Nelson's musical abilities were further cultivated while he was a student at the Baltimore School for the Arts and Morgan State University where he studied under the esteemed choir director Dr. Nathan Carter. Nelson was soon traveling the globe and conducting choirs his self and working in the music department at his father's church. About fifteen of his friends and he would also get together and sing at church. When Karen Clark-Sheard was coming to perform at his church, she needed some backing singers and his friends stepped in. "It wasn't a formal group," he recalls. "It was just something we did and after we did that service with Karen, we really enjoyed working together and that's when we became Purpose."
At the same time, Nelson had found a lucrative and comfortable income as an executive with a computer software company. Then, something happened to fuel Nelson's writing abilities. "Around 2001 when all of the dotcoms went down I was unemployed and that's when my passion for writing came alive," he says. "I began to write all these songs because I was living off of unemployment. That process took me through a whole thing because of my experience. The song `Healed' definitely came out of that."
Purpose had recorded the song "Healed" on their own self-financed CD in 2002. Nelson had met Grammy-nominated choir leader, Donald Lawrence, at a Washington, D.C. workshop in 2000. "When Donald heard `Healed' he said, `I'm gonna record that song.' He felt that message was what God was saying to the church at the time." Lawrence's words proved prophetic and his rousing rendition of "Healed" became a Top Ten gospel smash in 2005. The icing on the cake was that the song won Nelson the Stellar Award as Songwriter of the Year in 2006. He was presented with the award by the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. "I was so shocked that I won," Nelson laughs. "That I didn't even realize that it was Aretha who gave me the award."
Perhaps, the greatest award is that Nelson's songs were now in demand. "I met Troy Sneed at a Gospel Music Workshop of America convention. He said that he had heard a song Purpose recorded called `The Right Place' and that he wanted to record it." Sneed produced the song on Pastor Rudolph McKissick and it became a Top 5 Billboard gospel hit.
It was through Sneed that Nelson would enjoy his biggest song yet. "Troy called one day and said that he was coming to Baltimore to record a group of youth," Nelson recalls. "He called me on a Tuesday and I didn't have a song that night. I wrote `The Struggle is Over' in about ten minutes. The scripture for it comes from Deuteronomy 1: 6-8 in the NIV version. In that scripture, the Lord spoke to Moses to tell the children of Israel they could now come out of the wilderness and possess the land that God promised them in Canaan. So, for them, the struggle was over. So, during the recording that night, the kids were crying and Troy said, `This will be the single.'"
Indeed, it was the single. Released in the winter of 2006, the congregational ballad became the surprise hit of the summer when it spent 12 weeks at #1 on Billboard magazine's Hot Gospel Songs chart. "I never thought it was single worthy," says Nelson. "It didn't sound commercial to me but I apologize for that because obviously the song has resonated with many, many people and touched them."
It was that spirit of touching hearts and minds that permeated Nelson's self-financed concert recording in December 2006. "I undertook that whole project without even knowing if any recording label was going to release it," Nelson confesses. "I took a risk."
Then, Troy Sneed's publicist introduced Nelson to Integrity Music consultant Stacy Merida, who then brought Nelson to the attention of executives at Integrity Music and helped fashion his recording agreement. Now, that live recording which features cameos by William Murphy, Nikki Ross and Sheri Jones-Moffett is finally making its brilliant debut. "My whole concept is dealing with success, victory and triumph," says Nelson. "I expect supernatural success. This CD was in response to the success of `The Struggle is Over' in 2006. The theme of songs like `My Name is Victory' and `Champions' are all in response to the success that God has given us."
"Most songs I get from sermons," Nelson explains. "It comes from divine inspiration. The speaker might say one word but that one word goes into a whole thing. The song `Capacity' came during a service. My father was preaching and while he was preaching, I started writing that song." There was another time when Todd Hall was prophesying in a church service and "he said to turn to your neighbor and say `my praise causes things to look bettah' and instantly every word of that song `Bettah' was written right there in the service."
The only song that Nelson and his frequent songwriting collaborator, Justin Savage, didn't write
is Chris Tomlin's "How Great is Our God." Nelson says, "I heard it at a worship service and it spoke to me. It's an intoxicating song. A whole church no matter what race, creed or color can sing along to it. It became an anthem at my church."
An anthem for Nelson's personal life is the title song, "Right Now Praise." He says, "I wrote that during a difficult time in my life back in 2003. I was on the verge of losing my home and my car. I was working as a substitute teacher. I was in a very low place. My car is my mediation place. I was crying down the road and started singing a melody to the Lord and that's when `Right Now Praise' came to me. I had to rush into school and get to my tape recorder and put it down before I forgot it. Everything with this project is timing. I feel like its time for whatever God has for me to do right now. This is my God ordained time for my life.
http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/artistdetail.php?artist_id=1420
Smilebetter Is One Thing
Jonathan Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Here's my worship
Take joy in it
Make it your dwelling place
I wanna put a smile on your face
I present my heart to you, I present my life to you
Here's my life lord smile
Smile... I wanna make you smile
I wanna make you smile
Better is one day in your courts
Better is one day in your house
Better is on day in your courts
Than thousands elsewhere
Better is one day
Oooo Let me make you Smile
I wanna make you smile
The lyrics to "Worship Medley: Smile / Better Is One Day" by Jonathan Nelson express the singer's deep connection with God and his desire to show his love and appreciation through worship. He begins by offering his worship to God and urging him to make it his dwelling place. He wants to put a smile on God's face and presents his heart and life to Him.
The second part of the song talks about how being in God's presence is better than anything else. The singer emphasizes that being in God's courts for one day is better than a thousand days elsewhere. This highlights the importance of having a relationship with God and the joy and fulfillment it brings.
Overall, the song emphasizes the power of worship and the love and joy it brings to both the singer and God. It highlights the beauty and fulfillment that can be found in a relationship with God and encourages listeners to seek that same connection through their own worship.
Line by Line Meaning
Here's my worship
I offer my devotion and reverence to you
Take joy in it
May my worship bring pleasure to you
Make it your dwelling place
May your presence reside within my worship
I wanna put a smile on your face
I desire to bring happiness and joy to you
I present my heart to you, I present my life to you
I dedicate my entire being to you
Here's my worship smile
I offer my joyful praise to you
Here's my life lord smile
I offer my life to you and ask for your blessings
Smile... I wanna make you smile
I wish to bring a smile to your face
Better is one day in your courts
Being in your presence for a single day is preferable to a thousand days elsewhere
Better is one day in your house
A day spent in your home is better than a thousand days elsewhere
Better is on day in your courts
One day in your presence is of greater value than any other experience elsewhere
Than thousands elsewhere
Being in your presence for a single day is worth more than a thousand days spent anywhere else
Oooo Let me make you Smile
Grant me the ability to bring joy and happiness to you
Contributed by Josiah V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Melinda Graves
2023 and still is a part of my Worship Hour♥️♥️♥️🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
Fosuaa Agyei
oh Jesus this is my heart cry to put a smile on Your face as i daily live for You. in everything i do Lord i wanna make You smile? thank You for this great songs, may God increase you and your music theme exuberantly in Jesus name, amen
melrose Angus
Thank you Jesus ❤
brenda jordan-west
This medley of songs is so well arranged. The very sentiments of my heart. Here's my worship Lord, Smile..........#created to worship.
Toya Javonne
After all these years it steal sends me in…”Here’s my Worship Dad, did I do good today?”🙌🏾😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
MGD
I think the beauty of the music and the voices can;t be left out of the equation. The singers and musicians take time developing their skills so that they can function in their calling. The annointing combines with a skill that has been developed...
Stephany Gomez
2022 and I still love this song 💜
psalm139stem
Here's my worship, take joy in it. Make it Your dwelling place. I want to put a smile on Your face. I present my heart to You... I present my life to You. Praise God... I'm looking forward to singing that to Him while looking right upon His face<3
Vicki TheEsty
I love this version. The blending of both songs was beautiful and brilliant! Praise God!
The Faceless Venter!
Thank u Jonathan Nelson for sharing your gift with the body of Christ! ❤