The next entry for my Blog is Here I Am To Worship and was first released in 2001. The original lyrics were written by Tim Hughes. A link to Chris Tomlin performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.
Here I Am to Worship
Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes, let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You
Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God
You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
King of all days
Oh so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came to the earth You created
All for love’s sake became poor
Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God
You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
Well, I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
Well, I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
Well, I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
Well, I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
Have you ever stopped for a while and just thought about all of the things going on around you, across the country, and around the world? It is sort of scary living in a world that puts “ME” first. It is almost as if people are shifting from a focus on family and others to an “It’s all about me” mentality. The more we adopt this philosophy, the farther we get from God, what he wants and expects from us, and the blessings only he can provide; the darker the world becomes. There is no true happiness in a dark world without the light and love of Jesus.
He showed us that light some 2000 years ago, when he humbly set foot on this earth and let us see him, touch him, and feel the light and love that no one else can offer. Jesus gave up the perfect peace of heaven to come to this dark and troubled world. Imagine the shock if you had to give up everything and then sacrifice yourself for those who might even hate you. He came as a simple man and walked in our sinful world and the people did not realize his true power until he arose from the grave and then ascended into heaven. For those who believed then and believe now, we have his love and his promises inside us; we just have to reach out to him for peace. Jesus is the only one who can show us the real beauty of what life can be and how he wanted it to be. He only asks that we accept him as our Lord and Savior and he committed to giving us eternal life. We just have to survive our few short years on earth to live an eternity with him.
With the above two paragraphs in mind, it is obvious that our priorities as a civilization are all out of whack. The chorus of the song basically screams what we need to do. We need to stop living the ways of the world and start worshipping our God again; make him first instead of an afterthought. Our heads should be bowing in worship as we cry out to God for help, guidance, and forgiveness. He is the only one who is worthy of our worship and he is the only one we can depend on every day of our lives. No one else or anything else is worthy of our praise. Philippians 2:9-11 delivers this message to us: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Do we spend more time focused on the events of the world than on the expectations of God? In other words, who or what is your true god and can that god bring you the happiness you want? The answer is we are all guilty of putting other things/gods before the one God. We eventually lose our hope in the midst of the noise of the world around us and forget about the only God who loves us and can bring us light.
He is the owner and master of every day of our lives, and has been that way since the day he created us. He is the almighty God that rules the universe, he is not limited to just our world. The good news is that he is still in control, we just need to get onboard. Now and forever is the time to worship, to honor his glory and to him above all else. He doesn’t fit in an “It’s all about me” world.
We will never clearly understand the suffering and separation that Christ endured while on the cross; he never wants us to endure what he did and that is why he paid the price. Where is your focus today, is it where it should be? How long has it been since you have broken down in prayer while asking for forgiveness or for change in your world? Take time to stop and sing this chorus with feeling and power and I believe you will understand. Now is the time to worship, now is the time to bow down, and now is the time to tell God how much you love him and want to do what he has commanded.