start right now – Song Dive

The next entry for my Blog is Unashamed, which was written by Matthew West and A.J. Pruis. It was first released October 4, 2024. A link to Matthew West singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Three brothers in a fire
Willing to die for their faith
But You were with them in the fire
And they walked out the next day

And Daniel met a lion
Because he chose to pray
But You shut the mouth of that lion
And he walked out the next day

So what’s gonna be said of me when it’s all said and done?
Will I stand for my beliefs, or will I turn around and run?
Well, let the whole world hear me say

I’m unashamed
Of the gospel of Jesus Christ
And the truth that changed my life
For the name above all names

I’m unashamed
And I will live my faith out loud
Take a stand and stand my ground
For the One who took my shame
I’m unashamed

I don’t answer to the crowd
I answer to a king
So the louder they shout
Oh, the louder I sing, yeah

What’s gonna be said of me when it’s all said and done?
Will I stand for my beliefs, or will I turn around and run?
Well, let the whole world hear me say

I’m unashamed
Of the gospel of Jesus Christ
And the truth that changed my life
For the name above all names

I’m unashamed
And I will live my faith out loud
Take a stand and stand my ground
For the One who took my shame
I’m unashamed

At the name of Jesus
Every knee will bow
And every tongue confess
So let it start right now
Before you come back, Lord
Before the rocks cry out
I will lift my praise
Let it start right now

I’m unashamed
Of the gospel of Jesus Christ
And the truth that changed my life
For the name above all names

I’m unashamed, yeah
And I will live my faith out loud
Take a stand and stand my ground
For the One who took my shame
I’m unashamed

oh, I’m unashamed
(I’m unashamed) I want the world to hear me say
I’m unashamed (I’m unashamed)
Oh, I’m unashamed
For the One who took my shame
I’m unashamed

Lord, I will stand for You
I tell the world about You, yeah
I’m unashamed

Do you ever take time to look around the inside your home, your office, or place of work and perhaps admire some of your accomplishments? Maybe you received special awards while you were in school or perhaps some special recognition you earned at work. In your home, do you have some certificates, awards, or maybe even trophies that reflect achievements you are so proud of? I know that I still have things that remind me of some of my accomplishments in my earlier years. If you are a Christian, can people see any evidence of your faith in addition to the things I referenced above? Can they tell you are a Christian by just the way you act? True Christians are identified by their actions and their words, not by dust collection items on a wall or a desktop. Please note that I believe you should be proud of all of your accomplishments in life, big or small; but the most important thing you can do in life is to secure eternal life by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior. The accomplishments in your life and the things in your life will not give you eternal life, they will only provide you with personal satisfaction during your life on earth.

This song points out the importance of what God has done in our lives, not what we have accomplished seemingly on our own. In the bible, in the book of Daniel, chapter 3, we find the story of three men who were thrown into a burning furnace because they refused to bow down to a ninety-foot-tall golden statue created by mandate of King Nebuchadnezzar. As the flames got higher, their prayers became stronger and they saw an angel appear in their midst and they were shielded from the flames. As the furnace cooled down and the captors raced to peer into the furnace, they saw the three men walking out with no damage from the fire. They were men of courage who loved their God and knew that he would either wrap his arms around them or take them to be with him for eternity. They were not ashamed of their beliefs nor did they let their fear of the fire or the king change the love and allegiance they had to their God. The king honored Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego for their faith and their God.

Again, in the book of Daniel, chapter 6, we learn about how Daniel was thrown into a den of lions. He was one of the three lead administrators who supported King Darius. He was strong in his faith in God and he was a good administrator for the king. The other administrators were jealous of Daniel and reported to the king that Daniel refused to bow down and worship the king, he would only bow down to his God. The king had him thrown into the lions’ den. When the king and the administrator came back to the den the next morning, Daniel was unharmed, God had protected him. The king threw the other administrators into the lion’s den and they were immediately killed and eaten by the lions. Daniel stood by his faith and was willing to die for his God. He was not ashamed of his beliefs. The king honored Daniel for his faith and his God.

The two examples I gave above came from the bible, the word of God. If you are a Christian, do others know you worship, adore, and love God and his son Jesus Christ? After all, we are told in the book of Romans, 1:16-17, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile (non-Jew). For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Do you take the time to tell others how God changed your life, how he has been there for you in your deepest darkest hours, how he has promised you eternal life? If you don’t let others know about your God and your faith, aren’t you really being ashamed of what you believe and what others think? I understand it is not always easy to share your beliefs, but let’s look at it from a different perspective. What if God told you that he was going to turn his back on you since you essentially are ashamed of him due to your lack of visible support and thankfulness of his gift of eternal life? Wow, I know this seems like a harsh statement, but take some time and let it sink in. The examples I gave from the book of Daniel show people who have true faith and a willingness to die for their beliefs. I think all of us need to openly profess our love and our faith in God, let the whole world know where we stand. You are either all in with God and have accepted Christ as your personal savior or you are ashamed, you cannot stand in the middle of the road, you must make a choice.

Is your love of God stronger than your fear of the fiery furnace or the den of lions? When your time on earth comes to an end, how do you want to be remembered, for your earthly accomplishments or for your faith in God? Let people know you are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Click to Hear Matthew West Perform Unashamed

The next entry for my Blog is Start Right Here, which was written by Bernie Herms, Mark John Hall, Matthew Joseph West, and Seth David Mosley. The song was first released October 26, 2018. A link to Casting Crowns singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Start Right Here

We want our coffee in the lobby
We watch our worship on a screen
We got a Rockstar preacher
Who won’t wake us from our dreams
We want out blessings in our pocket
We keep our missions overseas
But for the hurting in our cities
Would we even cross the street?

Huh but we wanna see the heart set free and the tyrants kneel
The walls fall down and our land be healed
But church if we want to see a change in the world out there

It’s got to start right here
It’s got to start right now
Lord, I’m starting right here
Lord, I’m starting right now

I’m like the brother of the prodigal
Who turned his nose and puffed his chest
He didn’t run off like his brother
But his soul was just as dead
What if the church on Sunday
Was still the church on Monday too?
What if we came down from our towers
And walked a mile in someone’s shoes?

Hmm ’cause we wanna see the heart set free and the tyrants kneel
The walls fall down and our land be healed
But church if we want to see a change in the world out there

It’s got to start right here
It’s got to start right now
Lord, I’m starting right here
Lord, I’m starting right now

We’re the people who are called by His name
If we’ll surrender all our pride and turn from our ways
He will hear from Heaven and forgive our sin
He will heal our land but it starts right here
We’re the people who are called by His name
If we’ll surrender all our pride and turn from our ways
He will hear from Heaven and forgive our sin
He will heal our land

It’s got to start right here
It’s got to start right now
Lord, I’m starting right here
Lord, I’m starting right now
It’s got to start right here
It’s got to start right now
Lord, I’m starting right here
Lord, I’m starting right now

As I prepare to produce my Blog entries, I take the time to listen to multiple songs and then select the one that really touches my heart at that particular time. As I listened to this song a few times, it helped me to better understand the real mission that each of us has in front of us. We are probably all creatures of habit and we really don’t want to change unless forced to do so, this perspective can be good or bad. Think of some of the habits you have implemented in your life, note that I say implemented not just random things you do every day that perhaps you used to do differently. The writer lists of few of these, some may apply to you and some may not. You may ask, what is wrong with a regular routine or habit? The writer is not condemning habits, the writer is calling out the negative impact of certain habits.

Some of our habits are harmless and are perfectly ok, but some of our habits can take us farther away from God and his mission for us. We are always willing to change if it doesn’t impact us too much since most of us don’t like a lot of change in our lives. One of these habits is how we personally define the role of the church in our lives and how our habits impact the mission we were given from God through his word. Many churches today have live broadcasts or recorded broadcasts, so we can enjoy the message of the pastor without getting out of our pajamas, leaving the house, or worrying about our next cup of coffee. We may be listening to an awesome speaker who speaks about the joys of the Christian life and what the ultimate future holds for us, a promise of eternal life. Perhaps the preacher doesn’t focus on our responsibilities as a Christian, so we count on him to do his job and get the people outside of the church into the building so that they ultimately accept Jesus as their personal savior. The preacher’s message probably helps us grow as Christians every time we hear the message and we want the unsaved to hear that same message. This all sounds great doesn’t it? We don’t have to do anything but enjoy our Christianity from the comfort of our recliners. Before I continue, note that I am not criticizing the broadcast of messages from the church. There are many reasons for some not physically going to church including being out of town, working, not physically able, etc. The issue that the song raises is, what about all of the people in the world who do not know Christ and are completely unaware of the possibility of eternal life. Many of these people have perhaps never set foot in a church and never seen a broadcast from the church. It all comes down to the mindset that it is all about us as opposed to sharing the blessings that Christ has given to us. Who is out there telling people the good message of eternal live that only Jesus can give? Is it really the responsibility that falls only upon the preacher and missionaries?

Jesus did indeed die on the cross so that everyone in the world could have the opportunity for eternal life. He depends on his followers to tell the world what he did for all people, his message to his followers is found in the book of Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This directive applies to everyone who has accepted Christ as their personal savior. It is up to the Christians to share this message everywhere they go. The writers pose the question as to whether or not the followers of Jesus today are even willing to cross the street to help someone and deliver his message. Do we try to spread Christianity merely from our pockets or do we actually support Christ with our presence, our words, and our actions. Can we do any of the above if our Christianity only lives in our family rooms or our churches?

I truly believe that most of us are Sunday Christians, I believe this to be the direct message coming out of this song. As we go to church or watch church on our TVs, we do absorb the message being presented, we do grow in our love for Christ, and we do pray for others to become part of the body of Christ. We leave Church with good intentions, but these all dissipate before we even get back into our comfy recliners or sofas in our homes. The writers then ask a question we probably don’t want to hear, what if the church was still a church on Monday? I would take it a little farther and ask, what if the church was still a church seven days a week? In theory, everyone in the church is like minded when it comes to the teachings of Christ and his directives for all of us. The issue is that so many of us, probably too many, ignore the directives once we get away from the building. Christianity is not a building and that is where many of us fail in our Christian lives. We should be fed the word of God when in the church and we should be delivering the word and helping others when we leave the church. If someone is sick, do we only pray for them once? Do we only visit them once? Do we only take them meals once? If our friends and family need something, we will be there as often as we need to be and provide whatever is needed. If we truly want to follow what Christ commanded, our mission of spreading his word is never complete. As someone once said, “you are the only Jesus some will ever see”, keep this in mind as you start every day.

We all need to attend church if able, but we all need to remember that the church is not really all about the building or the preacher, it is all about the people who make up the church. Christ gave us our mission long ago, have you taken up this mission and become part of the real church? If not, now is the time and outside of the building is the place. If you are not ready to start right now on the mission you were given, when will you start? If your answer is that you have not started, take some time right now and ask yourself what is holding you back from the one mission your savior asked of you. Take the first step right here and right now.

Click to hear Casting Crowns sing Start Right Here