The Truth, you say?

 

One of the real complications in dealing with the COVID pandemic is knowing who and what to believe about it.  With confidence in government at a low point, early on many Americans rejected guidelines. Even the simple choice about wearing masks has turned, for millions, into a way to make a statement about their politics.  In restricting association and commerce in an effort to limit the spread of the contagion, the government ran head-long into an American ideal of freedom.

Because the ‘truth’ was suspect, millions of Americans refused compliance with recommendations while others chose to do costly and largely unnecessary things. Our inability to agree about what is true meant that thousands died who might have lived and our economy has suffered a heavy blow.  A year into this mess and many of us are still trying to figure out what is true!

Truth is freedom. Knowing what is true – that can be the hard part, right?  Remember Pilate’s famed question of Jesus as He stood before that governor? When asked Who He was and what His mission was, Jesus told him that He was sent into the world to “testify to the truth.” Pilate cynically asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:37)

Some Christians choose to deal with the vagaries of life by adopting a kind of faith that stakes out an accepted position on all things. “We have a rule for that,” they insist. Often a proof text or two from the Bible is sufficient for to establish the ‘truth.’  Their world is a place of right and wrong, black and white, period; end of discussion.

While there is some comfort found in assuming ‘we know the truth, the whole truth,’ eventually life will bring some experience, some encounter that does not fit neatly into the boxes. What then?   Too often instead of a gentle and gracious conversation that allows understanding to ripen, those who claim to know the truth lecture the questioning person to “just trust God!”  That line, I learned a long time ago, often means ‘we don’t know how to answer that and stick with our system of truth so we don’t talk about it.’

Christians can be people, indeed they should be, of strong convictions. I am totally committed to the reality of a personal God, Who made Himself known in Jesus Christ. I am thoroughly convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, the ‘Way, the Truth, and the Life.’  I believe that the Holy Spirit is alive in me and all Christians, leading us to know and do the will of God.  I do not waver in my conviction that life is a sacred gift, that love is our highest calling, that eternity awaits me when this sojourn on the planet comes to an end. Jesus Christ is the true North of my life.

And then there are those ‘other questions.’  Yes, there are plenty things that I will readily admit that I do not completely understand. I am not a blank slate without opinions but I am prepared to have a conversation that is honest and aimed at increasing knowledge, not winning an argument!  One of the most liberating things I have discovered in dealing with Truth is that being a ‘good Christian’ does not require me to have an answer for all questions.  It is perfectly acceptable to say -  “I do not know.”    

Great faith includes living with mystery.  A God that I can squeeze into all of my preconceptions is too small, too tame for the real world. Paul declares - "Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor?" (Romans 11:33-34, NLT)

That admission of my insufficiency is not an excuse for apathy, laziness, or avoidance of hard truth. God invites to know, equipped with the ability to reason and think.  Both science and theology should exist to pursue the same thing:  the Truth!  Both are hindered in the effort when we bring an agenda to our study, having already reached a conclusion and now looking for support for our thoughts.  The discovery of the truth – be it about physical laws of the universe or spiritual laws about pleasing God – brings great benefit to those who align themselves with it. Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32, NIV)

Christian, let’s renew our commitment to be a student of the Scripture, a person who loves God enough to seek to know Him, to know His ways, to live in the truth. Beware of the deception that grows out of a mind nearly closed because of fear or being tradition bound! Jesus’ most ardent enemies were leaders of the people who thought of themselves as protectors of the faith. But their ability to know the truth was corrupted by insistence on maintaining their accepted traditions, which led to their refusal to know the Spirit’s moving.  

One of those leaders did come to Jesus seeking to know God and His ways. I love how Jesus spoke to Nicodemus. "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8, NIV) He cautioned that learned man about concluding that all of God’s ways in the human heart could be reduced to formulas!

Are you pursuing God, letting Him lead where He will? Is your mind and your heart open to Him, loving Him with deep faith?  Here’s Truth to live by today. Meditate on it and take the deep assurance offered by the Word with you into a world full of uncertainty. "When he (the Counselor, the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment . . . he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you." (John 16:8,13-14, NIV)

_______________

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my vision
O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me
Save that Thou art
Thou my best thought
By day or by night
Waking or sleeping
Thy presence my light 

Be Thou my Wisdom and
Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and
Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father
I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling and
I with Thee one

High King of heaven
When vict'ry is won
May I reach heaven's joys
O bright heaven's Sun
Heart of my own heart
Whatever befall
Still be my vision
O Ruler of all

Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne

© Words: Public Domain

Do you know how to fight?

They were two tough men – one who served in the Marines who was still in excellent physical condition at mid-life – the other a guy in his 20’s who worked hard every day with a frame that was solid muscle. They started with arm wrestling at a church picnic. The ‘contest’ became serious when they stood up. Moments later these two men were on the ground fighting. It went on for a few minutes until they got up, shook hands, and laughed in spite of dirt on their clothes, scrapes on their arms, and blood on their faces. They were just ‘having fun.’ I don’t care for that kind of fighting, never have!  If you want to mix it up with me in verbal jousting; I’m good for that. I’ll ‘fight’ with you in the realms of ideas and enjoy the encounter.

 

The idea of fighting and following Jesus strikes most of us as being incompatible. Christians are to be peaceful people, right? Yes, we are. It is a mistake to think that we have to take on every person or institution with whom we disagree, struggling for power, waging a war of destruction.  We are, however, living at cross purposes with the world in which we live.  Christians are at war, though not with other people. The real enemy is the Evil that is real, that is persistent, that threatens what is of God and good. So, how do we fight that evil?

The Scripture teaches this about the nature of the battle. “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5, NIV) We do not need to buy guns and bullets to fight for the right! We do not need to build political parties or create bigger blocks of voters to force change in public policy that align with Christian values.

Our fight is for Truth, our weapons are spiritual. With the Truth about life, about God, about ourselves;  we encounter the ‘father of lies’ and his power is neutralized. The transformation starts personally, in me, in you, then moves from us to our sphere of influence. Jesus says this - “You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32, NLT)  The war that is waged against God and those who love Him centers on selling big lies.

Apart from the Spirit’s revealing the truth we believe the ‘natural fact’ that life is about ME, that happiness is found in unrestricted Self-expression, that real wealth is about having more things, that pleasure is largely sensual … and more. In the Creation story, when the devil approached Eve, he offered her an alternative to God’s truth. She believed it as did Adam and you know the rest of the story. He still uses this strategy. Jesus rips away his mask telling us that -  he" has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44, NLT)

Love, self-sacrificial serving, grace, peace – these are the powerful weapons that defeat evil. If we are not ‘in Christ,’ if we have not been made alive by the Holy Spirit, the idea that evil in all it’s terrible power can be defeated with love seems to be quite stupid!  But, it is actually the wisdom of God.  IF you do not ‘get it,’  then go to the Lord in humble prayer and ask Him to give you the mind of Christ.  It is not arrogance nor exclusivity to which I speak. It is receiving, by God’s grace, a new set of eyes that see past the natural world.  That is why Paul was inspired with these words - "People who aren’t Christians can’t understand these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them because only those who have the Spirit can understand what the Spirit means. We who have the Spirit understand these things, but others can’t understand us at all. How could they? For, “Who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who can give him counsel?” But we can understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:14-16, NLT)

Jesus powerfully reveals the path of resistance to evil for each of us. “You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘If an eye is injured, injure the eye of the person who did it. If a tooth gets knocked out, knock out the tooth of the person who did it.’ But I say, don’t resist an evil person! If you are slapped on the right cheek, turn the other, too. If you are ordered to court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow." (Matthew 5:38-42, NLT)  That’s God’s wisdom!  Christians do not fight with ever escalating armed encounters. We live in the Truth, secure in the love of God, convinced of eternity, and lead others to the Light. It sounds simple but I assure you it is not. The love is costly. It took Jesus to the Cross!

Feeling like you are under siege in our world? Me, too.  Sin abounds. Evil seems to be winning. But, I have read the whole Book and I know the end of the story. God wins and Heaven awaits the faithful.

Here is a word from the Word. John, in the Revelation, heard Jesus say, “Do not seal up the prophetic words you have written, for the time is near. Let the one who is doing wrong continue to do wrong; the one who is vile, continue to be vile; the one who is good, continue to do good; and the one who is holy, continue in holiness.” “See, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay all according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life." (Revelation 22:10-15, NLT)

Steady on, in faith, hope, and love - ‘and the greatest of these is love.’

____________

In Christ Alone

 

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light my strength my song

This Cornerstone this solid Ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love what depths of peace

When fears are stilled when strivings cease

My Comforter my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand

 

In Christ alone who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

Till on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

 

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

 

No guilt in life no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

 

Keith Getty | Stuart Townend

© 2001 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

New wine, new wineskins

The speaker in the video was addressing change in the Church, speaking about leadership somewhat critically. About 10 minutes in I turned the presentation off, surprised at my reaction. I felt defensive, even angry.  The why of that response would not leave my thoughts for the rest of the evening. In my reflection I began to understand that part of what was going in somewhere deep inside of me was a resistance to changes in the world that were beyond my control.

Keeping up with change is hard for many people and perhaps even more difficult for those of us who are in the last quarter of life! Intellectually I know that everything must change or die, that each generation questions the previous generation, sorting through values, methods, ideas – discarding some, building on others, cherishing a few! 

So what does that have to do with our walk with Jesus?  Much in every way, my friend.

Jesus faced intense opposition when He spoke of His Kingdom to come! The Jews cherished their traditions and knew that His message would bring an end to the world they knew. They went beyond rejecting His message. They hated Him, seeking His death. He explained His work with this parable. “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:16-17, NIV)  What did it mean?

Over several centuries Judaism had built an elaborate ritual structure, a way of life that was defined by 613 rules that interpreted the Law of Moses for the Jewish people with the aim of making them acceptable to God.  Jesus declared that He had come to fulfill that aim of making a holy people, but in a new way, built on the old patterns of holy lives but in a new structure.

The ‘new wine’ of the Gospel and Spirit would not fit inside the rules, nor even within the Jewish people. God’s invitation was to be offered to the whole world. It was a radical message! God would build the Church to declare His praise and to be the messenger of His desire to reconcile humanity to Himself. The moment of change was decisive; at the crucifixion when the Temple veil ripped in two; sealed by the Resurrected Lord’s appearance on that first Easter morning! But, conflict dogged the church for nearly a century when the ritual laws of the Jews were replaced with the glorious Gospel of the Crucified Lamb of God, Savior of the World.

I am praying for the renewal of God’s Church.  Question is, am I ready to follow the Spirit’s lead into the future? It is a question for each one of who seriously wants to know the Lord. Will we allow God to pour out His Spirit into our hearts made new, or will we try to force Him to use old ways and forms with which we are comfortable? Will we adapt gladly and readily to new methods, allowing structures and forms created over many years to be changed?

The Gospel does not change. Christ’s gift of salvation is fixed in His gift of grace purchased at the expense of His death. The hope of eternal life has been, is, and will always be guaranteed by the Resurrection. But, how we know Jesus, the ways in which we worship and serve Him will surely change, again, as they have through the centuries since He walked on this earth. Each of us will grow, adapt, and learn to love and follow Him in different ways throughout our lives. We must let go of the past that holds us captive to regret, celebrate former glories without trying to recapture them, and anticipate, with great faith, that our eternal God will refresh our relationship with Jesus Christ, "the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8, NIV)

Here is a word from the Word. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV)  O Lord, settle our hearts in You, lead us by Your Spirit to make Your Name glorious.

_______________

Glorious Day

I was buried beneath my shame
Who could carry that kind of weight
It was my tomb 'til I met You

I was breathing but not alive
All my failures I tried to hide
It was my tomb 'til I met You

You called my name (and)
I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness into Your glorious day
(repeat)

Now Your mercy has saved my soul
Now Your freedom is all that I know
The old made new
Jesus when I met You

You called my name (and)
I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness into Your glorious day(repeat)  

I needed rescue my sin was heavy
But chains break at the weight of Your glory
I needed shelter I was an orphan
Now You call me a citizen of Heaven
When I was broken You were my healing
Now Your love is the air that I'm breathing
I have a future my eyes are open

Jason Ingram | Jonathan Smith | Kristian Stanfill | Sean Curran © 2017 Kristian Stanfill Publishing Designee (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

sixsteps Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Given up on God?

 

Are you trusting God, praying in hope, expecting that He will be your Peace and Provider today?  Our faith can get battered by life. We can become pressed by problems, disillusioned in disappointment. There is no sin in admitting that the flame of faith has become just a glowing ember in your heart.

Many Christians are struggling to make sense of life. The world has gone sideways. Much of what we thought unshakeable has been revealed to be without substance.  Death has touched too many families; a half million lost to COVID according to government statistics. Regardless of our brave words, many wonder if the virus will find a way to come their way. So, let me ask again, In these challenging times, is faith alive in you?

I remind you today that faith is NOT passive. Yes, it is a gift of God.
Our faith is also a choice.
Our daily decisions play a part in keeping our faith healthy.

What should we do?

God invites us to worship Him daily.  We turn our thoughts, our heart, our full attention to Him. This simple act can be incredibly difficult in the middle of phone notifications, kid’s problems, work pressure, and multiple distractions that are so much of life.  Making an appointment with God that is a first-line priority, a time in which we close out the rest of the world, even if to sit in silence, is an act of declaring His worth.

God gives us His Word. IF we will open the Scripture, feeding our souls on the Truth there, faith grows. Many tell me that understanding the Bible is difficult. It can be, but there are plenty of passages in the Psalms, the Gospels, the letters of Paul that are quite accessible to any one with an open heart. And there are a hundred ‘helps’ that will bring make the holy Word meaningful. The foundation of faith is the truth of the Word.  

God gives us the Church, the gathering of Believers, to nurture our faith.  When we find a local congregation that reverences His Presence, that loves His Word, faith is fed by the fellowship. Do find solid encouragement among Believers?  It is part of keeping faith strong.

God asks us personally to walk it out, to choose to trust when life is dark. Psalm 37 is one of my favorite ‘songs.’  The leading words are active ones that ask a response in me. “Trust, delight, commit, be still, wait patiently.”  That is sometimes difficult when we want to scream, “Enough, already, Lord!”  Will we keep on, steady in those choices? "The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble." (Psalm 37:39, NIV)

My reading today took me to a story from a time of hardship in Israel. Assyrian invaders had surrounded the city, cutting off food, causing extreme famine. The story includes awful atrocities. God’s man, that preacher Elisha, full of the Holy Spirit, told the king’s messengers of pending relief.  "Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a (quart) of flour will sell for a shekel and two (quarts) of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.” The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it!” (2 Kings 7:1-3, NIV)  In the skepticism of that officer, I see a failure of faith that is all too common today.

Many Christians only see what is ‘obvious,’ a world in flames. God speaks, declaring His purposes, with promise of His Presence. Will our faith receive His Word or will we join the ranks of skeptics, convinced that even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens no revival is possible for us, for this world.  God asks us to live in hope.  Will we?  Will we worship, feed our mind with His Truth, gather with others of faith, and choose to trust?

The word from the Word comes from Matthew 21, one of Jesus’ kingdom principles. May we receive it with the open heart of faith, prepared to see the acts of God.  "But Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Yes—and if you embrace this kingdom life and don’t doubt God, you’ll not only do minor feats like I did to the fig tree, but also triumph over huge obstacles. This mountain, for instance, you’ll tell, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it will jump. Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of God.”" (Matthew 21:21-22, The Message)  Amen.

________________

Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah

Guide me O Thou great Jehovah

Pilgrim through this barren land

I am weak but Thou art mighty

Hold me with Thy pow'rful hand

Bread of heaven Bread of heaven

Feed me now and ever more

Feed me now and ever more

 

Open Thou the crystal fountain

Whence the healing stream doth flow

Let the fiery cloudy pillar

Lead me all my journey through

Strong Deliverer strong Deliverer

Be Thou still my strength and shield

Be Thou still my strength and shield

 

When I tread the verge of Jordan

Bid my anxious fears subside

Death of death and hell's destruction

Land me safe on Canaan's side

Songs of praises songs of praises

I will ever give to Thee

I will ever give to Thee

 

John Hughes | Peter Williams | William Williams

© Words: Public Domain

A cheap knockoff?

 

Many years ago, on a whim, I bought a gold ring that was inset with diamonds for just $19!  “Jerry, I’m shocked that you would trade in stolen goods.”  No, I didn’t.  It was cheap knock-off, obviously not real gold, the ‘diamonds’ were probably chips of glass. From 6 feet away, who could tell? Up close, you didn’t have to be a jeweler to tell it was something less than a quality piece. I wore that ring for while as a daily lesson in spiritual growth, a reminder to be REAL! There are plenty of  imitations in our world. A knockoff is a cheaply made copy of the original. What kind of person are you?

Real people are like authentic gems;  precious. You might be wondering, "Real people? What other kind are there? Fake people?"  In fact, there are plenty of people who live as empty shells, images without substance, hiding the truth about themselves behind titles, tales, suits, and surgeries.  To one degree or another, every one of us deals with the temptation to play a role, to be who we think someone else wants us to be. Alas, there are some who spend an inordinate amount of time and energy working hard to be somebody they are not, in a vain attempt to win the affection of people they don't even like.

Authenticity is a quality of character that every disciple of Jesus should desire.  We love Him best and find His love richest when we are humble, able to be no more, nor less than the person He created us to be.  Don’t confuse ‘real’ with crude or rude. Some people are obnoxious, saying whatever comes to mind, refusing social grace, and claiming – “I just being real.”  What a mistaken notion of authenticity. Real people love, cry, find joy where they are, admit their mistakes, and love to learn every day.

Jesus reserved his most harsh criticism for some religious people of His time who tried very hard to ‘look better’ than they actually were. He called them out as hypocrites. When He interacted with the Pharisees,  who were experts in looking good while doing bad, He did not spare their feelings.  “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things." (Matthew 23:23-4, NLT)  "You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity." (Matthew 23:26-27, NLT)  

Just reading those words we can miss the tone in which He spoke them. He was outraged that they would devalue the things of His Father with a show of piety unmatched by true devotion. We need to make that personal, asking ourselves if we have allowed ourselves to be ‘fake’- better at pretending than being.

Hey, we all are tempted to think something like this, some of the time. 'If people really knew me, they wouldn't like me.'  Honestly, that is true sometimes. In our ‘cancel culture’ there will be those who decide your friendship is unwanted if you do not say the words they think you ought to say. There are some who like to focus on the failures of others, regardless of repentance, consigning those mortals to the trash heap of life. Real people, those who are humble and authentic, acknowledge this – “But for the grace of God, there go I!”  They, like their Father, believe in redemption.

Refuse to believe that your  personal worth comes from being some ideal shape, having a pretty face, a sweet place, or a big brain. Nobody is too fat, too thin, too dumb, too ugly, too shy, too tall, too short, too poor, too damaged – to be a precious child of God.  When we accept that, by faith, something happens on the inside that lets us be at home in his own skin. It’s great to be around that kind of authenticity.

Have you convinced yourself that you need to be ‘just like _____________’ (you fill the name of someone you admire) in order to be valuable to God. Wrong. The Bible is clear that you are a person God made to fill a specific place in this world. Nobody can be you and you cannot successfully become somebody else! If we refuse His gifts and callings, and choose to pretend, to fake it; we sin against Him.  When we deal with the hurt, pain, failure, and disobedience not by covering it up, but rather by owning it and taking it to the Cross, the Christ who forgives also restores hope, and gives healing. There is no greater source of security than knowing we are God’s beloved, with a divine purpose to fulfill right where we are!

On this Monday morning, let God love you to reality. He knows the ‘real’ you.
Got some sins dogging you? Confess them without excuse. He always forgives.
Have some area of deep insecurity about yourself? Pray about it, and talk it over with a trusted friend. You will gain freedom. 
Hiding your light, insisting that your ‘gifts’ are something less than those of another? Stop that and thank God for giving you the opportunities that come your way today.

Here is a word from the Word. "But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it. What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen, while other parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity." (1 Corinthians 12:18-24, NLT)

Real is a beautiful thing – truly!

_______________

Who You Say I Am

Who am I that the highest King

Would welcome me

I was lost but He brought me in

Oh His love for me

Oh His love for me

 

Who the Son sets free

Oh is free indeed

I'm a child of God

Yes I am

 

Free at last

He has ransomed me

His grace runs deep

While I was a slave to sin

Jesus died for me

Yes He died for me

 

In my Father's house

There's a place for me

I'm a child of God

Yes I am

 

I am chosen not forsaken

I am who You say I am

You are for me not against me

I am who You say I am

 

(Oh) (Yes) I am who You say I am

 

Ben Fielding | Reuben Morgan

© 2017 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055