Jesus Our Best
I hope you were able to see this past Sunday's (Aug. 16th) live stream worship service. I know some of you unfortunately don't not have the capability to watch the service online or you may not have had the time but I thought it was a great worship service. Aside from our faithful tech team behind the scenes that makes it all possible, what I saw was different members of our church expressing their passion for God in different ways:
Stephen opening the service with his heart and humor;
JR leading us in worship with a focus on seeing Jesus with out spiritual eyes;
Susan W. sharing her heart for missions, that people in Papua New Guinea and India would know God's healing and compassion;
Lil doing what she loves to do, reading the Scriptures; and
Pr. Kory passionately portraying what happened on the Road to Emmaus.
It's amazing how God has gifted each one to do what they do! It was a testimony to me of the uniqueness of each member of the Body of Christ and a blessing to see it all done in worship to Him. I Corinthians 12:18-20 says "But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." We are all one body created as distinct and unique parts to work in unison for His glory. And I know that God is at work in your life as well. It's crucial then that you use your gifts and talents when possible to bless His body, the church.
However, that wasn't really my devotional thought (apologies for the tangent) :). In the worship time yesterday, a line from the song "Knowing You, Jesus" stood out to me. We sang "You're my all, You're the best. You're my joy, my righteousness." Now I've sung that song many times before but I think this was the first time I had thought deeply about the lyrics and what they meant, about Jesus being the best. Since becoming a Christian, I've understood Christ to be first or most important in my life but BEST seems to have a different quality to it, doesn't it? It goes beyond just making Him first, but knowing deep in my heart that He is what's most excellent, most outstanding, most desirable to me. How about you? What is best in your life? I think this can be a tough question to answer when you get past the normal cliche things we often say. It's hard to answer because what is best is not just what makes you happy or makes you laugh or makes you feel good. It's much deeper than that. It is what satisfies the soul.
Is that who Jesus is in your life? In John 4, Jesus talks with a Samaritan woman about water drawn from a well. In verses 13-14, He says to her “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” After initially thinking Jesus had an extra supply of water that could satisfy her physical thirst, the woman realizes that He is talking about her soul, and that He is the Messiah, the Christ. Only Jesus can supply the water that our thirsty souls desire. Only He can fill the God-shaped vacuum in our hearts. Family can't do it. Relationships won't do it. Money, success, health, and comfort will not satisfy what we truly seek. The water that Jesus gives (the Holy Spirit) is a constantly flowing spring that refreshes and satisfies, and brings forth eternal life. Jesus is the best, and that's why knowing and loving Him should be our lifelong goal.
Knowing you, Jesus
Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You're my all, you're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord
May that be our life's refrain.
Pastor Darren
