“For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I don not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.”

-Philippians 1:21-23 NIV

At the return of Christ we will see the one who has redeemed us. Until that time, we must live by faith: walking and talking with our Beloved whom we cannot physically touch or see. Like Paul, I would rather just go on and see my Savior now. But there is work to be done. And the work is so great. The work is a labor of love: love for Christ…love for His church… and love for the lost.

Jesus is coming back. I believe He is coming back soon. It is my prayer that He will find me worship and leading others in worship. Maybe you or I will be the ones to win that “last soul” to Jesus before He returns. Whatever the case, it causes my spirit to soar when we sing, “At the Midnight Cry we’ll be going home.”

“I Love You.” What a meaningful, yet often misused statement. We will often say, “I love” a certain type of food, or “I love” various sports activities, or “I love” a particular style of music. My, how we throw around the word “love!”

Jesus, on the other hand, was very particular with how He used and showed the word “love.” He instructed us to “Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world…” Love is not a word that we should use loosely. Jesus did more than tell us how to love. He demonstrated to us His love when He laid down His life and the cross. What a wonderfully pure and beautiful expression of love!

Many have tried to analyze what really happened on the cross of Calvary. Some say that Jesus was murdered on the cross. Others will argue that it never actually occurred at all and some contend that he simply “swooned” on the cross, but did not die. By faith we must accept the historical FACT that on the cross “God demonstrates His own love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

When you come to worship, what do you bring with you? God’s Word instructs us to bring an offering with us to worship. What exactly is this offering supposed to be? Is it merely our monetary gift that is above our tithe? Is it only that which we place in the offering plate?

Ephesians 5:2 instructs us to “Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” If we are to give the kind of offering that Christ gave then we must bring more than just a portion out of our own surplus. We must give in faith.

Do your offerings cost you something? Obviously we are talking about much more than money. Jesus presented Himself to us as an offering and He is asking the same of us.

When you come to worship, don’t come expecting simply to be blessed and led in worship. Come with your offering of worship (the offering of yourself), prepared to pour it out on the place of sacrifice.

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord… I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ” -- Philippians 3:7, 8 NIV

Why do we sing praises to God? Is it because of how good we are? Is it to remind Him that He is our heavenly Father? Of course not. If we look at ourselves as the apostle Paul looked at himself, we will agree that it is only by God’s grace that we even live and breathe, let alone have the promise of eternal life. We sing “To God be the glory, great things He has done.” All that we do is because of Him. All that we accomplish is because He is at work in us. None of our ministry is about us, who we are or what we are capable of doing. It is all about Jesus Christ and the “Surpassing greatness of knowing (Him).”

God, in His goodness, could see that man was sinful. He had created man in His own image and placed within man the ability to make his own decisions. Man failed that test. Man Hid. God came looking. “Adam, where are you?” Was it that God couldn’t find Adam? Had God lost control of His creation? Had God lost control of His creation? Of course not. God knew right where Adam was. And He always knows right where to find us as well. God is looking to and fro searching for His children. He calls us by name and asks, “Where are you?” When He finds us in the nakedness of our sin He offers to us the unexplainable… He offers us complete and total forgiveness through the blood of His Son. Was it really necessary that Jesus die for the sin of mankind? Was His bloodshed really the ONLY way for us to find forgiveness and restoration?

“Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin” (Hebrews 9:22).

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord… so I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips.’”

-Isaiah 6:1, 5

Have you ever wondered what you will say when you see Jesus face to face? Do you think that you will stand before Him or fall on your face? Do think you will sing His praises or will you be silent in reverence and awe? None of us really know what will happen on that day, but we do know that there will be cause of celebration and rejoicing. When I think of how sinful I am and how great Jesus is I am often overwhelmed. I have had worship experiences in which I simply could not utter a sound and then there have been times that I have shouted “Hallelujah!”

While celebrating Jesus is a very important part of our daily walk with Him, when we consider His greatness and His majesty we could clearly be left speechless. What an amazing God we serve! He is speaking to you right now. Are you listening?

God has given us a wonderful gift… the gift of music! Music can lift our spirits when we are down. Music can cause us to think about who we really are and who God really is. Music can be used to lead us right into the very presence of God. Music is not merely preparation for worship, it is an act of worship whereby we as God’s people come before His throne and glorify Him with our voices. Yes, music is a gift from God that we should return to Him again and again. Our ministry is to worship God, to lead other believers to worship God, and to lovingly proclaim the gospel through music. Be committed and faithful to that cause!