Stanley Simpson

No Longer Slaves to Fear

The next entry for my Blog is No Longer Slaves to Fear which was written by Jonathan David Helser, Brian Joel Case, and Mark Johnson. It was first released by Jonathan David and Melissa Helser in August 2015 in association with Bethel Music. A link to the Helsers singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

No Longer Slaves

You unravel me, with a melody
You surround me with a song
Of deliverance, from my enemies
Till all my fears are gone

I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God

From my mother’s womb
You have chosen me
Love has called my name
I’ve been born again, into a family
Your blood flows through my veins

I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God

I am surrounded
By the arms of the father
I am surrounded
By songs of deliverance
We’ve been liberated
From our bondage
We’re the sons and the daughters
Let us sing our freedom

You split the sea
So I could walk right through it
My fears were drowned in perfect love
You rescued me
And I will stand and sing
I am the child of God
You split the sea
So I could walk right through it
You drowned my fears in perfect love
You rescued me
And I will stand and sing
I am the child of God (yes I am)

I am a Child of God
I am a Child of God (yes, I am)
I am a Child of God (full of faith yes)
I am a Child of God
I am a Child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God

Most of us are pretty focused on what is going on in our everyday lives. We are concerned about money, jobs, how our children are going to turn out, school issues, retirement planning, neighborhood problems, what we are hearing on the news, and just basic survival. These are all things that are very important, but so many times we become overwhelmed with these worries, fears, and what-ifs; we are bound by the issues of life. Essentially, we have become slaves to our worries as we obsess over each one; many of these are issues that are completely out of our control. As we become slaves to our fears, we lose our focus on God. When we finally realize what is happening and call out to God, we feel peace, love, and a complete escape from all of the challenges confronting us. If we focus on God first, it helps us to better address all of the other aspects of our life; since we realize once again that we are never alone. It doesn’t mean our problems go away, but focusing on God gives us a greater sense of inner peace as we deal with the issues at hand. We are also reminded yet again that we are his child, a child of God. As we commune with God during our brief escape and open our hearts, we find that sweet and calming spirit that dwells within us. Psalm 32:7 states: “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Our worries are replaced with the peace that God provides as he holds us in his arms as he delivers us from our bondage to fears just as he delivered the Israelites from their bondage of slavery.

God made us his child before we were even born and has always loved us and always will. In fact, Isaiah 44:24 tells us “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb, I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.” He has called out to us our entire life, and patiently waited for us to listen to his voice. When we finally hear him and reach the point of accepting his son Jesus as our personal savior, we become part of his eternal family with a home in heaven. As the old church hymn said,” we are joint heirs with Jesus”; take time to let that sink in. His love and his spirit are with us every day and during every circumstance of our lives. Think of the love you have for your children; it pales in comparison to the love God has for us. God is always there for us, just waiting to wrap his arms around us give us that loving embrace that we need, it is up to us to step into those loving arms. As we fall into the arms of our heavenly father, we are overcome with tranquility that blots out the noise of the world. Our heart is filled with joy and praise; we are finally free from our shackles. It is a time for us to worship the Lord with our hearts and our voice. It is time to sing praises to the Lord at the top of our lungs, so that everyone can know what he means to us and how good it feels to be a child of God.

Most of us have probably read or heard about how God parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could walk on dry land out of Egypt, this miracle is found in Exodus 14. Do you realize that he still parts the waters for us today? Our Red Sea is the turbulent seas of life that we battle every day. When we call upon him in the middle of the storms of life, he takes our hand, pulls us out of the water so that we are no longer drowning, confined by our burdens. He calms our seas and replaces the turbulent waters that drown us with an all-encompassing love that is greater and far beyond our comprehension.

Yes, we are a child of God and with Jesus Christ, we are no longer a slave to fear. I think we should all stop what we are doing and sing praises to him for his unconditional love and the eternal promise has made for each of us.

Click to Hear Jonathan David and Melissa Helser Perform No Longer Slaves

God of All My Days

The next entry for my Blog is God of All My Days, which was written by Mark Hall and Jason Ingram. It was first released by Casting Crowns in 2016. A link to Casting Crowns singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

God of All My Days

I came to You with my heart in pieces
And found the God with healing in His hands
I turned to You, put everything behind me
And found the God who makes all things new
I looked to You, drowning in my questions
And found the God who holds all wisdom
And I trusted You and stepped out on the ocean
You caught my hand among the waves
‘Cause You’re the God of all my days

Each step I take
You make a way
And I will give You all my praise
My seasons change, You stay the same
You’re the God of all my days

I ran from You, I wandered in the shadows
And found a God who relentlessly pursues
I hid from You, haunted by my failure
And found the God whose grace still covers me
I fell on You when I was at my weakest
And found the God, the lifter of my head
And I’ve worshiped You
And felt You right beside me
You’re the reason that I sing
‘Cause You’re the God of all my days

Each step I take
You make a way
And I will give You all my praise
My seasons change, You stay the same
You’re the God of all my days

In my worry, God You are my stillness
In my searching, God You are my answers
In my blindness, God You are my vision
In my bondage, God You are my freedom
In my weakness, God You are my power
You’re the reason that I sing
‘Cause You’re the God of all my days

Each step I take
You make a way
And I will give You all my praise
My seasons change, You stay the same
You’re the God of all my days

In my blindness, God You are my vision
And in my bondage, God You are my freedom
All my days

Have you ever had one of those OOPS moments when you broke something and it seemingly shattered into a gazillion pieces? Maybe it was an antique, maybe a valuable piece of pottery, a special heirloom, or maybe just someone’s extra special coffee cup. How did you feel when this happened, knowing there was nothing you could do about what happened? This sort of thing happens to your heart as well. Maybe you feel as if life has dealt you a bad hand and no matter what you do, you just can’t seem to come out of that deep dark abyss. Perhaps you feel this way because of relationship issues, losing a loved one, family problems, job problems, or maybe addiction problems. You begin to feel as if your heart is never going to be whole again and that there will never be joy in your life again. I believe all of the above is the core of where this song begins.

The only way we can have a healed heart is to put our lives into the hands of Christ, since only he can heal our shattered heart and help us keep going. It is true we will still have those painful memories and the scars of life, but putting our hearts in his hands allows us to have hope for the future. We have a fresh start on the future as he forgives our past. He gives us something to look forward to; an eternity with him and all of our fellow believers. We all live a life of unanswered questions, we want to know why, when, how, what if…….. These questions are all part of our daily lives and we don’t have the answers, but the good news is that God knows the answers to all of our questions. Part of our daily prayers should be asking God questions about whatever is on our mind. Sometimes we get answers to some questions right away and other times God brings us peace until he is ready to answer our question. Only he has the wisdom we need and the ability to overcome our impatience, if we just completely rely on him. I realize this is easier said than done because of our human nature, but try putting all of your questions and anxieties in his hands and experience his love and his peace.

The writer describes us as being in an ocean and we are struggling just to survive. This ocean pounding with waves, represents the struggles of life and they tend to suck us down every single day. As we cry out to God, hold out our hand to God, and give him our life; he grabs our hand and pulls us out of the waves. All of a sudden our life on that daily stormy ocean shifts to life on a peaceful lake. The wavy days are still out there as we forget our way, but God will always be there to put us back on the calm waters if we just reach out to him. He is the God of all of our days and is with us every day of our life even when we are ignoring him and forgetting about him.

No matter where we are physically, mentally, or emotionally God is there with us to hold our hand and guide us down the right path. Only he knows the right path for us and only he can keep us on the path where we belong. Everyday, our lives change in some way as we experience new events that impact us. We also go through stages of life such as youth, marriage, children, grandchildren, retirement, loss of a loved one; yet God is there to help us through every phase of our life and the troubles we face each step along the way. We constantly change over the course of our life, but God never changes. We lose our focus and we lose our way, but God is always laser focused on our path and on our journey; he knows the future of each of us. As the writer states, we should praise him every step of the way.

We spend a lot of our lives just running away from God. We are ashamed because of the things we have done; we are ashamed of not praying as we should, and we feel weak if we can’t handle things on our own. There are times when we are so disappointed in ourselves and who we have become. What we fail to realize is that God has never turned his back on us and that he stays with us and keeps holding out his open arms to us; he never ever gives up on us and never holds our failures over our heads. He only asks that we love him and accept his son as our personal savior. As bad as we have been or as neglectful we have been in our relationship with God; his overwhelming love for us never changes. He is always there to help us lift our heads and look ahead to the future instead of the past, knowing that he will never leave us or forsake us. We worship God because he is the only one who never lets us down, who forgives and forgets all of our wrongdoings, and the only one who can give us eternal life. Have you ever sung a Christian song or hymn and all of sudden you can just feel the presence and love of God? I get chills just thinking about those times when I strongly sense the presence of my Lord, there is no other experience like it. Psalm 98:4-6 encourages to sing, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn, shout for joy before the Lord, the King.” A lot of us may say we can’t sing, but keep in mind that it is the Lord who gave us our voice and our talents and all of our songs are music to him.

Take a close look at the last verse of the song which gives us examples of when we need God and what he gives us as we call out to him. If you listen to the song via the link below, listen with your heart as you are reminded of what God has for us. The list of what he gives can never be captured in a Blog, a book, a library or a song. He gives us peace, the answers we seek, light in the darkness, freedom from the bondage of the dark world, and power that we cannot begin to fully comprehend. Isaiah 40:31 reminds us of what God can do in our lives if we only let him: “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

He is not just the God of our past, our good days, and our bad days; he is God of all of our days from the day we were born and for eternity.

Click to Hear Casting Crowns Sing God of All My Days

At the Cross (Love Ran Red)

The next entry for my Blog is At the Cross (Love Ran Red), which was written by Matt Armstrong, Ed Cash, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, and Jonas Myrin and released by Chris Tomlin in 2014. A link to Chris Tomlin singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

At the Cross (Love Ran Red)

There’s a place where mercy reigns
And never dies
There’s a place where streams of grace
Flow deep and wide
Where all the love I’ve ever found
Comes like a flood
Comes flowing down

There’s a place where sin and shame
Are powerless
Where my heart has peace with God
And forgiveness
Where all the love I’ve ever found
Comes like a flood
Comes flowing down

Here my hope is found
Here on holy ground
Here I bow down
Here I bow down
Here arms open wide
Here You save my life
Here I bow down
Here I bow

At the cross, at the cross
I surrender my life
I’m in awe of You
I’m in awe of You
Where Your love ran red
And my sin washed white
I owe all to You
I owe all to You
I owe all to You
I owe all to You, Jesus, Jesus
Your love ran red
Your love ran red

Can you imagine what our life would be like if we were punished for every wrong, aka sin, that we committed? Maybe our sin was a lie, maybe saying something we shouldn’t have said, maybe it is what we watch on TV or at the movies, maybe we cheated in our marriage; I think you get the point. The net is we would live a life of doing wrong, as we do today, and receive immediate and ongoing punishment. What kind of life would that be? Jesus commanded us to obey his commands and since God is our creator, why wouldn’t he punish us for wandering away from him? The good news is that our God is a merciful and loving God, who cares for his family, his children. Because of his love, he is willing to give us mercy, which is basically a continual wipe the slate clean get out of jail card on a permanent basis. Mercy is when God doesn’t give us what we deserve. God never gives up on us and never turns his back on us, his mercy is always flowing. No matter the magnitude or our sin, his love is deeper and wider than we could ever imagine. I compare his love and mercy to a massive waterfall that washes away everything in its path. Just as the waterfall ultimately ends in a flowing river, such is the love of God that washes away all of our sin and brings peace to our life. This love and mercy far exceed what we can find with anyone or anything else.

This mercy came to us via the cross, the son of God dying for each of us as individuals and as the children of God. As Jesus hung on that cross, he had blood flowing from the beatings he was subjected to, the nails in his hands, the nails in his feet, the wound in his side, and the crown of thorns on his head. Greater than the flow of blood was the flowing of his love for us. Because of the death and outpouring of the blood of Christ on the cross, God gives us perpetual love and mercy that never ceases. All that is asked of us is that we accept Christ as our savior, and recognize that he died for us. If we do not accept him, then he died in vain and we trade our heavenly home for an eternity in hell. We should all be in awe of what Christ was willing to do for us, even though many of us may never accept him as our personal savior. What can be more important in our lives than recognizing what Jesus did for us, the courage it took, and the pain he endured? His flowing blood and his love washed all of our sins away and we have become white as snow since we will no longer have the blackness of sin; he forgave us all of sins we have committed and will ever commit while he hung on that cross. It is so easy to surrender our life to Jesus and he asks so little of us. Most of us are focused on today and our narrow view of tomorrow, whereas with Jesus; we can focus on eternity.

Any hope we have in life is misplaced if it is not in Jesus. Jesus is the only being worthy of our worship, nothing we strive for or attain in our life is greater than eternal life that only he can offer. Without Jesus, what do we have to live for? I recently read a devotion by Max Lucado which stated that suicide rates were up and that perhaps it is due to the fact that people without Jesus in their lives have no hope beyond their time on this earth. Hopefully you have surrendered your life to Jesus, have kneeled at the foot of the cross, and have let the love of Christ flow over you and wash away all of your darkness.

Click to Hear Chris Tomlin Sing At the Cross (Love Ran Red)

I Love You Lord

The next entry for my Blog is I Love You Lord, which was written by Laurie Klein and released in 1976. A link to The Maranatha Singers performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

I Love You Lord

I love you, Lord
And I lift my voice
To worship You
Oh, my soul, rejoice!

Take joy my King
In what You hear
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound
In Your ear

This is a song that gets into my head and into my heart and fills my heart with joy and brings me comfort. It is just a simple chorus with a powerful meaning. It is a good song to use when starting a bible study, small group, etc.; anywhere people are gathered in his name. Try to take the time to listen to the song and open your heart to its message.

I love you Lord. How many times have you said this with your lips, but it didn’t come from your heart? There are a large number of definitions for love and I looked at a few of them. As I pondered my question about love, I came to the opinion that each of us has our own definition of love. As you think of your own personal meaning, let it come from your heart and not from books, movies, social media, TV, etc. It doesn’t really matter how the word is defined elsewhere, how does your heart define love when it comes to your relationship with Christ? The bible tells us in Mark 14:30-31, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” This clearly tell us that love is giving our all to God and that our love should come from our deepest being, and not be just spoken words. Note that Jesus commands us to love and that there is no greater commandment. In John 14:15, Jesus tells Peter, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” If we love the Lord in the way he has commanded us to do, we will put him first in all facets of our life. Notice that we are told to love the Lord, we are given an absolute directive.

As we praise God and thank him for all he has done, is doing, and will do in our lives; we should unashamedly raise our voices. It doesn’t mean just singing loudly in church or raising our hands in praise, it means we should not be ashamed of the gospel and God’s promises and all people should know that we love our Lord from the depths of our soul and praise him for everything. In addition to praising God and giving him thanks, we should also worship him. To worship is to honor God for who he is and submit ourselves humbly to him; it is to acknowledge that he is the almighty God who made us and has prepared a heavenly home for us. There is no person or being other than God who is worthy of our worship. Music and praise are a part of what God expects us to do, and it is something we probably do when we go to church or pray; but worshipping him with a humble heart is what he deserves the most from each of us. As we fully open our hearts and worship him, we feel a greater joy and peace that only he can provide. This makes us want to rejoice and sing his praises from the mountain tops.

God loves us, sent his son to die for us, and I am of the opinion he wants to hear from us all the time. I believe our prayers, praises, and worship bring joy to his heart. It shows that although we are not perfect, we love him and realize that there would be no us, there would be no hope, and there would be promise of tomorrow without him. In 1st Thessalonians 5:17, we are told to “Pray without ceasing”; this means that God wants to commune with us and hear our praises as well as hear our needs at any time day or night. We want him to know that we are glad we are his children and that there is no better life than a life with him. I am sure he looks forward to hearing the melodious sound of the voices of his children. If you have children, you know they have good days and bad days, but we still want to hear their voices and know that they are ok; because we love them. Think about the times when you go long periods of time when you don’t hear from a child or loved one, how does it make you feel? At least God always knows what is happening in our lives, but he also wants to feel our love and hear our voices.

Have you reached out to God today?

Click to Hear the Maranatha Singers sing I Love You Lord

He’s Coming Back Again

The next entry for my Blog is He’s Coming Back Again, which was written by and performed by the Galileans in 1977. A link to the Shiloh Quartet singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

He’s Coming Back Again

All the pain and shame they caused my blessed Savior,
All the scars that marred the body of my Lord;
All the miles between this earth and God’s blue heaven,
Could not keep Him from returning back to earth.

He’s coming back again and I’m the only reason,
Like a groom He’ll be returning for His Bride;
Preparations have been made; I’ll soon be going,
I’ve a mansion over on the other side.

When He comes again, He will not need a manger,
Earthly man will not be mocking His sweet name;
King of Kings and Lord of Lords He’ll be returning,
With great triumph He’ll be rapturing the saints.

We often hear about the pain and suffering that Christ endured for us. We read a lot about this in our bibles and hear it often in church. As Jesus entered his ministry, he was constantly attacked. The Jews wanted him dead, claiming he was a false prophet. Many considered him a type of devil because of the miracles he performed and the messages he delivered. He had to leave almost every town he entered because they were upset with him claiming to be the son of God and working miracles in the name of God. They beat him, spat upon him, threatened to stone him, yelled at him, and mocked him. If we look at his life from a pure human perspective, his life on earth would have been miserable.

I am not sure that any of us know where heaven is; it could be a long way away or it could be in skies above us. All we know for sure is that it is our eternal home if we have accepted Christ as our personal savior. So, we don’t know how far Jesus has to come to get back to us on earth, but we do know that he promised he would return. He will first come in the clouds and bring his people home, as told to us in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. He will later return and establish his kingdom on earth.” As the song says, wherever heaven is, it is not too far away for Jesus to return for his people. His return also shows us how much he truly loves us; he is coming back despite the way he was treated while he was in human form. Yes, he has the scars from his time on our earth, but his love is so much stronger than the scars and the pain he endured.

As I look at the chorus, one line that really stands out to me is the one: He’s coming back and I’m the only reason. I suppose the question is, isn’t he coming for everyone and not just me? It is true that he is coming for all of those who loved him and accepted him as their personal savior, but he is also coming back for each of us as individuals. When I try to make sense of this, I relate it to a father or mother who has been away from their children for a long period of time. When the parent returns home, they are so glad to see all of their children and give them a group hug; but they also hug each child individually and have special words for each one. This is the type of relationship Christ has with us. We are not just part of the church or just part of the Christian family, we all have our own personal relationship with Christ. It is true that each of us are the only reason he is coming back.

The songwriter also compares the return of Jesus to the groom returning home to his bride. The church is often referred to as the bride of Christ and I believe the church to be those who have accepted Christ, not necessarily everyone in a church or a denomination. We don’t know when Christ is returning, but we as loved ones need to be ready. His return tells us that our heavenly home is ready and he is taking us home to the new home he has prepared for us. Just as he told us in John 14:2-5 that he will come back and bring us back with him to our mansion in heaven, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” We don’t know when he will return and when our heavenly mansion will be all set for us, so we better be ready to go at any time.

When Jesus comes back, he will be seen as the person he always claimed to be. He will come back in power and majesty and with his angels. He will not come as a baby depending on others for its care. Those who have mocked him in the past will tremble in fear upon his return; there will be no more humiliation of him or mocking. He will be the all-powerful King of Kings and Lord of Lords that no one would dare challenge. As his glory shines upon the world, the believers will rise up to go with him to their heavenly homes. The days of sadness, tears, and earthly despair will be over.

One day, he is coming back for each of us as individuals and taking all of his family to our eternal homes. Now is the time to think about what you need to do to be ready.

Click to Hear the Shiloh Quartet Sing He’s Coming Back Again

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us

The next entry for my Blog is How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, which was written by Stuart Towend and released in 1997. A link to Selah performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us

How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

The song starts out by posing a challenging question / statement. We can measure the depth of a hole we just dug for a fencepost, we can even measure the depth of an ocean, but how do we measure the depth of a feeling or emotion such as love? I may say I love someone with all my heart, but how I do I measure this love? I think the real answer is that we cannot measure the depth and breadth of love. As much love as we may have for someone, God has this much love and more for all of his children, a love that is even deeper and stronger than our minds can conceive. I suppose the next question that aligns with the song is, are you willing to sacrifice the person you love the most so that other people can benefit? Some of those who would benefit are perhaps people who we don’t even like, don’t want to be around, and most of whom we do not even know? Would you be willing to sacrifice the one you love with all of your heart so that others can gain eternal life? I am sure many people would say, sure I would; how can I not do this to help other people. As you let this soak in for a few minutes, could you really do it? This is what God did for all of us when he let Jesus go to the cross, he let his perfect son die for everyone in an imperfect world so that all of God’s children would have the opportunity to spend eternity with him. John 15:13 says, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” In the case of Jesus, he was dying for even those who hated him and those who actually put him on the cross.

God had made the decision to let this happen. Even though he knew that the death of his son was only temporary, can you even imagine what that would be like to lose that person you love the most for even a short time? Some may think, if it was only for a few days and I knew my loved one would come back from death, I can do that. Let’s look at this a little deeper. Suppose that just before the death was to occur, you had to 100% sever the relationship with the one you loved so deeply. It is almost like saying, I don’t love you anymore; yet this is essentially what God had to do to his son while he hung from the cross. In Mark 15:34, we are told that God had forsaken Jesus while he was on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God turned his back because, as Jesus took on the sins of the world, he was no longer able to commune with God since he was no longer perfect in God’s eyes. It was as if their bond of love and family was broken. Could you imagine experiencing this scenario with the person you love the most, even if you knew it was only for a short time?

Now, let’s switch to us and imagine we were there in the crowd that watched Jesus hang from the cross. Put yourself in the place of the people there who had witnessed the miracles of Jesus, his promise of eternal life, and the one who had promised to return. You believed every word he said, but all of sudden you become drawn in by the crowd and you pick up their chants of crucify him, he is a false prophet, he is not the son of God. You then realize what is happening to you and you feel so ashamed while seeing him on the cross and knowing he is there to take your sins and prepare a home in heaven for you. Jesus stayed on that cross until he absorbed every one of our sins from the past, the present, and the future; he gave his perfect life to make you perfect in the eyes of the father. He stayed there until he had all of the sins of the world, and then he breathed his last breath. The nails could have never held him to the cross, remember that he had the power of an almighty God with him and could have even called angels to protect him. It was solely his love for us and his will to make us perfect that held him there. Not only did he suffer from taking on our sin, he also suffered the rejection of his father. This is what love and sacrifice is all about, God had to let his only son die in one of the worst ways imaginable, so all of us would have the opportunity to join him in heaven. All we have to do is accept Christ as our personal savior and put our faith in him as the son of God. He alone is the way, the truth, and the life; as well as the only way to heaven.

God sacrificed his son to give us a heavenly home, Jesus took on all of the pain and suffering of the world to give us eternity, nothing we achieve or strive to achieve in our lives can even come close to this. I know that many of us, in the midst of conversation with others, almost have a contest of who has been the most successful in our careers, who has accomplished the greatest things, who has the best kids, who has traveled the most; but does any of this really compare to what Christ and the father did for us? Do any of our earthly accomplishments really mean anything when you think of the true meaning of eternity? Instead of trying to prove to others that we were the best in some area, we should be focused on the greatest gift we were ever given and didn’t have to work for, the gift of eternal life.

Maybe the greatest thing we can ever achieve is leading someone to Jesus, all other accomplishments pale in comparison.

Click to Hear Selah Perform How Great the Father’s Love for Us

Lord, I Need You

The next entry for my Blog is Lord, I Need You, which was written by Christy Nockels, Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves, Kristian Stanfill, and Matt Maher. It was first released in 2013. A link to the Matt Maher performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Lord, I Need You

Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without You I fall apart
You’re the One that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
Where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

So teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
When I cannot stand I’ll fall on You
Jesus, You’re my hope and stay

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

You’re my one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

In this song, we hear the story of someone who realizes they cannot handle life alone. I believe these are people who have heard the word, know that Jesus is always waiting for them to take his hand, but have waited as long as they could before coming to the saving grace of Jesus. The son of God is always with us and waiting patiently for us, and in this case, we have someone who has finally bowed down to Jesus and confessed from the heart that without him, they will only have a life of hopelessness and failure. Notice that I said from the heart and not from the mind since the heart is who we really are. As they bow their heads in complete surrender and put their lives in the hands of Jesus, they finally find the rest and peace they have been seeking for all of their life. For too long they have tried to make their way or find their way; but have now realized that Christ is the only one who can lead them, guide them, and walk beside them every minute of every day.

As the song says, we all need Jesus every hour of our lives. There is never a time when we do not need the guidance that only he can bring. He alone can make us perfect in the eyes of God and fill us with his righteousness. He has removed all sin from us via his death and resurrection and God now views us as his sinless children. Through him, we can stand against Satan and the evils and temptations of our world. As we are told in Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” All of our lives, we constantly give into the pressures of temptations that come from family, friends, our jobs, society, media, and the world in general. But the good news is that the love of Christ is stronger and deeper than anything the world can throw at us. In the deepest darkest pit that we may fall into, the light of Christ’s love and power will still shine through the darkness. Without the grace and mercy of Christ, we would never be free; with his mercy and grace, we will never be owned by the world again. It is true that we will continue to sin and make mistakes, but we will not be a slave to sin once we have become a child of God.

The song challenges us to lift up our voice, our song, to our Lord and Savior whenever we face temptation. We need to do this as soon as we recognize the temptation and call on Jesus to give us the strength and wisdom to stand strong. Our bodies may not fare well in the battles we face, but no one can defeat our spirit when we are walking with Jesus. Keep in mind that our physical life is only temporary, but our spiritual home is forever. Jesus is the only way to eternal life and will be there for us to lean on whenever we call upon his name. He alone is our permanent hope and a friend who will never let us down. Psalm 104:33 tells us “I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” Notice that this verse does not delineate between the good and bad times in our life, it just says to always sing as long as you live.

Is Jesus your first option, or your last; if your last, why? The sooner you lay your trials and challenges at the feet of Jesus, the sooner you can find that inner peace that only Jesus can bring. The inner peace lets you know that no matter how big the battles are, you will never be fighting alone. Just as Jesus resurrected Lazarus from the dead, as told in John 11, he can resurrect your spiritual life and give you the strength to take on the world.

Click to Hear Matt Maher Sing Lord, I Need You

He Was There All the Time

The next entry for my Blog is He Was There All the Time, which was written by Gary Paxton and released in 1980. A link to the Blackwood Brothers performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

He Was There All the Time

Time after time I went searching for peace in some void
I was trying to blame
All my ills on this world I was in
Surface relationships used me ’til I was done in
And all of the while someone was begging to free me from sin

He was there all the time
He was there all the time
Waiting patiently in line
He was there all the time

Never again Will I look for a fake rainbow’s end
Now that I have the answer My life is just starting to rhyme
Sharing each new day with Him Is a cup of fresh wine
And oh what I missed, He’s been waiting right there all the time

He was there all the time
He was there all the time
Waiting patiently in line
He was there all the time

When you believe you are on the verge of depression or just ready to give up on everybody and everything, what do you do? I am sure there are days where you just want to stay in bed and pull the covers over your head, perhaps you feel as if you want to crawl under a rock and hide from the world, and some people just wish they could just end it all. Maybe you have these bad times and turn to alcohol, or food, or even drugs. The end result is that none of the above brings forever happiness. Some of the options I listed perhaps bring some temporary relief, but all of the issues causing your negative feelings are still there. The sad part is we get into a vicious spiral that takes us down to rock bottom and we have a tendency to stay there.

While in this period of darkness in our lives, we try to blame anyone and everyone for the situation we are in. We want the blame to fall on someone else so we can shift the anger to that person, those people, or that thing. Maybe you start thinking you are too old, too big, too small, of the wrong race, of the wrong nationality, your friends are to blame, your parents are to blame……… We depend on other people so much in our lives, and inevitably they let us down. Some let us down unintentionally, although the pain is real, and we discover that some people were not the people we thought they were.

I believe all of us have misery in our lives and just don’t know where to turn. The problem is that we explore every option to eliminate our unhappiness, and maybe then we turn to Jesus. As the song says, Jesus is always there; he has his hand out and is always asking you, begging you, to dedicate your life to him. Although the things and people around us may let us down, we are told in Hebrews 13:5 that “God will never leave us nor forsake us.” In Matthew 28:20, Jesus tells us “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” So, the real problem is we try to solve all of our issues on our own or rely on those arounds us, but no one has the answers you seek except our Lord and Savior. All we have to do is open our minds and our hearts and take his hand so he can lead us through the darkness we are facing. He has always been there and will always be there and there is no end to his patience. No matter how stubborn we are, or how much we turn our backs on him, he patiently stands before us with open arms.

As we go about our lives, we endure a lot of rainbows that promise a pot of gold, but seldom does it work that way. We all have hopes and dreams, and sometimes they do come true, but too many times they do not because we try to be successful on our own. Think of how life could be if we walked in lockstep with our Savior toward our hopes and dreams. By being in step with Jesus, we will be marching toward goals he helped us to set as opposed to goals we set on our own. By being in collaboration with Jesus, we will never face that false rainbow again because we will be doing what he wants us to do, and by accepting Christ as our Savior we have the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it is eternal life.

We need to begin each day communicating with our Savior, walk with him every day, and then end our day still talking with him. If we don’t walk with him and talk with him, how can we understand what his plans are for us today and for eternity? Does your faith lie more with your friends, your family, your possessions; or does it lie in the hands of Jesus? Imagine starting and ending every day with Jesus on your mind and in your heart, allowing him to bring some peace to you as your day ends and the next day begins. Having Christ with you doesn’t mean that you will no longer have struggles and challenges in your life or that everyday is going to be a great day, but it does mean that you will never face your world alone. Even though we face this darkness in our earthly life; Christ has promised us an eternity of peace and joy once we reach our heavenly home.

He is there all the time, just waiting for you.

Click to Hear the Blackwood Brothers Perform He Was There All the Time

Go Light Your World

The next entry for my Blog is Go Light Your World, which was written by ‎Chris Rice and first recorded by Kathy Troccoli in 1995. A link to Kathy Troccoli performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Go Light Your World

There is a candle in every soul
Some brightly burning, some dark and cold
There is a Spirit who brings fire
Ignites a candle and makes His home

Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world
Take your candle, and go light your world

Frustrated brother, see how he’s tried to
Light his own candle some other way
See now your sister, she’s been robbed and lied to
Still holds a candle without a flame

Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the lonely, the tired and worn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world
Take your candle, and go light your world

We are a family whose hearts are blazing
So let’s raise our candles and light up the sky
Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus
Make us a beacon in darkest times

Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world

I think this song delivers a very powerful and clear message, and I wanted to add it to my Blog entries since I had never taken the time to really listen to the song and pay close attention to the lyrics, until now. Yes, I could sing along with the chorus, but didn’t let the meaning of the song sink into my heart. We all have a candle inside of us, as a Christian I believe this to be the Holy Spirt that Christ left with us as he returned home after rising from the grave. Those who have not received Christ do not have the promise of eternal life nor the Holy Spirit, but that can be fixed quickly! If we have not accepted Christ, our candle is dark and just waiting for the spark that salvation brings. We may have accepted Christ, but our candle could be just a slight flicker, or it may be generating as much light as it possible can. If we are letting the Holy Spirit work as it should, we always have that bright candle light that can penetrate the deepest darkness.

So, I have a candle, what’s next? Our mission is to seek the darkness and bring the light. This darkness refers to the darkness of this world, the people who have never accepted Christ. These people may be rich, they may be homeless, they may feel hopeless, and some of them don’t even know they are in the dark. These people are unaware that there is a light that can lead them to eternal life. Our job is to bring our light, our candle, our love for Christ to everyone who does not have this light burning in their soul. No matter what darkness we are facing, we have the light to penetrate that darkness, and the arms of Christ to protect us.

Many people have tried to get out of the darkness on their own, but have merely failed over and over again. They begin to believe they are a perpetual failure and almost settle into a life of deeper darkness and hopelessness. There are also those who have put their faith and hope in others, only to be let down, disappointed, and frustrated with their life. These are all people who perhaps have a candle, but they can never figure out how to light their candle no matter what they try. These are people who need that light which only comes from us who have the light of salvation burning in our souls. No matter their situation, no matter how long they have been without hope, our candle can bring them the light of hope today and an eternal home of light.

Maybe we think we have a bright candle and maybe we are surrounded by family and friends who may have seemingly bright candles as well; if so, we know we will all be together for eternity. What about those who need the light we have? What have you done to share your light with others? I believe too many of us, and too many of our churches, do not work hard enough to share this bright and burning light with others. If we are not sharing, maybe we only have a small flicker of light since we are not taking the effort to share our light with others. If this is the case, then we are disappointing our heavenly father since he would love to have all of his creation in eternity with him. Yes, I know that everyone will not accept the light from our candle, but if we don’t try to share, how do we know who will accept and reject?

Note that the song says to hold out your candle so ALL can see it, it doesn’t give us a restriction. Matthew 5:14-15 talks about the light, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.” I believe the house that is referenced in this verse refers to where ever we are, not just the home we live in.

What kind of candle do you have and when was the last time you raised your candle for all of the world to see?

Click to Hear Kathy Troccoli Sing Go Light Your World

Mary, Did You Know?

The next entry for my Blog is Mary, Did You Know, which was written by ‎ Buddy Greene and Mark Lowry. It was first recorded in 1991 by Michael English. Michael English and Buddy Greene were part of the Gaither Vocal Band. A link to Pentatonix performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Mary, Did You Know?

Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God

Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?
Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?
The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
That sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am

Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?
Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Oh
Mary did you know?

I believe most parents have big dreams for their children, and when a child does accomplish great things; the typical parent says they knew their child was going to do great things. Imagine if you are told by a messenger from God that the accomplishments of your child would surpass all expectations and that you are told this before your child is even born! Let’s bring Mary on stage, she is the only person told by God that their child would be the son of God and change the world. Take a look at Luke 1:26-35, “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”

I am convinced Mary was the most honored woman in history, but I am not sure she really understood the magnitude of the gift that God had given to her and to the world. Based on the culture of the time, it is most likely that Mary was in her early teens when she was engaged and that she was in her early teens when she conceived Jesus. I can’t even comprehend the emotions she was going through after she got this message. I am sure she had lots of questions going through her mind regarding what it really meant to be the mother of the son of God. Please note that I am not minimizing Mary in any way, I am just thinking about the human side of what a teenage girl was experiencing. Little did Mary know about the true greatness of her child, yet she accepted the task her Lord had given her.

I wanted to share the thoughts above to sort of lay the groundwork for the song. The song references some of the many miracles performed by Mary’s son Jesus and are probably miracles most of us are familiar with and understand at some level. Mary would not have seen these type of miracles in the past, but would have at least understood the concept, even if she didn’t understand the how. The miracles I am referring to, which are in the song, are Jesus walking on water, calming the storms, giving sight to a blind man, bringing the dead back to life, and healing the sick. We have a good understanding of what each of these mean, even if we don’t understand all of the circumstances surrounding each event nor do we always fully understand why these people were called out. The above are just a few of the many miracles performed by Jesus.

I believe the actions Mary would struggle to understand prior to the ministry of Jesus are more challenging to comprehend since there never was and will never be another Jesus. The religious faithful knew that God would send a Savior one day, but once the Savior arrived; they didn’t initially completely understand his role. Jesus came to save us from sin as well as our sons and our daughters and all future generations. He saved us from an eternity in hell and guaranteed us eternity in heaven as long as we accepted him as our personal savior. In the case of Mary, she too would become a new person with an eternal life as she accepted her son as her personal savior. For most/all of us, this idea is hard to get our arms around, the very child that we raised becoming our savior, taking away all of our sin, and preparing a place for us in heaven. As I referenced above, we all have great dreams for our children, but I don’t believe any of us could envision our babies becoming our saviors.

As we dig in a little deeper into what else Mary and all of us need to understand, it is important to realize that the essence of Christ was in heaven. Christ was there at the time of creation, he walked in heaven with the angels, and he was already the king of kings before he even arrived on this earth. When God sent Christ to earth to be born of Mary, he came without any sin and was the perfect gift for this world. No other being on the earth since its creation had been sinless until Christ came. He is the king of kings today just as he was some 2000 years ago. We indeed have and have had our earthly kings during all generations, but none have had the power of Jesus. Our king has the power over life and death, power over the wind and seas, and the power to give eternal life; no earthly king can do this.

I saved the most overwhelming action confronting Mary, and that is every time she kissed her baby; she was kissing the face of God. Wow, think about that for a while. I think of Moses as he trembled when he confronted God in the burning bush and on holy ground. Yet the child of this same God, had come as a baby for Mary to love and protect. Think about balancing motherhood, worship, adoration, reverence, and knowing that you are holding and kissing your son, the son of God.

Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus and she overcame all of the above challenges. I am sure she did not fully comprehend what was happening to her, what the future held for her, nor the true power of her son. Has God given you a challenge that appeared to be too big and too overwhelming? If so, did you accept the challenge or tell him that you are not able to take this burden? Think about what Mary did and what she faced from the day she found out that she was to be the mother of the son of God. Can your challenge possibly be greater than what this teenage girl faced so many years ago?

We don’t know what the future brings, but we must all trust Christ to lead us through the life he has chosen for us. He will take us safely through the life he chose for us, just as he led Mary. Maybe there are times in our lives when we need to look back and compare what we know now compared to what we knew then, this will help us better understand what God has done in our lives. We will be able to better understand the question of Mary Did You Know, as posed in this song.

Click to Hear Pentatonix Perform Mary Did You Know