Obedience

It is a humbling privilege to be able to participate in an upcoming women's retreat through the leading of musical worship.  Your prayers are deeply appreciated as I continue to make preparations. Meanwhile, here is a copy/paste of a blog teaser I wrote recently in anticipation of the retreat...

[Learn More About the NC Baptist Women's Retreat here]

One of my favorite hymns is Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. The hymn writer beautifully pens this anthem of grace and call to praise of the One whose streams of mercy are never ceasing.

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,

Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sadly, we often sing this hymn, and others, mindlessly. Who is this Fount of Every Blessing? Why do we need to have our hearts tuned to sing His grace? 

Worship is so much more than singing songs on Sunday. Worship is a lifestyle of obedience. Paul reminds us of the work of the cross in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” This Fount of Every Blessing is the Almighty God who has reconciled us to Himself through His Son. It is the glorious Gospel that compels us to offer all that we are to all that He is.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;

Here by Thy great help I’ve come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood;

Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers [and sisters], by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” 

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

With many things vying for our attention and rampant temptations, we are indeed prone to wander. May we spread the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere through a lifestyle of worship and obedience. Join us this October at the NC Baptist Women’s Retreat: Obedience By Faith on October 23-24 at Caraway Conference Center!

Kimberly Merida is the wife of Tony Merida, pastor of Imago Dei Church, Raleigh, and the author of Orphanology and Ordinary. Kimberly is the mother of five adopted children, four from Ukraine and one from Ethiopia. Kimberly speaks at various women’s conferences, and justice ministry events. She homeschools three of their children, serves alongside other pastors’ wives in ministering to women in their faith family and volunteers as a Justice Advocate with the International Justice Mission. She is also a musician, playing weekly at Imago Dei, and at other events. You can follow her blog at www.shownmercy.blogspot.com.