Tag: eternal life

Make Room in Your Heart

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Make room in your heart
Make room in your heart

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

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

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

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

Click to Hear Matt Maher and Casting Crowns Sing Make Room

Give Thanks

The next entry for my Blog is Give Thanks, which was written by Henry Smith and was first published in 1978.  A link to Janella Salvador singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Give Thanks

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, “I am strong”
Let the poor say, “I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us”

And now let the weak say, “I am strong”
Let the poor say, “I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us”

Give thanks with a grateful heart (with a grateful heart)
Give thanks to the Holy One (to the Holy One)
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son

Give thanks with a grateful heart (with a grateful heart)
Give thanks to the Holy One (to the Holy One)
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, “I am strong”
Let the poor say, “I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us”

And now let the weak say, “I am strong”
Let the poor say, “I am rich (I am rich)
Because of what the Lord has done for us”
Give thanks

Many times, over the course of my life, I find myself asking God for answers and solutions to my needs.  I may need help with some issues at home, I may need help with my job, I may be having some family issues, and sometimes it seems as if I am living in quicksand and that every step takes me deeper in the pit.  Do you sometimes have these days or periods of time in your life?  God is there to hear our requests and to bring us hope and peace.  He is there to comfort us as we traverse the challenging path of life.  Isn’t it great to have someone such as God to talk to, someone who will listen to us twenty-four hours a day seven days a week?

Think about all of those times God has been there for you; and now think about all of the times you thanked him for what he has done.  Did you find out that you do a lot more requesting than you do thanking and praising? A key question for you is, are you having a one-way conversation with God?  In other words, are you thanking God every day for the things he has done for you?  I believe that most of us spend more time asking God than we do thanking him.  This song is reminding us to give thanks everyday for the things God has done or is doing in our lives.  We should always be grateful for everything he has done and we should thank him from our heart, not just from our lips.  He alone is holy and he alone gave up his only son, Jesus, so that each and every one of us could have eternal life if we accept the sacrifice God made for us. 

I have watched young children as they opened presents and witnessed the joy that the present brings.  Our hearts should be filled with that same joy and gratefulness as we talk to God every day.  It will probably take some time to get in a routine, but try to communicate with God everyday and not only tell him your needs, but thank him for everything you have in your life.  In the book 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, we find the following guidance, “Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 

As you strengthen your relationship and communication with God, you become a much stronger person.  With his strength, you are able to overcome anything this life throws your way.  We may not have a lot of money, but God will provide all that we need if we follow his guidance and put our trust in him.  What can be greater than eternal life with our heavenly father and savior?  We will also spend eternity with our friends and family who accepted Christ, what a glorious reunion that will be!  You learn that God is always there reaching out his hand to guide you, to pick you up when you fall, and to carry you when you believe you can’t take another step.  God promises that he will never abandon us, this scripture is found in the book of Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

As we begin to realize each day how much God has done for us, we become more grateful of his love.  We become stronger as we begin to understand that we never stand alone as we fight through life.  We become richer because we now understand we have been given the greatest reward ever, eternal life.

Have you thanked God today for all he has done for you?

Click to See Janella Salvador Perform Give Thanks

Love Lifted Me

The next entry for my BLOG is Love Lifted Me, a well-known hymn written by James Rowe in 1912.  The melody is by Howard E. Smith.  A link to Alan Jackson singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Love Lifted Me

I was sinking deep in sin
Far from the peaceful shore
Very deeply stained within
Sinking to rise no more
But the Master of the sea
Heard my despairing cry
From the waters lifted me
Now safe am I

Love lifted me
Love lifted me
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me
Love lifted me
Love lifted me
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me

All my heart to Him I give
Ever to Him I’ll cling
In His blessed presence live
Ever His praises sing
Love so mighty and so true
Merits my soul’s best songs
Faithful loving service too
To Him belongs

Love lifted me
Love lifted me
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me
Love lifted me
Love lifted me
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me

Souls in danger look above
Jesus completely saves
He will lift you by His love
Out of the angry waves
He’s the Master of the sea
Billows His will obey
He your Savior wants to be
Be saved today

Have you ever been out on a boat or ship and went so far out that you could no longer see any land?  This can be a very frightening situation for most people, especially if the wind starts blowing harder and waves start getting higher.  No matter how intensely we look, the shoreline is nowhere to be seen.  Sometimes our life feels as if we are a long way from that peaceful shore, even though we are standing on dry land.  It still feels as if we are either swimming around in circles or just stuck in the mud.  We all get caught up in life and we gradually get overwhelmed with everything going on around us.  Eventually we lose sight of that solid ground and peaceful shore

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Our life has become quicksand and the more we struggle, the more we sink.  The real problem is that the quicksand in our life is actually made up of the poor choices we have made over the years.  These poor choices, accumulated over time, gradually lead us to a sense of hopelessness.  We lose all inner peace and can no longer see the peaceful shore that we struggle so hard to find.  As we continue to struggle, sink, and drift farther from that shore; we realize there is a master of life and the sea.  The master always hears our cries, but waits for us to reach out to him from our heart.  Why does he wait?   He waits because we have not reached out to him.  We have a tendency to ignore the master until a time of desperation and despair.  In spite of us neglecting him day in and day out, he is still there to answer our call.  Our master is Jesus Christ, the son of God.  He alone can calm the seas we are drowning in as well as our own internal strife and pain.  We have a tendency to ignore him when things are good and then yell for him or at him when things are bad.  He still loves us unconditionally in spite of how we treat him.  He is the only one who can truly lift us up.  He alone can give us eternal life, he alone can bring us happiness in a dark dark world, and he alone has that unconditional love.  Not only do we have his love, but our faith in him secures our eternal home.

The way to make him the master of your life is to give him your heart.  By giving him your heart, you put him above all else in life.  Your family and friends are important and you should love them dearly, but the only way you can have eternal life is to make Jesus number one and accept him as your personal savior.  Giving your heart to him and making him first, does not diminish your love for your family in any way.  In fact, if you really love your family and friends; you will tell them about Jesus and how all of you can spend eternity together instead of just the few short years we have on earth.  Never lose sight of his love and you will feel his presence wherever you are.  You will also feel his presence and guidance in every step you take and every decision you make.  His love is powerful and everlasting, he is eternal, and there is nothing that can defeat him.  The song tells us to sing his praises from deep inside and that we should sing songs to him of love and praise.  He doesn’t care which song you sing, which book you sing from, or from where you are singing; he just wants you to sing with joy from your heart.  As you think about what God has done in your life and how he can pull you out of the deepest ocean of darkness, doesn’t he deserve our faithfulness?  Who else can do what he does for us?

The song references our soul being in danger as the angry waves of life take their toll on us.  Is your soul in danger; how do you know?  We all make our choices, if we accept Christ as our personal savior then we have a guarantee of eternal life with him in heaven.  If we do not accept him, which by default means we reject him, then we spend eternity with the devil in hell.  So we have the choice and we choose where we want to spend eternity.  Jesus in the master who wants us to spend eternity with him.  He is the one who controls the wind and the waves, nothing can stand up to him.

In the book of Mark 4:34-41, we find the story of how Jesus calmed the storm when his disciples were afraid their boat was going to capsize.  Although this was something that I believe occurred, I also believe this is the same situation we face as we fight the battles in life.  We become overwhelmed and fail to put our faith in the only one who can take us out of the darkness.  “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.  A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?  He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.  He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”  They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

He wants you to be saved today, to give your soul to him, don’t wait until it is too late. 

Click to Hear Alan Jackson Sing Love Lifted Me

That’s Enough

The next entry for my Blog is That’s Enough, which was written by Brandon Heath, Mallary Hope, and Molly Reed.  It was first released April 22, 2022.  A link to Brandon Heath singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

That’s Enough

Mind if I tell you a secret
A few simple truths about me
Might be hard to believe
Guess I’m just trying to come clean

Sometimes I don’t know where I’m going
It’s hard to admit where I’ve been
When I come to the end of myself
This is where I begin, again

I am here
I am loved
God is good
And that’s enough

I don’t know your situation
What kind of story you’re in
If you’re high on that mountain
Or down in the valley again

You might be holding your baby
You might be holding a drink
You might be holding a secret
That’s getting harder to keep

But you are here
You are loved
God is good
And that’s enough

And I am here
I am loved
God is good
And that’s enough

It’s okay if I don’t have the answers
It’s okay to be right where you are
It was patience and kindness and love
That got us this far

You are here
And you are loved
God is good

And I am here
I am loved
God is good
And that’s enough

He is here
He is love
God is good
And that’s enough

How many of us have secrets?  My guess is that all of us have something deep inside of us that we have never shared or have only shared with a select few people.  Sometimes, we just need to share one or more of these closely guarded secrets because they are tearing us apart inside.  People who are close to us and people who are casual acquaintances may know us only by our exterior persona, but they have no idea what we may be struggling with deep inside.  My wife accuses me of hiding things in various vaults in my head, where they can never be found.  With all of this being said, most of us reach a time where we just need to bare our soul regarding some of the things going on in our lives and our past that we have been reluctant to share. 

In this song, I believe the singer has reached the point where he just has to talk to someone, because it is tearing him up on the inside and has been hidden by that façade we many times hide behind.  I believe all of us are in this situation and the time comes where we just need to come clean.  Maybe you invite someone or a few friends to grab a cup or coffee or a drink with you.  As you sit there, you start to explain how you are not the person you appear to be.  The person or people you are talking to have always viewed you as someone who has it all together.  Perhaps you are the one seemingly always loving life, with everything going your way.  Perhaps it is your demeanor, maybe it is how many friends you have, your successful career, how much money you appear to have, or perhaps your perfect family.  As you start to tell your true story, the people with you become speechless as they hear what has really been going on inside of you.  They start to understand that maybe your entire life has been a trainwreck and you have kept it hidden behind a well-developed façade.  Your best friends start hearing about your childhood as part of a broken family, how your marriages have failed, how you are deep in debt, and that your entire life has been a failure.  For you, success has been temporary and fleeting as your inner secrets continue to take over your mind and distract from the life you want to live.  It is almost as if you have been hanging off of a cliff, were able to pull yourself back up; and then start hanging off a different cliff as life beats you down again.  I realize I have painted a picture of gloom and doom, but I truly believe there is a little bit of this in all of us and a lot of this in many of us.  I believe that the people who just heard you bear your soul were handpicked by God for this point of time in your life.

It is in our weakest moments when we turn to the only place where we have unconditional love and this is from God and his son Jesus; he never leaves our side.  In our darkest moments as we reach out to him, he is with us.  He tells us this in Matthew 28:20, “And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”  As the singer of this song tells his sad sad story, God stops him and says “I am here”, you are never alone.  Note that God does not say he is there for a period of time, he says he will be there always.  The bible also tells in the book of John 3:16, “that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son to die for us.”  How much more can someone love you, than to give up their only child for you?  Yes, God is good and he has made sacrifices for us and promises to us that will last for eternity.  God has to remind us sometimes that he is here, that he loves us, and that we will care for us.  With God saying he is with us always and then he gave the life of his son for us, I say that’s enough.

We never know or even completely understand someone else’s story or situation, but I believe everyone has their own personal challenges in life.  All of us probably get on that mountain top from time to time, only to slide back down into the valley; but God is always there with his hand out ready to pick us up yet one more time.  We all have something to hide, maybe it is something associated with your family, maybe you have a problem with drinking or drugs, you can never keep a job, or maybe you just feel as if your entire life is coming unraveled and your secrets are becoming more and more difficult to keep within your façade.  The real question the song seems to ask, is where does God fit into your life?  The answer is to let him into your heart, he is waiting for you to invite him in. Once you allow God into your life, you start to put your trust in him since you should know that he holds the future.  We don’t have to always understand why things have happened to us, but God only focuses on our future; he is not concerned about our past.  Once we accept his son Jesus as our personal savior, our past is forgotten and we become white as snow on the inside.  We may never understand why we have had these challenges in our life, but it is important to understand that God puts the right people by our side at various stages in our life for a purpose.  These are people we can talk to about our burdens and maybe help us to find our way out of the darkness.  He is simply waiting for us to reach out our hand and place it into his and feel his power, his glory, and peace that only he can bring. 

It is really ok not to know all of the answers and God will be with us regardless of where we go in our lives.  The song says it is God’s patience, kindness, and love that has gotten us this far.  God is good, God is here, and that is enough.

Click to Hear Brandon Heath Sing That’s Enough

Glorious Day

The next entry for my Blog is Glorious Day, which was written by Jason Ingram, Jonathan Smith, Kristian Stanfill, and Sean Curran.  It was first released 2017.  A link to Passion singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Glorious Day


I was buried beneath my shame
Who could carry that kind of weight?
It was my tomb
‘Til I met You

I was breathing, but not alive
All my failures I tried to hide
It was my tomb
‘Til I met You

You called my name
Then I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into Your glorious day
You called my name
And I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into Your glorious day

Now Your mercy has saved my soul
Now Your freedom is all that I know
The old made new
Jesus, when I met You, whoa, what a day

When you called my name
And I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into Your glorious day
You called my name
Then I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into Your glorious day

I needed rescue
My sin was heavy
But chains break at the weight of Your glory
I needed shelter
I was an orphan
But You call me a citizen of Heaven
When I was broken
You were my healing
Now Your love is the air that I’m breathing
I have a future
My eyes are open

‘Cause when you called my name
I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into Your glorious day
You called my name
And I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into Your glorious day

Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed and ashamed of some of the things you have done?   Maybe you hurt a friend or a loved one, perhaps they forgave you; but the shame of the hurt you caused just seems to stay with you.  Perhaps you have a storied past due your poor decisions or involvement in activities you knew were wrong.  Some of these past actions may cross your mind as you first wake up and start your day; you think about what you did to others as well as what you have done to yourself.  Where can you run, hide, and just escape your past?  This entire scenario has become your tomb.  We know from the bible that Christ was in a tomb with a very large stone rolled across the opening so that no one could get in and it was thought he couldn’t get out especially with two Roman guards standing outside the tomb.  Maybe your guilt and your shame has become just like the tomb Christ was in.  One of the big differences is that Christ was dead and placed in his tomb, but you are alive and living in your own self-created tomb.  Everything that has happened to put you in this situation was caused by your actions.  Take a few minutes and think about that analogy.  Yours is a self-created tomb, and although you are breathing, you are not really alive; you are mentally locked up and have no way to move that massive stone in front of your tomb.  Then, something happened that changed your whole world, the stone began to roll away.

The something that happened is that you heard about the man called Jesus, the son of God.  You heard about how he forgave sins and gave people new life; even those locked up in their own self-made tombs.  Here are the words Jesus said about the burdens we carry that led us into our tomb, it is from Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Once you have accepted Jesus as your personal savior, he is there to take away your burdens.  Not only does he take them away, he forgives you from every wrong you have committed your entire life.  Once this happened, you ran out of your tomb and were able to face the world again.  You run out of that tomb as fast as you can into the waiting arms of Jesus.  You no longer have the darkness in your soul that light could never penetrate.  Jesus had been there all of the time, calling your name, and you finally heard him.  It is truly a glorious day as you feel the joy that only he can bring.

God could have let all of us live without the hope of salvation or spending eternity with him, but he loved us enough to send his only son to die for all of our wrongdoings.   Even as he knew his son was dying on the cross, he still loved us and was willing to forgive us for everything we had done wrong in our lives, as well as any transgressions we would commit in the future.  This is what mercy is all about.  He gave his only son to die so that we could have eternal life with him.  Jesus gave his physical life for us and all God asks of us is that we accept this offering of love so that we can spend eternity with him.   There is no greater gift than the gift of eternal life.  As the song says, we are now a brand-new person with a fresh start once we have Jesus.  We walk out of a world of despair into a world of hope and a life with a future.  I think the phrase in the song “whoa, what a day”, is such a simple way to describe what happens when Jesus enters our life; it is hard to put the emotion into words.

The first step in finding the light and love of Jesus is recognizing that you indeed need to be rescued; he can’t rescue us if we are not ready to be rescued.  The heavy chains of our sinful past get heavier and heavier every passing day, and we reach what we believe is the point of no return in our lives.  The chains have become too heavy to bear and we fall into a sense of hopelessness and despair. We finally reach out to Jesus and he frees us from our bondage and brings us into the light of his glory.  Maybe we felt as if we were alone during our misery and that we had no home and no family.  Jesus takes us in as part of his family and he introduces us to our eternal heavenly father.  He has healed our broken spirit, he has brought light into our world again, and you feel his love wrapped around you.  In addition to all of these amazing things he has done, he makes a promise/commitment to us, we find this in John 14:1-4; “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

As you stop and reflect on all of the above, I hope you have taken the opportunity to run out of that grave you have been living in and that you have begun rejoicing in that Glorious Day.  It is never too late.

Click to Hear Passion Sing Glorious Day

I Wish We’d All Been Ready

The next entry for my Blog is I Wish We’d All Been Ready, which was written by Larry Norman.  The song was initially released May 6, 2019.  A link to DC Talk performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

I Wish We’d All Been Ready

Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we’d all been ready

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Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we’d all been ready

There’s no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind

A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head
He’s gone
I wish we’d all been ready

Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one’s left standing still
I wish we’d all been ready

There’s no time to change your mind
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind

Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we’d all been ready

Children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we’d all been ready

There’s no time to change your mind
How could you have been so blind?
The Father spoke, the demons dined
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind

You’ve been left behind
You’ve been left behind
You’ve been left behind
You’ve been left behind

This song is a little different from the ones I normally write about.  The song itself is a little slower, even though it was performed by a usually upbeat group.  As I perform my search for songs every week, I look for the one that really impacts me the most.  This song is a little out of character for me, but I believe it sends a powerful message that everyone needs to hear.

Are there times when you see things or hear things that are going on in the world that really bother or upset you?  I supposed this has happened to me a few times in my life, but as I get older; I seem to pay more attention to what is going on in the world around me.  It seems as if there are more wars going on all over the world.  There seem to be more starving people as well as more homeless people.  The churches around the world seem to be fighting more and more battles every day to keep the word of God alive.  Many people no longer go to church and don’t believe in God or his promises.  People continue to turn their back on God because they do not believe the bible and the fact that it is the word of God.

 I am a Christian and believe that I must accept Jesus Christ as my personal savior to have eternal life in heaven.  God’s promise was that he would send his son to die on the cross and that whoever accepted him as their personal savior would spend eternity with him.  Christ showed that we truly could rise from the dead since he himself died on the cross, then walked again on this earth, and then rose into heaven.  There were eyewitnesses to all of these events.  Christ also promised that he will come again and that every living person on earth who had accepted him and his promise, will go to heaven with him to begin their eternal life.  On the day Christ returns, people who are still alive, will ascend with him in the clouds; this event is called the rapture.  So far, all I have done is set the background for the song.

Now I will give you my analysis on the song, but I thought the background would be helpful since the lyrics jump right into the event.  As the wars go on around us, hunger keeps growing, and homelessness is taking over cities; people hear the story about this man coming down to earth from the heavens and taking people back with him spreads like wildfire.  I can just imagine people running all over each other to get outside and see what is happening.  Maybe to put into a perspective, imagine the issues if a massive sports stadium had to be suddenly evacuated; think of people getting crushed and even killed due to the mass of humanity running over them if they fell.  Those who had accepted Christ were ready and are ascending into the clouds, those who have not accepted Christ are those who are getting trampled or perhaps falling to the ground when they realize they are left behind.

As millions of people around the world rise up in the clouds, our earthly population diminishes.  The believers in Christ are gone and those left behind now have to determine how to keep food, supplies, medicine flowing since so many people will be gone in the blink of an eye.  Food dwindles since many of the farmers will be gone, many truckers who carry the food to market will be gone, grocery stores will keep running out of food.  Maybe people have money, but there is no food to buy. Children are dying perhaps because of not enough food, not enough medical care, and perhaps their parents are now gone and they are alone.  In cold weather climates, children and others, may freeze to death if there is no readily available heat or the ability to build fires for warmth.  I believe all young children will ascend into the clouds with Jesus, but those who were old enough to make a decision to accept Christ, yet rejected him, will be in the same situation as all of the rest of the people left behind.

How many times had many of these people heard the word of God and the promise of eternal life; but rejected the word.  It is now too late for these people; they have been left behind.  The song has been talking about generalities, but then it starts to give some examples of loss and heartbreak.  Image you are asleep in bed with your spouse and you hear a sudden noise.  You turn over to see if your spouse is ok, but your spouse is no longer there.  Your loved one had accepted Christ and you did not, now you have been left behind.  Maybe you were the one who refused to go to church because you didn’t believe in the word of God and his promises and your spouse went alone to church.  This is referenced in the book of Luke 17:34, “I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.”  Another person mentioned is walking up a hill, perhaps with a friend, and he turns around and his friend is gone.   Maybe the friend who disappeared is the same one who used to try and tell you about Christ, but you never wanted to hear it.  Now you have been left behind.  In the book of Matthew 24:40-41, we are told “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.”

You have probably had chances to hear about Christ your entire life and you ignored those chances.  Maybe you thought you were too busy, you were not willing to change your life, perhaps your friends would no longer accept you, or maybe you just thought the Bible and Christianity were nonsense.  So perhaps you are the one now thinking, how could I have been so blind?  The son of God has come and you have been left behind.  John 3:16 tells us what we need to do to ensure eternity in heaven, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

All of the above can be sort of depressing.  I am a very upbeat person, but I think it is important to share my opinions via these blogs and then you can draw your own conclusions.  I would not want to be a contributor to you being left behind, my hope would be that none of us get left.  The good news is that you can accept Christ up until the day you die, so it is never too late.  Maybe you miss the rapture and you don’t go to heaven right away, but Christ’s offer to accept him is always there; don’t run the risk of running out of time.

Are you ready?

Click to Hear DC Talk Sing I Wish We’d All Been Ready

Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)

The next entry for my Blog is Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone), which was written by Giglio Louie.  It was first released in 2006.  A link to the Chris Tomlin singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.  The original version of Amazing Grace was written by John Newton in 1772.

Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)

Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love
Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love
Amazing grace

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love
Amazing grace

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, who called me here below
Will be forever mine, will be forever mine
You are forever mine

Think of a word or phrase that carries the most powerful impact on someone’s life.  I know this might be a challenging request, since there are so many great words and phrases that positively impact us in a special or powerful way.  The title of this song doesn’t necessarily stand out as the answer to my request, but when you look at the true meaning of grace; you will hopefully agree that this is one of the most powerful songs ever written.  I believe that, deep inside, we all want to be better people.  We want to be better for ourselves as well as for others.  We want to be liked, loved, and embraced as we greet other people; but what happens when we do things wrong and people can’t seem to get past our mistakes and errors in judgement?  Depending on what we may have said or what we have done, people will not let us into or back into their lives nor will they forgive or forget what we have done.  We put ourselves in a situation where we live in regret and then start trying to avoid others.  We are seemingly stuck with our past and this guilt becomes the chains that hold us back.  We want to be free, but are unsure of how to break through our bondage and move forward in our lives.

Now, let’s look at the title of this song, the word to focus on is grace.  In looking at this through the lens of Christianity, grace is defined as the unmerited favor of God.  More simply put, it is a free gift of forgiveness and mercy regardless of what we have done in our lives.   All God asks of us is to accept his son Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we then receive God’s forgiveness for every mistake we have made in our lives; past, present, and future. God’s grace is immediate.  No matter what we have done in our life, God is willing to forgive us.  People may or may not forgive our flaws, but God is the one who controls our eternity and the one who should be the most important being in our lives.  We all make mistakes, some big and some small, and we may not be leading a good life.  Maybe we got off track with our lives a long time ago and perhaps we consider ourselves as being bad or even wretched, but he loves us anyway and is willing to wrap his arms around even the most evil among us; all he asks is to put our future in his hands.  As we accept God, we start seeing the life he wants us to lead and the person he wants us to become.  We are no longer oblivious to our own wrongs and the wrongs of others around us.  God instills in us the desire to be better and to see what needs to change in our lives.  As we feel his love and his strength, we no longer have the same fear regarding what lies ahead in our lives because we know he is there to lead us, to guide us, to love us, and to pick us up when we fall.

As the chorus tells us, we have been set free from our past and present and now have hope for our future.  We are no longer encumbered by the invisible chains that have held us back from who we can be.  We can now live, love, and dream knowing that we will never be alone again and that we have a guaranteed eternal home.  God sent his only son to die on the cross for us, so we could have the bondage of our past replaced by the promises of God!  It is amazing to me that God gave up his son so each of us could have an eternal life with him.  Jesus paid the price for us with his life, the ultimate sacrifice.  God’s mercy wiped the slate clean of all wrongdoings we have had in our lives and has made us a new creation, with his promise of never-ending love.  It may be a while before people we know overlook our past, but in God’s eyes we have no past, only a future.

God promises eternity for us and that we can have a rewarding life.  It doesn’t mean we will have a perfect life, but we can have a life filled with hope knowing that we ultimately have an eternal heavenly home.  In the book of John 14:1-3, we find this promise given by Jesus as he prepared to die on the cross for us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” 

One day this world, as we know it, will be no more, the writer describes it as the earth melting away like snow.  The bible, in the book of Revelation, also tells us that the world will be replaced by a new world.  The good news is that God has already reserved our space in heaven, once we have accepted his son as our personal savior.  This is grace: the gift of eternal life.

Click to Hear Chris Tomlin Sing Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us

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

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When He Was on the Cross – Entry #2 of 7

This entry covers the following two lines in the song:

But I’ll prove someday just why I say
I’m of a special kind

Many people seem to focus their life on proving something as opposed to accepting who they are. Sometimes we have a hard time accepting who we are and spend way too much time thinking about being like other people. Some people are going to be very intellectual, some are going to have a lot of common sense, some are going to be scientists, some are going to be farmers, some are going to be wealthy financially and some are going to be wealthy in other areas of their lives. We can either dream about being someone we are never going to be or we can accept who we are and be the person God wanted us to be. What do we really have to prove? We have a relatively short life on this earth and then, assuming we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we will have eternity in heaven. There is nothing wrong with dreaming and maybe admiring others, but our focus should be on being the person God really wants us to be. He wants our heart, not our accomplishments.

When God created us, we were created as unique individuals and each of us has a purpose. We may understand that purpose early in life or we may gain understanding later in life; but it is all in God’s timing. The purpose in our life comes from who God created us to be and it resides deep in our heart and soul. We have a tendency to assess/judge people based on appearance and perhaps actions, but we do not know their heart nor God’s purpose/mission for them. People we categorize as bad sometimes do good things and people we categorize as good sometimes do bad things. Judging others is something we should never do since we do not know the inner works of their heart or the reason behind why God put them on this earth.

What we should know is that we were put here for a unique purpose and that by accepting him, we become his children. If we know Christ as our Savior, we are rewarded with the gift of eternal life; He alone can grant us this gift. Christ loves everyone and wants them to be His people; but many do not return His love and therefore will never feel what it is like to belong to him. The bible tells us we are chosen out of this world once we accept Christ. I do believe Christ has a broken heart for all of those who do not return his love and his offer of eternal life.

Even though we can’t grant the gift of eternal life to anyone, we can certainly tell them about how to become part of God’s family. We all have the responsibility to deliver this message so that everyone we meet as the opportunity to understand what it means to be a Child of God. We are set apart with God once we have accepted Christ and we want to make sure everyone we meet has that opportunity. Another powerful objective we have in our lives is to show love to others and make them feel wanted and needed while on this earth. I read a daily devotion from Max Lucado and here is a story that shows how making someone special can change a life.

“I once shared a class with a girl who got engaged. I don’t remember much about the class except the hour was early and the teacher was dull. I don’t even remember the girl’s name. I do remember that she didn’t stand out in the crowd. She was shy and not very confident. One day, however, her hair changed, her outfit changed, and even her voice changed. She spoke with confidence. What made the difference? Simple. A young man she loved looked her squarely in the eye and said, “Come and spend forever with me.” He proposed to her. His love for her convinced her she was worth loving.”

No matter what others may think, those who have accepted Christ truly are of a Special Kind. We are not perfect and we will make a lot of mistakes, but we know where we will spend eternity.