John 14 – Song Dive

Goodness of God

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Select to hear CeCe Winans Sing the Goodness of God

Me on Your Mind

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Click to Hear Matthew West Sing Me on Your Mind

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

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

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)

The Commission

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

The Commission

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I write a lot of Blog entries focused on becoming a Christian and what Christ can do in our lives, but have never really written much about what Christ expects of each of us who have accepted him as our personal savior. I believe this song provides definition around Christ’s expectations of us.

The very first line has us drawing our attention to the sacrifice Christ made for us, he was nailed to the cross and died for our sins. He knows that it is perfectly normal, as human beings, to doubt that it would be Christ standing in front of any of us. He then makes an amazing statement, he who has conquered death says, “I know you will do even greater things.” Wow, stop and give that some thought! My first thought is, you have to be kidding, how can any of us possibly accomplish more than Christ?

The simple statement that follows, in the first line of the chorus, is to basically tell the world about him. He is asking us to essentially tell his story since he will be leaving them, but he did promise to return again one day, so it was more of “I will see you later” as opposed to “this is good bye.” This is the same commission Christ gives all of us in Matthew 28:16-20. ¹⁶Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”.

He doesn’t just ask us to go out into the world without preparation. To be successful in our task, we are firstly told to focus on the things Christ has taught us. Each of us needs to take a quiet time and reflect upon everything we have been taught via his teachings. How we should love everyone, how we should pray for everyone, that we should never be ashamed of his teachings, and that we proclaim his word wherever we go. Many of these things he has commanded us to do will take us outside of our comfort zone. Take a minute or two and reflect on these things we are told to do and assess your willingness to follow through on his commands for us.

A strong encouragement he gives us is that he conquered death and he now holds the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Those that accept him as their Lord and Savior will join him one day. Jesus knows there is a lot for each of us to do as we try to reach the world around us, but he died for our eternal life, so I don’t think it is an unfair request.

Jesus tells them his time on earth is done, but he leaves us with the Holy Spirit, which dwells in every believer, to guide and comfort us. In John 14:26, we find this promise, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

Another point of note is that we are all given a purpose, but only he knows the plan. For these who believe they know all of God’s plans for them are terribly mistaken, we all want to operate within God’s plan since that is the only valid and successful plan. Jeremiah 26:4 tells us, For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jesus promised eternal life to all of those who accept him as their personal Savior, and he also promised that he would return to the earth one day. We do not know the day of his return, but we all need to work on the commission he has laid out before us. We want to work on The Commission until he takes us home. When we are finally called to our eternal home, wouldn’t it be great to hear our Savior say, “well done my good and faithful servant?”

Click to Hear Cain Sing Great Commission

I Love You Lord

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

I Love You Lord

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have you reached out to God today?

Click to Hear the Maranatha Singers sing I Love You Lord

He’s Coming Back Again

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

He’s Coming Back Again

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What a Beautiful Name

The next entry for my Blog is What a Beautiful Name, which was written by Ben Fielding & Brooke Ligertwood. The song was initially released in 2017. A link to Hillsong performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

What a Beautiful Name

You were the Word at the beginning
One with God the Lord Most High
Your hidden glory in creation
Now revealed in You our Christ

What a beautiful Name it is
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a beautiful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

You didn’t want heaven without us
So Jesus You brought heaven down
My sin was great Your love was greater
What could separate us now

What a wonderful Name it is
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a wonderful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

Death could not hold You
The veil tore before You
You silence the boast of sin and grave
The heavens are roaring
The praise of Your glory
For You are raised to life again
You have no rival
You have no equal
Now and forever God You reign
Yours is the kingdom
Yours is the glory
Yours is the Name above all names

What a powerful Name it is
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a powerful Name it is
Nothing can stand against
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

What do you think of when you hear the name Jesus? What makes this name special and why would anyone say it is a beautiful name, isn’t it just another name? When many people think about beautiful, their thought process focuses on the outward appearance; whereas true beauty is much much more than physical appearance. A person can be beautiful because they are loving, caring, compassionate, sacrificial, and put others before themselves. Thinking of these attributes, which type of person would you rather have around you? Now let’s think about what comes to your mind when you think of Jesus. Of course, we can start with the attributes listed in Isaiah 9:6, “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”, but this is just the beginning when we start applying attributes to the name of Jesus. The names in Isaiah illustrate the power of God, his compassionate nature, his love as a father, and someone who only wants peace among his children. Take a moment to think of other names or attributes that come mind when you hear the name of Jesus.

We often think of God being around forever and Jesus starting his life on earth, but we are told in John 1:1-4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Basically, these verses tell us that Jesus was a part of God and with God since the beginning. God loved us enough to let Jesus become flesh so he can walk among us and let us see the true glory of God and who he really is.

He had created us in his image and then gave us a perfect and sinless place to live, and he was there to meet our every need. In spite of having all we needed, we wanted more and gave into the temptations put forward by Satan. Even though his creation had sinned and even though he was probably disappointed, he didn’t want us to spend eternity away from him. Sin had separated us from him since heaven is a place of perfection and with no sin, we would no longer have an eternal home to look forward to. To keep all of us from spending eternity in hell, God sent Jesus to die for all of our sins. Once we accept him as our personal savior, all of our sins are forgiven and we are now able to spend eternity in heaven with the father, since we are now perfect and sinless in his eyes. God hated our sin, but he loved us enough to sacrifice his only son. It had to be a difficult time for God and Jesus since God had to turn his back on Jesus for that brief time on the cross when Jesus took on all of our sins forever. He had to do this because God is perfection and Jesus had just taken on all sin and this caused this temporary break with his own father. We know there is a place in the heavenly kingdom for us because Jesus said in John 14, prior to his crucifixion and resulting resurrection, that he was going to prepare our eternal homes for us in heaven with the father. Christ knew what was ahead, but he still loved us enough to go through the agony of the cross; he couldn’t just turn his back on us since we had no other way to get to heaven.

As Jesus arose from the dead, the people who knew him were completely overwhelmed since I am sure that not all of them were convinced he would be coming back as he said. It wasn’t a matter of not trusting in Jesus, it was the fact that if he had died; who could bring him back to life since they thought he alone had the power to resurrect people from the dead. Jesus conquered the grave and proved that not even death can overcome the power of God. For the Christian, death is just the transition from our temporary home to our eternal home. As Christ rose from the dead, I am sure the angels were rejoicing and that heaven was really rocking; and the devil just tucked his tail realizing he had been defeated once again by the incredible power of the father. There is no one who can rival the power of Jesus and no one else who deserves our praise and glory.

Yes indeed, Jesus is a beautiful, powerful, and wonderful name.

Click to Hear Hillsong Sing What a Beautiful Name

Who You Say I Am

The next song for my Blog was written by Ben Fielding and Rueben Morgan and released in 2018. A link to Hillsong singing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

Who You Say I Am

Who am I that the highest King
Would welcome me
I was lost but He brought me in
Oh His love for me
Oh His love for me

Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I’m a child of God
Yes I am

Free at last
He has ransomed me
His grace runs deep
While I was a slave to sin
Jesus died for me
Yes He died for me

Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I’m a child of God
Yes I am
In my Father’s house
There’s a place for me
I’m a child of God
Yes I am

I am chosen
Not forsaken
I am who You say I am
You are for me
Not against me
I am who You say I am

I think all of us have been in a situation where we feel as if we do not belong. We have such feelings as we are under dressed, over dressed, not good enough, not of the right social class, or just a general feeling that we shouldn’t be wherever we are. Imagine, that despite who we were, who we are, or where we come from; we are always welcome to be with the greatest king of all; our God. He doesn’t care about our past, but only who we have become. We are welcome in his kingdom at any time. When we were lost and wondering what the future held for us and sometimes were lost in the quagmire of life, he invited us, through his son, to join him for eternity. The only thing our king asked was that we accept his only son as our lord and savior. We can’t even begin to understand the depth of his love for us or even why he should believe we are even worthy of his love.

We have been set free of all of our transgressions, our mistakes, and our lack of obedience to God, all because the Son of God died on the cross so that all of these sins would simply disappear. The really good news is that everything we have done wrong and will do wrong, is eternally dismissed; we are truly free of our past. For sure we will have memories and scars from our past, but God wants us to look to him and to the future and to not dwell on the past since we are finally absolved of all guilt. We have become a child of God, yes we are! John 8:34-36 delivers this message to us: Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Whether you accepted Christ as a child or as an adult, you became free for the first time in your life with a guarantee that you are free for eternity. Christ paid the debt, just like the old hymn Jesus Paid it All tells us;
‘Cause Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow
The ransom/debt was paid in full so we could be completely free. It is by his grace, which means that God loves us even though we don’t deserve it. Sin owns us throughout our life until we decide to become a child of God. Jesus died for me and for all of us, and through his death; sin and Satan lost their power over us. I can honestly say that Christ died for me and you can say he died for you, isn’t it amazing that we can have a personal relationship with the son of God? Each of us can claim him as our own, just he claims each of us as his own. We are told in John 14:2 that when Jesus returned to heaven that he was preparing our eternal home for us, In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. So not only has God promised an eternity with him, he has already prepared our new homes in heaven. We may ask, who does this type of thing? The only answer is the King of everything.

We, who have accepted his son, are his chosen people. He could have easily walked away from us because of the way we have turned our backs on him, but he refused to forsake us, He promised us eternity and that he would never leave us. Yes, I am a child of God, I am who you say I am!!

Click to Hear Hillsong Perform Who You Say I Am