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Perspective in Worship
“No one compares to you [Jesus]. No one could take your place” is a song that declares the love we have for Him. However, can we honestly say that this has always been the case? Have we veered off the road– maybe even looked away? Have we made our desires the center of our lives thus taking our eyes off the one who called our name? If you can relate, well, you are in good company… for we have all at times fallen astray.
But God!
The Lover of our soul is here, and He asks us today, “Beloved, do you love me?” Gently he reminds us of His faithful, enduring love - that while we were sinners He came to Earth and bore the cross. Cleansing us, renewing our lives in Him, we are given the gift of forgiveness and with joy we turn back to Him. We see his arms open wide as He embraces our lives. Trust-falling into Him we are reminded and sing “No one compares to you [Jesus]. No one could take your place.”
"Godly sorrow leads to repentance and repentance births a heart of gratitude." - Pastor
“Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.”
Romans 12:1-2 TPT
Jesus, the foundation of our faith
“So, then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. The whole building, being put together by Him, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord. You also are being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.”
Eph. 2:19-22
“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. By these, He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.”
2 Peter1:3-4
"But those who fail to develop this way are short-sighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins."
2 Peter 1:11
We must never forget or leave the place of gratitude for the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from sins. He must maintain a healthy perspective of our needs and His righteousness.
Jesus, the focus of our faith
"I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns,
how many will He find on the earth who have faith?"
Luke 18:8
Since everything around us is going to be destroyed, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along, On that day, He will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heaven and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God's righteousness."
2 Peter 3:11-13
We must maintain a deliberate focus on God's greatest promise that Jesus is coming back, and we must do everything in life in alignment with this hope.
“As for us, we have all these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So, we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us. We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!” Hebrews 12:1-2 TPT
Moving forward in Christ
As it is written in 2 Peter 3:10-13, Jesus is coming back. So, as we wait with anticipation for the one who made us perfect by His blood and who leads us into faith’s perfection, let us together be built up in Him. When we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and strength we cannot help but love our neighbor as Christ loves us; And this is the perfecting of our Christian Faith.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Eph.4:32 ESV
Verse References for Personal Study:
Romans 12:1-2, Hebrews 12:2, Ephesians 2:19-23, Luke 18: 3-14, 2 Peter 1:3-11, Luke 18:1-8, 2 Peter 3:10-13, Matthew 22: 34-40, Ephesians 4:32
"Follow Me." - Jesus
