Hello OCBC family,

During my class “Principles of Worship” I’ve been studying about how important  prayer in worship time is, corporate and personal.  Prayer is the communication that we have with the Father.  Yes, we have His voice through His Word, the Bible, but He delights to hear our voice, which means He likes to hear our prayers.

Pastor Blain gave a great sermon about prayer last Sunday, and he said that prayers can be spontaneous or written, and I want to share an ancient prayer/poem from the 12th century based on Isaiah 62:5b.  Enjoy it!

As the bridegroom to his chosen,
As the king unto his realm,
As keep unto the castle,
As the pilot to the helm,
So, Lord, art Thou to me.

As the fountain in the garden,
As the candle in the dark,
As the treasure in the coffer,
As the manna in the ark,
So, Lord, art Thou to me.

As the ruby in the setting,
As the honey in the comb,
As the light within the lantern,
As the father in the home,
So, Lord, art Thou to me.

As the sunshine in the heavens,
As the image in the glass,
As the fruits upon the fig tree,
As the dew upon the grass,
So, Lord, art Thou to me.

In His service,

Israel

Hello OCBC family,

I was reading in my devotional the words of Jesus to the woman at the well, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).  This sentence from our Lord is very powerful in understanding what worship is.

First, it is telling us that God is spirit.  This is easy to read but hard to understand.  He is not a force like oriental religions try to teach.  He is not an exalted man that gained deity like Mormons believe.  He is not a distant God who doesn’t care about creation.  He is spirit, which means He is eternal and beyond our comprehension.   Did you see that Jesus didn’t say that we need to understand God, then worship Him?  No, Jesus said God is spirit and we must worship Him.  Yes, we can study theology and try to understand who God is, but when we have our moment of adoration with the Father it is just about our relationship with Him.

The second part said that we must worship Him in spirit and truth.  To understand this I want Brother Paul to share a few words with us.  In 1 Corinthians 14:15 he said, “What am I to do?  I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.”  This is so clear!  When we worship our Lord we need to use our feelings and say to Him that we love Him, that He is so precious to us, that He is our all in all.  But, we need to worship Him with our mind also, which means that we can say to Him that He is Holy, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, and every heavy word in the Bible that describes our God.

Worshiping in spirit and truth should be like when you learn a part for a drama, musical, etc.  You learn the words, practice the movements (worship in truth), but at the moment of the performance you enjoy the presentation (worship in spirit), and you give everything you have for your audience (God).

Why am I telling you this?  Jesus gives you the answer, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23).

In His service,

Israel

Hello OCBC family,

During my devotional time I was reading Ephesians 6:18 where it says, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (KJV).  This verse called to my attention that prayer has two purposes, first it is a sweet channel of relationship with the Father and intercession for the saints, but, second, it is a weapon against the enemy.  Did you notice that this verse is after the “Armor of God” passage?  Yes, we need the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, for shoes the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and guess what…? the prayer in the Spirit is at the end of the list.

When we pray we are having an intimate moment with our Father.  We have a fellowship with the Creator, and I know that He enjoys this moment with you.

You know the old hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”, but probably you do not know about its author.  His name was Joseph M. Scriven, an Irish poet, who after his graduation moved to Canada, probably because he was influenced by the Plymouth Brethren.   But his life was not always happy.  He was engaged twice, and both fiancées died, the first one accidentally drowned, and the second one fell ill of pneumonia.  After that he committed his life to help others.

When his mother was sick, he wrote a poem to give her comfort, called “Pray Without Ceasing”.  Somehow, this poem ended up in the hands of the composer Charles Crozat Converse who renamed the song “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”  Since that time, this hymn has been a blessing for millions of Christians around the world.

You know the lyrics very well, but probably you don’t know the fourth verse of this hymn.  Don’t try to look for this verse in the hymnals, it is not there-  I don’t know why.  I want to finish this article by sharing this verse with you.

Blessed Saviour, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer,
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

In His Service,

Israel