Preparing For Sunday: Believe
Imagine what our lives would be like if we actually believed what we were singing on Sundays. Before you think “I do believe what we’re singing” and click away to watch that hilarious monkey on a segway on youtube, read the lyrics below and ask yourself, “Do I believe this about myself?”
Before the throne of God above I have a strong and perfect plea, a great High Priest whose name is love, who ever lives and pleads for me.
If you believe this, does it affect you? Is it something you believe in your head as fact, while your heart remains unchanged? Believing this means you will stand before a Holy God with confidence, your guilt replaced with a complete sense of forgiveness and righteousness. Personally, this is something I understand in my head, but it comes and goes in my heart. If I truly believed that I am already right before God, why do I try to earn righteousness? Why do I play a game of religion, where I justify my actions by comparing myself to others “not as good as me”? If Christ’s name is Love, and he ever lives and pleads for me, why do I treat him like a boring old man rocking on a porch thinking a Werthers will solve all my problems?
Chances are, when we’re honest we realize our belief in God is shallow, limited to our own terms, and doesn’t quite penetrate our heart. This is part of the reason corporate worship is so beautiful, so essential. Often on Sunday I’m brought to tears in an instant, unable to sing. In that moment when my mind is not centered on myself, God speaks to me, saying “I am satisfied to look on my Son and pardon you. Be forgiven and believe.” I long to feel that peace and joy each day.
In preparing your heart for Sunday and worshiping God today, read the lyrics below and listen to the song. Ask yourself, “Do I believe this?” Pray to God that you would, ask Him to make that a reality in your life. “His compassions never fail, they are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23). If we believe these words, in our heart, so much of that joy you’ve been longing for will be found in Him.
Before The Throne Of God Above
Words by Charitie Bancroft, 1863
Arrangement by Sojourn Church
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea,
A great High Priest whose name is “Love,”
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heav’n He stands
no tongue can bid me thence depart.
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair,
and tells me of the guilt within,
upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
One with Himself I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood;
My life is hid with Christ on high,
with Christ, my Savior and my God
with Christ, my Savior and my God
Behold him there! the risen Lamb,
my perfect, spotless Righteousness,
the great unchangeable I AM,
the King of glory and of grace!
Because the sinless Savior died,
my sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
to look on him and pardon me.
to look on him and pardon me.
To purchase this song by Sojourn Church, visit iTunes. To listen, here’s a link for last.fm.