Worship Song Sunday -- Here I Am, by Shawn McDonald

"Come to Me with empty hands and an open heart, ready to receive abundant blessings.  I know the depth and breadth of your neediness. Your life path has been difficult, draining you of strength.  Come to Me for nurture.  Let Me fill you up with My Presence; I in you, and you in Me."  ~ excerpt taken from the April 27 devotional entry of 'Jesus Calling," written by Sarah Young.


A pure, simple and honest song of worship to the Lord.


A song that says:


Today, lay it all down -- EVERYTHING -- at Jesus's feet and open yourself up to Him.  The fears, the deep seated hurts and scars; the desperate needs, the dark, ugly, hidden things and all. 


Invite Him into all of it.

And He WILL come.


I lay myself at Your feet
Asking You won't You meet
Won't You meet me?
I cannot do it on my own
I cannot do it all alone.  
Here I am, oh, tonight
With my arms open wide!
Won't You come inside
Won't You come inside, God?
Come and fill this heart of mine
I'm in need of You
Of Your touch, of Your life, of Your love
I need You,
I need You ~ lyrics to Here I Am, by Shawn McDonald

For God So Loved The World

John 3:16.


It's the most well known and most quoted verse in the Bible and, according to good old Wikipedia, it has been called 'the Gospel in a nutshell.'  


Pastors preach sermons on it.

Kids learn to recite it in Sunday School, AWANA and Vacation Bible School.


The trendy fashion store, Forever 21, has it printed on the bottom of their bags.

Now, how cool is THIS??

People have written songs, books and Bible studies about it. 


Concert merchandise tables sell apparel, jewelry and key chains proclaiming it.

Fans at sports events hold up signs displaying it.

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow even referenced it beneath his eyes during the 2009 BCS Championship game.

Wow! Now THAT'S pretty extreme, don't you think?

But that love -- God's Love -- for us is even more extreme.  So much more than we can even fathom.


And yet, for all the times we've heard it/memorized it/recited it/shared it, we could very easily gloss right over the extreme, intense and awesome love of God that this 26 word sentence declares.  


But let's not do that.  Ever.


'For God so loved the world, that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

It's so beautiful in its simplicity.


It's breathtaking in its awesome truth.


Yesterday, I came across this video put out by Focus On The Family and was so touched and delighted by it, I just had to share it here.


And yup -- I'm in total agreement with the little girl at the end of it, who breathlessly speaks one single word:


"Wow!"