Desert Song

Desert Song is a song of victory celebrating getting through the battle and through the flames.  Sometimes life can be really hard and we have to maintain our perspective and hold on to the truth.

All of life has been ordered of the Lord, He has a plan and our job is to get into agreement with that wonderful plan.  May you hang on as you go through your battle, whatever it is, and may you have PRAISE in your mouth through your storm!

Blessed Assurance - Third Day

So yesterday morning I woke up to the song Blessed Assurance.  You know, the old hymn.  I was so blessed as the Lord was "singing" over me so I had to look up the song again.  Here are the words as sung by Third Day:

1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
   Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
   Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
   Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
   • Refrain:
     This is my story, this is my song,
     Praising my Savior all the day long;
     This is my story, this is my song,
     Praising my Savior all the day long.
2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
   Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
   Angels, descending, bring from above
   Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
3. Perfect submission, all is at rest,
   I in my Savior am happy and blest,
   Watching and waiting, looking above,
   Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Then as I was driving into town, a BEAUTIFUL sunrise that lasted 20 minutes from beginning to end.  I pray that you allow the Lord to minister to you as he did to me.  Wonderful words.  Wonderful 

Nick Vujicic Music Video

I have blogged about Nick Vujicic before (look at past posts) but this is the first music video that I know of by him.  He actually has a nice voice but more important to me is the message of hope.

Sometimes life can be hard but to hear this guy sing of hope really has a way of putting things into perspective.  Really good.  Share it with someone you know who may be struggling!

We all need to be reminded that life is so much more than what we know or experience.  Continue to press into the Lord - He is our Hope!  He is our way of escape!

If you don't get a miracle...become one!

Contemporvent?

I know some people have been offended by this video called Parody of our Modern Church Service, but I am really not sure why.  There is a LOT of truth in this video in that we are turning the Sunday Morning gathering into more of a concert event than a holy time with the Lord.

Don't get me wrong, I think you can have some of these elements in your church service without it becoming a "production" but there is a fine line.  Some churches are crossing the line into secularism, in my opinion, and they would say that because I hold this opinion, I must be "religious".  But here is my issue, when we have worked the Holy Spirit out of our services than we are in trouble as a people.  When the "script" is so tight that even the Holy Spirit has to "ask for permission" we are in danger.  I don't care what your service looks like, traditional, contemporary, relevant; if the Holy Spirit is not the center of the agenda, you will be out of step with the Lord.

Take a minute and try to be open when you watch this.  There is some truth in here, it just may be painful for those that it confronts.

From the Inside Out - Hillsong

Sometimes a song just captures my heart, my thoughts, my motives, my life....well this one, From the Inside Out by Hillsong is one of those songs.  When I sit and let this song minister to me the chains fall off and the focus becomes clear - it's all about Him.  He is our purpose, reason for living, our life and our breathe.

Take a minute and let this song minister to you.  This is one of those that you should darken the room, get a nice pillow and just rest in the presence of the Almighty!  Love Him back from the very deepest regions of your heart back to the loving embrace of the Father!

Reach - Peter Furler

So if you loved the Newsboys then you will love hearing this - Peter Furler is making it as a single cover and I love hearing his voice again!

Reach is a new release from this past March and I LOVE listening to Peter again.

Take a minute to hear the words here...God is SO for you and he never leaves you!  He is always waiting for us and willing to REACH for us!  Won't you put up your hand to the Father's and let Him minister life to you?

The Motions - Matthew West

Came across this song, the Motions and there is such a great message here.

Matthew West was facing a surgery on his vocal box and you may say, "So what?"  Well, the issue is that Matthew is a singer...he makes his livelihood using that voice!  Can you imagine the questions, the concerns, the issues he was facing?

Sometimes life can be hard, really hard, yet he pressed into his faith in God to find the answers to all his questions; then he wrote a song.  This song is full of challenges that we need to ask of ourselves!  What is holding YOU back?  What is causing you to doubt?  What is making you settle for just going through the motions?  Hmmm - good questions....What are you waiting for?  What if we really GAVE everything?  What a wonderful world it would be!  Jump in my friend...quit going through the motions!

The Potter's Wheel - Unknown

I received this from a friend and was moved by the story contained in these lines.  So many times, I find myself here, wanting things to change, to go my way and yet I have to wait on the Potter to mold me and make me.

"But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand." - Isaiah 64:8

The Potter's Wheel 
Unknown

Once upon a time
upon my bed,
all the worries of the world
weighing hard on my head.
So many problems.
And no answers it seemed.
But as I fell into sleep
I dreamed a dream…
          
I saw multitudes lying
by a miracle well.
They were sick.
They were crying.
They were under a spell.
But whoever was dying
in body or soul,
when they drank from this well
would be perfectly whole.

But they were weak & crippled.
It was so sad to see.
They couldn’t get to the water.
It was up to me!

So I ran to the well
to give them a drink.
but as I grabbed for the bucket---
What do you think?
The bucket was broken!
And I cried in despair.
I’d have to find help--
from someone, somewhere.

So I found myself running.
I searched far and wide.
Till I came to a Potter’s House
and I peeked inside.
I saw an old Potter.
He was nervously working.
His potter’s wheel spinning
and jumping and jerking.
He was forming a pot
from a soft lump of clay.
Then I saw something weird
about the pot he had made.

That pot was alive!
That clay was… talking!
That jar was squirming
and squealing and squawking!
The more that he shaped it
the more it would squeal!
Till it cried:
“No, Potter!
Get me off this wheel!”

So he put away the pot.
Then I cried to myself.
So many unfinished pots
were growing hard on the shelf!

The Potter gave a sigh
and took a new lump down.
But again the clay whined
with the same angry sound.
He tried and he tried
on those hard lumps of clay.
But each pot was soon
yelling: “No, Potter! No way!”

Those cold, old lumps
couldn’t take all the pressure
of being formed into a
beautiful, useful treasure.
Not one would be shaped
by the Potter’s fine art.
I saw tears on his face.
It was breaking his heart.

After a very long silence...

I heard a small cry:

“Oh, Potter…
Please give me just one more try.”

It was one of the pots
that hadn’t hardened too much,
still soft for the molding
of the Potter’s touch.

Now the Potter worked quickly,
and to my surprise,
there was no grumbling,
no griping,
no angry outcries!
Just a few prayerful groans
from his work on the wheel.
For thru the pain, the clay knew
it was becoming more real.

Then a bright finish glaze
was applied by the Potter.
And how it shined in the blaze
as the furnace grew hotter!

Then he said: “It is ready!”
And he gave it to me.
And we rejoiced in His work
the world would soon see.

So I raced back to the well
as the sun was setting!
Oh, what life from that well
those folks would be getting!
What miracles I saw!
What healings that day!
As living water poured out
of that new jar of clay!

But then… I woke up.
My dream was through.
And I felt the Lord
speaking to me
and to you…

How are the world’s
problems and pain ever healed?
It’s when some clay will remain
…on the Potter’s wheel.

But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.  - Isaiah 64:8

I Smile - Kirk Franklin

A friend posted this song today to Facebook and I wanted to share it with you.

This is a new song (just out this past May) from Kirk Franklin.  I happen to know a couple of people who used to be in his band; back-in-the-day, and why I share this is because "people" are just that - people.  We ALL are the same - inside we have a "voice" that speaks to us and that voice can be the voice of ourselves, or it can be the voice of our enemy or it can be voice of our Master.

Take a minute and listen to this song and hear the voice of Master over you ... Smile.  See God is with you and He will NEVER leave you or forsake you. May the JOY of the Lord be your strength!  May HIS joy get down into your spirit and minister LIFE to you today.  Let your face KNOW that your JOY is full and SMILE!  I Smile.

There Is A God - Lee Ann Womack

I happened across this song and it just got into my spirit and I so had to share it.  There Is a God by Lee Ann Womack is one of those beautiful songs I can listen to again and again.

How can a person look at the majesty in nature on this planet and not believe that there had to be an architect of this universe.

Take a minute and enjoy this song as you then look around and see the fingerprints of God that are just about everywhere!