Today I was asked, 'What is worship to you?'
I scribbled something like this down on a piece of paper:
Worship is life, and life is worship.
I was dead in my sin. By God's grace, Christ found me, raised me, and now I live. And now I worship.
Christ is the Author and Finisher and Perfecter of my faith.
Christ is the Author and Finisher and Perfecter of my worship.
Worship is life, and life is worship.
Yeah. I just would like to say that now that I think about it, I'm led to amend the first and last lines to be based on Paul's words: 'To live is Christ, and to die is gain.' So here goes:
Christ is life, and life is Christ.
And let me just add a line just before the last one:
By God's grace, I declare that Christ is all I need.
Christ is the Author and Finisher and Perfecter of my entire being.
These are the sorts of truths which I believe would take root deeper and deeper into everything concerning us, as we continue to receive the facts of our absolute helplessness on our own due to sin, and complete salvation and redemption by God's grace, through Christ Jesus.
When I cut my hair and stopped smoking and drinking, I thought I had moved through leaps and bounds from, as Scripture says, glory to glory. Well, people have been commending me for improvements they observed in my playing the guitar, but I respond by saying, "I may have learned a lot, but I have much to learn."
It's true. I'm still learning to effectively strum while singing. And while there's the vast experience yet to obtain in playing lead and rhythm guitar with the steel-string Fender which Paola and I bought (Side note: Thank God for her. I thank God because she is in Christ, and she continues to see blessing after blessing in her life. #brentandpao2014 is coming soon!), there's the prospect of learning the capabilities of her birthday gift to me in the form of a nylon classical guitar.
I can play from A to G (with their respective minors), I can transpose with considerable ease, but man... while I watch more seasoned guitarists play, I am both humbled and inspired! Then there's the need to learn not just to play by yourself, but in harmony with the rest of the band, which includes keyboardists, bassists, and drummers!
So with that parallel in mind, I say, while the Lord's goodness has led me to repentance which has been seen both by myself and the world, man... there is so much more coming up, and I'm in for such a thrilling ride, with Christ at the wheel!
One of our Pastors just recently celebrated his birthday, and he declared on his Facebook profile that 'It's time to celebrate, Lord! Kayo po ang taya! (I'm counting on You to take care of everything!)'... He has really been celebrating since a few days ago up until today, leaving everyone who fellowshipped with him stuffed, well-fed!
So I declare, thank You for loving me too, Dad! Thank You, because You take care of me, and You make me happy in every way imaginable, and then some!
Dad, thank You for more and more breakthroughs! Thank You for more and more victories, more and more accomplished! Thank You, Dad! I'm also counting on You to take care of everything! Kayo po ang taya!
Halleluyah! Take us deeper, Lord! Thank You so much for loving us!
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email me at jibee@rocketmail.com.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26