Marshall Mabry - Undignified Worshiper of Jesus Christ

Some worship thoughts for followers of Jesus Christ!

You Are Beautiful

Your words are powerful. Proverbs says they have the power of life and death. We all experience too much criticism, negativity, and isolation. In Psalms 139, God says “we are fearfully and marvelously made.” Every person is made in the image of God.

“You Are Beautiful” is a song I just finished for a song production class I am currently taking. I hope its message inspires, uplifts, and speaks life to everyone who listens.

It was my “comfortable song” project in a music production class with Charlie Puth.

May today find you speaking life to the people God brings around you. Uplifting words. Encouraging words. Positive words. Life-giving, sprit-reviving words! To the glory of Christ!

I Will Sing

I wrote this song as a measure of hope during our COVID lockdown. This is the first time in our church’s history that we didn’t meet as a congregation on Sunday mornings. Christians sing in the face of evil. We sing in the face of our imprisonment. We sing in the face of our trials. Psalm 40:3 (NIV) says “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.”

May today find you singing a new song proclaiming the gospel of our Lord!

Heaven

There’s a grand wedding party coming! And we all are invited. It’s open to everyone. We only need to accept the invitation and go. Things will happen there too wonderful to explain with words. Too marvelous for our eyes to perceive. Too amazing for our minds to conceive.

All burdens are gone. All disease is cured. Perfection is real in every aspect. Sorrow is forgotten. Light has no opposite. Love is real and eternally true.

Come! Come one! Come all!

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for Jesus. Because of His resurrection, death has lost its sting! Thank You! That through His strength, we can face any obstacle with confidence. Thank You! That through His grace, we can love beyond the boundaries we set up. May Your will always be done through our lives! Amen.

I’m So Thankful

What have you given God thanks for today? 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” “Give thanks in all circumstances!” I believe this is the key to contentment – and it’s God’s will for your life in Christ.

I wanted to write a new song about being thankful for all God has done, is doing, and is going to do in my life. There just aren’t enough words or enough time in my life to contain His faithfulness and wonder. I hope this song helps you give glory and thanksgiving to God right in the middle of your circumstances.

Be Filled With Light!

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” (Matthew 6:22, NIV)

In America, we live in a culture where media is overwhelming. Through our electronic connectivity, we have instant access to world news, social media, textual, video and sound libraries, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc., etc. It can easily overwhelm the rational, intelligent, mature mind, not to mention the young, immature and innocent.

I believe God doesn’t waste any of our experiences in life. They mold us into the characters we represent. God loves us so much, He gave us “free will.” We have the ability to choose what experiences will define us. It is only when we allow His Word to sustain us and His Spirit to guide our choices, will we see good things to fill our soul.

Paul says this about the things that should fill our imagination and thoughts in Philippians 4:8 (NIV). “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Father of Lights,
Help me make choices that fill my soul with light that I may shine Your glory in this dark world through Christ, my Savior!
Amen.

Music Is Not Worship!

Music is a powerful expression of individualism. It is a gift from our Creator that can bridge the communication gap between, tribes, tongues, nations, and generations that intelligence and other mediums can not. Like any gift, we can hoard it for ourselves — or give it away. We can make it self-serving and pervert it. Or, we can create healing songs that can bring relief to the depressed and melancholy. We can create temporal, manipulative songs that manufacture emotional connections that eventually get lost in reality. Or, we can create eternal spiritual songs that build up faith in the heart of every believer and encourages them to live out their love for God and their neighbor. “I desire to write songs that do the later.” Nonetheless, music is just one tool, one method, one practice to help us worship. Music is not worship. Obedience to Christ’s commands is worship. “Loving God and love one another” is our worship’s ultimate testimony.

Holy Father,
Help me to always know that You are the focus and object of my worship, not a song, or a melody, or what I do. You alone are worthy of my praise. To You be all honor, glory, power, and thanksgiving through Christ our Lord, forever and ever! Amen.

Music in Church: Holy, Not Holy, Only Holy?

WHO’s are we?
We are not born as children of God, but children of Satan. Jesus said in John 8:44 (NIV) “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” The main conversation of John 8 was Jesus explaining his relationship with His Father to a “dumb” audience. (see also Ephesians 2:1-5)

We start as children of the world, the world is under Satan’s power. But as God’s grace leads us to the cross, we choose Christ as our Savior and become adopted into God’s family. One of the hardest things I believe the merciful have to come to grip with is the fact that “innocent, new-born babies have more potential and opportunity to grow up evil than they do good. Only through receiving Christ, does anyone have hope.”

Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation’s Music
In his best-selling book “The Purpose Driven Life,” Rick Warren makes this statement, “There is no such thing as ‘Christian’ music; there are only Christian lyrics. It is the words that make a song sacred, not the tune. There are no spiritual tunes.” He continues “God loves all kinds of music because he invented it all — fast and slow, loud and soft, old and new. You probably don’t like it all, but God does! If it is offered to God in spirit and truth, it is an act of worship . . . There is no biblical style!”

Inspirational or “Feels good!”
We need to personally know what “Holy” means! Your sacred boundaries should dictate what music you believe to be holy and what you think is secular. Ephesians 2:1 says we are spiritually dead until we receive Christ. When I hear a special song or experience an extraordinary performance, or see a once in a lifetime sunset or sunrise, etc., – they can all be considered inspirational. According to Webster, to be “inspired” simply means “aroused, animated, or imbued with the spirit to do something, by or as if by supernatural or divine influence.” (Webster’s Dictionary) Before Christ, things may have looked beautiful, but they were not “seen” with an “eternal” eye directed by the Holy Spirit — so everything was only temporal and dies. Only the Truth will last forever. A Christian by the power of Christ should be able to look at the simplest thing and see the majesty of God. The ocean, a mountain, a bird, a tree, a blade of grass all proclaim the majesty of God. Moreover, in humility, the same Christian must endure the heresy of this world and daily humble themselves, pick up their cross, and follow Jesus.

Every Christian will fall to what I call “the temptation of the Pharisee.” In our futile attempt to understand God’s grace, we question the purpose and significance of other people’s ministry. This leads to one of the things I love about the Christian Church, there is a multitude of denominations, with a variety of worship styles. No perfect people, no perfect worship, no perfect churches down here. Somewhere there’s fit. Hebrews warns us not to forsake the fellowship of the saints. When Peter asked our Lord about John, Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” (John 21:22)

I don’t like all Hillsong songs, though I love “Shout To The Lord.” I certainly don’t like all Elevation’s music, but, I love “O Come To The Altar” and their new song “Graves to Gardens.” I do not align myself with the theology and religious practices of Bethel, but I love “Living Hope” and the “Goodness of God.”

Jesus said even evil parents know how to give good gifts to their children. If a song helps a believer or non-believer come closer to knowing “good” — knowing God, then isn’t it a good gift? Besides our Lord Jesus, to me, scripture’s greatest worship leader was King David. Still, he was a liar, adulterer, and murderer. Do we stop singing his “Psalms” because he was a sinner? I believe a heart that is spiritually alive, washed by the blood of Christ can sing “I’m Walking On Sunshine” into heaven. Moreover, I know of only one song perpetually sung in heaven “Holy! Holy! Holy! Is the Lord God Almighty! Who was, and Is, and Is to come! (Revelation 4:8)” But soon, “Worthy is the Lamb… (Revelation 5:12)” will be sung.

In this current, cultural climate of rebellion and dissension, Christians need to remember “everyone is in submission.” (Ephesians 5:21) Remember this always, Jesus said this in Matthew 12:36 “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” — Or sung?

Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ… The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

Brokenness

BrokennessHow evident is God’s reflection in your life? I once heard a great definition of “ministry” by the concept of this question. Your ministry is only a reflection of God’s work in your life. If no one can see Christ in your life, you have no ministry. If the subject of all of your interactions and conversations is about yourself, you have no ministry.

Philippians 3:8 (NLT) “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ.”

Words like self-esteem hold no importance to a follower of Christ. In fact, all words that involve self should not be associated to a Christian. Selfless is the only true word to describe a Christian. We are called to serve, not be served. The next time you are well-served at a restaurant, remember Christ’s command to His disciples.

John 13:12-17 (NLT) “12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because it is true. 14 And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them. 17 You know these things – now do them!”
— That is the path of blessing!

Corporate worship can be an obvious reflection of the spiritual condition of the church. A healthy church is not reflected by the number of attendees, but by the brokenness of its worshipers. A broken worshiper recognizes his/her worth and cannot contain their thankfulness for our Lord’s unfailing love. It is in our brokenness, our weakness, He is strong.

Holy Father, Help me to see that it is in my brokenness You are made strong and my greatest ministry flows from it. Amen.

(Taken from a devotion written March 6, 2006)

The Evolution of Worship: Stillness

The world is a very busy, noisy place. It is constantly in motion. It demands our attention to make us believe we need to keep up in order to survive. God’s Word says that to know Him we must be still. Stillness, means we need to be completely “at rest and silent” in mind, soul, and body. The world is constantly trying to rob us of His peace. It wants to take our peace, our stillness and fill it with busyness. Jesus said, “I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn’t like the peace that this world can give. So don’t be worried or afraid.” (John 14:27)

In this troubling world of greed, pleasure, and pride; anxiety and fear abound. Children of God seek peace. Jesus said, “God blesses those people who make peace. They will be called his children!” (Matthew 5:9)

If we want to mature in our worship of the Holy One, we need to fully recognize His Glory in silence. If we can not worship Him in silence, we can not worship Him with noise or song. If we can not worship Him in stillness, we can not worship Him in action or dance.

True intimacy with the Lord comes from our quiet times with Him. “Very early the next morning, Jesus got up and went to a place where he could be alone and pray.” (Mark 1:35) I believe that while we are living in this world our greatest communion with God happens in our silent worship. During this time, we don’t ask for anything, we are just content with the moment and we are still. In this stillness, God promises to make His presence known. Too many times worshipers believe they need an external stimulus (usually in the form of music) to help them develop an awareness of God. He is never gone. He is always here. He is always listening, always willing to love and give us the true desire of our hearts. We just need to be still and know that He is God.

(Taken from a devotion written May 15, 2006.)

God’s Gifts

Who can out give God? What do we really own? Throughout my life, Christ has shown me that it is in giving that I am are truly blessed and prosper. Furthermore, that my life is a continual process of laying it all down (giving it away) and not claiming ownership to anything in this world. It is in knowing that my heart is in heaven with the treasures I have stored there based on the good works I have accomplished through Him which ushers His peace and gives me contentment.
How do we recognize His gifts? I believe that a seeker of truth must come to a reverent, holy fear of God. This fear will aid the seeker from distinguishing between their own desires and God’s “good and perfect gifts.”

James 1:13-18 (NLT) “13 And remember, no one who wants to do wrong should ever say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else either. 14 Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. 15 These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death. 16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, who created all heaven’s lights. Unlike them, he never changes or casts shifting shadows.”

One might be tempted to believe that latest Apple IPhone is a better gift than a single blade of grass. One is good and perfect, created by God; the other satisfies a short-term desire.

There are times that the world will distract me from worshiping my Lord with sinful thoughts and comfort seeking. I am reminded of Jesus parable of the rich young man who could not give up His worldly possessions and follow Christ when He was challenged by our Lord.

Matthew 19:16-22 (NLT) “16 Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good things must I do to have eternal life?” 17 “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “Only God is good. But to answer your question, you can receive eternal life if you keep the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” the man asked. And Jesus replied: “‘Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not testify falsely. 19 Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’ “20 “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied.” What else must I do?” 21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But when the young man heard this, he went sadly away because he had many possessions.
Matthew 10:38-39 (NLT) 38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it.”

This is a test we must all take. Ultimately, you will not be able to leave this world and enter into Christ’s kingdom without giving your life away. Your life is a gift from God. He wants you to give it away. He wants you to invest your life like the trustworthy, hard-working, kingdom-investors in our Lord’s “parable of the talents.” When I am called home to give an account of my contributions to His Kingdom while I was in this world, I pray that His grace will allow my testimony to stand with confidence. Finally, my greatest joy will be to hear from my Lord, “Matthew 25:21…. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’”

Taken from a devotion written March 7, 2006

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