John 3:16 – Song Dive

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

Red Letters

The next entry for my Blog is Red Letters, which was written by David Crowder and Ed Cash. It was first released in September 19, 2018. A link to Crowder singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Red Letters

There I was on death row
Guilty in the first degree
Son of God hanging on a hill
Hell was my destiny

The crowd was shouting crucify
Could’ve come from these lips of mine
The dirty shame was killing me
It would take a miracle to wash me clean

Then I read the red letters
And the ground began to shake
The prison walls started falling
And I became a free man that day

Felt like lightning hit my veins
My dead heart began to beat
Breath of God filled my lungs
And the Holy Ghost awakened me
Yeah, the Holy Ghost awakened me

When I read the red letters
And the ground began to shake
The prison walls started falling
And I became a free man that day

For God so loved the whole wide world
Sent His only Son to die for me
Arms spread wide for the whole wide world
His arms spread wide where mine should be
Jesus changed my destiny

Thank You, God, for red letters
When the ground began to shake
The grace of God started falling
And I became a free man that day
The prison walls started falling
And I am a free man today

The title of this song is kind of interesting, especially without context. Probably most of the Christian bibles bought today have the standard black print, but there are bibles you can buy that show all of the words of Jesus in red.

Have you ever thought about the fact that without Jesus coming and dying on the cross, it would be extremely difficult to get into heaven? Before the coming of Christ and his death, people could still have the promise of heaven, but it required a lot more work and dedication. The people had to make sacrifices on a regular basis; since there was no bible the people had to go to the temples just to hear God’s word and his promises that were made over the thousands of years since the time of creation. So many people had no hope because they felt as if they had failed God and they did not know where to turn. It is true there were great leaders and that God’s word and promises had been passed down for thousands of years; but that isn’t the same as hearing from those who saw and touched the hand of God’s only son.

All of the above is basically a lead into the song. Imagine that you were sitting home reading your bible, even though you were not a Christian and dreamed you were teleported back in time; to the time of Jesus walking around the streets of Jerusalem. As you look up on that mount called Calvary, you start to realize the things you had done wrong all your life. You see the stories you had heard at church suddenly come true. The savior, who you have maybe heard about in church or read about in your bible, is hanging on the cross. You had heard about him and his teachings and you had heard people talking about how he was just another false prophet, but you suddenly realize you were one of them. In the process, you have become yet another conspirator contributing to the death of God’s only son. For this, you are guilty of murder and should be behind bars. You were so caught up in the actions of the crowd that you may have been one of the ones yelling to crucify him. Shame takes its toll on you and you begin to believe there is no hope for you; how could there be since your own rejection of Christ contributed to him dying on the cross.

As you take the time to reflect on the above, it starts to hurt deep inside when you begin to understand that you have rejected the love of Christ all of your life and perhaps led others to do the same. Suddenly you come out of your nightmarish dream and your bible is still in your lap, but it suddenly has new meaning as you see the words of Christ written in red letters. It is almost as if the words are jumping off the page at you. You are suddenly aware that you have been in a walled prison your entire life, constrained by your own words and actions. As the reality of the life Christ is offering in those red letters sinks in, your world crumbles and you finally understand that Christ died for you so you could spend eternity with him. There is no wall of sin separating you from him any longer and you are no longer burdened by your past. You are finally a free man, your shackles of sin, guilt, and despair have been taken away. As you begin to let the fact that Jesus erased all of your sins sink in, it is as if you have been given a brand new start in life. It is true that the memories and pain of your past may never go away, but Jesus forgives all of our past and gives us a future. Jesus never focuses on who we were, he only looks at who we will become. All you had to do was accept him as your personal savior. You have now taken your first breath of true freedom and clean slate in the eyes of Jesus.

John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Can you imagine giving up your own son for a world full of sinners and unbelievers? I agree that it should have been us stretching our arms and dying on that cross, we are the sinners; not Jesus. But God loved us so much that he gave the only perfect being we will ever know to die in agony on the cross. It took the perfect to die to enable the imperfect to gain eternal life. With his death, our future can be changed forever; all we have to do is accept his sacrifice. Thanks to God’s grace and his willingness to forgive every wrong we have committed or are yet to commit; we will spend eternity with Jesus.

Have you ever closely looked for the red letters, the words of Jesus in your bible?

Click to Hear Crowder Perform Red Letters

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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

How Great Thou Art

The next entry for my Blog is How Great Thou Art, which was written by Karl Gustav Boberg and was modified by Stuart Hine. The song was initially released Mar 13, 1886. A link to Carrie Underwood performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

How Great Thou Art

Oh Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration
And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Well, I have finally selected a song that has been on my heart for a very long time. I have always been hesitant to take on this song since it is so powerful and so well known.

I believe that most of us have at sometime in our life, stopped to admire a stunning sunset, a stream gurgling its way through the woods, and maybe a glorious sunrise as we awaken to a new day. Unfortunately, we rarely take the time to take in everything that has happened in our lives and how we have been positively impacted by others. How many times have you stopped and just thanked God for everything he has done? Many times, we think about family, friends, possessions, and maybe places we have been; but we don’t take the time to thank God for all he has done for us. In this song, I believe the writer has taken the time to think about all that God has done and he is blown away. He is not just thinking about what is going on around him, but all of creation and how God created the entire universe, the stars, the planets and even the sheer power of a thunderstorm. All of this created by the hand of God!

As the writer thinks about this great power, he starts singing from deep inside. He is not talking about singing along with others in church or singing along with the radio, but it is a voice from deep within; a voice from his very soul that is worshipping our Lord and Savior. Such a powerful and moving chorus. It is as if he is finally realizing how great and powerful our God is and that nothing is impossible for him. This powerful refrain occurs three times in the song and it seems as if it builds in strength and power throughout the song.

God created this world for mankind and it was a perfect world with everything we could ever need. Unfortunately, mankind started listening to the temptations offered by the devil and lost their perfect place on earth. They traded their perfect lives for an imperfect world that was overcome with sin. Many people totally turned their backs on God and lost their relationship with him. Over time, as God watched his creation continue to wander away from him, he knew it was time to take action to bring his people back. He wanted us to sense his presence always, no matter where we were or what we had done. To accomplish this objective, God sent a piece of himself, his only son, to come to earth. This son, named Jesus, came to show God’s love; and then had to suffer and die on the cross so that all of us could restore our relationship with God. Jesus was nailed to the cross as the ultimate sacrifice for all of our sins; and this was done just so we could once again have a harmonious relationship with God. This is the real definition of true love. The only action required of us to rebuild our relationship with God and secure eternal life with him in heaven, is to accept Jesus as our personal savior and recognize that his earthly death secured our eternal life in heaven. God loved us enough to give us his only son so that all of our wrongdoings would be erased for eternity. John 3:16 tells us of God’s love; “For this is how God loved the world, He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

The even better news is that the story has not ended, we are still waiting for God’s next step; which he has promised. Jesus, the son of God, who died on the cross for our wrongdoings; is coming back one more time! We are told that the trumpets will sound as Jesus and the angels come back to earth. Everyone alive who has yet to accept Jesus as their personal savior will get one more chance for eternal life and a reunion with friends and family who are already in heaven. We find this in 1 Thes 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. ¹⁷After 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.” I can’t even imagine what that moment will be like for those who are alive when it happens. I envision everyone who accepts Jesus at this time, will be falling to their knees in adoration and wonder and then be swept away into heaven with him.

My God, how great thou art!

The Gospel

No Matter What You’ve Done

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

No Matter What

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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No Matter What