June 2010 Archives
Shine for Jesus
This morning I woke up with Brian Free & Assurance’s song “Worth It” running through my mind. Being on the road, I found the song on YouTube and played it. God knew exactly what encouragement I needed today as I’ve found myself singing off and on today a great reminder that God knew I’d never be perfect but He saw hope in me enough to suffer and die for me. Without God, I’m not worth anything but, with Him I can accomplish so much.
This afternoon as I was waiting on a McDonald’s order, a man came over to ask what religion I was. I explained to him that I’m a Christian and that I strive to live according to the Word of God so that I will shine for Jesus. He said, “You do that.” No one could have given me a greater compliment than that. By his own testimony, he’s not a believer but he said he could tell a difference in me.
That’s what it’s about, Folks, and I know myself well enough to know that, apart from God, there is nothing good in me. The Holy Spirit draws people and I pray that that Spirit lives in me so that God can easily be seen. I can beat myself up all day long for my shortcomings but if I’m truly serving and shining for a God who was willing to give up His life for me, my focus won’t be on myself but on the others I am called to be an example to.
Christ as the Focus
I was listening to a conversation recently where a couple people were discussing Christian music, groups, and artists. As they talked, however, I began to feel that there was an overemphasis on the groups instead of on the God they are singing about. It seems like so many of our conversations are that way and I’m wondering: if our conversations are not centered around Christ, is He the center of our lives?
I like to have fun. I can discuss most topics and I don’t think you need to quote Scripture verses every other sentence but I do think that, if we are full of Christ, it should be evident regardless of what we’re talking about. Especially when we’re talking about Gospel groups and artists, let’s make sure we’re glorifying God and not the artists. I have a lot of respect for people in the industry but I’m aware they are human. God is the one who has given them the talent and the songs that bless and encourage us. He is the one who uses them to minister to us after the concerts. Don’t lose sight of that. Make sure Christ is your focus today!
Because He Lives
“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.” I think most people have sung those words at some point in their lives yet many don’t live as if they truly believe that. We live in uncertain times but because He lives, fear truly should be gone.
There’s a saying that says, “If you’re happy, notify your face.” Do we remember to do that? I’m convinced that, everywhere we go, people should be able to look at us and know that Jesus lives! They may not understand what that means but there should be no denying that fact. I heard a pastor say recently, “If you’re not full of the joy of the Lord, you need to get saved!” I couldn’t say it any better.
Let’s make sure we are constantly exhibiting the love and joy of Jesus. Because He lives, death has no sting, the grave has no victory, and there is joy in serving Jesus. Let’s let the world know!
Troubled on Every Side … but not in Despair
My favorite Scripture verses are 2 Corinthians 4:8-10: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”
Today, I was reminded of those verses as that’s how I feel. The things in my life are nothing compared to what Paul went through but there are times when I feel like everything is coming against me yet I’m really not in despair. I know that God is doing a work and I’m really excited because satan wouldn’t be panicking to this degree if God weren’t about to do something great. I hope I’m a part of it. I want to see satan’s plans foiled. I want to see him retreat as quickly as he arrived.
At the same time, I’m human and I realize that if I don’t stay focused on God and His purposes, I could easily begin to feel defeated. It’s times like these when I’m thankful for those who pray for me and encourage me and I feel more of a need to intercede for my Brothers and Sisters who are going through difficult times as well. We need to stand together to fight the good fight. It’s through faith and unity we will win and I’m determined to come through a winner!
CD Review: Tracks Left Behind (Bobby Bowen)
Through the years, I have always said I’m not a big “Christian country” fan. It seemed like groups that used to be classified as such was really not great musically or lyrically which is often what pulls me into a group.
A few months back, I received a CD from Bobby Bowen. Back in the 1980s, I listened to a group called The MidSouth Boys, and they were one group that had Christian country down. I listened to Bobby’s CD before finding out he was the lead singer of that group and, after discovering that, it was no surprise that I love his sound and his song selection. He sings a lot of songs previously recorded by groups of other genres but he makes them his own without taking away from the feel of the original.
I enjoy his uptempo country-sounding songs “Mile Marker 45” and “Other Side of the Radio” but he also does a great job on the praise songs, “Who am I,” “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever,” and “How Great is our God.”
Other songs on this project are “Finally Home,” “Little Man,” “My Life,” “Nobody Wins,” and “Greater Grace.”
The Cost of Serving Christ
Dottie Rambo told the story of how, when she was 8 years old, she wrote her first song and shared it with her mama. Her mama said to her, “Dottie, darling, you will pay a dear price for the anointing that the Lord has placed upon your life.” I think that was very insightful. It’s the part of Christianity people don’t think about.
If you are truly following God and the calling He’s placed on your life, the enemy is going to throw at you whatever he can think of to bring you down and discourage you. He wants so badly to see you fall or to have you distracted so that you end up not really doing what God has for you to do. Thankfully, we serve a God who will not let us down. He won’t force us to serve Him but, if we do so, He will give us the strength to stand in the midst of opposition.
If I were reliant on my own strength, I couldn’t have made it this far but, praise God, He continues to walk beside me. When I see the enemy begin to throw his darts, I turn to God and thank Him that He is greater than anyone or anything else on earth. Why would you want to serve anyone else?
Someday
This evening, I’m listening to the McKameys sing “Someday.” You know, someday, we’ll have no more pain, no more sorrow, no more stress. Someday, what we experience today won’t even be a memory; it will simply be gone. Can you imagine such a glorious day?
Unfortunately, not everyone will experience that day. Some will be longing for their hell on earth as the Hell they experience will be much worse. I don’t understand those who choose to curse God instead of accept Him but I do understand how easy it is to be focused on the here and now, yet how important it is to not lose sight of eternity.
For myself, I can’t wait to see Jesus. I imagine that as soon as I look into His eyes, I’ll instantly forget every turmoil on earth. Nothing else will matter at that moment.
What will your “someday” consist of? Joy and excitement or gloom and despair? The choice is yours. God is reaching out to you but you have the option to turn and walk away and miss the Home He’s prepared for you.
The Need for Repentance
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)
It seems like churches today have a lot more emphasis on being happy and outwardly expressive than on repentance and brokenness. I believe the world needs to see overflowing joy in Believers but there are also times when we need to examine our hearts and ask God to search us and show us the things that displease Him so that we can repent of those things.
Once we genuinely repent, we can get up full of faith and joy that God cared enough about us to bring conviction and that, with His help, we can continue to live a victorious life. If we allow God to remove the things in life that weigh us down, the sins that fix themselves to us, we will be free and will naturally radiate with His joy. People can tell the difference between reality and counterfeit. Let’s make sure we have something real to share and begin by repenting of whatever it is that God’s convicting us of.
CD Review: God’s Been Very Good (Patsy Bellington)
About a year ago, I came across the website for a lady named Patsy Bellington. I didn’t know anything about her but I emailed her and we ended up dialoging. I found her to be a delightful lady with a great sense of humor. I then met her at the National Quartet Convention and picked up a copy of her latest CD.
It’s hard to know what genre to place Patsy in. If there were an Inspirational category, some of her songs would fall into that but she fits well into Southern Gospel as well.
Although I tend to be partial to fast songs, on this CD I prefer the heartfelt way Patsy sings slow song. My favorite songs on the project are “He Knows,” “In the Garden,” “I’ve Been There,” “When I Start My Day With You,” and “Give Him Glory.” I think that covers all the slow songs on the project. đŸ™‚
Other songs are “I Came to Get My Blessing,” “God’s Been Very Good to Me,” “Not the Great I Was,” “He Will Do the Rest,” and “I Saw the Light.”
Channing Eleton’s Facebook Page
Some of you will remember Channing Eleton as the pianist for such groups as Poet Voices and Gold City but you may not have heard of him for a while. I’m happy to announce that he continues to serve the Lord through music, and he now has a facebook page. If you would like to keep up with Channing and are on Facebook, you may click on this link and then click the “Like” button. And if he comes within driving distance, I would encourage you to go see him.
