Stanley Simpson

No Matter What You’ve Done

This next song was written by Ryan Stevenson, Bryan Fowler, and Jonathan Smith. It was first released in 2018. A link to Ryan Stevenson performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry. Bart Millard of Mercy Me is on background vocals.

No Matter What

A lot of us grew up believing
At any moment we could lose it all
And at the drop of a hat
God might turn His back and move on
A lot of us feel like we blew it
Thinking that we’re just too far gone
But I want you to know
There’s still a hope for you now

No matter what you’ve done
You can’t erase His love
Nothing can change it
You’re not separated
No matter what

There’s never been a better time to get honest
There’s never been a better time to get clean
So come as you are
Run to the cross and be free
Oh, be free

No matter what you’ve done
You can’t erase His love
Nothing can change it
You’re not separated
No matter where you run
He’s always holding on
You’re still a daughter, you’re still a son
No matter what

I don’t know what you’ve been taught
Don’t know what you’ve been told
All I know is my God
Will never let go of you, no
And I don’t know what you’ve seen
Don’t know what you’ve been through
All I know is my God
Will never let go of you
He’ll never let go!
He’ll never, never, never let you go

You’re still a daughter, you’re still a son!
No matter what

As children and perhaps in our adult years, many of us may believe or have believed that if we were not good enough, we would not go to heaven. We have always heard that all of the bad people go to hell and good people go to heaven. This could create a lot of anxiety for us and I know that I did something bad every day of my life. Some wonder if the bad things they did could keep them from heaven. One could also wonder if there are maybe degrees of bad and that some bad acts might still allow us to barely make it through the pearly gates and others would find out they would not make it in at all. Just how much tolerance does God have for us and at what point have we missed the opportunity to spend eternity with him. How many excuses does he allow from us? There are many people who give up on God and many do so because they believe he has given up on them. The good news is there is still hope for everyone.

John 3:16 tells us: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. This verse is essentially telling us that God was willing to send his only son to die for us so we could still come to heaven. God knows we are not perfect and that each of us has done bad things in our lives, all he asks of us is that we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior and we are guaranteed to spend eternity with him. In addition to this verse, we are told in Ephesians 2:8, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. With these two promises, we are told it is never too late to turn to Jesus and it doesn’t matter what we have done. Isn’t this an awesome opportunity for each of us? We have the promise of eternal life with Jesus if we only accept and believe in him as our savior. Once we do this, all of our sins are forgiven and erased forever; God will never turn his back on us.

It is always difficult to admit the mistakes we have made; we are worried about what others will think about us. If God is forgiving us for everything we have done, don’t you think it would be a great feeling of relief to just confess all of the bad things we have done in our lives to him? He already knows everything we have done, but by confessing; we become free of the burden of carrying those mistakes. The mistakes, or sins, died on the cross with Jesus; so, turn now to God and completely open your hearts to him. Feel the love and the freedom that only he has the power to give. Think about how great it would feel to be truly free, and the fact that you will never be separated from God again. The battles ahead and the regrets of the past will still be there, but now you can know you are not alone and that your future home is there waiting for you. We become his sons and his daughters for eternity. Wow!

We have all had different experiences in our lives and we have been taught many different things through our interactions with others. We come from different backgrounds and have walked different paths, but the one thing we have in common is that we have a God who loves us, is committed to us, and will never ever let us go once we have given ourselves to him. His love for us will never change even though we will continue to change every day of our lives. He will be with us on every path we take for the remainder of our days. We will always be his sons and daughters.

No matter where you stand in your relationship with God, it is never to late to turn to him and accept his unfailing love and his forgiveness.

Click to Hear Ryan Stevenson Sing No Matter What You’ve Done

He’s Everything to Me

The next entry for my Blog is He’s Everything to Me, written in 1964, and started appearing in some hymnals in the early 1970s. The original lyrics were written by Ralph Carmichael. There is a link to the song at the bottom of the Blog.

He’s Everything to Me

In the stars His handiwork I see,
On the wind He speaks with majesty,
Though He ruleth over land and sea,
What is that to me?
I will celebrate Nativity,
For it has a place in history,
Sure, He came to set His people free,
What is that to me?

Till by faith I met Him face to face,
and I felt the wonder of His grace,
Then I knew that He was more than just a
God who didn’t care,
That lived a way out there and

Now He walks beside me day by day,
Ever watching o’er me lest I stray,
Helping me to find the narrow way,
He’s Everything to me.

One thing a lot of us miss seeing are the beautiful bright stars in a dark night sky. In our towns and cities, it is often difficult to see anything in the sky because of all of the street lights, neon signs, lights on billboards, and basically anything that has lights clouds our vision of the sky. Have you ever been out at night in the open countryside or open sea and just looked up and saw all of the twinkling stars just light up the sky? Maybe you see the Little Dipper, Big Dipper, Orion’s belt, or some other constellation, but most of us probably just enjoy the view. What we are seeing is just another masterpiece created by God.

Many of us may have experienced tornadoes, hurricanes, or very strong gusty winds. We may get anxious or scared on these days, start looking for somewhere to hide, and wonder why God even allows this to happen. I am not sure of the purpose for these heavy winds, but the bible tells us about a mighty wind that scared the followers of Jesus. In Acts 2:2 we are told: Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. In looking at this passage we almost feel the power and majesty of God as he fills each person there with the Holy Spirit. He got their attention with the sound of the mighty wind and then filled them with his love and our comforter and his message.

We also know that God rules over both the land and the sea, but for others there is an attitude of so what; someone or something has to do it, or maybe a series of gods do it via their own magical powers. Many people just shrug their shoulders, and ask, how does this impact me and why do I care? People carry on with their lives without focusing too much on God’s power and love. Perhaps most of these same people celebrate Christmas and hear the message of God’s son, but do it out of obligation since that is what thers have done seemingly forever. These same people may even show up for an Easter service and hear the message about Jesus dying on the cross just so we could all have eternal life, but then shift their attention and focus to candy, eggs, and a special meal. The real question everyone should be asking about all of these things is, what does all of this really mean to me.

We may hear the message of Christ in church, we may hear the message from friends, and we may hear a lot of criticism of the message via the media and people who really don’t want to hear the message. The day that we stop and listen and internalize the message is the day we understand what the message means to us. This is the day we realize who God is and what he has really done for us. It is the time we understand the real meanings of mercy and grace and how Jesus sacrificed his all to give us all we need to spend eternity with him. We finally comprehend that God is not just out there, he is here with us, and in us.

Jesus came to walk among us when he came to the earth. He wanted people to realize that he truly understands what their lives are all about and to also realize what he was going to do for them and everyone from that day forward when he died on the cross. He left us with the Holy Spirit, who is a part of him, to walk with us every day and everywhere we go. So, he really is walking with us day by day. As we veer from the path God has chosen for us, the Holy Spirit is there to remind us that we have gotten off the chosen path and into the weeds. We have to walk a narrow path through the darkness of the world, but we are never alone.

Yes, he is everything to me.

Click to Hear He’s Everything to Me

Here I Am To Worship

The next entry for my Blog is Here I Am To Worship and was first released in 2001. The original lyrics were written by Tim Hughes. A link to Chris Tomlin performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Here I Am to Worship

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes, let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You

Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God

You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me

King of all days
Oh so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came to the earth You created
All for love’s sake became poor

Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God

You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me

Well, I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross

Have you ever stopped for a while and just thought about all of the things going on around you, across the country, and around the world? It is sort of scary living in a world that puts “ME” first. It is almost as if people are shifting from a focus on family and others to an “It’s all about me” mentality. The more we adopt this philosophy, the farther we get from God, what he wants and expects from us, and the blessings only he can provide; the darker the world becomes. There is no true happiness in a dark world without the light and love of Jesus.

He showed us that light some 2000 years ago, when he humbly set foot on this earth and let us see him, touch him, and feel the light and love that no one else can offer. Jesus gave up the perfect peace of heaven to come to this dark and troubled world. Imagine the shock if you had to give up everything and then sacrifice yourself for those who might even hate you. He came as a simple man and walked in our sinful world and the people did not realize his true power until he arose from the grave and then ascended into heaven. For those who believed then and believe now, we have his love and his promises inside us; we just have to reach out to him for peace. Jesus is the only one who can show us the real beauty of what life can be and how he wanted it to be. He only asks that we accept him as our Lord and Savior and he committed to giving us eternal life. We just have to survive our few short years on earth to live an eternity with him.

With the above two paragraphs in mind, it is obvious that our priorities as a civilization are all out of whack. The chorus of the song basically screams what we need to do. We need to stop living the ways of the world and start worshipping our God again; make him first instead of an afterthought. Our heads should be bowing in worship as we cry out to God for help, guidance, and forgiveness. He is the only one who is worthy of our worship and he is the only one we can depend on every day of our lives. No one else or anything else is worthy of our praise. Philippians 2:9-11 delivers this message to us: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Do we spend more time focused on the events of the world than on the expectations of God? In other words, who or what is your true god and can that god bring you the happiness you want? The answer is we are all guilty of putting other things/gods before the one God. We eventually lose our hope in the midst of the noise of the world around us and forget about the only God who loves us and can bring us light.

He is the owner and master of every day of our lives, and has been that way since the day he created us. He is the almighty God that rules the universe, he is not limited to just our world. The good news is that he is still in control, we just need to get onboard. Now and forever is the time to worship, to honor his glory and to him above all else. He doesn’t fit in an “It’s all about me” world.

We will never clearly understand the suffering and separation that Christ endured while on the cross; he never wants us to endure what he did and that is why he paid the price. Where is your focus today, is it where it should be? How long has it been since you have broken down in prayer while asking for forgiveness or for change in your world? Take time to stop and sing this chorus with feeling and power and I believe you will understand. Now is the time to worship, now is the time to bow down, and now is the time to tell God how much you love him and want to do what he has commanded.

Click to Hear Chris Tomlin Perform Here I am to Worship.

The Power of Your Love

The next entry for my Blog is The Power of Your Love by Hillsong and first released in 1992. The original lyrics were written by Geoff Bullock. A link to Hillsong performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

The Power of Your Love

Lord I come to You
Let my heart be changed, renewed
Flowing from the grace
That I’ve found in You
Lord I’ve come to know
The weaknesses I see in me
Will be stripped away
By the power of Your love

Hold me close
Let Your love surround me
Bring me near
Draw me to Your side
And as I wait
I’ll rise up like the eagle
And I will soar with You
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love

Lord unveil my eyes
Let me see You face to face
The knowledge of Your love
As You live in me
Lord renew my mind
As Your will unfolds in my life
In living every day
By the power of Your love

Chorus

And I will soar with You
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love
And I will soar with You
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love

It seems as if people have been writing books forever on the topic of how to improve their lives. There are videos, books, seminars, and more internet links than you could probably research in a lifetime; and there is probably some merit in all of these. The disappointment comes when, no matter how much we research and learn, we still have a hole in our heart, a gap in our knowledge, and realize we haven’t gotten the answer we needed. Some people look for this silver bullet their entire lives.

The answer we are seeking can only be found in Christ. This song tells us exactly what we need to do to find the answer we seek. The steps we need to take are the ones that take us to the love of Jesus. He alone can change our lives into a life of promises that will come true. He doesn’t work from the outside in but from the inside out. Our hearts become full and change as the love of Jesus indwells us. We are no longer the same and have become new people with a renewed perspective. He takes away our guilt, our heartaches, and our burdens through his grace. His grace is an all-encompassing love that forgives every mistake we have ever made or will make. The great news is he doesn’t ask anything of us but to accept his love and the salvation he is offering. All of our weaknesses are gone, we now have a strength within us that can conquer every challenge and this strength comes from the power of the love of Jesus. It is so hard to understand how he loves us so much, no matter how long we have failed him or rejected him.

All we need to do is fall into the arms of Jesus. He is always standing there with his arms open wide, just waiting for us to come to him. As his arms wrap around us, we feel a love and peace greater than we could have ever imagined. His spirit radiates love and acceptance and has a power that nothing can overwhelm. It is very challenging to put this feeling and experience into words. The writer of this song compares this feeling to soaring like an eagle. An eagle is such a majestic bird that looks so beautiful as it soars effortlessly across the sky. The power of the love of Jesus can take us to a spiritual high and give us a peace that we never thought was possible. Isaiah 40:31 tells us the power that Jesus give us: “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

As part of opening our heart and our lives to the power of the love of Jesus, we must focus on him and block out all distractions as much as possible. We need to see clearly from our heart through our eyes; we need to see Jesus in the way he wants us to see him. We will see him in others, we will sense his presence, we will feel his love; all of this is a part of truly seeing. When Jesus departed for his home in heaven, he left the Holy Spirit with those who accept him as their personal savior. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and through the spirit, we feel the love of Jesus and know that all the knowledge we need to gain peace is actually deep within us. As we continue to draw closer to Christ, we become more focused on doing his will and living the life he commanded. As Jesus told Peter in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

Every morning before we crawl out of bed, we need to thank Jesus for the power of his love and the comforter he has left with us. With him by our side, we are now ready to face the day knowing we can overcome anything the world throws at us!

Click to Hear Hillsong Sing The Power of Your Love

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