Lion and the Lamb

The next entry for my Blog is Lion and the Lamb, which was written by Brenton Brown, Brian Mark Johnson, and Leeland Mooring.  It was first released March 25, 2016.  A link to Leeland Mooring singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Lion and the Lamb

He’s coming on the clouds

He’s coming on the clouds
Kings and kingdoms will bow down
And every chain will break
As broken hearts declare His praise
For who can stop the Lord Almighty

And our God is the lion
The Lion of Judah
He’s roaring with power
And fighting our battles
And every knee will bow before Him
Our God is the lamb
The lamb that was slain
For the sins of the world
His blood breaks the chains
And every knee will bow before the lion and the lamb
Every knee will bow before Him (yeah)

So, open up the gates

So, open up the gates
Make way before the King of Kings
The God who comes to save
Is here to set the captives free
For who can stop the Lord Almighty

Our God is the lion
The Lion of Judah
He’s roaring with power
And fighting our battles
And every knee will bow before Him
Our God is the lamb
The lamb that was slain
For the sin of the world
His blood breaks the chains
And every knee will bow before the lion and the lamb
Every knee will bow before Him

“How many here believe
Every knee will bow
Every tongue will confess
And then”

For who can stop the Lord Almighty
Who can stop the Lord Almighty
Who can stop the Lord Almighty
No one
Who can stop
Sing it over the battle

“Yeah, that’s it”

Who can stop the Lord Almighty
There is no one
Who can stop the Lord Almighty
Who can stop the Lord (yeah)

And our God is the lion
The Lion of Judah
He’s roaring with power
And fighting our battles
And every knee will bow before Him
Our God is the lamb
The lamb that was slain
For the sins of the world
His blood breaks the chains
And every knee will bow before the lion and the lamb
Every knee will bow before Him (yeah)

Every knee will bow
Tongue confess

Take a quick second to imagine hearing the sounds of rapidly forming throngs of people suddenly gathering outside where you are and the emergency alert system going off on your phone, your TV, and your radio.  You, like everyone else, run to your window or go outside to see what is causing this disturbance.  As you start looking around, you see everyone pointing their fingers into the sky.  Many are taking pictures and videos as quickly as they can.  You look up and immediately start falling to your knees as you quickly realize the son of God is descending from the sky.  The bible tells us in Revelation1:7, “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all peoples on earth will mourn because of him.  So shall it be! Amen.”  For those of us who have already accepted Christ as our personal savior, we will immediately be taken into heaven to begin our eternal life with God the father.  Those who have not accepted Jesus as their personal savior, will remain on earth regardless of who they are and the titles they hold.  All will bow down before him as he returns, some in awe, some in respect, and some in fear.  The poor, the rich, as well as world leaders will all bow down to the king of all kings.  The world, for those left behind, will be changed forever.  I can’t even begin to imagine how many people will be taken up with Christ and the impact on the entire world for those who are left behind.

Jesus, also known as the Lion of Judah in the bible, has come back with all of his power and glory.  Up until that time, people mostly remember Jesus hanging on the cross, or perhaps coming out of the tomb in sort of a quiet way.  While on the cross, Jesus was the sacrificial lamb, he was giving his life for us so that we could have eternal life.  Because of him, all of our sins had been forgiven as long as we accepted him as our sacrifice.  He has always been known as the son of God, but a lot of people really don’t think about the power he wields.  He has power greater than any of us can begin to imagine and he is returning to earth to take his believers to their final home in heaven.  He is known as the lion of Judah because he descended from the lineage of Judah and King David.  He comes back with the ferociousness and power of a lion to free us from our world of turmoil, destruction, war, and societal decay.  He comes to take us home as well as to fulfill the promise of his 2nd coming promised thousands of years ago.  Even the greatest despots and evil people in our world will bow before him.  They will not necessarily bow with adoration or acceptance, but they will see him wielding a power that they cannot control.  Philippians 2:10-11 tells us “That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Note this does not mean that everyone will accept Christ as their savior and be allowed to go to heaven, it merely means they recognize that he is a being of great power.  People do not get to heaven without accepting Christ as their personal savior.

All who have accepted him in the past, no longer have to fight the temptations of sin, every tear of earthly sadness will be wiped away, and they will feel a peace they have never felt before.  Every person on earth will finally realize that life is not all about them, it is about their relationship with Jesus.

So, if Jesus comes tomorrow, will you be rising up in the clouds with him and announcing to the world that nothing and no one can stop the Lord Almighty?

Click to Hear Leeland Mooring Sing Lion and the Lamb

Here I Am To Worship

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.

Click to Hear Chris Tomlin Perform Here I am to Worship.