#MusicMonday

Good Christian men, rejoice,

With heart and soul, and voice;

Now ye need not fear the grave:

Jesus Christ was born to save!

Calls you one and calls you all

To gain his everlasting hall.

Christ was born to save!

Christ was born to save!

Rejoice! Jesus was born to save and He fulfilled that purpose. In Him, we no longer need to fear the grave. We can live in peace, hope, and joy. Jesus, the Saviour of the world, calls us today. How will we respond?

Good Christian Men Rejoice by The Wissmann Family

#MusicMonday

You may be down and feel like God

Has somehow forgotten

That you are faced with circumstances

You can't get through

But now it seems that there's no way out

And you're going under

God's proven time and time again

He'll take care of you

I know there are many people today feeling as though they won't get through the circumstances they are facing. Perhaps you are feeling overwhelmed or discouraged, wondering what you're going to do when none of the options look good. If you have given your life to God and become a believer, you don't need to fear. Just as He has taken care of you in the past, and of His people all throughout history, He will continue to do so now and in future. Pull out your Bible and reread the many times our God showed up for His people: the parting of the Red Sea, the burning furnace that didn't consume Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego, the ravenous lions that wouldn't touch Daniel. Today, we serve the same God, equally powerful and equally caring. Whatever it is He calls us to walk through, He will give us the strength to do so, and take care of us on the journey. He's always come through for you and You may not know how, you may not know when, but He'll do it again!

He'll Do It Again by Appointed By Grace

#MusicMonday

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You

To receive the food of Your Holy Word.

Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;

Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,

That the light of Christ might be seen today

In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.

Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us

All Your purposes for Your glory.

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You. Do we come to the Lord? Not to Hollywood, Facebook, or celebrities, but to the Lord of the universe? Do we want to hear Him speak? Do we listen for Him to? Your Holy Word. Do we realise the holiness of His Word? Not just the parts we like, but the entirety of it? Your truth. God's truth. Not popular opinion. Not public opinion. Not majority vote. God's truth. Shape and fashion us in Your likeness. Not the likeness of popular sportspeople, singers, or politicians. God's likeness. The light of Christ. Not the social justice gospel, not the marketing campaigns of large corporations, not our own ego. The light of Christ. Fulfill in us all Your purposes. Fulfill Your purposes, complete them, leave nothing undone. Your purposes. God's purposes, not ours. For Your Glory. All our acts of love and deeds of faith, and the fulfillment of God's purposes are for His glory. Not ours. They are not to build our egos, virtue signal to those watching in person or on social media, or otherwise glorify ourselves. All is for God's glory. 

Speak, O Lord by Keith & Kristyn Getty

#MusicMonday

And the God on the mountain is still God in the valley

When things go wrong, He'll make them right

And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times

The God of the day is still God in the night

It's easy enough to sing of God's goodness and grace when life is going according to our plans and the music team is playing well. But what about when our plans fall apart? It's easy to say we trust God when everything is going well, by our standards. The test comes when we feel as though things couldn't get any worse. The truth is that God is still God, whether the sun shines or the storm rages. He remains just as powerful, whatever is happening around us. The God we proclaimed our devotion to while our churches cheered us on is still God today, and He is no less faithful. He will make things right in time. His time. We can safely rest in Him. 

God On The Mountain By Lawson Bates

#MusicMonday

All to Jesus I surrender

All to Him I freely give

I will ever love and trust Him

In His presence daily live

As my family sung this together, there were a couple of main things that stood out to me strongly (although there are plenty more things to reflect on as well!). Firstly, "to Jesus". It is to Jesus that we surrender. Have we done this? Do we continue to do this? And what other people or things are we inclined to render our submission to instead of Jesus? Perhaps we are inclined to break away from submitting to Jesus claims about truth or right and wrong when it's unpopular, and instead render that submission to our society through political correctness or "tolerance." Maybe we brush aside Jesus' call to follow Him, choosing rather to follow Hollywood or sports celebrities. 

Secondly, "all." If we have indeed surrendered to Jesus, have we surrendered all, or are we withholding some things? Which areas of our lives do we resist handing over to Him? If we're single, maybe we aren't willing to give up our desire for marriage. Perhaps its our finances we're holding onto. Or we give up Bible reading and prayer to keep our TV time when life gets busier. Complete the phrase: "All I need is Jesus and _______." Whatever you filled the blank with is something not surrendered to Jesus.

Perhaps we surrender an hour and a half of our Sunday to Jesus (when Aunty Cindy says we're allowed to attend church and worship our Creator), but when COVID came along we surrendered to it our jobs, churches, Bible studies, holidays, education, thoughts, speech, bodily autonomy, family, finances, and even the New Zealand Bill of Rights. If we surrendered to Jesus even half of what we have surrendered "to COVID," what would our lives look like? [Give me a few moments as I reflect on my own conviction.]

Our Savior is infinitely loving and infinitely trustworthy. He'll never let us down or harm us. We can hand Him everything without reservation. All to Jesus I surrender.

I Surrender All by Joey & Rory

#MusicMonday

On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross

The emblem of suffering and shame

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best

For a world of lost sinners was slain

Are you feeling scared? Hopeless? Lost? You don't have to be. There's another option. But you won't find it on TV, in the news, the government, or even your doctor. The only Saviour available to humanity throughout all of time and eternity hung on the old rugged cross two thousand years ago. Jesus died so that sinners like you and I can be saved from our sin, fear, despair, and death. Will you cherish the old rugged cross with me?

The Old Rugged Cross by Carrie Underwood

#MusicMonday

Now the stores are lined up in a concrete strip

You can buy the whole world in just one trip

And save a penny cause it's jumbo size

They don't even realize

They're killin' the little man

Oh the little man

I've been pondering this a little more recently. How often do we purchase average quality commodities off a production line, helping fund someone's third bach or tenth car? Meanwhile small enterprises lose the ability to pay their bills and are forced to shut down. Families lose their means of support and quality products drop out of the market. Many small businesses have closed their doors over the last eighteen months. More are likely to over the next eighteen. I wonder how many of us could easily support them and at the same time stock our pantries and homes with higher quality items than we usually would. Can we stop killin' the little man?

Little Man by Alan Jackson

#MusicMonday

When your world is crashin', when your knees hit the ground

When your heart is askin', "What do I do now?"

Just when you think it can't get worse

Hold on, that's when hope returns

Like a new sun breakin' through the darkest night

Like a whisper sayin', "It'll be alright"

I know you're tired, I know it hurts

But hold on, that's when hope returns

And that's when hope returns

It's amazing how often God waits until the eleventh hour to rescue us. After we've reached our wits end. After we've exhausted every other avenue of help we can think of. When all seems hopeless. When our faith has been stretched and we finally turn to prayer. When the battle rages hottest, and our energy is almost spent, deliverance is often just around the corner. The worse things get, the closer believers are to rescue. I take encouragement from this. Hold on, that's when hope returns!

Hope Returns by Matthew West

#MusicMonday

God the uncreated One

The author of salvation

Wrote the laws of space and time

And fashioned worlds to his design

The One whom angel hosts revere

Hung the stars like chandeliers

Numbered every grain of sand

Knows the heart of every man

He is King forever

He is King forever

He is King forevermore

I loved studying the sciences during my homeschool years, learning about Creation, space, and time-- among other things. I knew that in order for there to be Creation there had to be a Creator. A few more years passed before I reconciled the Creator with the God of the Bible, but in time I met the uncreated One, Who authored salvation and the laws of space and time. He knows the heart of every man and He is King forevermore.

God, The Uncreated One (King Forevermore) by Keith & Kristyn Getty

#MusicMonday

Your blood has washed away my sin

Jesus, thank You

The Father’s wrath completely satisfied

Jesus, thank You

Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table

Jesus, thank You

I love the way this song tells so simply one of the most basic claims of the Christian faith: that Jesus died in our place, restoring our relationship with God. It's always good to be reminded of that. 

Jesus Thank You by Ben & Bella

#MusicMonday

Ten little fingers that won't hold your hand

Ten little toes that will never touch sand

Two little ears that won't hear you sing

Your voice was so sweet to me

Don't tell me that love wins

When this is how it ends for me

Devil laughed and the angels cried

When I first got my wings

Did I have no right to life

Because you didn't hear me cry

And I wish you only knew 

That I was made to love you

So beautiful. So sad. So compelling. Who will listen? Who will answer? Ten little fingers, ten little toes, two little ears times hundreds of thousands in New Zealand alone! How long will we persist in making the devil laugh and the angels cry? When will we call an end to the bloodshed? 

Made to Love You by The Deplorable Choir

#MusicMonday

Can't you just leave the child alone?

I can hear the angels in heaven moan

God was watching and He knows your name

Because of you, she's forever changed

Whether you're a stranger or flesh and blood

There'll come a day you face that judge

You can beg for mercy but the truth remains

Because of you, she's forever changed

Assault. Abuse. Pornography. Trafficking. Exploitation is rampant. Can't you just leave the child alone? Every way I turn I seem to meet someone with a gut-wrenching story. Someone forever changed. What a life to endure. Sometimes it seems evil continues unchecked, even prosperously. But God is watching each of these horrific ordeals and will one day deal sin the final blow and hold these perpetrators accountable. He knows each of their names.

In the meantime I'm grateful for the work of agencies like Child Rescue NZ, helping rescue exploited children and reintegrate them into society.

Forever Changed by Vince Gill

#MusicMonday

 

I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory

How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me

I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood's atoning

Then I repented of my sins and won the victory, yeah

Have you heard the old, old story? Around two thousand years ago the Son of God came down from glory to give His life on Calvary in painful death for our salvation. Do you feel like you're living without hope, without purpose, in defeat? It doesn't have to be that way. Jesus won the victory already! You can live in victory through Him. Repent of your sins and follow Him. You'll find victory in Jesus.

Victory in Jesus by Carrie Underwood

Get the album here:

#MusicMonday

I say, "I'm fine, yeah, I'm fine, oh, I'm fine, hey, I'm fine"

But I'm not, I'm broken

And when it's out of control I say it's under control

But it's not and You know it

I don't know why it's so hard to admit it

When bein' honest is the only way to fix it

There's no failure, no fall

There's no sin You don't already know

So let the truth be told

There's a sign on the door, says, "Come as you are" but I doubt it

'Cause if we lived like that was true, every Sunday mornin' pew would be crowded

But didn't You say church should look more like a hospital?

A safe place for the sick, the sinner and the scarred, and the prodigals, like me

 

The first step to solving any problem is identifying it. When we stubbornly refuse to admit that one exists, we do ourselves a disservice, choosing to suffer under it rather than fix it and be free of it. We might fool those around us and ourselves for a while, but God already knows all our slip-ups, mistakes, failures, inadequacies and sins. We can't surprise Him by being worse than He expects. So why won't we be honest with Him? What do we have to lose? In truth: nothing. Let's admit it. Let's fix it. Rather, let's let Him fix it. Lay it at the cross and be free of it. Let the truth be told.

Truth Be Told by Matthew West

#MusicMonday

Counselor, Comforter, Keeper

Spirit we long to embrace

You offer hope when our hearts have

Hopelessly lost our way

Oh, we've hopelessly lost the way

Where do you go when you've lost your way? When life feels hopeless? Who do you turn to for counsel? Maybe you turn on the TV or turn up the music to distract yourself from your problems rather than dealing with them. It can be tempting to pull out the snacks get a sugar high, but that only provides a false comfort. Often we go to friends for counsel, but they don't necessarily have much more experience than we do. The good news is that we don't have to settle for all that. We can have a Perfect Counselor, Comforter, and Keeper Who offers us limitless hope and faultless counsel. He never loses His way and we can follow Him confident of His leading. 

Wonderful, Merciful Savior by Marjorie & Genevieve Jackson

#MusicMonday

I wanna be a world changer
I wanna be a difference maker
I wanna share the love of God and what He did for me

Woah woah

Be a friend to the friendless

Wanna show His mercy that is always endless

I wanna shine the light of Christ for everyone to see

I'm a wanna be

I've met a lot of people who wanna be something. Some wanna be popular, so they attend as many social events as their calendar can fit. Some wanna be financially free, so they save hard and learn to budget. Some wanna be fit and athletic, so they workout regularly and eat accordingly. Some wanna be wise, so they learn and research. What do you wanna be? Is it worthwhile? What are you doing to become that?

 Wanna Be by Southern Raised

#MusicMonday

 

What choice will you make?

Whose heart will you break?

Whatever you choose, you will wear on your face

What choice will you make?

Someone once told me how fascinating she found it observing the faces of people with several decades of life behind them. Some with frown lines that had become creases, others with permanent smile lines. The choices they made, worn on their faces. What choices do we wear on our faces? Many times we will be free to make choices in our lives, but we won't be free from the consequences of them. What will we choose to wear on our faces? What choice will you make?

What Choice Will You Make By Vince Gill

#MusicMonday

I'm looking at a masterpiece

I'm staring at a work of art

I'm listening to a symphony

In every beat of your tiny heart

You used to be a choice to make

But now I think you've chosen me

'Cause I see ten fingers, ten toes

Two eyes and I know this is meant to be

This song was actually the one that first introduced me to Matthew West's music, which I subsequently discovered I enjoyed more of and have shared here before. I remember some of the early midwife appointments for my younger siblings: the sound of water sloshing around as we all waited on the edges of our seats until finally the doppler found its destination and the steady thump-thump, thump-thump of our newest little sibling's healthy heartbeat could be heard and we all let out our breath and broke out into smiles. Sometimes we were allowed to hold the midwife's correctly-sized, correctly-weighted fetal models and see how big, how heavy, or how formed the youngest member of the family was. Ten tiny fingers. Ten tiny toes. Incredibly small and yet so perfectly formed. A masterpiece. A miracle that didn't happen by chance. Truly, there's no such thing as unplanned!

Unplanned by Matthew West

#MusicMonday

How can You see me at my worst and still say I am loved?

What promise can I stand on when I don't feel good enough?

When the enemy's reminding me of all that I've done wrong

What freedom do I have to sing this new creation song?

Wave upon wave, of grace upon grace

Endlessly washing my sins away

I know the only reason I can stand here free of all my shame

Is wave upon wave, of grace upon grace upon grace

Have you been a believer for years but recently found yourself focused on and weighed down by memories of past sins you've already been forgiven? Are you regularly studying your Bible and trying to live as God calls you to, but feeling like you aren't good enough to be a Christian? Look to God and remember His grace. Thank Him for it. That's why we're free. That's why we don't need to be ashamed. I know I'm grateful for wave upon wave of grace upon grace.

Grace Upon Grace by Matthew West

#MusicMonday

Did I make a difference in somebody's life?

What hurts did I heal? What wrongs did I right?

Did I raise my voice in defense of the truth?

Did I lend my hand to the destitute?

When my race is run, when my song is sung, will I have to wonder

Did I make a difference?

As we reach the twilight of our lives will we find ourselves wondering if we made a difference? If we did something of value with our lives? Or will we look back with contentment over lives lived fruitfully, every opportunity to do good fully realised? Now is the time to decide what kind of life we will look back on! Who's life can we make a difference in today? What hurts can we heal today? What wrongs can we right today? What truth can we raise our voice in defense of today? Who that's destitute can we lend a hand to today? How can we make a difference today? I know I don't want regrets so I'm going to get thinking; and doing. How about you? 

Did I Make a Difference by Southern Raised