I got this new book by Ted Dekker on Thursday. It’s a fantastic book that addresses the world that lies beyond this world. So often we think of our life as limited to what we can see and feel, hear, taste, and touch. But if we would simply take the time to peer into this greater reality, we could live our lives here with greater enjoyment and fullness.

The book asks the question, “What would you die for?” It’s the question demanded of all martyrs for our faith. Most of us don’t understand how these courageous men and women stand firm and refuse to renounce their faith in the face of persecution and death. Ted Dekker tries to show a glimpse of the grace that our Father gives martyrs. Dekker akins this grace to a glimpse of heaven, where even the most excruciating pain in this world is nothing compared to the surpassing joy experienced there. It is like Stephen’s vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of the throne of God, honoring his testimony. The joy of heaven is far greater than anything we experience here.

In addition to the vision of pure joy that gives strength to these people willing to die for love, Dekker tells of a song, sung by the Father to us, that stirs a longing for heaven. This song, captured and recorded by Todd Agnew, is included with the book. I nearly wept when I heard the song for the first time. The lyrics tell of the Father’s waiting and longing for us to “come home.” Lines like, “I’m waiting to dance with you in fields full of colors you’ve never seen,” and “I’m waiting for the day when at last I’ll get to say, ‘My child, you are finally home.’” make me realize that my longing for my true home is not nearly as strong as the Father’s heart for us to return to Him.

The chorus to this song is fantastic as well. It stirs a passion to sing and dance and cry out even now, before we go home. Here it is:

Sing, oh son of Zion
Shout, oh child of Mine
Rejoice with all your heart and soul and mind
Sing, oh daughter of Zion
Cry out, oh child of Mine
Dance with all the strength that you can find
For you are finally home

Just think, if the Father is singing this to us, welcoming us to His home once again, how much is He pursuing us even now, drawing us to His side? It’s a fantastic thought, one that words cannot describe.

May we long for our eternal home in every moment and respond accordingly to the Father’s pursuit of us.

The Martyr’s Song
Todd Agnew and Ted Dekker
© 2005 Ardent/Koala (ASCAP)

God, I’m frustrated with my homework
I feel like nothing’s getting done
So please let the TA’s e-mail me back
So I can have something done before the game

(Chorus:)
‘Cause I don’t want to be lazy
And sit here playing my guitar
But if that’s where You want me
I’ll joyfully sing out loud

Homework Song 2
Kevin Lai
© 2005 by Kevin Lai

God’s amazingly good, isn’t He? He doesn’t need us for anything, so we can’t offer Him anything He doesn’t already own. Even our lives – though our choices and thoughts are independent of Him, He brings all things together for His glory. I suppose He doesn’t own our love – by His grace and love we have the free will to reject Him and love something/someone other than Him. But our love for Him is enabled by His love for us, and through Jesus Christ. So He is still the originator of all things, and the creator of all things.

It’s a comforting thought – no matter what I do or what I want, my primary purpose has nothing to do with what I give to God, but everything to do with how I respond to God. So there’s no need to run myself ragged with various projects or disciplines that attempt to glorify God with my own strength. While the disciplines of reading Scripture, prayer, and the like are important to the Christian life, they don’t foster intimacy with God any more than reading books and talking foster intimacy with your spouse. Let’s learn to respond to God, rather than expect God to respond to us. That’s where true worship comes – responding to God in the right ways, as an astute theologian pointed out.

So I’ve been spending time thinking about how good God is and how I don’t have to do anything. I don’t deserve Him, and yet He pursues me and calls me by name. He loves me unconditionally, with forgiveness and grace to deal with my imperfections. He’s showered me with so many gifts to enjoy – why don’t I enjoy them? Why am I not thankful? “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…” (James 1:17). And it’s His delight to give good gifts to those He loves. He also rewards those “who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). So it’s a heavenly right and privilege to enjoy what He has given us and praise Him for what He has taken away.

Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise
And when the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your name!
Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your glorious name!

Blessed Be Your Name
Matt Redman and Beth Redman
© 2002 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

Singleminded, wholehearted
One thing I ask
Singleminded, wholehearted
One thing I ask

That I may gaze upon Your beauty, oh Lord
That I may seek Your holy face
That I may know You in an intimate way
And follow after You all of my days,
Follow after You all of my days.

All of life comes down to just one thing,
And that’s to know You, oh Jesus, and make You known

- One Thing, by Charlie Hall

I’ve been reading through 2 Corinthians a lot these past few days, just trying to figure out a theme that can be ascribed to the whole of the book. It’s been really tough – Paul addresses a whole lot of different issues in the book, things from the sufferings the church endured to giving generously. But out of the whole book, the theme of knowing God and reflecting His glory to others seems to resonate the most with the things God’s been showing me recently.

Like the song above, we sing about how we want to know God and to make Him known throughout the world. However, it’s really simple, as I’ve seen personally, to present the idea of making God known as the primary reason for existence. While we Christians are all called to make disciples and to be “Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20), the message we bring to people is not to recruit for some large organization. One thing I remembered from Urbana (yes, cherish the little insight you’ll get from me about Urbana) was that ultimately, we are part of the harvest as well. The harvest doesn’t mean all of those “poor, lost souls in Central Asia” or some other “unreached people group in the 10-40 window.” The harvest, as Christ looked at Jerusalem in Matthew 9:36-38, includes all of us. We were all lost in our sin, at one point in our lives. We need to always remember that the message of reconciliation and forgiveness and repentance has everything to do with us as well.

But I’m getting off the subject, slightly. I was saying that while we are instructed to be witnesses of what we have experienced, seen, and heard, there is no purpose to our “ministry” if we are not constantly focused heavenward. Our primary purpose, as part of God’s great creation, is to glorify Him. As Christians, we glorify Him by our continual submission of our wills to Him. We worship Him unceasingly in our lives, as each day brings us closer to Him. There are several practical ways to glorify Him in action, but most importantly, our hearts/attitudes must be correct for our worship to glorify God. And it is by our desire to bring glory to our Creator that we overflow love, peace, joy, etc. to the people around us. Paul writes that we are the “aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:15). And so yes, we should have a desire to boldy proclaim Christ. Yes, we should be wrestling in prayer for our unbelieving friends. Yes, we should pray for opportunities to share life with the people around us. But ultimately, this all needs to come out of our focus on God. John Piper said it this way: “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” Let us return to the person of our worship, and from there have the overflow of compassion for the lost.

One Thing
Words and Music by Charlie Hall
© 1999 worshiptogether.com Songs\Six Steps Music

In need of grace, in need of love
In need of mercy raining down from high above
In need of strength, in need of peace
In need of things that only You can give to me.

In need of Christ, the perfect Lamb
My refuge strong, the great I Am
This is my song, my humble plea
I am Your child, I am in need.

- In Need, by Ross King

I was doing a study on this song earlier in the week, and I didn’t really have a chance to fully think through the impact of this truth. As all unoriginal people do when they first look at a subject, I looked up “need” in the dictionary. Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary defines need as “A state that requires supply or relief.” It’s a very humbling position, to be in need, to depend on others for supply or relief. As human beings, we don’t like being vulnerable. We don’t like to show weakness, or to be hurt or to become burdensome to others. This is especially true in American society, where the selfish “look out for number one” mentality reigns supreme. However, the idea of being in constant need is a theme addressed throughout Scripture. We must depend on God and be in need to Him.

This is far easier said than done, however. Think of it this way: how many times during a day do you go about your normal routine activities and not stop to think that you need God to carry you through the activity? How often do we work on our homework or spend time with friends and forget that without God we have no basis for joy? How often do we share The Bridge illustration or disciple a younger Christian and only have God in our minds, and not our hearts? Honestly, I’ve seen so many Christians who live in an ideal world, a world where having many so-called “tools” or “illustrations” make a person ready for “the ministry.” I put these key words in quotes because they are tossed about in many Christian circles. These “tools,” like the Bridge illustration or the Topical Memory System, are wonderful ways to share Christ with others, or to help a young Christian begin establishing spiritual disciplines of Scripture Memory and meditation. However, many Christians I know seem to think these define our spiritual growth. Now, of the things I’ve mentioned so far, I’ve basically used The Navigators’ material as examples, not because they’re the most guilty (no particular group here is more guilty than another), but because they happen to have the most material I see on a regular basis. Any formulaic method, designed to help be “more effective,” makes me think that Christianity is more of a business enterprise than a life relationship with the One True God of the universe. When used improperly, these methods take the place of the Holy Spirit in the minds of young Christians.

So back to need. Why the above bothers me so much is because I see the Christian life beyond memorizing Scripture, praying every day, sharing the gospel with others, and all of that. This God that we claim to serve and worship is “before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). Scripture also tells us that apart from Him we can’t do anything (Jn. 15:5). Why then do we insist on making it so easy to not depend on Him in our actions? Need is fuel for our worship. Because we need God, way more than He needs us, we must surrender every aspect of our lives to Him so that He can satisfy us. The essence of Scripture is based on need. We had all we needed in God, we turned away from Him, and He came to bring us back to Him. We need more than we ever realize. And it is by our confidence in His provision that we yield our lives to Him. Enough of these walls and defensive barriers that keep God out. Let us cast all of our anxiety on the Almighty God, because He cares for us (1 Pet. 5:6-7).

It’s a bold statement. Honestly, I can’t say that I confess my needs to God nearly enough. But by His amazing grace, I can say that this revelation truly challenged the core of my attitudes and motives.

In Need
Words and Music by Ross King
© 1996 Ross King