Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

This next song for my Blog was written by Helen H. Lemmel in 1918 and was published in 1922 as a part of the Glad Songs collection. Since that time, the song has been performed by many artists and included in numerous versions of hymnals. A link to Alan Jackson performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conqu’rors we are!

Chorus

His Word shall not fail you, He promised;
Believe Him and all will be well;
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Chorus

What a soul-searching song, I cannot remember the first time I sang this song in church; but it has always been one of my favorites. Listening to this song brings such peace as I close my eyes, close out the world, and reflect on the words.

How was your day today, how was your yesterday, how does your tomorrow look? Are you just tired of your life in general and are you carrying way too many burdens and worries as you live each day? I believe most, if not all of us, are in this same situation. Most days, it is hard to see the light in the darkness of life. We are so overwhelmed with all of the worries we have, the tasks we have to accomplish, the dependencies others have on us, and what tomorrow may bring. As all of this brings us to our knees and we open our heart to Jesus, we can see light. We can remember the promises he made, the lessons he shared, and the eternal home waiting on us. It is in these promises that we have the light of eternal life and the promise that he will be with us every step of our lives and take us through every challenge we face. Matthew 11:28-29 tells us: “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.” It doesn’t mean we won’t have challenges and disappointments, but it does mean we will not be alone and that there is always light if we just reach for it.

The chorus tells us exactly what we need to do. We need to turn our eyes upon Jesus and he will help us to block out the world. What we see and we feel as we look into his eyes are his love and his compassion. We can see the hope that only he can bring and the light that can pierce the darkest of days. His glory radiates and encloses us and we feel his grace, loving us in spite of our failures and our mistakes.

Jesus came to earth so he could walk with us, to show us he loved us, to let us know that he understood this world and the darkness we would always face. He knew that we needed to be able to see him and touch him to strengthen our faith. He even suffered rejection, scorn, and humiliation just for us. Jesus did all of this to let us know that he knew what earthly life was all about. He then paid the ultimate sacrifice on the cross and afterwards arose to go to be with the father and prepare our heavenly home. John 14:2-3 confirms this: “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” Because of him dying for us and taking away our sins, sin no longer has control over us. It is an absolute that we will still have bad days and challenges and that Satan and sin may win battles along the way, but the victory belongs to Jesus. We have therefore already won the war and the ultimate prize, eternal life and the eventual banishment of Satan. It is true that faith is the victory. 1 John 5:4 states: “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.”

God’s word is unfailing and he keeps his promises, there are many scriptures supporting this. In Hebrews 10:23, we are told “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” We just need to reach out to him and he will help us with our journey and help us to overcome all things, no matter how difficult the mountains we are facing. We know the reward; we just need to trust in him during our journey until it is our time to settle in our heavenly home. God has made his promise to us and he expects us to share this promise with others. We live in a world that seems to become more evil and sinful every day. The world likes to pretend there is no God and there is no salvation, but we are commanded to spread the love of Jesus wherever we go. The world has died to sin and the only escape is the salvation that only Christ can give us. He is the only path to eternal life and he alone is the one who can help us carry our burdens and keep us focused on the light.

We all need to stop and turn our eyes and our hearts upon Jesus.

Click to Hear Alan Jackson Sing Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Glorious Day

The next entry for my Blog is Glorious Day by Casting Crowns and first released in 2011. The original lyrics were written in 1910 by John Wilbur Chapman and the song was titled One Day and the initial verse melody was created by Michael Bleecker and updated by Mark Hall. A link to Casting Crowns performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Glorious Day

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me

Chorus

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again

Chorus

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One bringing
My Savior Jesus is mine

Chorus

The song starts out with heaven rejoicing and singing the praises of Jesus. I can’t even begin to fathom what that sounds like, but can just imagine everyone’s heart bursting with joy. Up until the coming of Christ, the angels were the only ones who could see the deep dark atmosphere of sin that covered the earth, God’s creation. I am sure the angels were sad every time they looked upon this world and saw how Satan was destroying God’s perfect creation. A light began shining through this darkness, it was the birth of Jesus, God’s only son. Not only was the birth of Jesus a miracle, but being born of a virgin was another miracle. I guess that in reality, neither of these events was necessarily a miracle since God is able to do all things. We may call it a miracle, but God calls it love. God had been teaching his people through strong examples, leaders, and prophets since the time he created us; but he decided we needed a perfect example of the life we should we live as his children. What better way to do this than to send his perfect son to bring us not only his love, but to take away the darkness of sin through his love and promise of eternity. The word of God was brought to life in Jesus

The chorus puts into simple words what Jesus did for all who are willing to accept him. He lived and walked among us and showed us how much the father loved us. He died to save us from a life of hopelessness and to give us eternal life. He was buried after his death on the cross and took all of our past, current, and future sins away forever. He rose from the dead and showed us his power over the grave and that he could not be conquered by death. By rising from the dead, he showed us that he has the power to return again and he promised us he would return to take everyone to their eternal home. Yes, what a glorious day it was and will be again.

The supporters of sin, the haters of Christ, decided the way to take care of God’s example was to make him an example of their own. What better way than to have Jesus suffer the same death as so many of the other criminals; let him die on the cross with others who have committed crimes. After his beatings and humiliation, they took him to Golgotha, to die on the cross. Golgotha is on a main thoroughfare leading into Jerusalem, so everyone who entered the city through the Damascus gate would be able to see Jesus and the criminals hanging on the cross. These displays of torture and punishment helped the Romans rule through fear as people witnessed the penalty of breaking the law. Jesus had been laughed at, he had been beaten, he had been rejected, and he had been mocked; but with his dying breath he honored his commitment to die for us. As the hands that wielded the power of God were nailed to the cross and the life of Jesus faded away, our sins went with him. Every moment of his life led up to this one event, which brought us eternal life. All we have to do is accept him as our Lord and savior. Little did the Romans know that their actions were all a part of God’s glorious plan.

On the third day of being in the tomb; the world discovered that neither the cross, nor death, nor a tomb could destroy God’s son. The great stone had been rolled away from the tomb and Christ proved that he would indeed rise from the dead, just as he said. We find his promise in Matthew 20:17-19, “Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” He walked this earth again after his death and the people in the city saw him as did his followers. They could see him, touch him, and hear him speak. These same people also got to see him ascend into heaven as he returned to the father’s side; Satan had no power over the son of God.

The good news is that Jesus told us he will return and there will be a trumpet announcing his coming. We find this promise in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, “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. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
The whole world will know of the return of Jesus as the skies light up with his glory. He will come to take us home to the place he has prepared for us, just as he promised in John 14:1-3. What a wonderful day that will be, as we join the family of God in our eternal home.

Click Here to Hear Casting Crowns Perform Glorious Day

Flawless

The next song for my Blog is a contemporary song released in April 2015. It was written by Barry Graul, Bart Millard, Ben Glover, David Garcia, Michael Scheuchzer, Nathan Cochran, Robby Shaffer, and Solomon Olds. A link to MercyMe performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

Flawless

There’s got to be more
Than going back and forth
From doing right to doing wrong
‘Cause we were taught that’s who we are
Come on get in line right behind me
You along with everybody
Thinking there’s worth in what you do

Then like a hero who takes the stage when
We’re on the edge of our seats saying it’s too late
Well let me introduce you to amazing grace

No matter the bumps
No matter the bruises
No matter the scars
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless
No matter the hurt
Or how deep the wound is
No matter the pain
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless

Could it possibly be
That we simply can’t believe
That this unconditional
Kind of love would be enough
To take a filthy wretch like this
And wrap him up in righteousness
But that’s exactly what He did

No matter the bumps
No matter the bruises
No matter the scars
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless
No matter the hurt
Or how deep the wound is
No matter the pain
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless

Take a breath smile and say
Right here right now I’m ok because
The cross was enough

Then like a hero who takes the stage when
We’re on the edge of our seats saying it’s too late
Well let me introduce you to grace grace
God’s grace

He made you flawless
He made you flawless

No matter the bumps
No matter the bruises
No matter the scars
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless

You ever feel as if you are the proverbial hamster on the wheel? Maybe you have had a hamster or a mouse in a cage with a wheel and they can seemingly run on these wheels for hours. Obviously, they are getting some good exercise, but once they get off the wheel; they are right back at the place they started and are probably exhausted. If you think about it, this does bear some resemblance to our lives. Some times in our life, we seem to making great progress in a lot of areas and other times we feel as if we are going backwards. I think this also applies to what we accomplish as Christians, sometimes we are on fire for the Lord and feel so close to him; but other times we are not so committed and seem to distance ourselves from him. We just keep going back and forth and people tell us that is just the normal nature of life and that we just need to get used to it. In other words, we are just like everyone else riding the human version of the hamster wheel and we sort of get used to it. We realize along the way that life has got to be more than this and that we are becoming more immersed in the sinful world instead of being transformed from this world. We also come to the realization that we need help to get off the wheel of sin and on the right path.

At some point, from out of nowhere, someone comes forward and helps set us on the right track again. The writer calls this the hero who comes to our rescue after we have given up hope and accepted our lot in life. For all of us, this hero can only be Jesus since he is the only one who can give us amazing grace. Grace is when God gives us what we don’t deserve and we certainly don’t deserve his love and his forgiveness; but he gives both to us freely. He is only one who can save us from the hamster wheel of sin and hopelessness and assure us that we have an eternity of heavenly peace ahead of us.

It doesn’t matter to him how or why we got our physical and emotional scars, bumps, heartaches, and bruises in life; all he asks us to do is accept his son as our personal savior and all of our sins of the past, present, and future are forgiven. When Jesus died on the cross, our sins went away. We became flawless forever. Take a few minutes and just dwell on that thought, we are completely freed from the bondage of sin. It doesn’t mean we won’t have any more pain or heartache; but it does mean these will all go away and not go with us to our heavenly home. In Hebrews 10:11-14 is the promise that all of our sins are taken away forever. ¹¹All Jewish religious leaders stand every day killing animals and giving gifts on the altar. They give the same gifts over and over again. These gifts cannot take away sins. ¹²But Christ gave Himself once for sins and that is good forever. After that He sat down at the right side of God. ¹³He is waiting there for God to make of those who have hated Him a place to rest His feet. ¹⁴And by one gift He has made perfect forever all those who are being set apart for God-like living.

The difficult part to digest is the fact that no matter how bad we have been or what sins we have committed, the unconditional love of Christ allows him to forgive and forget all of our sins. Maybe we as humans rank sins and believe some people are worse than others and from our human perspective this is probably true, but in God’s eyes, a sin is a sin. God is willing to forgive us of all sins, no matter how bad they are. He sent Jesus as the atonement for all of our sins and this atonement is for all of us; all we have to do is accept Christ as our Lord and savior. Keep in mind that he doesn’t rank sins, he only sees us as his creations who are imperfect in an imperfect world. As we accept Christ, we are wrapped in his arm of righteousness for eternity. We probably all ask the question, how can Jesus love me after everything I did; but as the writer states; we can just take a deep breath, smile, and say thank you with all of our heart because the cross was enough.

It is awesome that God sees us as his children and gives each of us his unconditional love. Isn’t that what being a father is all about?

Click Here to See MercyMe Performing Flawless

He Touched Me

The next song for my Blog is a hymn that was written in 1963 by Bill Gaither. This old gospel song tried to put into the words what it is like when we feel the touch of Jesus and how our lives are changed forever. A link to the Gaither Vocal Band performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

He Touched Me

Shackled by a heavy burden
‘Neath a load of guilt and shame
Then the hand of Jesus touched me
And I am no longer the same

He touched me, Oh He touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole

Since I met this blessed Savior
Since He cleansed and made me whole
I will never cease to praise him
I’ll shout it while eternity rolls

He touched me, Oh He touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole.

Do you ever take time to think about the burdens you carry? My guess is that the list is much longer than you thought and you almost get depressed as you think about the load these burdens place on your heart and shoulders. Burdens come in many forms such as health, family, relationships, jobs, the life we are living, mistakes we have made, and the list goes on. These burdens are always upon us and as the writer states, we are shackled to this load we are carrying. To state in more simply, we are in bondage to these burdens every day of our life. Wow, just thinking about this can really get you down. How do we get out of this pit of despair? Since we are not strong enough to overcome our situation alone, the only way we can escape is through Christ. Once we accepted him as our savior, he is always with us, even during our darkest times and is there to help us with our burdens and bring us peace. Matthew 11:28 states Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. It is true that we will still have burdens, but they will be much lighter with Christ giving us the peace and support we need to carry on. Just to know we are never alone helps us to face and overcome the obstacles we face each day. In our deepest and darkest times, we can rejoice in the fact that this life is temporary and at the end of our earthly life, we will live eternity in peace and love with no burdens. Jesus will surround us with his peace today and with his arms for eternity.

The chorus of the song references the joy that floods our soul once we feel the touch and love of Jesus. Without Jesus we have a heart of despair with no hope and we feel the burdens continue to weigh us down. With the presence of Jesus, we are given a promise of an incredible eternal life and just the thought of it fills our heart with a love and peace so deep that words can hardly describe. We know the joy that Christ has in his heart and of his love for us; he shared this fact with us in John 15:11, I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! Because of the joy that Christ has placed in our hearts, we are now complete and will never be alone again as we face the trials that come our way.

If you have already accepted Christ as your personal savior, have you taken the time to reflect on how your life has changed? There are still challenges in life and perhaps we face some new challenges by acknowledging we have accepted Christ, but it is awesome knowing that we have been freed from all sin. One thing the writer points out is that since the day he was touched by the hand of Jesus, he has never stopped praising him and will continue to praise him throughout eternity. Also note that the writer says he is shouting his praises, he is not afraid or ashamed to let people know about his savior.

Have you been touched by the hand of Christ? If so, are those around you aware of the joy you have and of the joy they are missing?

Click here to see the Gaither Vocal Band Perform He Touched Me.

It Is Well With My Soul

The next song for my Blog is a hymn that was written in 1873 by Horatio G. Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss. A link to Acapeldridge performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

     Refrain
     It is well, (it is well),
     With my soul, (with my soul)
     It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!.

And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so it is well with my soul!

This is such a powerful hymn of the peace that only Christ can bring. There are some days in our lives that are just amazing. These are the days when we are at peace and take the time to soak in everything God has been doing in our life. This is the type of day where you can take your cup of coffee or tea, step outside, and perhaps listen to the birds sing. Maybe you have some beautiful flowers or trees around for you to enjoy and maybe see squirrels at play. I can just imagine looking out over the banks of that soothing, gently flowing river and feeling the love and protection that only God can provide.

Unfortunately, we don’t seem to enjoy enough of these types of days since there are so many distractions in our lives. We have way too many days that are focused elsewhere and we do not feel as close to God. On these days, I can envision an angry ocean when the waves never seem to slow down and just keep crashing down; there is no peace in sight. All of us have these days in our lives and feel so alone and powerless against the trials we must face. The good news is that God is always with us to assure us that we are never alone, he understands and sees exactly what we are going through. We find his promise of blessed assurance in Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. No matter what we are facing, our soul and our eternity are in his hands and therefore all is well with our soul.

Our lives are full of trials and temptations. It is so hard to live in a world controlled by Satan and his minions. Every day we try to contain our anger, avoid envy and jealousy, tolerate those who do not act the way we think they should, kick bad habits, and basically try to stay out of trouble. I believe the writer chose the perfect word to describe our situation; we are certainly buffeted nonstop. God knew we could not fight these battles alone; he knew that Satan was stronger than us. To protect us, he sent his only son to live among us so he could share face to face the love he and our father have for us. After Christ lived with us on earth, his life was sacrificed so that our souls and our eternity would be secured. God knew we could never successfully face Satan alone, no matter how hard we tried, and that we needed a savior. By sending Jesus, God took away our helplessness and assured our eternity with him. We only need accept Jesus as our savior to secure our eternal life with him.

In looking at the third verse, it is almost as if the writer realized there was more to the story of Christ being nailed to the cross and dying for our sins. It is knowing that not only are our past, present, and future sins forgiven; they are also forgotten! Those sins died on the cross with Christ. Hebrews 10:17 tells us “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” God does not remind us of our sins and does not hold us accountable for our past, no strings attached once we are saved. Praise the Lord indeed, no wonder the writer repeats this phrase since he wants to send the message that he is truly a new person with no baggage in the eyes of Christ.

With the knowledge that God loves us in spite of all of our sins and our shortcomings, the writer now delivers the message that he is ready to come home. He is ready to leave a world of sin to begin his eternity with the father. He is not dreading physical death; he is anxious to take that next step on the journey of eternal life. Maybe the real question should be; how much longer do I have to wait instead of how much time to do I have left on this earth. We should all be ready for that second coming of Christ, when he comes to take his believers home, as shared in 1 Thes 4:17 Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Hopefully you have accepted Christ and are prepared for his return and are ready for that special home he has prepared for each of us in heaven. Maybe we will be one of the fortunate ones who sees those clouds roll back as a scroll and hear that trumpet announcing his return.

This song really drives home the point that with Christ, it is well with my soul not matter what challenges I face or what life I have lived.

Click Here to See Acapeldridge Perform It Is Well With My Soul

People Get Ready, Jesus is Comin’

The next song for my Blog was written by Brian Ray and first released in 1996. A link to Crystal Lewis performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

People Get Ready… Jesus is Comin’

Lord I’m ready now.
I’m waiting for your triumphant return. (You’re coming so soon).
This world has nothing for me,
I find my peace and joy solely in You. (Only in You).
I want the world to see,
You’re alive and living well in me.
Let me be a part,
of the harvest for the days are few. (You’re coming soon).

So People get ready,
Jesus is coming
Soon we’ll be going home.
People get ready, Jesus is coming
to take from the world his own.
People get ready, Jesus is coming.
Soon we’ll be going home.
People get ready, Jesus is coming
soon we’ll be going home. (We’ll be going home).

There’s a day that comes
when we will be divided right and left.
(For those who know Him and those that do not know).
And those who know Him well, will meet Him in the air.
Hallelujah! (God is within us).
And those that do not know, they will hear “Depart I knew you not.”
For my friends you see,
there will be a day when we’ll be counted.
So know Him well, know Him well.

People get ready,
Jesus is coming
Soon we’ll be going home.
People get ready, Jesus is coming
to take from the world his own.
People get ready, Jesus is coming.
Soon we’ll be going home.
People get ready, Jesus is coming
soon we’ll be going home. (We’ll be going home).

(We’ll be going home; we’ll be going home…).

For my friends you see,
there will be a day when we’ll be counted.
So know him well, know him well.

The song starts out with a strong proclamation, I am ready to go now and I am just waiting on you to take me! We are told in Matthew 24:44 that we will not know when Jesus is coming back, we only know he is coming back and we always need to be ready.

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

The key question is, how do we know we are ready for the return of our Savior? It is a little different than keeping the spare bedroom ready for company at all times, since that is more of a physical task. For us as people to truly be ready for Christ’s return, we must first accept him as our Savior. Once we have accepted him, we know we will be spending eternity with him; this is a promise he made to all who accept him. The second part of being ready is devoting our life and our heart to what God wants us to be. He wants us to look to him first, he wants us to not conform to the ways of the world, but be transformed into the person he wants us to be. He wants us to open our hearts fully to him and to spread his message of love to everyone. As we reach this point, we realize there is nothing in this world more important than the love of Christ and living our lives the way he has commanded us to live. We begin to realize there is nothing in the world that can truly make us happy forever or give us the eternal peace we are always seeking. As this reality sinks in we, like the writer, are ready for Christ to return and take us home with him.

We also need to become more focused on the work Christ left for each of us. He loves all of us and he wants everyone to love him and accept him as their personal Lord and Savior. All people will not come to know Christ because the pull of the things of the world and of the evils of the world are just too strong for them to overcome and they do not have Christ to help since they have rejected him. Our mission is to share the gospel at every opportunity and wherever we go, we are not bound by individuals nor location. He gave his life for us to have eternal life and his only ask of us is to live for him and do his will. Matthew 28:19-20 gives us that great commission:

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.

Note that Jesus says he will always be with us, that he never leaves our heart. He left us with the Holy Spirit to provide us with the guidance we need and to remind us of this commandment from Jesus.

As we accept and internalize the above, we are now in sync with the writer when he states that he wants others to see Jesus through him. He wants to help fulfill the great commission since he now knows this is what Christ has wanted from us since we accepted him. We need to get ourselves ready for the return of Christ so we can get others prepared as well. I love it when the writer says “Let me be a part”, this is what our charter is all about. Each of us wants to be loved, wants to be respected, but most importantly we should want to be known as a servant of Christ and one day hear that message “Well done good and faithful servant.”

The day of his return will come at some point and as he comes, those who have accepted him will be called up into the clouds with him and there will be a tremendous sound of rejoicing and perhaps the angels singing. Those who rejected him will be left behind and the sounds coming from them will be of sorrow and despair and regret. Some of those left behind will be friends and family who rejected Christ, perhaps people we loved dearly. Which side will you be counted on and are there people you know who are still being counted on the wrong side? We all need to think about what we have done and still can do to get people counted on the right side, to be one of those who has accepted Christ.

Even though we may already be Christians, I believe we all have a lot to do in order to be ready. You may say you are ready to go, but are you as ready as you should be? By accepting Christ as our Savior, we know we are going to heaven. He died for us to have eternal life, shouldn’t we be willing to follow his command and “Get Ready?

Click to Hear Crystal Lewis Sing People Get Ready

You Say

The next song for my Blog is a song that was written by Paul Mabury, Lauren Ashley Daigle, and Jason Ingram. It was first released in July, 2018. A link to Lauren Daigle performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

You Say

I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low?
Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know (ooh oh)

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
And I believe (I), oh I believe (I)
What You say of me (I)
I believe

The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity, (ooh oh)

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
And I believe (I), oh I believe (I)
What You say of me (I)
Oh, I believe

Taking all I have and now I’m laying it at Your feet
You have every failure God, You’ll have every victory, (ooh oh)

Occasionally we all get the feeling that perhaps we are not good enough. The feeling may come because of something someone said, a failure we have experienced, or someone rejecting us; with the bottom line being we just feel discouraged, unloved, and defeated. We begin to question ourselves, our abilities, and perhaps even our faith; we just feel vulnerable in all aspects of our life. These are times when we let Satan and the distractions of the world take over our lives, and it just seems so hard to quit listening to word “failure” as it dominates our thoughts. We may reach a point at which we believe we will never be able to become what we thought we could be.

There are also days when we are on the other end of the spectrum, we may feel on top of the world. Maybe we got a promotion, found out a child is on the way, an illness was cured, or maybe a special person entered our life. These are some of the greatest times in our life and seemingly erase the bad days in the blink of an eye. These are times of our lives that we live for. Wouldn’t it be great if we could stay in this euphoric phase, where all of the bad has disappeared? I believe this is something we all long for, but with the evils in the world and the external influences they bring; we end up living the rollercoaster of life’s highs and lows. We long for peace and normalcy and sometimes forget that our heart and eternity belong to God and he is the one who really holds our life in his hands. The problem is, we sometimes forget this while on the rollercoaster of life. We eventually reach that point of reaching out to God for help, and as we open our hearts to him; he reminds us of who we are, who he is, why we are here, and what eternal life really means.

The chorus in this song helps us to understand what God can and will do for us at all times. He knows what we need before we even ask. He knows that one of the greatest needs we have is to be loved; isn’t love one of the most wonderful feelings we can ever have? It is such a wonderful feeling to be loved by our families, our friends, by little children, and especially by that one person we adore and love the most. Even in those times when we feel alone, feel as if the world is collapsing around us, and someone has hurt us; have you stopped to think that the love of God is still there with you and is as strong as it has always been and always will be? Even though we do not feel the love coming from those in the world into our lives, God is always there, is always loving us, and always has his arms around us. Romans 8:39 tells us:
Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.

As we face the challenges and defeats in our lives, we believe we are no longer strong enough to face the challenges that confront us every day. Our effort to push back becomes weaker as we give up on our hopes and dreams. We seem to forget that we serve an all-powerful God that loves his children and is there to provide them with all of the strength they need and more. He is always there to put his arms around us and protect us from whatever the world throws at us. Yes, there will be emotional pain and physical pain in our lives, but nothing in this world is strong enough to overcome the strength and love that God provides. He alone made the ultimate sacrifice to give us eternal life, along with that gift comes his protection since he wants us to spend eternity with him. Along with the sacrifice he made for us, he gave us the promise of eternal love and of an eternal family that would always love us. We are reminded of his protection in Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

As we finally stop and open our hearts to God, we start to realize that we are not measured by this world or the opinions of others. It is during this time we remember what salvation is all about and how we should focus on what God wants us to do with our lives; not what we want to do with our lives. We face the challenge of doing God’s will and not our will. As imperfect people, we will not be able to defeat all of the temptations of this world; but we can be assured we are never alone and have all the strength we need to carry forward every day of our lives. We just need to believe in what God has promised us and know he will never abandon his children. It is time to lay all of our burdens, our defeats, and our failures at the feet of God. He will turn all of these into victories we could never have imagined.

You are never alone when you believe and accept the love of Christ.

Click to See Lauren Daigle Perform You Say

I Can Only Imagine

The next song for my Blog was written by Bart Millard and first released in 1999. A link to MercyMe performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

I Can Only Imagine

I can only imagine what it will be like
When I walk, by your side
I can only imagine what my eyes will see
When you face is before me
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
Surrounded by You glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of You be still
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
I can only imagine when that day comes
When I find myself standing in the Son
I can only imagine when all I would do is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for You, Jesus
Or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine hey ya ah
Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for You, Jesus
Or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in Your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine hey ya ah
I can only imagine yeah yeah
I can only imagine
I can only imagine ey ey ey
I can only imagine
I can only imagine when all I will do
Is forever, forever worship You
I can only imagine

Knowing what you know today about Jesus, can you imagine what it would be like to be one of the disciples? They had the opportunity to spend almost every day for three years with him. At that point in time, perhaps they didn’t fully understand everything that we understand today. I don’t believe they started getting the true feeling of who Jesus was until he not only rose from the dead, but re-appeared to all of them. They also were able to see him ascending into heaven forty days after he rose from the grave. They were so blessed to spend that time with him and to see him as a man who lived with them, see him as the son of God, and see him rise into heaven to await our final coming home.

We sometimes struggle with our faith and perhaps envy the disciples who were with Jesus. Our challenge is that even though we can’t physically see Jesus, we must trust in his promise of eternity with him. It is during these questioning times that we must focus on what Hebrews 11:1 tells us:
Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists.

We have to trust in his word and know that we are no different from the people who were with Jesus. Yes, they walked with Jesus, but they also saw him leave. From that point forward, they, like us, had to have strong faith since that is what we have to hang onto every single day as the world via Satan and his dominions try to take it away from us.

Now I want to take a look at this song with the above narrative in mind. We have accepted Christ as our Lord and savior and have faith in his words and his promises. The time to enter our eternal home is now upon us, we can’t wait to meet him face to face. What will it be like? Perhaps Jesus comes up beside us as we enter our heavenly home and then walks along the path with us, maybe there is a brief silence as reality sinks in. We are probably a little scared as we turn to face him for the first time and look into his eyes. In those eyes, we will only see love and compassion as we have never known; coming from someone who only sees us as one of God’s perfect creations. For the first time, we realize what unfailing love really means. Indeed, we can only imagine what that will be like.

We will be surrounded by his glory, which I perceive to be a visual view of love that radiates from the inside. This love overcomes everything in its path and it will almost be as if we are surrounded by brightness and radiance we have never known, since we have always lived in a dark world of sin. It will also be the first time we have been surrounded by the perfection that only Christ can bring. How will we react? As humans, we probably expect our hearts to be racing, we may feel as if we are having trouble breathing, and our bodies just seem locked in place. As this feeling passes, maybe our dancing will start; perhaps we will dance our hearts out as David did. We are told in II Samuel 6:14

And David danced before the Lord with all his might.

Notice it doesn’t say that David did a little swaying to the music or a gentle waltz, he danced as hard as he could. Maybe we will be like David or maybe we will be in such awe being in the presence of our savior that we simply fall to our knees or perhaps fall completely prostrate in worship. We have lived for this moment all of our lives, to be at the feet of Jesus. We are told many places in the scripture to sing praises to the Lord, sing out his holy name, and lift up our voices to him. Isaiah 12:1-6 is a good example of how we should praise our Lord.

   “Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
   make known among the nations what he has done,
   and proclaim that his name is exalted.
   5 Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things;
   let this be known to all the world.
   6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
   for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”
   We know that is what we are supposed to do, but will we be able to even    speak in his presence; much less sing?

I am not sure how we can prepare for the day we first come face to face with Jesus, I believe each of us will respond differently based on the unique individual we are and that God created. As we stand there in the midst of heaven surrounded by love, our hearts will be filled with love, thankfulness, and praise we have never known in our human bodies. We will have the desire to worship our Lord at all times. We won’t have any trouble singing his praises, singing to him, joining in with the angels; our lives will begin anew. How great will it be to just be able to talk to Jesus face to face?

What a day that will be, when we meet our savior face to face, and join those loved ones who made it there before us. We remember the day they left us and the tears that we shed and now the tears of sadness are replaced with tears of joy. I can share all of my thoughts on this song and suggest how we may react as we arrive at our eternal home, but the reality is, I can only imagine.

Click Here to See MercyMe Perform I Can Only Imagine

His Eye is on the Sparrow

The next song for my Blog is a gospel hymn that was written in 1905 by lyricist Civilla D. Martin and composer Charles H. Gabriel. A link to B J Thomas performing the song in 1981 is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

His Eye is on The Sparrow

Why should I feel discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be lonely
And long for heaven and home?
When Jesus is my portion
My constant friend is He

His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me
I sing because I’m happy
I sing because I’m free
For His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me

Whenever I am tempted
Whenever clouds arise
When songs give place to sighing
When hope within me dies
I draw then closer to Him
From care He sets me free

His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me
I sing because I’m happy
I sing because I’m free
For His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me
For his eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me

I believe we all have a tendency at times to have that ‘down in the dumps’ feeling. Sometimes we know what is causing us to have that feeling, other times it just seems to happen. The net result is we just aren’t happy. We probably get discouraged about something almost every day. As that discouragement takes control, we feel darkness around us as well as inside of us, and we feel alone. It doesn’t matter if we are surrounded by people on a bright and sunny day, we are in our own silent dark cocoon. Many times, we may just call out for God to take us home to be with him in our heavenly home and just leave this world behind. These are the times when we need to take inventory of what is happening in our lives and where our hope of getting us out of the dumps resides.

It is during these times when we have forgotten about our comforter. A portion is a part of a larger whole, Jesus is the portion of God who gave his life for us. We need nothing else but Jesus to secure eternity in heaven. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is with us always. There is always a portion of him inside of us, there is always a portion of light inside of us, and the love of Jesus, the friend who will never desert us, is inside of us as well. Everything we need to conquer the ‘down in the dumps’ is inside of us, we just have to reach for it.

God watches over all of his creations and Matthew 6:25-26 lets us know how God watches over some of the smaller of his creations. So, if God is going to this effort for the birds, won’t he do the same for us, the beings created in his image? This should be our signal that everything is really going to be alright, we just need to put our faith and trust in the right place.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:25-26

Instead of hanging out at our personal dumpster, we should feel happy and free knowing we have a father who loves us and is saving a spot in his eternal home for us. We should be singing at the tops of our voices with a heart full of hope. Wouldn’t it be great to be singing and someone come up to us and ask why we are so happy? What an opportunity for sharing the love of Christ.

There are other times we are tempted by sin to do something we shouldn’t do. I am of the opinion that we know when we are getting ready to do something we shouldn’t be doing, when we know we are going against the will of God. As we start focusing on this temptation, we start falling under the dark clouds again. Maybe we physically committed the sin, or maybe we committed the sin in our mind; either way we know we are putting ourselves in an emotionally bad spot. The songs we were singing out loud or in our hearts have disappeared as we once again let the pressures of the world overwhelm us. Once again, we have let Satan just suck the life and hope out of us. But deep in our heart and soul, we eventually connect with our best friend Jesus once again. Satan and this world can try to hide Jesus from us and we let him, but Jesus is always there to hold our hand and put his arms around us and set us free from the darkness around us. We just need to call upon him.

We then remember once again how he loves us so much and of what he has done for us and what he will continue to do for us. Our heart and our voice raise once again because we have trusted in him for the happiness and freedom from this world that only he can provide.
I am glad that he loves those birds so much and even happier that he loved me enough to die for me and wants me to spend eternity with him. Knowing this and keeping my heart on Jesus should make me sing with joy at all times, even more so than the bird who has gained freedom from its cage.

Aren’t you glad his eye is on the sparrow? Think about this next time you hear the birds singing unashamedly.

Click here to hear B J Thomas singing His Eye is on the Sparrow

How Great is Our God

The next song for my Blog was written by Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Jesse Reeves and was first released in 2004. A link to Chris Tomlin performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

How Great is Our God

The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the Earth rejoice
All the Earth rejoice

He wraps himself in light
And darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end

The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Name above all names
Worthy of our praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God

You’re the name above all names
You are worthy of our praise
And my heart will sing
How great is our God

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

The whole world sings, the whole world sings
How great is our God
How great is our God
How great, how great is our God.

We may often talk about the greatness of God, but have you ever really stopped and thought about what greatness means and how this applies to God? The writers of this song have done a very good job describing the attribute of greatness as it relates to God.

He has the radiance, magnificence, glory, brightness, and nobility of a king; yet is not defined by a robe or a throne. He is not the king of a country or the king of just a sect or group of people; he is the king of the world, which he made. He is a king of love who sent his only son to die for us so that we could have eternal life, so why wouldn’t we rejoice? The entire world should rejoice because of the love of our king and the future he has prepared for us.

God is described as being wrapped in light. It is the light of truth, the light of holiness, and the light of absolute power. The light draws those who want to become part of his kingdom and be with him forever. Those who only seek to bring darkness into the world and destroy hearts and souls of others cower at his sight and try to hide from him. Even the most evil beings in the world recognize the glory and power of the one God.

The chorus illustrates the love of those who are drawn to this light. Let’s all sing together about the love of the one clothed in the light and his power. As we sing of our God, others will join us and help spread the message around the world of the greatness of not just a God, but our God, the God. The voices we raise in song of the one God will help to bring love and hope to a dark world. One day, all will see his power and his glory and his greatness.

He is not just the God of today, he is the God of the beginning and the end. Only he can see the past and the future and only he, as the creator, knows what the future brings for each of us. He is more than just the creator; he is the father who created this world, the son who came to this world to die for our sins so we could have eternal peace, and the spirit that resides in us which always reminds us of his love and his promise. In his role as the son, he was both a lion and a lamb. He was a lamb in that he was sacrificed for us. The lamb symbolizes purity, meekness, and forgiveness; all qualities of someone who would lay down their life for us.

Our God is also a lion, one of the most powerful and fearless animals on the earth. Proverbs 28:1 references the power and fearlessness of a lion:

“The wicked flee when no one pursues them, but the righteous are as bold as a lion..”

For those who love the Lord and have accepted Christ as their savior, he is the lamb who has given them eternal life. The power of the lion is there for all who believe and accept and there is no power that can take God’s love away from them. Satan, his legions, and the world may come after those of us who have God by our side and in our hearts, but they can never win. God has promised us as his children, an eternal life with him.

His name is above all names because he is above every being and is the master of every living creature on earth. God is the only being who deserves our praise and our worship. Too many times we put our lives, our jobs, our personal pursuits, and our money ahead of him; yet only he is eternal and worthy of all praise.

Our song of praise and worship begins in our heart and rises to our lips as we let everyone know the greatness of our God. Let your song be heard.

Click to Hear Chris Tomlin Sing How Great is Our God