WordJourney

I must confess that I wake up most mornings without my mind set on things above. Some days my mind is racing to and through the day’s activities, while other days I have a hard time focusing after a night of tossing and turning.

This morning was different, a welcome change because I heard from the Lord. No, not some audible voice, but through a song we sing at church, Famous One. I don’t know all of the lyrics, but parts of the tune have been circulating through my mind for the last few hours.

You may have heard the song before, but if not the lyrics are as follows:

You are the Lord
The famous one, famous one
Great is Your name in all the earth!
The heavens declare
You’re glorious, glorious
Great is your fame beyond the earth!

And for all you’ve done, and yet to do
With every breath I’m praising you
Desire of nations and every heart
You alone are God
You alone are God

You are the Lord
The famous one, famous one
Great is Your name in all the earth!
The heavens declare
You’re glorious, glorious
Great is your fame beyond the earth!

The morning star is shining through
And every eye is watching You
Revealed by nature and miracles
You are beautiful
You are beautiful

The morning star is shining through
And every eye is watching You
Revealed by nature and miracles
You are beautiful
You are beautiful

You are the Lord
The famous one, famous one
Great is Your name in all the earth!
The heavens declare
Your glorious, glorious
Great is your fame beyond the earth!
Great is your fame

You are the Lord
The famous one, famous one
Great is Your name in all the earth!
The heavens declare
Your glorious, glorious
Great is your fame beyond the earth!

You are the Lord
The famous one
The famous one

I’m not sure of the reason why this song is in my mind, but I can say that it is on my lips today. I know that “God inhabits the praises of His people,” therefore I am glad for the special touch I am receiving today.

How about you — is there a song on your mind today?

We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

Sometimes a Bible verse will stand out from the included text, a snippet of God’s word to mull over. I realize that there can be a problem with pulling verses out of context, but if you remember the context from which it was pulled, then I see no problem with this practice.

Chapter 6 of 2 Corinthians serves to convey several points including:

• We are workers together with Him.

• Now is the day of salvation.

• We are ministers of God.

• Believers are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers.

All four points are very important, but the first one is the perhaps the most amazing of all — God, the creator of the universe, uses fleshly man to relay His gospel message. Yes, our God has entrusted the work of bringing people to Him through the lives of those who follow Him. Imperfect, flawed, and mistake-prone people are God’s chosen vessels — an awesome responsibility that has been delegated to us.

Thankfully, God hasn’t left us without clear instructions on how to reach people for Him, otherwise this “campaign” would be a disaster. Church history is replete with examples of religious leaders ignoring, changing, or forgetting this edict, but that hasn’t negated God from getting the work done.

As followers of Jesus Christ we have some powerful “tools” at our disposal:

• The Holy Spirit

• The Bible

If we’re filled with His Spirit and we direct people to His word, then God will touch others as we rely upon Him. I’m not one for making up formulas, but I know that if we pray for the Spirit’s guidance and we stand upon the written word, then our words will be accepted by willing ears.

As a believer, the pressure is off of me other than to pray and to tell. God convicts the sinner — I’m not to force a conversion (which will probably be false) nor am I to rely on techniques — we know that in Acts that God adds to the church daily.

The final point — not being unequaled yoke is very important. Our kingdom work can be hindered if we’re married to someone who doesn’t believe, attend a fellowship not based on God’s word, or involve ourselves in anything that takes away from our relationship with God.

It is good for me to know that although I am not a perfect person, that Almighty God still desires to use me for His glory.