Music Monday: Nothing is Impossible

I am so sorry I have not posted in like forever! Last week I was in Panama City, Florida for Church Camp. I had no phone, and honestly no time to post anyway. But I am back this week, a little late... Haha! But this is still Music Monday (Tuesday)!


Today's song is Nothing is Impossible by Planetshakers. This song proclaims that with God, we can do anything! If we live by faith then miracles happen and God makes everything possible!

God, Our Example of a Father

A commercial interrupts my YouTube marathon and I quickly skip over it at the five second mark. Ads are all over the websites I visit but I quickly skim over them. The signs are everywhere, yet they are so nonchalant I don’t really notice. If it were May no one could escape the impending holiday. But it’s June, which means Mother’s Day has passed and Father’s Day is here.

If you are reading this blog and reaching for your cell phone to check the date, don’t feel alone. Father’s Day sneaks up on you and before you know it you’re sitting at the dinner table with your dad awkwardly looking at you waiting for his present. Awkward…

It’s not hard to notice that Mother’s Day gets so much hype and Father’s Day just doesn’t. Most Mother’s Day church services praise mothers for sticking with their kids and encourage them to keep doing so. The service for Father’s Day, though, typically urges fathers to step up and stop ignoring their kids and stop slacking.

It seems logical that we should make a big deal out of Mother’s Day; after all we have a commandment to honor our parents. … But parents are plural. We have to honor both of them. So Father’s day should be just as big as Mother’s Day. God definitely believes fathers are important.

God calls Himself our Father:

Psalm 68:5(ESV) Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.

Isaiah 63:16(ESV) For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name

Romans 8:15(ESV) For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

The word “Abba” in Romans 8 most nearly equivocates to “daddy”. If God wants us to associate Him with our dads we know there must be something cool about the relationship of father and child.

Due to sin that relationship is broken like all other relationships. The only way anyone can experience a perfect father is from the one true Father who sent His Son down to earth to make us His children. On earth, however, we don’t always experience this sacrificial love from our fathers. But despite that, we are called to honor them, just like we do with our mothers. So let’s take a look at what the Biblical dad is. In the Bible a lot of times God explains His characters with the character of a father so we can learn something from those verses.

Fathers should:

Be Compassionate: Psalm 103:13(ESV) As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

Help Us: Deuteronomy 1:29-31(ESV) Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.

Teach in a loving way: Ephesians 6:4(ESV) Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Even if our fathers do not do any of those things we are called to honor and love them. This Father’s Day we shouldn’t drag our dads in a guilt trip, we should uplift them. Yes, they will never beat GOD, but through God, our fathers can be compassionate, help us, and raise us up to love God!
Just like for Mother's day I am posting a video to watch about Father's Day!

Music Monday: Comin' Out

This week's pick is Comin' Out by Jonathan McReynolds.
The feature song talks about coming out of sin to be the person God has called us to be. Jonathan McReynolds' lyrics talk about God pulling us out of the mess we've put ourselves in because we fell into the temptation the devil gave us. God is the only one who can save us and with His triumphant victory on the cross, He already has saved us and is just waiting for us to return to Him.

Memory Verse of the Week: Romans 8:1

As Christians we are saved from our sins through Christ and we are holy and blameless. But from that moment we get saved we don't stop sinning. And if anyone says they don't sin, they don't understand the gospel (1 John 1:8). But that doesn't mean we like sinning. Sometimes we get hit with guilt, but that's not the gospel either. The Holy Spirit doesn't guilt, He convicts. And when you're convicted you shouldn't feel condemned because...

Romans 8:1 (ESV)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

It is a good thing when you get convicted for your sin. However if you start feeling guilty say this verse to yourself and remember you are no longer condemned if you have a Relationship With Jesus.

Music Monday: Take Me to the King

Sarah Reeves did a cover of the song Take Me to the King by Tamela Mann. It is an old song but I still love it! The song is a call to be at God's throne because, as the song says, we are weak. Without God all of us have nothing but with him we have everything. We don't need rules or religion to make us think we are working to God because we can't work to Him. All need, all we have is Jesus.

When We Act Like Doctor Manette: The Armor of God

As a child superheroes were the things to be. There was the classic Superman (who is honestly not one of my favorites) and the super lame Bibleman. I don’t know what your childhood consist of, but mine had Bibleman. If you are not familiar with him, I’ll give you a sneak peek:

The world had Superman, Batman, and the Avengers and the only “superhero” the Christian community had was Bibleman (who may be as bad as Captain Planet). But as I’ve gotten older and learned more about God’s word, I’ve realized that Bibleman had something going. Christians don’t fight physical wars, we have a great spiritual war raging on against principles (not the school kind), powers, rulers of the darkness of the world, and spiritual host of wickedness (Ephesians 6:12).

In this battle against sin, against this evil, and against this temptation that tries to rule us, we need armor. And no, this armor doesn’t include tights (the armor of God is more classy).

Item	Verse	Regular Function	Spiritual Function	Defense or Offense
Belt	Ephesians 6:14- Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth…	Holds everything together so nothing falls	The "Belt of Truth" holds the rest of the armor together. It’s the "Belt of Truth" because if you have lies holding you together, you crumble.	Defense
Breastplate	Ephesians 6:14- …and having put on the breastplate of righteousness…	Protects the chest and heart	The "Breastplate of Righteousness" protects our hearts so they are not destroyed. When our hearts are injured, we are ineffective for God.	Defense
Shoes	Ephesians 6:15-… and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.	Used to run and go places quickly	The shoes ready to give the gospel of peace are used so we can quickly share the gospel to people who need to hear about Jesus.	Defense
Shield	Ephesians 6:16- In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;	Protects the whole body	When you have a "Shield of Faith", nothing can get through.  The shield stops doubt from getting to you and you will not be affected when people try to question your faith.	Defense
Helmet	Ephesians 6:17- …and take the helmet of salvation…	Protects your head and mind	The “Helmet of Salvation" protects your mind from doubts of your salvation. When you have the Helmet, you have the Word sanctified in your head so you will know that salvation is not based on how you preform, but solely on what Jesus did on the cross.	Defense
Sword	Ephesians 6:17- …and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.	Used to fight the enemy	The “Sword of the Spirit” is the Word of God which is the sword you use to fight the enemy and fight temptation. When Jesus was tempted, He even used the Old Testament to resist temptation (Matthew 4:40).	Offense The only offense part in the whole armor of God

 Every part of this armor includes knowing the Word of God. It is our Defense and our Offense. When temptation rises and we want to go back to our old addictions we have to eradicate it.

Example: If you are tempted to steal a 3 Musketeers Bar (the best candy ever) you put God's word up to it: Exodus 20:15- You shall not steal.

 Doctor Manette's shoe maker bench had to be destroyed just like our addictions, and the only way to do that is through God with the help of His Armor. And the only way Christians can use the Armor is if we have God's word marinated in our hearts.