Stanley Simpson

Goodness of God

The next entry for my Blog is Goodness of God, which was written by Ben Fielding, Brian Johnson, Edward Martin Cash, Jason Ingram, and Jenn Johnson. It was first released January 4, 2019. A link to CeCe Winans singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

I love You, Lord
For Your mercy never fails me
All my days, I’ve been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

‘Cause all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
In darkest night You are close like no other
I’ve known You as a Father
I’ve known You as a Friend
And I have lived in the goodness of God, yeah

‘Cause all my life You have been faithful, oh yes You have
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me

With my life laid down, I surrendered now
I give You everything, oh Lord
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me (oh yeah, oh yeah)
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
With my life laid down, I surrendered now
I give You everything
Your goodness is running after, it keeps running after meAnd all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God
I’m gonna sing

All my life You have been faithful
(All of my life You’ve been faithful)
All my life You have been so, so good
(So good with every breath)
every breath that I am able
(Every breath I’m able)
I will sing (I’m gonna sing)
Of the goodness (of the goodness of God, yes I am)
I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God
Oh, I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God

I would like for you to stop for a minute and think about the very first line in this song, “I love you Lord.” Have you really taken time to tell God how much you love him and thank him for all he has done for you, your family, and your friends? I strongly believe most of us spend a lot more time asking things of God as opposed to thanking him for every blessing of every day. I would like for you to take some time right now to think about why you love someone and make sure that God gets that same amount love if not more.

Love is such a powerful word, but we don’t always stop to think about what it means. This song does a great job telling us what God is doing every day in our lives and how he runs after us because he loves us and never gives up on us. Wherever we go, he is there with us. Whenever we try to run from him, he runs beside us. Whenever we try to hide, he finds us. Whenever we feel like we cannot fight any longer and fall to our knees in despair, he is there to join us in the battles of life. When we are lonely and feel unloved, his arms are wrapped around us. As you think about these things and remember how he kept you safe, how can you not love God? God’s mercy, his unending forgiveness, is there to bring us peace; regardless of the mistakes we have made in our lives or the times we have ignored him.

Not only is God with us at all times, his hand is always extended to us so we never have to walk alone, no matter the challenges we are facing. It doesn’t matter where we are, where we have been, or where we are going; his love surrounds us. Think about all of the challenges in life you have faced. Now, think about how you survived those challenges. You survived because God was there with you the entire time and had his arms wrapped around you, you just didn’t realize it. In our greatest moments of hopelessness, despair, and darkness; God was always there to lead us back into the light. The song writers state how they love the voice of God. Some may say I have never heard the voice of God. Is his voice a booming sound that wakes us up and brings us back to reality? In our times of despair, we may feel as if we need a loud voice to bring us out of our despair. The reality is that if we have accepted God’s son Jesus as our personal savior, the holy spirit dwells within us and is our internal communication link with God, we find this in the book of John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” All we have to do is open our hearts and minds to God and we will be able to hear that still small voice. It is that voice that helps to calm the storms of life we face, and bring us an inner peace as we fight our battles. The Holy Spirit is with us from the day we accept Jesus until the day our life on earth is no more. This is what the goodness of God is all about, he loves us unconditionally and sees no fault in any of us who have accepted him and his son.

I love the line in the song, “your goodness is running after, it’s running after me.” Most of us probably have the tendency to believe that we have to reach out to God and get his attention before he can help us. The reality is he is trying to get our attention to keep us out of the situations we get into, but we tend to ignore him until we are in complete desperation. In effect, he is trying to head off the issues ahead of us, but we don’t take the time to ask for or listen to his guidance. We seem to prefer to proceed with doing things we shouldn’t do instead of listening to that still small voice that is reaching out to us. He is always faithful to us, even when we are unfaithful to him. In some ways it is like parenting. As a parent, I want to watch out for my children and try to keep them out of trouble, but there is only so much I can do when my children don’t listen. Even when my children disobey me and choose their own paths, I still love them as much as I always have. We find commitments of God’s eternal faithfulness to us throughout the bible and here are just a couple of the many passages of scripture. Psalm 108:4 “For Your mercy is great above the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” Psalm 117:2 “For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.”

Since God has been there with us every step of every day, isn’t it time for us to praise him with every breath we take and time to sing of his mercy and his grace? It is time to stop running away from God, it is time to fall into the security of his promises and his love. Are you one of the people who have continued to run from God? If so, isn’t it time for you to quit running away and accept his son as your savior?

Select to hear CeCe Winans Sing the Goodness of God

Me on Your Mind

The next entry for my Blog is Me on Your Mind, which was written by Matthew West, Jeff Pardo, and Anne Wilson. It was first released February 18, 2022. A link to Matthew West singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

I’ve read the words in red
How You leave the 99
To find the one missing
Feels like that was written
With me on Your mind

And the prodigal son who ran, leaving his home behind
The part where the father came running to meet him
Did You say that with me on Your mind?

Who am I that the King of the world
Would give one single thought about my broken heart?
Who am I that the God of all grace
Wipes the tears from my face and says, “Come as you are”?
You paid the price, You took the cross
You gave Your life and You did it all with me on Your mind (oh, oh, oh, oh, oh)
Me on Your mind (oh, oh, oh, oh, oh)

Just knowing You’re mindful of me
Just knowing You call me Your child
It’s flooding my soul with unspeakable hope
Thank You, Lord, that it’s me on Your mind

I’ve read the words in red of a heavenly home on high
You’re preparing a place where the sorrow’s erased
And when I stand before You, I’ll find
All along, it was me on Your mind

Who am I that the King of the world
Would give one single thought about my broken heart?
And who am I that the God of all grace
Wipes the tears from my face and says, “Come as you are”?
You paid the price, You took the cross
You gave Your life and You did it all with me on Your mind (oh, oh, oh, oh, oh)
With me on Your mind (oh, oh, oh, oh, oh)

Woah (oh, oh, oh, oh, oh)
It was me on Your mind

I believe we all have times in our life when we feel all alone and we often get down and out and feeling sorry for ourselves. Unfortunately, many people have this feeling way too many times and they lead very sad lives. Maybe our friends and our families try to encourage us, but they really don’t understand. The words of encouragement and friendly hugs and prayers may be there, but your heart is still hurting and sad. Some people, such as our Christian friends, may encourage us to read our bibles and read about the promises of God in hopes that it brings us out of our depression. Have you ever been in this situation before? If so; didn’t you feel completely hopeless? It seems even more distressing when you are in a group of people and everything in life seems perfect with them.

The writers of the song refer to the text in the bible that is written in red. These red letters are words that came from Jesus, the son of the almighty God. Not every bible has these letters, but the red-letter editions always put the words of Jesus in red. There is a story in the bible that Jesus shared in the book of Matthew 18:12-14, which tells us just how much Jesus loves us and views each of us as his children. “If a shepherd has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.” We are the lost sheep until we acknowledge Jesus as our savior and God as our father. No matter how far we wander away from God, he will be there with us. Yes, the 99 sheep are still as important to him as they have always been, but for that moment in time; he is focused on getting us into the flock and becoming part of his eternal family. When I reflect on the scripture above, it does seem as if I was the lost sheep Jesus came after and the red letters I had been reading were referring to me. It is so important to know that none of us are ever alone and we can never hide from the eyes of God.

The writers of the song also tell us about a family member who ran away from home with the dreams of getting everything he wanted in life. His father gave him his share of the inheritance and he went and squandered it all within a short time. This parable is found in the book of Luke 15:11-22, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. None of us are perfect, we all make mistakes every single day. We say things we don’t mean and do things we don’t really mean to do. God loves me when I hold him close to my heart and God still loves me when I wander away. So maybe this story fits all of us in some way.

The chorus of the song is so powerful as it describes how the king of this entire world with its billions of people, still loves me and watches out for me every single day. Why am I so special that he wipes the tears from my eyes, heals the hurts in my heart, and loves me unconditionally? It is because each of us are his children and no matter how bad we act, he loves us unconditionally. He allowed his only son to suffer a brutal death on the cross, so that we could spend eternity with him. He wants us to come to him as we are and find comfort in his love. I don’t know if I will ever be able to comprehend the depth of God’s love, but I do know he always has me on his mind and in his heart. One day I will join him in the heavenly home he has prepared just for me and he has a special home for everyone who accepts him as their father and Jesus as their savior. The day Jesus died, you and I were on his mind.

Click to Hear Matthew West Sing Me on Your Mind

The Commission

The next entry for my Blog is The Commission, which was written by David Blake, Neesmith Cain, Logan Cain, Carter Frodge, Taylor Matz, and Madison Jonson. It was first released December 11, 2021. A link to Cain singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

See my hands and look at my feet
It’s okay if it’s hard to believe
I have faith you will do greater things
It’s my time to go but before I leave

Go tell the world about me
I was dead but now I live
I’ve gotta go now for a little while
But goodbye is not the end

Don’t forget the things that I taught you
I’ve conquered death and I hold the keys
Where I go you will go too, someday
But there’s much to do here before you leave

Go tell the world about me
I was dead but now I live
I’ve gotta go now for a little while
But goodbye is not the

End of the journey, the end of the road
My spirit is with you wherever you go
You have a purpose and I have a plan
I’ll make you this promise
I’ll come back again but until then

Go tell the world about me
I was dead but now I live
I’ve gotta go now for a little while
But goodbye is not the end

go tell them about me
(Go tell the world) I’ve gotta go
(Go tell the world) for a little while
But goodbye is not the end

Many of us who know about Jesus realize that he died on the cross for us so we could have eternal life in heaven. For those who don’t know about Jesus, I hope this entry will provide you with a little better understanding of Jesus and his purpose. I also believe there is a very key message that often gets forgotten and overlooked in the Christian community and that is the most important command that Jesus gave to everyone. The time period for the song takes place after Jesus has risen from the dead and is appearing before those who loved him and followed him.

It was foretold for thousands of years that Jesus would be born, would die, and then come back to life. People had waited throughout the centuries for his coming, and then it finally happened. I believe that people today who have read about the prophecies of Jesus, the life of Jesus, and have accepted him as their personal savior; have failed to realize one command that Jesus left with them. This one command is what this song is all about. Think about the people who saw Jesus after he rose from the dead, what were they looking at when they saw him and what were their thoughts? After seeing his face, I would probably look at his hands and his feet to see if those nail scars were there. The last time I had seen him, he was hanging from the cross with blood coming out of his hands and feet. In this song, the writer notes that Jesus is prepared for this first impression and gives us a little time to take in what we are seeing. He understands our unbelief, but he has a mission for us and has faith in us taking on this mission.

His command to us is to tell the world about him. Let the world know about who Jesus is and why he came, and that his coming had been foretold for many centuries. We are told that he believes we will do even greater things than he did. I know this is hard to believe, but we have so many more opportunities to spread his word and love. His time on earth was short and he could only reach those he came in personal contact with. Think about the options we have today to share his message; we have churches, video, music, cell phones, and social networks that span the globe. We can reach more people in a single day than he could have reached in centuries. His mission for all of us is also known as the Great Commission, and is found in the book of Matthew 28:18-20, “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We are reminded to not forget the things he taught us about love, acceptance, forgiving, and eternal life. As we accept this mandated mission, we are told to make everyone aware of everything we know about Jesus. Everyone needs to know how they can be brought from the deep despairs of life into an eternal life of love. Yes, we will still have our daily struggles, but our eyes and our hearts need to always be looking towards the ultimate goal; eternity in heaven in perfect peace. If you have accepted Christ as your personal savior, have you accepted the Great Commission and put it into practice? Have you witnessed the joy on someone’s face once they accepted Christ into their lives? When does your commission start? Today. When does your commission end? When you draw your last breath.

Jesus said, Go tell the world about me…….

Click to Hear Cain Sing The Commission

Man on the Middle Cross

The next entry for my Blog is Man on the Middle Cross, which was written by AJ Pruis, Matt Jenkins, Matthew West, and Rhett Walker. It was first released July 21, 2023. A link to Rhett Walker singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Heard the Preacher talking about three wood crosses
Up on a hill everyone to see
Two sinners on the outside couldn’t save themselves if they tried
All I could think is man that sounds like me

I’ve been the one on the left full of guilt and regret
Long gone on the wrong side of living
I’ve been the one on the right always looking for a fight thinking I could never be forgiving
I’m standing here today
Overwhelmed by grace cause I know who paid my cost
Thank God
for the man on the middle cross

He didn’t have to do it But for me it went thru it
A love like that I’ll never understand
Lord knows I don’t deserve it And I know I couldn’t earn it
Mercy rained down on this desperate man

The cross is where he went
But that ain’t where he stayed
He brought me back to life when He rose up out of that grave
Someday I’ll stand before him
See Jesus face to face
I’ll worship and adore him
For a life forever changed

Perhaps many of you reading this blog were not aware of the crosses that are spoken of in Christian religions, maybe some of you know about the cross Jesus died upon, and some of you may be familiar with the three crosses this song talks about. The bible does indeed tell us there were three crosses together, with Jesus being on the center cross and felons on the other two crosses. We find this in the book of Luke 23:33, “When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.” The mount where the crucifixion occurred was call Golgotha, which translates into the word skull from the Aramaic language. As the preacher was delivering the message that the song writer heard, maybe it was the first time the writer had really listened to the scripture about the crosses. So many times, we may be the same way, the message may be one we have been aware of for years, but we never allowed it to resonate in our life. I believe most people who are aware of Jesus are probably aware that he died on a cross, but have little awareness of the fact that two criminals were also crucified on either side of him. The good news is that Jesus came back to life after his death on the cross, but the two sinners on either side of him had no chance of returning to life on this earth,

Obviously, none of us are perfect and most, if not all of us, struggle to be the best person we can be every single day in our life. The writer of the song assigns backgrounds to each of the two people on either side of Jesus, the purpose is so he can help show all of us how we may fit into the scenario. How many times have you felt guilty about something? Maybe your guilt is from long ago or maybe it is from a few hours ago; but how does it make you feel inside? Sometimes I sit and reflect on the past and think about the things I should not have done and the people I may have hurt. As I do this reflection, I think it was very insensitive of me to say what I said or act the way I did. This is when we are similar to the person hanging on the cross on the left. We realize where we have failed in our life and finally recognize that the acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and savior is the only way to gain eternal life. We have come to the realization that we can never gain eternal life until we give our soul to Jesus.

Unfortunately, some of us are similar to the man on the other cross. We are bitter, vindictive, and only care about ourselves. In common vernacular, these types of people are recognized as hardened criminals who are unwilling to ever change. We go about our lives without even thinking about who we hurt. The hurt we inflict may be emotional, violent, physical, or destructive. The goal is to gain whatever we can without even considering the damage we cause along the way. We form the opinion that because we believe that no one loves us or cares for us anyway, why should be act any different. Our most secure prisons are most likely filled with people of this mentality. There are also many people roaming the streets today who have the same mindset of if I want it, I will take it and are willing to harm anyone who gets in their way. This is perhaps the mindset of the man on the cross on the other side of Jesus. We find the scripture about the two criminals in the book of Luke 23:39-43, “One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Regardless of which camp of people we fall into, God views us all as disobedient to him. He doesn’t evaluate us based on the wrongs/sins we have committed; he just knows that we have not accepted his son as our savior. He also knows we are walking through a world that we can’t control and that we feel all alone with no hope. All of us are on the first cross I mentioned above at all times and some of us cross over to the other cross if we wander too far away from where we should be. This takes us to the middle cross, where Jesus, the son of God, was hanging. He died on that cross and when he died that day, he gave us grace. Grace basically means that if we accept him as the son of God and his sacrifice for us, then all of the wrongs we have committed in our past and all of the wrongs we will commit in the future have been forgiven. God then views us as a perfect being and no longer sees the blemishes we gathered over a lifetime. This is basically what transpired with the criminal the writer depicted as being on the left side of the three crosses. It doesn’t mean we will be perfect in our actions and thoughts every day, but it does mean that we have an eternal life in front of us as we traverse the way to heaven.

Just imagine someone loving you so much that they would lay down their life for you. I can’t even begin to imagine what it will be like to finally see Jesus face to face and worship him and thank him for dying for me and coming back to life just to help me realize that he truly is the son of God. The cross couldn’t kill his spirit, the tomb could not contain his body, and nothing on earth could stop him from walking among his disciples three days after he came out of that tomb.

Which of the people on the cross would you most likely be if you were on Golgotha that fateful day? Would you be the one who believed in Christ or the one who rejected him? Now is probably a good time to do a self-assessment to determine the priorities in your life and where Christ fits. We will all face death one day, we just don’t know when. The good news is that we can decide today on which cross we would have hung long ago.

Click to Hear Rhett Walker Sing Man On The Middle Cross

Nobody

The next entry for my Blog is Nobody, which was written by Bernhard Herms, Douglas Williams, John Mark Hall, Leonard Williams, Matthew West, and Melvin Williams. It was first released August 13, 2019. A link to Casting Crowns singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Why You ever chose me
Has always been a mystery
All my life, I’ve been told I belong
At the end of a line
With all the other Not-Quites
With all the Never-Get-It-Rights
But it turns out they are the ones You were looking for
All this time

‘Cause I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody
All about Somebody who saved my soul
Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus

Moses had stage fright
And David brought a rock to a sword fight
You picked twelve outsiders nobody would’ve chosen
And You changed the world
Well, the moral of the story is
Everybody’s got a purpose
So when I hear that devil start talking to me, saying
“Who do you think you are?” I say

I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody
All about Somebody who saved my soul
Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus

So let me go down, down, down in history
As another blood-bought faithful member of the family
And if they all forget my name, well, that’s fine with me
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus
So let me go down, down, down in history (go down in history)
As another blood-bought faithful member of the family
(It’s all I ever wanna be) And if they all forget my name, well, that’s fine with me
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus, yeah

I’m just a nobody (nobody)
Trying to tell everybody
All about Somebody
Who saved my soul (oh, saved my, saved my soul)
Ever since You rescued me
You gave my heart a song to sing (you gave me a song to sing)
I’m living for the world to see
Nobody but Jesus (nobody but You, Lord)
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus

I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus

I believe perhaps that the majority of us are described in the first verse of this song. How many times have you just felt completely invisible when you were trying so hard to be seen? We dreaded the times when it was time to choose teams. The biggest, strongest, and most handsome guys were always chosen first, unfortunately I did not meet the criteria I mentioned for guys. It seemed as if the most beautiful and popular girls were always selected first. Once the cream of the crop was selected, then people like me were finally picked. Sometimes I may have been picked in the middle of the group and sometimes I was last. Of course there were other times when maybe I didn’t get selected at all. The above could apply to sports, plays, choirs, other group activities such as groups getting together just to socialize, or to life in general. Every year in the Christmas holiday season, the animated movie Rudolph comes on TV, and of course there is the song about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. One verse in the song states,

All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games.

I realize it may be somewhat juvenile to use this song in my example, but doesn’t it seem to fit the scenarios I described above? Probably all of us end up in this situation at sometime in our lives, we become a member of the Not Quites and Never Get it Right Club. As I shared the above, I hope I didn’t cause you to recall any painful memories.

The heart of this song is the fact that we are the ones that Jesus was looking for when he came to be with us so long ago. We are the reasons God sent his only son to die for us. Maybe most of us have been lifetime members of this “nobody” class and Jesus came to offer us one gift, the gift of eternal life and his acceptance forever. He wanted to bring this eternal joy to all who were willing to accept him. The song asked the question, why did Jesus ever choose us and be willing to die for us; after all; we are the ones who were never first. Think about where Jesus taught, he taught in the fields and along the coasts more than he taught in the towns and cities. He wanted people from all walks of life to hear of his promise and let them know that his arms reached out to everyone, not just the select few who didn’t feel as if they needed him. He really asks us to do two things. First, the absolute was to accept him as our personal Lord and savior, the second was to spread his word throughout the world. He wants everyone to feel loved and wants each of us to feel as if we are at the front of the line; we are no longer the ones at the end of the line. Jesus sees us as a circle where everyone is equal, no one is above another.

Jesus wants to let everyone know there is no such person as a “nobody” in his eyes. His love goes to everyone all the time, the lines with beginning and end are gone, we are part of the circle that has no beginning and no end and can expand every minute of every day. Jesus is always in the middle within reach of every single soul. As we learn what life should be all about, we no longer care who is physically first or last, we are just glad they are here and listening to the teaching of God’s word. As we step into the ever growing circle of the followers of Jesus, our burdens become lighter. We find this in the book of Matthew 11:28-30. “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Some of the greatest heroes in the bible were just normal people like you and I. Moses, the shepherd, was scared to speak in front of the Egyptian Pharoah, so God sent Aaron to go with him and speak for him when he was trying to lead the Israelites out of bondage. David was just a very young shepherd and God chose him to battle the giant and guided him to only take his sling, while the giant carried a spear that was probably bigger than David. God chose Noah to build an ark and save his family. Although others were invited to join, they just laughed at Noah and his family. Their laughter stopped once the floods came and Noah was setting sail. God chose the lowly shepherds to be some of the first to see the baby Jesus lying in a manger. Jesus chose twelve disciples from all walks of life, none were famous and most were fishermen just living from day to day. Some were unliked, some were hot headed, but Jesus took them regardless of their background. Take a second to think about how these disciples carried forward his message and helped change the world. All of these people were people like you and I, all nobodies, it is just that they dedicated their lives to Jesus and spreading his love to everyone they came in contact with.

It is also important to note that God used many people who were people we may have never chosen based on their background. God knew their strengths and did not hold their weaknesses against them when he accepted them as one of his own.

David had an affair
Peter, a disciple, had a temper
Noah got drunk
The apostle Paul was a murderer
Sara was impatient and had Abraham father a child with another woman
Jonah ran from God and was swallowed by a whale
Thomas was a doubter.

In the book of Romans 5:8, we are told that God loves us even though we continue to do the wrong things. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He does not judge us on our past, he accepts us for our future. All we have to do is accept him and the sacrifice of his son.

As you take time to digest the words to this song, you should begin to realize that there is no one more important than you in the eyes of God. We are all equal and what we physically own or what we have accomplished in our lives doesn’t really mean a lot to him. What is important to him is that we start reaching out to everyone around us to make sure they do not feel like a nobody with no hope. Our mission is to make sure everyone understands there is no such person as a nobody, that Jesus loves us all and we are all equal. For those of you who are used to being the best, the brightest, the most talented, and the most beautiful; realize that God gave you these qualities. Many people with these qualities have already accepted Christ, but I surmise there are a lot who still have more faith in themselves than they have in God. If you have not accepted Jesus as your personal savior, then the time for that is now, tomorrow could be too late since tomorrow is never promised to any of us.

Doesn’t it feel great to be a nobody?

Click to Hear Casting Crowns Sing Nobody

One Small Child

The next entry for my Blog is One Small Child, which was written by David Meece. It was first released in 1977. A link to Evie singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

One small child in a land of a thousand
One small dream of a savior tonight
One small hand reaching out to the starlight
One small savior of life, ooh

One king bringing his gold and riches
One king ruling an army of might
One king kneeling with incense and candlelight
One king bringing us life, ooh

See him lying a cradle beneath him
See him smiling in the stall
See his mother praising his father
See his tiny eyelids fall

See the shepherds kneeling before him
See the kings on bended knee
Oh, see the mother praising the father
See the blessed infant sleep

One small child in a land of a thousand
One small dream of a savior tonight
One small hand reaching out to the starlight
One small savior of life, ooh

This post is being written during the Christmas season since I believe it carries the true meaning of Christmas. During the Christmas season and perhaps other holiday seasons, the true message of the song is lost amongst the glitz and glitter of the ongoing celebrations. It is easy to enjoy singing along with these wonderful celebratory songs since they usually make us happy and think about holidays of the past. I believe this song brings us back to the reality of what Christmas is truly all about, which is celebrating the birth of Christ.

On that very special night long ago, the son of God was born. He was only one of thousands of children being born that same night, so he wasn’t anything special to those outside of his mom and dad. The fact that he was born and was lying in a manger diminished his perceived worth to the world even more. Think about the people who were staying at the inn where there was no room for Jesus, what was their initial impression of the baby lying in the manger which normally held food for the livestock? They probably thought that this child had no hope in life and would probably end up a beggar in the streets, just as so many of the poor they saw in the city streets every day. The tiny infant raises its hands to the stars, maybe to reach out to Mary his mother, or perhaps to his father in heaven. Little did anyone know that this little baby would be the savior of the world. It is true that the angel told Mary about her son before he was born, but taking that head and heart knowledge and applying it to this little baby had to be a difficult task.

After a period of time the wisemen/kings arrived from the far east. To get there while the baby was still there meant the kings had been notified of the birth perhaps many months earlier since they came from far away. There are songs about the three kings/wisemen and the gifts they brought to the son of God. They brought gold, incense, myrrh, and also brought the power they represented. Just imagine how Mary the mother of Jesus and Joseph his earthly father felt when the kings arrived. They may have never been really close to a king and the king they did know was not necessarily a kind one. They are probably in awe of the kings and then overwhelmed when the kings knelt before this tiny little baby. Who is he that would be worshipped and revered by powerful kings? As I mentioned above, even though Mary was told her child would the son of God and a savior to the world, it still had to be a very humbling experience.

I can just imagine this tiny infant, the savior of the world, looking up at the kings hovering above him and giving them a smile of joy. Sometimes a simple smile can tell more than words can ever express. Mary is watching all of this in awe. She sees her son, the son of God, lying there with a beautiful smile on his face; all she can do is look to his heavenly father and let her heart relay her joy and amazement. She knew that words could never express what her heart felt as she looked up to the heavens. As she looked back down to the new born king, she saw his eyes slowly closing. Just think about how she must have felt knowing that the God of all creation had given her the most precious gift imaginable.

The song now reminds us that the shepherds were already there since they were the first to be notified of the birth of Christ. In the book of Luke chapter 2, we find that the shepherds were notified of the birth by angels, “There were shepherds taking care of their flocks at night. An angel appeared to them and told them not to be afraid as he brought good news, “This very day in David’s town your savior was born – Christ the Lord!” They would find the baby wrapped in cloth, lying in a manger.” They were viewed as some of the lowliest people by others, but God knew their true worth and let them be the first people to visit his son. As a result, some of the most powerful people were joined by some of the lowliest people to be the first to see our savior. I think it sends the message that Jesus was born for everyone; the poor, the lowly, the powerful, the humble, and the outcasts. All are represented and kneeling before their savior, our savior as Mary is praising God. What a way for God to start the life of his son, a loving family and all walks of life bowing before him.

What do you think about at Christmas? I know that being with family is important and I know that all of us like gifts; but are you taking the time to think about the true meaning of Christmas and give Jesus his time? When Christmas if over, does Jesus get boxed up and put away with the Christmas decorations, or does he stay in your life and your heart all year long? All I ask is that you take a little time and consider the question I posed.

Click to Hear Evie Sing One Small Child

Make Room in Your Heart

The next entry for my Blog is Make Room in Your Heart, which was written by John Mark Hall and Matt Maher. It was first released in 2017. A link to Matt Mayer and Casting Crowns singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

A family hiding from the storm
Found no place at the keeper’s door
It was for this a Child was born
To save a world so cold and hollow

The sleeping town, they did not know
That lying in a manger low
A Savior King who had no home
Has come to heal our sorrows

Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart
For God to write His story?

Shepherds counting sheep at night
Do not fear the glory light
You are precious in His sight
God has come to raise the lowly

Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart
For God to write His story?

You can come as you are
But it may set you apart
When you make room in your heart
And trade your dreams for His glory
Make room in your heart
Make room in your heart

Mother holds the promise tight
Every wrong will be made right
The road is straight, the burden’s light
For in His hands, He holds tomorrow

Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart?
Is there room in your heart
For God to write His story?

You can come as you are
But it may set you apart
When you make room in your heart
And trade your dreams for His glory
Make room in your heart
Make room in your heart

Make room in your heart
Make room in your heart

This song asks a challenging question, one that all of us should take the time to consider how we would respond. The core of the story comes from the bible and is found in the book of Luke chapter 2. As the holy family sought shelter from the storms of life and the threat of losing their yet to be born son, they found no place for him to be born. The only place available for him to be born was in a manger filled with hay, basically it was a feeding trough for horses and cattle. This is where our savior, Jesus, the Son of God was born. It is hard to imagine that the son of God, the one person who had come to save the world, would be born in this way. The keeper of the inn nor the people of the local town of Bethlehem had any idea of what was transpiring nor how the world would be changed forever. We are also told in Luke 2, that the shepherds were the first to visit Jesus. They were told about the birth by angels who directed them to Bethlehem. Just imagine the shock they experienced when angels appeared to them to deliver the message! I guess it was only fitting that the shepherds were some of the first ones to see Jesus since they spend their lives out in the fields and away from other people and the tents they had were perhaps their only home. The good news is that this was all part of God’s plan, his son was perfect in every way, and it only seems right for him to be born away from all of the sin in the cold hard world that he was coming into to offer salvation.

Jesus came to offer the gift of eternal life to everyone, not just a single group of people, not to just one country, but to the entire world. His color, his birthplace, his language were irrelevant; only his message and his sacrifice should be the focus for all of us. The chorus of this song asks the question that we must all take time to address, “Is there room in your heart for God to write his story?” I think most of us would answer with, “well of course there is.” Now I would like for you to take a few minutes and let the question really sink in before you respond. I understand that you carry love in your heart for your family and your friends, hopefully this is true for all of us. What about your passions outside of your family and friends, what dominates your thoughts and what is on your mind most often? You may spend more time thinking about your job, your next vacation, a sporting event, etc. than you do about your faith. Assuming everything you think about is what you really carry in your heart, is there truly room for God and his story? I am not suggesting you stop thinking about the other things in your life, I think the song is asking whether or not you are willing to give God equal time in your heart. God wants you to always keep his son and his sacrifice in your hearts. All of these things can coexist in your heart, but something has to have a priority. Shouldn’t that priority be God since he is the one offering you eternal life by accepting his son? Nothing else in your heart can offer you eternal life. I am not suggesting in any way that the other things in your heart are wrong, I am only saying that God should always be first in your heart as well and get the attention he deserves. We all make our choices as to what our priorities in life are and what we want to keep in our heart, but God can help us to keep our priorities in order. We find this promise in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

It is great to want a family, to do well in your career, and to enjoy life; there is nothing wrong with these dreams and aspirations. As you take a moment to reflect on who you hope to be and your personal goals, are you merely thinking about the time you have on this earth? Maybe you will have a long life, or you could pass away tomorrow; none of us have that answer. Do you ever take the time to think about an eternal life, the one that Jesus came to offer to us? He gives us hope of being reunited with our loved ones who also accepted him, once our earthly life is over. Maybe you need to take time to focus on your dreams and determine what your dreams coming to fruition would mean to you, and then compare your earthly dreams coming true to the gift of eternal life. Yes, you can still have a wonderful family, you can still have professional ambitions, and you can still enjoy other things in life; but if you want eternal life; you must make room in your heart for God to write his story.

If you have not done so already, please take the time to make sure you have room in your heart for God and then accept his promise of eternal life by accepting his sacrifice of his son so you can have eternal life.

Click to Hear Matt Maher and Casting Crowns Sing Make Room

Gratitude

The next entry for my Blog is Gratitude, which was written by Benjamin William Hastings, Michael Brandon Lake, and Dante Bowe. It was first published June 3, 2022. A link to Brandon Lake singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

All my words fall short
I got nothing new
How could I express
All my gratitude?

I could sing these songs
As I often do
But every song must end
And You never do

So I throw up my hands
And praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
Hallelujah
And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah
Hallelujah

I’ve got one response
I’ve got just one move
With my arm stretched wide
I will worship You

So come on, my soul
Oh, don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song
‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord

Oh come on, my soul
Oh, don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song
‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord

Come on, my soul
Oh, don’t you get shy on me
Lift up your song
‘Cause you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord, hey

Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord

So I throw up my hands
Praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
Hallelujah
And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah
Hallelujah

Have you ever been in a situation when you were at a complete loss for words? My guess is that probably all of us have been in that situation. Sometimes we are at a loss of words because of anger, because of the way love has filled our hearts, overcome with grief, or maybe just out of surprise. These writers have expanded the list of reasons we may have for our loss of words, they chose gratitude. As I prepared for this blog entry, I started looking at what gratitude really means. It is more than just offering up a thank you. Gratitude is taking the time to really think about the wonderful things you have in your life. I am so thankful for my spouse and her love, my beautiful loving daughter, my granddaughter, my friends, my health, my travels, and the list goes on and on. As you take time to think about the most important things in your life, do you seem to run out of words to describe your feelings? The writers of this song are talking about that moment when you start to realize that sometimes, words are just not enough. When we reach that point of what else can we say and do to express our gratitude, it is time to open our hearts to God and raise our arms in praise. After a while, maybe our words unintentionally become shallow although that was never our intention; we just run out of things to say and do. As the writer says, every song must end. As there are no more words of gratitude, we just need to open our hearts to God and praise him and thank him over and over again. There is no gift worthy of God our King, but all he wants is our love and our gratitude. From the depths of our hearts, we should be singing to God and praising him. What is expressed from our hearts is stronger than any words we could ever speak. As we raise our arms and sing from our hearts and our lips and sing Hallelujah, we are expressing our true gratitude to God for all he has done for us. It doesn’t sound like much, but all God wants from us is to love him and to love his son Jesus who died for us. God shows his love for us every passing day. He speaks to us in the brilliant sunrise, the glowing sunset, the sparkling oceans, the beautiful flowers, the joy of seeing people healed, and the love that overwhelms us when we accept Jesus as our lord and savior. It doesn’t always take words to express gratitude; it sometimes just takes awareness. In 1 Thess 5:17 we are told to give thanks and rejoice in all things “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Perhaps you are not the best singer, maybe you can’t even carry a tune, and maybe you scare yourself singing in the shower; but God only listens to your words and focuses on your heart. The writer tells his soul that now is not the time to be shy, we are to lift our song and our praises from deep in our heart and soul. Inside of us, we have the power of a lion and that power is always there, we just need to call upon it. The time of expressing our gratitude is every day. The place to express our gratitude is wherever we are. Philippians 4:12-13 tells to rejoice in all things since God is always there for us, “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Looking at this verse, how can we not be grateful?

Why not lift your hands right now, call upon the lion inside of you to sing praises to God, and let him feel the gratitude for all he has done for you?

Click to Hear Brandon Lake Sing Gratitude

At Calvary

The next entry for my Blog is At Calvary, which was written by William R Newell in 1895. It can be found in many church hymnals. A link to the Islington Baptist Church Choir singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

At Calvary

Years I spent in vanity and pride
Caring not my Lord was crucified
Knowing not it was for me He died
At Calvary

By God’s word at last my sin I learned
Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned
Until my guilty soul imploring turned
To Calvary

[Chorus]
There Your mercy and Your grace was free
There Your pardon multiplied to me
There my burdened soul found liberty
At Calvary

Now I’ve given Jesus everything
Now I gladly know Him as my king
Now my raptured soul can only sing
Of Calvary

[Chorus]
There Your mercy and Your grace was free
There Your pardon multiplied to me
There my burdened soul found liberty
At Calvary

I used to be a worship leader in a small church many years ago and on Sunday evenings, I let the members of the congregation select the songs we would sing. Every Sunday evening, one young boy around eight years old, would ask to sing #226. This hymn number was “At Calvary” and every time I hear it or sing it, I think of that little boy so many years ago. It seems as if so many people in the world go about their daily lives and never think about the sacrifices others made so they could even have a life. These people revel in their successes and their families and how successful they have been. I think it is great that people are willing to work hard to succeed, but it is important that everyone is aware of the one decision that determines eternity for them. I don’t believe people think much about eternity and what is next in their lives, they are too focused on today. Wouldn’t it be great to know that we all have the opportunity to maybe once again see our loved ones who passed away over the years? These people don’t realize what took place over 2000 years ago and how their future is truly determined. To me, this is the time the song is referring to when referencing vanity and pride. These people have probably heard about Jesus, the son of God, dying on a cross and have probably seen pictures of the crucifixion; but they don’t realize that he willingly gave his life so each of us could have eternal life. He died on that mount called Calvary, just for us.

The reason for his death was to clear a path for all of us to an eternal home in heaven. His death provided us with forgiveness for every sin or wrongdoing we have ever committed as well as any future wrongdoings. All of this was done without us having to spend any of our time or money. You ask, so what is the catch, no one does anything for free. The only requirement given by God and his son is that we accept Jesus as our personal savior and acknowledge that he is the only way to eternal life. All of the burdens that we carry inside of us are lifted at the time we accept Jesus. We are told this in the book of Matthew 11:28-30. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” It doesn’t mean we won’t worry and fret about things, but it does mean that we have someone to turn to in prayer whenever our hearts are burdened. We are no longer alone when the weight of our worries start to overcome us.

As we start a new spiritual life as a result of accepting Jesus, we become eager to learn more about him. This quest for knowledge leads us to the bible, which is God’s word and lays out the life we are supposed to lead; a life of love, compassion, forgiveness, praise, and worship. Hopefully the quest for knowledge leads us to a wonderful church and church family. As we compare how we have lived our life to the way God wants us to live, we have a sadness that comes over us when we think about all of the things we have done wrong in our lives. We learn the real meaning of sin and how Jesus died because he loved each of us so much and wanted to take away all of our sins. Not only does he want us to get on the right path in our lives, but he also wants each of us to spend eternity with him.

God has a master plan for all of us, his plan starts before we are born, it encompasses our life on earth, and it concludes with our eternal home with him and others who will be joining us in heaven. In the book of Jeremiah 1:5, we find this scripture about God knowing about us before we are born, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”

It is because of God’s master plan that we have hope, even in the darkest of days. Take some time and think about the darkness and hopelessness of this world and contrast that with the eternal life we are promised. We also learn how we can escape this darkness of life and enter a life of pure love and hope, this is the gap that God bridged for us by sacrificing his son. What an amazing plan that God has put into place!

It is all because of the execution of God’s master plan on the mount called Calvary. Isn’t it time for you to accept Jesus and become part of God’s plan for you? God is always willing to accept us back into his flock. He promises us this in Isaiah 53:6. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Click to Hear the Islington Baptist Church Choir Sing At Calvary

How Can You Not

The next entry for my Blog is How Can You Not, which was written by Jeff Sojka, Leanna Crawford, and Jessie Parker Early. It was first published in 2022. A link to Leanna Crawford singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

How Can You Not

… I see the sun rise in the morning
And a million stars at night
I hear the birds, they can’t stop singing hallelujah
I see His goodness when I fall down
And it’s grace that picks me up
Every day, I can’t stop singing hallelujah

… How can you not see God
In every little thing, in every little moment?
How can you not feel loved?
How can you not? How can you not?
‘Cause He’s in the middle of
Every little thing and every little moment
How can you not see God?
How can you not? How can you not?

… I see the sunset and I wonder
If He paints it just for me
Nobody else could make a world so beautiful
How could I question His love when it’s everywhere I go
Wherever I look, I find another miracle

… Everything is evidence (ooh-ooh)
Showing me that You exist (oh-oh)
All creation singing hallelujah
Everything is evidence (oh, everything)
Showing me that You exist (He’s God)
All creation singing hallelujah

… How can you not see God
In every little thing, in every little moment?
How can you not feel loved? Hmm-mm
‘Cause He’s in the middle of
Every little thing and every little moment
How can you not see God?
How can you not? How can you not?

… Oh, how can you not see God (everything is evidence)
In every little thing, in every little moment? (Showing me that You exist)
How can you not feel loved? (All creation singing)
How can you not? How can you not? (Hallelujah)
‘Cause He’s in the middle of (everything is evidence)
Every little thing and every little moment (showing me that You exist)
How can you not see God? (All creation singing)
How can you not? How can you not?

Many people may ask, how do you know if there is a God if you can’t see him? I believe this song really takes on this challenge. Most of us have the opportunity to see a sunrise every morning. I understand we may not be up to see the majesty of a sunrise, but it still happens. Some of the most beautiful sunrises for me are those across the water or coming over the mountains. It also seems as if the birds even enjoy these sunrises; they seem to be singing more often and more loudly as a new day begins. I see more sunsets and they have just as much beauty as the sunrises. How many times have you stared up at a dark sky that is full of seemingly twinkling stars. My wife and I love to take trips away from the city lights and one of the benefits is we get to see those dazzling twinkling stars fill the sky.

How about the things that happen in your life that maybe you take for granted? You woke up yet another day. You wake up with a plan to do good and be faithful to God, perhaps every day; but then you quickly stumble and your plan fails once again. If you trust in God and believe in him, he is there to pick you up. He lifts you up, helps restore your confidence, and lets you go on your way again. He doesn’t ask anything of us, he doesn’t hold our mistakes against us; he just puts us on our feet yet once again. His grace and his unconditional never-ending love are with us always, as long as we have accepted his son as our personal savior. We should be singing his praises and thanking him every day.

Can someone truly believe that all of this just happens by accident, that the heavens just happened to come into existence in a spontaneous manner without a plan? That the sun and stars just magically appear? How can someone explain the powerful feeling of emotion and love that sometimes just hits us out of nowhere. There are times when I feel an inner strength that seemingly comes from nowhere. Some things are just hard to explain, such as how did I find the right woman to spend my life with? How can these people explain the wonder and majesty of the sun, the stars, the seas, and the natural wonders that are found across our world. Have you ever held a baby or small child who looked up at you and gave you that beautiful smile that only a little one can give? Nothing happens by accident. As the writer says, how can we not believe in God when we are surrounded by all of his marvelous creations, the people he brings into our lives, and the love that we feel deep inside of us. The writer emphasizes how can they not believe when they are standing in the middle of God’s creations every single day. The people who say they cannot feel and see the creations of God, are like people who are standing in the middle of a deep lake and wondering where the water is. People become so wrapped up in their own little self-made cocoon and miss out on everything God is offering them.

I personally love watching a sunset and I love the question posed by the writer, did God paint the sunset just for me? Some people may think that is a selfish view, but I think every sunset is beautiful and we all see different things in a sunset. Each of us may see different color variations and different cloud shapes, that is why God made all of us a little different. Although we may not all look or act the same, the beauty he creates amazes all of us. The difference is that many of us understand that we all came from God’s master plan as revealed in the bible and others see the beauty but don’t understand the master plan. The master plan is that God really wants all of us to spend eternity with him in heaven; after all, we are his children. Even though he gives us all of the beauties of this world and shows us his love, many of us fail to recognize him and his plan. All he asks of us is to accept his only son Jesus, who died on the cross for each of us, so that we could have eternal life with him. Almost everyone can admire the beautiful mountains, seas, skies, and have other people to love; but they are not willing to admit that we have one creator who created all of this as part of a master plan. He tells us that he has a plan in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

In the midst of all God has done and continues to do, how can you not believe in him?

Click to Hear Leanna Crawford Sing How Can You Not