Music Monday: Clear the Stage

The song Clear the Stage by Jimmy Needham cut me to the heart. I was not expecting it to impact me in such a way but this song makes me question, what are my idols? Why have I let them become this? And what am I going to do to get God back on the throne of my heart?
The lyrics at the end of this song are truths that I do not hear spoken a lot today:
"Anything I put before my God is an idol
Anything I want with all my heart is an idol
Anything I can't stop thinking of is an idol
Anything that I give all my love is an idol"
Words like that need to be proclaimed to the Church and I hope more people like Jimmy Needham will speak this truth. It is not just a suggestion to put God first in our lives, but a command:
"You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3)

Memory Verse of the Week: Micah 6:8

I have struggled a lot lately with my purpose. Like does God want me to be a missionary and go into different countries, proclaiming the Word? Or does He want me to work at a homeless ministry and spread the Word of Jesus on the streets? There are so many options for ministry but no matter what job I end up with, there is the question of how He wants me to live. Who should I be friends with? How hard should I try in school? What time should I go to bed? There are so many choices and I don't know what He wants from me!
But... There is a simple answer to my dilemma and it is right in His Word.

Micah 6:8 (NKJV)
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?



He spells it out simply in His Word what He wants and the only reason I didn't know was because I wasn't reading it. I may not know exactly what my job will be and I may not have answers to all of my other questions but I know without a doubt that as long as I am walking humbly with Him and doing justly and loving mercy, I am in His will and that is exactly where I need to be.
This is a very important verse to know so you can bring it up whenever you begin to wonder about what God wants. He has already told us.

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.