Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
~ David, (Psalms 34:3 NKJV)
By age 16 I'd smelled enough untruth in church to leave it. My quest for Truth and life purpose took a meandering route through a variety of places both ungodly and goodly. I sensed Truth was connected to God, and He was connected to church, so my path finally led back there.
Though Truth eluded me in the Roman Catholic church I attended, the Lord kept wooing me until I found myself in a church which magnified the Bible and the Bible's God. The beauty of the Lord and His Truth loomed large, and we've been in love ever since.
Among the many reasons I attend church is that when we come together as God's people, the Lord and His Truth are magnified. If lies make us prisoners and Truth makes us free, then exalted, magnified Truth makes known the breadth of our freedom.
"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
~ Jesus, (John 8:32 NKJV)
MUCH OF YOU JESUS
Steven Curtis Chapman
How could I stand here
And watch the sun rise
Follow the mountains
Where they touch the sky
Ponder the vastness
And the depths of the sea
And think for a moment
The point of it all was to make much of me
Cause I'm just a whisper
And You are the thunder
I want to make much of You, Jesus
I want to make much of Your love
I want to live today to give You the praise
That You alone are so worthy of
I want to make much of Your mercy
I want to make much of Your cross
I give You my life
Take it and let it be used
To make much of You
And how can I kneel here
And think of the cross
The thorns and the whip and the nails and the spear
The infinite cost
To purchase my pardon
And bear all my shame
To think I have anything worth boasting in
Except for Your name
Cause I am a sinner
And You are the Savior
I want to make much of You, Jesus
I want to make much of Your love
I want to live today to give You the praise
That You alone are so worthy of
I want to make much of Your mercy
I want to make much of Your cross
I give You my life
Take it and let it be used
To make much of You
This is Your love, oh God
Not to make much of me
But to send Your own Son
So that we could make much of You
For all eternity
I want to make much of You Jesus
I want to make much of Your love
I want to live today to give You the praise
That You alone are so worthy of
I want to make much of Your mercy
I want to make much of Your cross
I give You my life
Take it and let it be used
To make much of You
I want to make much of You
Much of You Jesus
Your feedback is appreciated. Post to BuildingHisBody.com Comments or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Lyrics of "Much of You" by Steven Curtis Chapman, © 2004 Sparrow Records
#Truth
Praise Him. Yes, I want to make much, much of Him, and so very much less of me. He shines, shines, shines. I love you sis.
ReplyDeleteYes I echo Denise's sentiment. Praise him.
ReplyDeletemy brain didn't want to work on the first part of this post...but on the latter part it did. He deserves ALL the praise...
ReplyDeleteyeah, i'm back. it isn't so much that my brain couldn't/didn't want to work. this is an area/topic that i struggle with and have a strong tendency to avoid engaging in. there's a bit of resistance here to the idea of ever attending any church ever again. but it works well for you and many others. that's great! :)
ReplyDeleteDenise ~ How much better to make much of Him when we are so puny. We make much of Him, and leave in His hands what He will make of us.
ReplyDeleteT ~ One of my praises for now is that He has made us sisters, and that we shall praise Him together forever.
Bud ~ If that works for us? Please tell me you weren't expecting a gentle answer to that. : ( I don't think so. You need us, Bud, whether you like it or not. And would you please, please remember,
we
need
you.
Hebrews 10:24-25
well, your answer was/is as i expected it to be. whether or not i attend a "church structured" this one is FULLY aware of his need for brothers and sisters. not one of us can make it alone... you and i have a somwhat different concept of the church. i see the church or the bride, if you will....as already being one in Christ:)
ReplyDeleteyou know, there's been times that i have really, really missed the experience of "live fellowship" whether it was in a Bible study, Praise & Worship times, or plain a Sunday service. like yourself, i too preferred the evening services. but i've lost my zeal for that and can't even get fired up for it either. it's as though something has been a long the way for it.
ReplyDeleteas for my comment about the church already being one church in the world. aren't born again believers said to be one in Christ? then spiritually speaking, wouldn't the church already be as one?
btw...i really struggled yesterday with leaving those two comments up and considered trashing them. but am really trying not to do that anymore. now i have three more to deal with...
ReplyDeleteBud ~
ReplyDeleteI've always appreciated candor. I'd much rather face honest conflict than agreeable deception. I hope readers here feel they can share what's on their minds.
Is the church spiritually one? We are united by one Spirit, but would you say we are one in spirit? The word "one" has many nuances. A couple can be together, be seen as one by God, and still not be truly united.
The enemy makes continuous attempts to sabotage Jesus' Church. He does a half decent job of distracting and dividing us, of putting forth distortion of truth and outright deceit. When the church faces tribulation, she unites. Do believers dodging persecution—who meet in secret, in fields, in the middle of the night, in crawl spaces—fight over programs and style of music?
I'm well aware of the injuries which have occured through the ages and continue to do damage by misguided Christians. I've been deeply wounded myself. I also know that if a perfect church existed, it would cease to be perfect once I joined it.
We're all redeemed riff-raff made royalty. Some of us want to think we look better than others. Some of us become bitter. Some of us simply don't know how to connect. But until the day we learn to get along, we are weakened as a church by all the gifts not put into play because of separation.
Of all the things my kids do that hurt me, the one to pain me most is when they hurt one another. I know the Lord hurts when His kids don't get along. It wouldn't surprise me if it's His deepest grief, of the many He endures.
I daily face remarks from Christians putting one another down. For every one remark I hear from someone with an unfavorable view of appearances (immodesty, homeless, etc.), I'll bet I hear ten from people putting down the church. Every single one makes me want to cry, and plead, "We're family—we'll be spending eternity together. Can we please show love to one another?"
Bud, I'm looking forward to spending eternity with you. Truly I am. And if you lived close enough, I'd want to worship with you every Sunday. It saddens me to think that somewhere, there is a church missing out on having you in their midst.
Anne, the way i figure...if there's a a local assembly that God wants me to be part of...it will eventually happen. WHO knows what the change will bring? i certainly don't but still desire Him changing me.. thank you for your lengthy reply and your patience:)
ReplyDeleteand as to your reply to the being "one"...i understand what you're saying concerning the conflicts whether it be personal or amongst the churches.the structured church just continues to split and be split again and again. but there's a verse in Revelations (?) that pushes me to think as i do. concerning the remnant. but i'm open to the fact that i could wrong....again. but in the meantime, it's the only ground i know.
ReplyDelete