all that God is for you in Jesus. Break the power of sin's promises by faith in the superior satisfaction of God's promises. Begin reading the Bible to find his precious and very great promises, which can set you free (2 Peter 1:3-4). Find a Bible-believing church and begin to worship and grow together with other people who treasure Christ above all things (Philippians 3:7).

The best news in the world is that there is no necessary conflict between our happiness and God's holiness. Being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus magnifies him as a great Treasure.

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."(Psalm 16:11)

Saints & Sinners

The Apostle Paul constantly refers to those who believe in Christ as “saints” (Ephesians 1:1; Phillipians 1:1), this is what we are before God then, saints. At the same time Paul calls us “sinners” (Romans 5:8; Galatians 2:19), indeed he calls himself a sinner (1 Timothy 1:15-16). We know that even though we are new creatures in Christ now, we still sin every day, many times a day. So we know this what we are also, sinners. Isn't that amazing? The way these two words basically define who we are and yet they are so different words; “holiness” and “sinfulness”, they are completely opposed, and yet that is how the Bible calls us, both saints and sinners. How is it possible?

The Bible says that we all "fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), because of our sinful and wicked nature. Therefore we all deserve death and condemnation, we all deserve to be separated from God for all eternity. Nevertheless, the Bible also says that "we are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith" (Romans 3:24-25). Something incredibly amazing happened to believing sinners the day Christ gave His life on that cross; we were reconciled with God and a new name was granted to us by grace, we are called saints. So, we are called saints not because of the good works we do now as believers, nor because of our own improvements regarding our own behavior, nor because of our search for integrity, holiness and for knowledge of God, when such search most of the times comes from sinful self-righteousness and our prideful hearts that still wants to do things to get God on our side. Our righteousness and holiness before God come only from Christ's work of grace. Because of His perfect and matchless sacrifice on our behalf we are hundred percent accepted before the Father. It has nothing to do with us, it is a miracle! It is something we cannot produce or accomplish. "For our sake God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ's righteousness and holiness were imputed to us by grace.

We must always view ourselves both in terms of what we are in Christ (saints) and what we are in ourselves (sinners). That is what it means to say we need the Gospel every day of our lives. Even after being called saints, we cannot stand before God on the basis of our own works or our own lives, but only on the basis of Christ's work of grace on the cross for us.

The Door God Has Already Opened by: Bob Kauflin

If you’re like me, you’ve probably thanked God many times over for people like Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Paul Baloche, Chris Tomlin, and others whose ministries and songs have impacted your life and served the church throughout the world.

But...if you’re like me, you’ve also probably wondered if God might be calling YOU to have that kind of influence. You can picture yourself going on tour, leading thousands night after night in powerful, life-changing, glorious worship. What a contribution you could make to the kingdom, if only God would open the doors!

The problem is, for most of us, God had already opened the doors. And they lead right in to our local church.

Over the past 30 years I’ve led worship in a variety of contexts, large and small. Living rooms. Auditoriums. Civic centers. Outdoor festivals. Each time it’s been an immense privilege. I’m grateful that God uses events of every size and shape to bring glory to his name.

But nothing compares to the privilege of leading my local church in singing God’s praise every Sunday morning.

Scripture describes the church as “God’s building,” God’s “temple,” the “body” of Christ, “the household of God.” We are “living stones . . . being built as a spiritual house” (1 Cor. 3:9b; Eph. 2:21–22; 1 Cor.12:12; Eph. 2:19; 1 Pet. 2:5).

We can apply all those metaphors to the church universal. But their most immediate and practical application is to a local church—the Christians I live with day by day, week by week, year by year.

On Sundays, I’m doing more than leading people into individual “worship experiences,” as powerful as those might be. God wants to knit the fabric of our lives together as a worshiping community. He wants our singing on Sundays to be an expression of our shared lives throughout the week.

How do we develop a heart for serving in our local church and resist the temptation to be dissatisfied? Here are some thoughts.

Seek to be faithful rather than famous.
One of the biggest surprises in heaven will be watching God hand out the greatest rewards to people whose names we never knew. Individuals who labored year after year in obscurity, at unknown churches in unknown towns. But they were known to God. And in the end, that’s all that matters. God is seeking servants, not stars.

Understand the benefits of congregations over concerts.
Concerts can have value. But concerts last one evening. People come together and then leave, never to meet again. A congregation gathers repeatedly, week after week, year after year. The opportunity to teach, pastor, encourage, and build lives together far exceeds what happens in a single night at a concert.

Recognize that Jesus came to build a worshiping church, not a worship industry.
I once heard Louie Giglio point out that the center of “industry” is “dust.” That’s a reminder that while God may raise up certain bands and artists to bless the church with their songs, none of them are essential to his purposes. The church is. We’re off the mark if we make primary what God thinks is secondary.

Be the best you can be in the place God has called you.
Prov. 22:29 says, “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” That’s not a guarantee that God will make you famous if you practice your instrument. But it’s a clear statement that we shouldn’t wait until we have an massive audience to develop our gifts.

As we seek to please the Audience of One we can trust that the platform we lead from will be just the right size for giving Jesus the praise he desires and that he alone deserves.

Bob Kauflin is the director of worship development for Sovereign Grace, based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. This involves overseeing its music projects and teaching on congregational worship. He has written the fantastic book ‘Worship Matters,’ which in Tim’s opinion is one of the best books currently written on worship. He and his wife Julie have six children and an ever-growing number of grandchildren. Find out more by checkingwww.worshipmatters.com