Marshall Mabry – Undignified Worshiper of Jesus Christ – Page 12 – Some worship thoughts for followers of Jesus Christ!

Greeting the Morning

On March 16, 2014

I struggle every morning with myself. Sleeping too long, eating and drinking too much, or just plain sinful, selfish thoughts. They all combat with me as I rise to begin another day in God’s story. This war makes it extremely hard to capture every thought and make them obedient to Christ. Moreover, I know that Satan uses this time to tempt me into a poor attitude in facing the day.

In Psalm 108, David cries out “This is the day the Lord has made and I shall be glad and rejoice in it!” Our attitude every morning should be one of praise and thanksgiving. We know we have a good God. He loves us more than we can imagine. He constantly provides for us. Through His great mercy, each morning He gives us life and breath, purpose and meaning, and a free will to change and choose the attitude which sets our course each day.

It is critical in this early morning struggle to remember His goodness, His provision, and trust that no matter what circumstances may befall us. He is ours! His mercy endures forever. His grace is sufficient. He loves us with an everlasting love! He sings over us! He delights in us! We are the bride of Christ!

Deliver Us From Evil

By Marshall Mabry

On February 27, 2014

In Praise and Worship

Matthew 5:43-45 (PHILLIPS)
43-45 “You have heard that it used to be said, ‘You shall love your neighbour’, and ‘hate your enemy’, but I tell you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Heavenly Father. For he makes the sun rise upon evil men as well as good, and he sends his rain upon honest and dishonest men alike.

We serve a good God. He blesses us whether we are good or bad, active or still; in our work and in our play, in joy and in sorrow. Nothing we do can separate us from His abounding love and goodness. God is love and He is good!

Too may times we wrongly attribute the calamities we encounter on the will of God. We live in a broken world with the repercussions of sin bouncing off anything and everything. Without the supernatural protection of fervent prayer, we will suffer sin’s throws and pangs irregardless of its source.

Heavenly Father, “Deliver us from evil!” Amen.

Servant or Leader?

By Marshall Mabry

On February 10, 2014

In Praise and Worship

God calls every Christian to lead — but with the heart and soul of a servant. When we stand in the presence of our Lord what words do you want to hear Him say? “Well done! Good and faithful servant.” In this scripture reference it doesn’t say anything about good and faithful “leader.” We must not let Satan use the administrative responsibilities of our ministries to tempt us in believing that we are of greater importance than others.

The Apostle Paul is considered a great leader of the New Testament, yet his attitude concerning himself was “I am less than the least of God’s people.” Humility and humbleness are the main characteristics of the children of God. Every Christians’ leadership role is solely to lead the lost out of darkness. There is no greater example of love and passion than giving up your life to this calling.

Paul and Peter teach us about submission to authority in God’s Word. It should be a simple task for those who know their calling. Let me finish by leaving you with some of Jesus’ words. “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.” “Unless you change and become like a child, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Keeping some things sacred!

By Marshall Mabry

On February 9, 2014

In Praise and Worship

Our Lord said to keep the Sabbath day Holy – sacred – set aside from the other days. A day to separate yourself from your work and rest in Him. God ordained that day for us. He knows we need rest from the weariness that sometimes accompanies our day-to-day work. He gives us six days to be creative, to labor by the sweat of our brow and receive His blessings. Then, He commands us to set aside one day to focus our thoughts and our energy on giving back to Him. After all, doesn’t “everything” belong to Him anyway?

His word leads us in the way everlasting. It guides us to better understand what is vital for our eternal souls’ welfare, not our personal desires for physical comfort. You will only know what is Holy by what you define as Holy! For example, is your spouse Holy to you? Have you set him/her aside from the world? Is his/her physical body sacred to you? Would you share their bodies with the world?

There is a discipline, a perseverance that must accompany our walk in faith. There is a reason why our Lord said we “must deny ourselves…” There are boundaries that must be set in order to find the “narrow road” to everlasting life. They are not to be interpreted as punishment or restrictions, but as sacred markers pointing the Way. In hiding His holy, sacred Word in our hearts we better understand the freedom afforded us by His suffering and death on the cross. For the just punishment we deserve, He gracefully took for us to be free from our sin, guilt and shame.

True Religion – “Mercy”

By Marshall Mabry

On January 28, 2014

In Praise and Worship

Religion’s definition: “a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects…” (Dictionary.com)

As Christians we often hear the phrase “it’s not about religion, it’s about a relationship!” True as that statement may be — Christianity it is still a religion. There are beliefs that need to be expressed through the actions of our faith. The things we practice in the name of Jesus Christ speak of His integrity to the world. They will say either “Well done! Good and faithful servant” or “Hypocrite!”

James 1:27 (NIV)
“27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

James reminds us that love conveyed through mercy is the purest action for expressing our faith. With mercy there is no judgment. In our Lord’s prayer he said “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…” If we love mercy and exercise it throughout our personal and corporate ministries, there would be no room for judgement. We would not have the time or inclination to form opinions about our neighbor. We would only see the needs that God’s mercy will fill through us. Thus, we are driven by our love and mercy in Christ to give our lives away.

Salt

By Marshall Mabry

On January 27, 2014

In Praise and Worship

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 5:13 (NIV)

Have you ever meditated on this verse? What does our Lord mean when says we are “salt”? I believe He is telling us that Christianity, His church, His followers, His people – Christians are the salt of the earth. While we have flavor, our good works in Christ shine and hold back the darkness that wants to destroy this world. Nonetheless, our Lord also warns us about becoming “lukewarm!” We can lose our “salty” flavor — our passion for mercy, grace, truth, and love. If we are not passionate, active Christians, darkness will squash us.

Never grow comfortable in your ministry, we are in an endurance race and the crown of life goes to those who have acquired discipline, self-control and perseverance through God’s grace by faith.

His Freedom

By Marshall Mabry

On January 26, 2014

In Praise and Worship

In Psalm 51, David cries out to our Lord in a beautiful, awesome tone of repentance. He says this in verse 3 “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.,” in acknowledgement of his nature and total dependence upon the Lord’s salvation and mercy.

We do not forget the sin we bring into God’s world. We may try, but just as David said it is “always before” us. Knowing our failures, our weaknesses, our unrighteousness, only serves the saint in magnifying Christ’s worth in our lives. In a sense, we get smaller in our thoughts and actions and God gets a bigger slice of our lives. As your walk grows closer with Christ, His worth becomes more than your own, until everything is surrendered and your life is sacrificed for God’s glory.

The journey begins with repentance, acknowledging that we are truly worthless without Jesus. Jesus said that “the truth will set you free.” One day, in His presence, we will see Him fully glorified and forget our “old self” and all the sin that chained us and we will truly understand the freedom He promised. “Free, indeed!”

Lead by Example

By Marshall Mabry

On January 17, 2014

In Praise and Worship

“An effective corporate worship leader, aided and led by the Holy Spirit, skillfully combines biblical truth with music to magnify the worth of God and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, thereby motivating the gathered church to join him/her in proclaiming and cherishing the truth about God and seeking to live all of life for the glory of God.” … (http://www.wamglobal.org)

I believe this to be a good definition of the role and responsibility of a worship leader in the church. However, in 15 years of being in music ministry, I have discovered it to be much more.

I believe the last part “seeking to live all of life for the glory of God” sums up the simple definition of a worship leader. For every man who can be truly called a “Godly Man,” lives out a life of worship and leads by their example. On judgement day we will know what we only know in partiality: A life of worship is more than singing church songs, or church attendance, or how much religious knowledge we carry in our heads. It’s more than what work we do or how well we do it. It’s more than our concepts of “perfection”, “excellence”, “beauty” or any other finite word conceived by finite man to describe what is truly infinite and indescribable.

It’s all about knowing, receiving, giving and sharing God’s love in everything we do! Thus, our lives bring glory to God.

Lead me in your way everlasting!

By Marshall Mabry

On January 5, 2014

In Praise and Worship

Father,
Holy uncreated One!
Eternal love, Everlasting Truth, Abundant Life and Narrowest of Way!
Lead me in your way everlasting.
May I always walk in Your gift of life desperate for Your love, humble through the journey, with undignified praise for You alone.

Help me find beauty in the simple things in life
A kind smile, a gentle touch, patient thoughts, joy in laughter
Praise in song, excellence in hard work, discipline through difficulties
and unwavering belief in the midst of distraction, trial and temptation

May my life be a bright, shining reflection of who You are in this world.
Filled to share Your Word and overflowing to share Your Love

May my life’s journey end as a proud resident of Your Kingdom because of everything You have done in and through my life to show me the way to You.

I cry out and petition these things through the holy name of the only True Love ever to live in this world, my Lord, our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Sing!

By Marshall Mabry

On December 9, 2013

In Praise and Worship

16 Let the word of the Anointed One richly inhabit your lives. With all wisdom teach, counsel, and instruct one another. Sing the psalms, compose hymns and songs inspired by the Spirit, and keep on singing—sing to God from hearts full and spilling over with thankfulness. Colossians 3:16 The Voice (VOICE)

Corporate worship is for the church. Just as our individual worship is a personal spiritual act of obedience to grow in Christ, our praise and worship together is edifying to each other. Much like prayer, we mature in our prayer life as we begin to understand that our prayers do just as much for us as they do for those for whom we are praying.

In our corporate worship we gain a better understanding by “fellowship confirmation/edification” that we are forgiven and set free to do the Kingdom work God has prepared for each of us. There is a spiritual synergy with Christ that can only happen in corporate worship. This connection can not be replicated privately. Remember Jesus’ words “Wherever two or more are gathered in my Name, there I will be also.” (Matthew 18:20)

Without a song and/or dance in our hearts, we could never praise our Lord as He desires. (John 4:22-24) “For it is out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks or sings (Matthew 12:34).” The joy and passion of our worship of Jesus Christ is evident in the words we speak to each other and the songs we sing together.