Tag Archives: Oceans

Beauty of God's Creation, Church, Community, Crucifixion, Easter and Lent, God, Inspired, Jesus, steadfast love, Transformational, Wednesday Worship, Worship

Worship Wednesday – Worshipping Together and By Ourselves – God Draws Near

March 29, 2017 admindeb Leave a comment

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. – Psalm 95:1-5

I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. – 2 Timothy 1:12

One of the things I cherish most about Movement Church is our corporate worship time. To stand essentially before God, with other brothers and sisters, and sing just to Him is a taste of Heaven. There are so many great worship songs these days – both the grand old hymns and the more contemporary. Gospel-saturated lyrics remind us who God is and who we are as His children.

David Mathis, of Desiring God, writes:

As the Swedish proverb says, a shared joy is a double joy. In corporate worship, the “graces and benefits” we uniquely enjoy are not only awakening, assurance, advance, and accepting others’ leadership, but also the accentuated joy of deeper and richer and greater adoration and awe, since our delight in Jesus expands as we magnify him together with others.

The secret of joy in corporate worship is not only self-forgetfulness — or to put it positively, preoccupation with Jesus and his glory — but also the happy awareness that we are not alone in having our souls satisfied in him. – David Mathis

This past Sunday, as we enter the season of celebrating Christ’s death for us and his glorious resurrection, we sang three familiar songs. You Are [Be Thou] My Vision, Lead Me to the Cross, and Oceans.

As we sang I remembered how God has touched my heart with these songs many times over. I’ve written about or referenced them at pivotal times in life. [See links to those previous blogs below.]

Corporate worship is a soul-filling opportunity weekly to connect with each other and to celebrate our God. Worship Wednesday is a touchpoint for me during the week. I purposely remind myself (and whomever reads this) that God is worthy to be praised, lauded, and obeyed. Whatever the rest of the week brings, truth stands.

So…wherever you are…at your desk or work station, on your phone…maybe you can’t sing out loud…but could we worship together through three songs? These three songs?

[If you click on the link, it will bring up a lyric video] or you may know these songs well enough to sing with just the printed lyrics that follow. Let’s worship together the God of the universe and the Lover of our souls.]

You Are My Vision – Rend Collective Photo Credit: Pinterest

You are my vision, oh King of mine heart. Nothing else satisfies, only You, Lord. You are my best thought, by day or by night. Waking or sleeping, Your presence, my light.

You are my wisdom; You are my true word – I ever with You and You with me, Lord. You’re my great Father and I’m Your true Son. You dwell inside me, together we’re one.

You are my battle shield, sword for the fight. You are my dignity; You’re my delight. You’re my soul’s shelter, and You’re my high tower. Come raise me heavenward, oh, Power of my power.

I don’t want riches or a man’s empty praise. You’re my inheritance, now and always. You and You only, the first in my heart – High king of heaven, my treasure You are.

High king of heaven, when victory’s won, may I reach heaven’s joy, oh, bright heaven’s Son. Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, still be my vision, oh, Ruler of all.

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, still be my vision, oh, Ruler of all.

Worship Wednesday – You Are My Vision – Rend Collective

Lead Me to the Cross – Hillsong Photo Credit: Music Notes World

Savior I come
Quiet my soul remember
Redemption’s hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as loss

[Chorus:]
Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I
Tempted and trialed
Human
The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you’re risen

Everything I once held dear
I count it all as loss

[Chorus]

To your heart
To your heart
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart

[Chorus]*

*Lyrics to Lead Me to the Cross

YouTube Video – Lead Me to the Cross – Hillsong United – Lyric Video

Jesus and Holy Week – Day 6 – Good Friday – His Trial, Crucifixion, and Burial – DebMillsWriter

Oceans – Kari Jobe Photo Credit: Pinterest

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

(Chorus)
And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

(Chorus)

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

(Chorus)

Worship Wednesday – I Am Yours, and You Are Mine – Oceans

Worship Wednesday – I Am Yours, and You Are Mine – Oceans – Revisited

How Worship Reminds Us To Live – Stewart Fenters

Five Benefits of Corporate Worship – David Mathis

Attending or Focus, Courage, Faithfulness, God, Grace, Inspired, Jesus, Lessons Learned, Pray, Redeeming & Restoring, Walk with God, Wednesday Worship, work, Workplace or Marketplace, Worship

Worship Wednesday – I Am Yours, and You Are Mine – Oceans – Revisited

October 28, 2015 admindeb 1 Comment

Kari Jobe, singing Oceans

[Adapted from a blog I wrote here.]

Thus says the Lord: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God…” Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters. — Isaiah 43:1-2, 16

“Fear not” is the most frequent command of God found in His Word. “Fear not” – over 200 times. It’s not that hard to understand how it is He calls us not to fear but to trust Him in our circumstances.

There are times we just can’t see above the waves of our life…maybe it’s not our own storm but the storm others we love are passing through. The critical need to make a decision. The (re-)entrusting of work into the hands of God…or the hands of another. The walking into a future that’s shrouded from our sight… It always has been an unknown, but it seems more so today.

The truest reality is that there is still nothing to fear, really. God is with us. He went before us, preparing for where we are today. He will prepare for our tomorrows. He calls us to keep our eyes on Him.

My husband and his work team are going through such a glorious season (if I may call it that). There is nowhere to look but to Jesus.

It is such a season where God’s call to not fear and have faith stills our heart and steadies our resolve like no other time.

Dave wrote his team this email recently:

“I keep thinking of the account in Matthew 14 of Peter walking to Jesus on the water. It is pretty amazing that Peter got out of the boat and walked to Jesus. He actually got all the way across the water to Jesus. As he was walking on water in the midst of that storm Peter must have been intensely focused on Jesus. When he got to Jesus, it seems that he momentarily lost focus, turned and looked at everything around him. At that point, his fear overwhelmed him and he began to sink. As Peter cried out for help, ‘Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him.’ When Peter’s faith failed, Jesus grabbed him and pulled him back. In recent days, I have been thinking a lot about that story. Like Peter, when I am looking at Jesus, I’m good to go. When I look at what is around me, I become afraid and distracted. When I call out to Jesus, He rescues me. So the stresses and challenges make me recognize my dependence on the Lord and push me closer to Him. For that I can be grateful. Let’s keep encouraging each other to run well (Hebrews 12:1-2). I thank God for all of you and for the privilege of running with such great brothers and sisters.”

I was also reminded recently of the Apostle Paul’s letter to his “son” Timothy where he encouraged him to be confident in this:

“It is He who saved us and chose us for His holy work not because we deserved it but because that was His plan long before the world began — to show his love and kindness to us through Christ.” – 2 Timothy 1:9

We are in a time of making hard work decisions. In an organizational downsizing, some will be retiring soon. Many leave a work they love and face a very different future – both which they will entrust to the God who will show Himself trustworthy. For those staying on the job, these may also see their work change. The phrase, “there will be lots of holes to plug” is something meant to comfort those remaining. It’s more how does anyone “fill the shoes” of those leaving? Those seasoned, revered “old” ones…

Tempted to fear…No, fear not.

I love words…and was delighted when my friend, Alicia, gave me a piece of art she made just for me. It is a line from the song Oceans sung by Kari Jobe. I didn’t know that song until we, together with other close friends, attended a night of worship featuring Jobe.

“When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace.”

Lord, give us ears to hear You even amidst rolling waves and raging seas. Fill us with Your faithfulness.

Worship with me:

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

(Chorus)
And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

(Chorus)

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

(Chorus)

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:11-13

Oceans Lyrics – song writers – Matt Crocker, Joel Houston, and Salomon Ligthelm

YouTube Video with Lyrics – Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) – Hillsong United – Lyrics – Zion 2013

YouTube Video with Lyrics – Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) – Hillsong United – with Lyrics – with powerpoint of ocean waves

Wednesday Worship

Worship Wednesday – I Am Yours, and You Are Mine – Oceans

May 14, 2014 admindeb 4 Comments

Thus says the Lord: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God…” Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters. — Isaiah 43:1-2, 16

Last summer I was persuaded to attend a Kari Jobe concert. Live concerts don’t do for me these days what they did once upon a time (so much celebrity focus & the crowd issues). Also Kari Jobe was unknown to me (loved Revelation Song but through other artists). The concert was billed as a “Night of Worship” which intrigued me. Also, going with a group of young women who all love Jesus sealed the deal.

The venue was a huge church with a cavernous worship space. When Kari and her band took the stage, the room went dark. The stage was lit with strings of twinkle lights, bare bulb floor lights out front, and backed by a curtain-to-curtain panel on which video was projected. Lyrics of each song were shown for us to truly be part of the worship. It was, in spite of all the gorgeousness of the artists, truly a night of worshipping God. Kari Jobe and band prayed, sang, and danced through each song, and we with them.

One song, in particular, touched my heart and still ministers to my spirit every time I hear or sing it. It is “Oceans” written by Matt Crocker, Joel Houston, and Salomon Ligthelm. In the night of worship with Kari Jobe, during this song, the stage backdrop was covered by a video of enormous, rolling and tumbling waves. As we sang the lyrics, the waves mesmerized us all. I felt my smallness before a GOD who created oceans. If it weren’t for the desire to praise Him through those lyrics, that visual of those powerful crashing waves would have silenced me in awe of the One so much bigger than His creation.

This praise song, Oceans, brings Isaiah 43 to mind – a faithful God calling out to an unfaithful people.

Lord, give us ears to hear You even amidst rolling waves and raging seas. Fill us with Your faithfulness.

“Oceans”

You call me out upon the waters the great unknown where feet may fail and there I find You in the mystery in oceans deep My faith will stand.

(Chorus) And I will call upon Your name and keep my eyes above the waves when oceans rise; my soul will rest in Your embrace for I am Yours and You are mine.

Your grace abounds in deepest waters; Your sovereign hand will be my guide. Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me You’ve never failed and You won’t start now.

(Chorus) Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders; let me walk upon the waters wherever You would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior.

Oceans Lyrics

Homemade video (start at 47 secs in) of Night of Worship at another venue (with ocean wave backdrop)

Hillsong Oceans video with Lyrics