First Church of God

Shine your light
and let the whole world see,
We're singing for the glory
of the risen King

Savior, He can move the mountains,
My God is mighty to save,
He is mighty to save.
Forever, author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

The above lyrics are from the song "Mighty to Save" that we sang in all three worship services this weekend at First Church.  This song is a testimony song that reminds us to sing and live our faith out in such a way that the world can see the light of Christ in us, and that we are singing for His glory. 

Many of you might know that I love history.  My dual passion for history and music is found in my collection of hymnals that I have on a shelf in my office. Many of these hymnals were published by the Church of God, the oldest being from 1897.  However, there is one hymnal in that collection, with the great name "Purest Gems", that was published by R.E. Hudson from Alliance, Ohio in 1891.  The first song in that hymnal is a testimony song, like "Mighty to Save" that we sang this weekend, called "Redeemed".  The songs of testimony have always been a part of church worship because they help us formulate our faith and share it out loud.  These songs give us a way to express what is true within us.  Read these lyrics from verse 2 of that song. 

I came to my Savior, His word believed,
When He the sinner at once received,
And now His praises I joyfully sing,
And dwell in the love of my Lord and King

I would imagine the lyrics above resonate with you, as they do with me, because it is the testimony of salvation that we have all experienced.  We have all received God grace and are no longer tied to a life of sin. Immediately, upon our faith, were received into His hands and can dwell in His love. 

Look at verse 3 of "Redeemed":

Oh, glad, "whosoever," the crimson tide
Is free and open, is deep and wide"
Oh, come, my brother, and bathe in the stream,
And you shall be filled with joy supreme.

There is a great quote from David Crowder, a worship leader and author, who said, "I believe that if we'd live like we sing, the planet would be different.".  Unfortunately, we often do not.  What if we did live our testimony like the song above?  What if we were as bold in the world around us as we were in singing the testimony songs in church? Have we been living verse three of that song?  Who have you told lately about the living water that you have found in your walk with Christ? 

Jesus said, "go and make disciples" (Matthew 28:19).  The verb "go" in the original greek in that verse comes from a noun that translates as a journey, occupation, travel, and way of life.  In fact, the way the verb is constructed makes it more like "as you are going".  So, as we are going through life we should be making disciples.  As we are "doing life", we should be missionaries for God's kingdom.  Often times we think of evangelism as something that the church does.  Or, we think of the missionary in a far off country.  However, we are the missionaries.  Through our journey of life, we should be sharing our faith.

We saw a poweful video this weekend (Penn Jillette Video).  In that video, Penn Jillette, a known atheist shares the story of someone giving him the gift of a Bible.  He is touched by this and asks the question, "how much do you have to hate somebody, to believe that everlasting life is possible, and not tell them that?"

Do we really believe that our God is mighty to save, as we sang this weekend? If we know that is true, how can we not share that with the world? 

Father, help us to live out the songs that we sing.  Help us to not just sing our testimony, but to share it with those around us.  Help us to be bold in our faith and be missionaries as we journey through our lives. Amen.