jonas myrin – Song Dive

The next entry for my Blog is At the Cross (Love Ran Red), which was written by Matt Armstrong, Ed Cash, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, and Jonas Myrin and released by Chris Tomlin in 2014. A link to Chris Tomlin singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

At the Cross (Love Ran Red)

There’s a place where mercy reigns
And never dies
There’s a place where streams of grace
Flow deep and wide
Where all the love I’ve ever found
Comes like a flood
Comes flowing down

There’s a place where sin and shame
Are powerless
Where my heart has peace with God
And forgiveness
Where all the love I’ve ever found
Comes like a flood
Comes flowing down

Here my hope is found
Here on holy ground
Here I bow down
Here I bow down
Here arms open wide
Here You save my life
Here I bow down
Here I bow

At the cross, at the cross
I surrender my life
I’m in awe of You
I’m in awe of You
Where Your love ran red
And my sin washed white
I owe all to You
I owe all to You
I owe all to You
I owe all to You, Jesus, Jesus
Your love ran red
Your love ran red

Can you imagine what our life would be like if we were punished for every wrong, aka sin, that we committed? Maybe our sin was a lie, maybe saying something we shouldn’t have said, maybe it is what we watch on TV or at the movies, maybe we cheated in our marriage; I think you get the point. The net is we would live a life of doing wrong, as we do today, and receive immediate and ongoing punishment. What kind of life would that be? Jesus commanded us to obey his commands and since God is our creator, why wouldn’t he punish us for wandering away from him? The good news is that our God is a merciful and loving God, who cares for his family, his children. Because of his love, he is willing to give us mercy, which is basically a continual wipe the slate clean get out of jail card on a permanent basis. Mercy is when God doesn’t give us what we deserve. God never gives up on us and never turns his back on us, his mercy is always flowing. No matter the magnitude or our sin, his love is deeper and wider than we could ever imagine. I compare his love and mercy to a massive waterfall that washes away everything in its path. Just as the waterfall ultimately ends in a flowing river, such is the love of God that washes away all of our sin and brings peace to our life. This love and mercy far exceed what we can find with anyone or anything else.

This mercy came to us via the cross, the son of God dying for each of us as individuals and as the children of God. As Jesus hung on that cross, he had blood flowing from the beatings he was subjected to, the nails in his hands, the nails in his feet, the wound in his side, and the crown of thorns on his head. Greater than the flow of blood was the flowing of his love for us. Because of the death and outpouring of the blood of Christ on the cross, God gives us perpetual love and mercy that never ceases. All that is asked of us is that we accept Christ as our savior, and recognize that he died for us. If we do not accept him, then he died in vain and we trade our heavenly home for an eternity in hell. We should all be in awe of what Christ was willing to do for us, even though many of us may never accept him as our personal savior. What can be more important in our lives than recognizing what Jesus did for us, the courage it took, and the pain he endured? His flowing blood and his love washed all of our sins away and we have become white as snow since we will no longer have the blackness of sin; he forgave us all of sins we have committed and will ever commit while he hung on that cross. It is so easy to surrender our life to Jesus and he asks so little of us. Most of us are focused on today and our narrow view of tomorrow, whereas with Jesus; we can focus on eternity.

Any hope we have in life is misplaced if it is not in Jesus. Jesus is the only being worthy of our worship, nothing we strive for or attain in our life is greater than eternal life that only he can offer. Without Jesus, what do we have to live for? I recently read a devotion by Max Lucado which stated that suicide rates were up and that perhaps it is due to the fact that people without Jesus in their lives have no hope beyond their time on this earth. Hopefully you have surrendered your life to Jesus, have kneeled at the foot of the cross, and have let the love of Christ flow over you and wash away all of your darkness.

Click to Hear Chris Tomlin Sing At the Cross (Love Ran Red)

The next entry for my Blog is 10,000 Reasons, which was written by ‎Jonas Myrin‎ and ‎Matt Redman. The song was initially released in 2011. A link to Matt Redman performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)

(Chorus)
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Chorus

You’re rich in love, and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Chorus

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

Chorus (2)

Jesus, I’ll worship Your holy name
Lord, I’ll worship Your holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
Jesus, I’ll worship Your holy name
I’ll worship Your holy name

This song is a little different since it starts off with the chorus, but I believe it is intentional in that the chorus reminds us of the way we should be all day every day. In blessing our Lord, we are making him first, we are honoring him, we are letting him know that there is none greater than he, and we are giving him all honor and glory. He gave us the Holy Spirit to stay with us, comfort us, and remind us of his presence. When we bless God, our words and our honoring of him should come from deep within us; it is not the words we say, but the love and thankfulness we express. When we worship him, we are thanking him for what he has done for everyone who has accepted his son as our Savior, how he is there to give us strength in every step we take, and how he brings light into our lives that only he can bring. We should be singing songs of joy, sharing his praises, and letting the whole world know about our God! No where does God say we have to sing well or be eloquent in our words, he just wants us to sing his praises everywhere we go.

As we begin our day, shouldn’t we focus on the most important thing in our lives? The song says that we should start singing our praises as soon as our day begins. I think the key word in this first verse is “again.” This is making the assumption that we ended yesterday praising God, so why not start out the new day praising him? As we encounter the challenges the world throws at us today, we will know that we are not fighting these challenges alone. It doesn’t mean that we won’t face tough times and lose battles along the way, but with God at our side; we know what eternity brings. It is not all about winning every battle you face, it is about approaching the battles with God in your heart and by your side, and knowing that you ultimately win the war. Jesus died for us so we wouldn’t have to worry about our final home, but Satan still tries to steal our joy even though he knows the war ended almost 2000 years ago when Christ died on the cross for us. May the song that started anew in our hearts this morning, continue as our day comes to closure.

God is unfailing love and despite our many faults and many mistakes, he doesn’t turn his back on us or stop loving us. God is very compassionate and caring, but the bible does list many times when he became angry. He became angry and he showed his power and might as he punished those who disobeyed him. The exceptionally good news is that when we accepted Christ as our personal savior, all of our sins and punishment disappeared forever. It is true that we will continue to sin, but God will not see this sin since Jesus took all of our past, current, and future sins to the grave with him. So, when God sees us, he only sees us as being without sin. It is true we will make mistakes and do things we shouldn’t do and end up suffering the consequences of our actions, but God doesn’t get angry since he does not see us as sinners; he sees us as his children who will spend eternity with him. We know people who will forgive and probably never forget and may even get angry at us for a time, but fortunately; God does not act like his children. What would help all of us to stay on the right path would be to think about all of the things God has done for us our entire life. The list of blessings will be more than the 10,000 number offered up by the writers of this song. It seems like a very big number, but it is actually a very small number. Take a moment to think about what you were thankful for yesterday, each one of these are blessings and reasons we should praise our God. Take the number you came up with and multiply by the 365 days in a year, are you surprised? If you then take this number over a lifetime, 10,000 is in indeed a very very small number.

God is with us every hour and every day of our lives and walks every step with us. The day will come when we realize we don’t have much longer before we join our heavenly father. As our life ebbs away, he will still be bestowing blessings upon us. Maybe these blessings are in the people he sends to us, the people we have known in our lives, and maybe our memories; but the most important thing is that he is still by our side. As we finally make the move into our heavenly home, we should be leaving this home with his praises in our hearts and knowing that soon we will be able to praise him face to face. I don’t mean for this to be a somber ending to this blog entry, I just believe that each of us needs to realize that God has always been with us; from the time before we were born until the day we join him in our eternal home. God has been with us since before we were born. He told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” We have never been alone and will never be alone.

I hope that you will take the time and think about the blessings God has given you. As you think about these blessings, let your heart sing as it has never sung before. As you leave your home and encounter other people, hopefully someone will ask you why you are so happy today and I hope you will tell them how they can be just as happy as you are. Today, start singing his praises as you have never sung before. As the old hymn tells, count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Click to Hear Matt Redman Sing 10,000 Reasons