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WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE
Many years ago there was a popular saying in the Christian faith..."WWJD" or "What would Jesus do?". I heard many Christians say for years "The Lord's going to..." or "The Lord will..." Instead of asking what God is going to do, maybe we should excavate the riches of what He's already done. His death, burial & resurrection is a complete, once-for-all restoration for all mankind but it's only part of the Father's plan. The fulfillment of His plan comes when we arise as sons of God and live this life abundantly...giving Him all the glory and telling His-story.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
This song was birthed the day before Resurrection Sunday (Easter) one year. At lunch with some friends that day we'd been talking about how the death, burial & resurrection of Jesus Christ truly does change everything. When you come to know what He has done for you and accept the forgiveness, righteousness and restoration He offers there is absolutely no part of your life that will be the same. The first verse tells of what He accomplished as us & for us so we could walk it out just the same; the second verse is a paraphrase of Galations 2:20. His death brought our remission of sins, His burial took away our old nature...but His resurrection give us life and hope! Life more abundantly came out of an empty tomb!!
THIS IS THE LORD'S DOING
A few years ago, our pastor preached a series about God our Father and how He's not left us orphans or slaves but loves us as sons. One phrase he said stuck with me: "God has not withheld ANY thing from us". The context was one of blessing, but God spoke to my heart that the reason His good blessings are not withheld from us is that all the wrath was poured out on Jesus at the cross. By virtue of us being in Christ, that divine wrath was poured out on us...my death was at the cross! How He became all we were so we could become all He is truly is marvelous to behold!
NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES
I never thought I'd get the words to a song while mowing but that's what happened with this song. While mowing our 2 acres one summer day I was meditating on the name of Jesus. His name, His character cannot be captivated with a single-word description. He is all and above all names. His name is above and rules over the names that try to control our lives like cancer, depression, poverty, hatred, bitterness. When we call on His name, it rises us up above those things that try to keep us bound. Even greater, He has given us His name as our own and causes us to rise & rule in His authority.
COME TO ME
It is quite remarkable how this song came to be. It started as just a couple chords that the worship team was jamming to before worship practice one Sunday morning. Then the words started bubbling out about as quickly as I've ever experienced and we had a new song in just a few minutes. It is the story of when Jesus sent the disciples ahead by boat to the other side of the sea after feeding over five thousand people with 2 fish and five loaves. When we face the adversities that crash all around us, we must heed the voice of the One who calls us to overcome just has He has already overcome. In fact, we even have the testimony with us of how He's always taken care of us before. The disciples had picked up twelve baskets of leftovers from that miraculous meal and Jesus immediately told them to get in the boat. They had 12 witnesses of God's miracle-working power at their feet and only Peter let it put his feet and faith in action. Overcoming is never comfortable but you are "COME FORTH ABLE"!
WE WERE MADE FOR THIS
Ephesians 1 is one of my most favorite chapters in the Bible. It tells us that God chose us to be His before the foundations of the world, that He created us for His glory and by His good pleasure. I spent the first couple decades of my life not knowing, let alone experiencing, the amazing truth in this chapter. Like some people won't take no for an answer, I was one of those people who wouldn't take NOW for an answer. Everything I believed was always "someday" -- either the looking back at the historical reality of the Bible or some promise of the sweet by and by. Thankfully God has revealed to me that my eternity began when I said yes to Him, that I don't have to wait for abundant life, and that He truly did create me for His glory. He wants to show Himself to creation through me! His will is no longer a mystery...it's the unveiling of His life through His people!
OVER ALL
Too often I have heard Christians complain about the 'sinful' and 'evil' state of the world around us. We seldom hear those same Christians declare the answer--the finished work of Jesus Christ! They'd rather rehearse the problem over and over rather than reverse the problem with the words of their mouths! Proverbs 18:21 tells us that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Joel 2:28 says that the sons and daughters will prophesy as the Lord pours His spirit on all flesh. I know the word "prophesy" scares some people silly but the truth of the matter is that the word simply means to speak as by divine inspiration or predict with assurance. Revelation 19:10 tells us that the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus (emphasis mine). We can and must open our mouths with full assurance knowing that Jesus has already overcome the world and it's sinful systems by His death, burial & resurrection. We must speak and pray the truth--that He desires all come to repentance and restoration. Proclaiming hatred, gloom and despair won't change anything but proclaiming the gospel - the good news of Jesus - will initiate the flood of glory throughout all our land and all our lives!
LORD OF THE BREAKTHROUGH
This was the last song added to the CD. It was written at a time when I saw so many people and churches that just seemed to need a breakthrough in their lives. They didn't just need circumstances to change; they needed the Only One who can bring lasting, true change to show Himself out on their behalves. The Biblical pattern for miraculous deliverance always starts with praise--think of the Israelites marching around the walls of Jericho for 6 days in silence then lifting up a mighty shout on the 7th time around on the 7th day and subsequently watching that wall fall flat, or of Jehoshaphat sending out singers before his army who began to sing & praise and God sent ambushments upon their enemies so that they didn't even have to fight, or of course Paul & Silas praising God at midnight while chained in the inner prison in Phillipi when God sent an earthquake that broke their chains. Praise ALWAYS goes first (when the 12 tribes of Israel were in the desert after their exodus from Egypt, God set them in a particular order to travel and Judah, which means praise, always led the way). It doesn't matter if you're attacked externally by enemies or bound in an inner prison, the Lord of the Breakthrough is mighty to save! As we praise Him not for what He'll do for us but for who He is, we must also listen by the Spirit to what He has purposed in the heavens and proclaim it bound or loosed on the earth (Matthew 18:18 - see Young's Literal Translation or Holmes Christian Standard Bible).
GREATER
Too often we live our lives in fear of the circumstances and the world around us. 1 John 4:4 tells us that the One inside of us is greater than the one in the world. Darkness has never left a room I was in just by me getting mad at it, or me being afraid of it or even by me cursing it...I had to turn the light on. We must let the Light of the world shine out of us. The King of Kings lives in us and He calls us to arise and shine!
HANDS UP
One January evening our church was hosting a prayer service which another local church was driving over an hour to attend. They arrived after we'd already started worship. We were singing a Hillsong song that references Psalm 24:7 'Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.' I watched from the stage as the doors to the back of the sanctuary opened and our guests came flooding in with their hands already lifted in worship! They didn't wait until they were seated or had removed their coats or anything--they carried the presence of God with them where ever they went and were ready to bless the Lord at all times! So whether we are entering in, going through or coming out of trials OR blessings, we must do so with a praise on our lips and our hands up! The following verses are all referenced in this song: 1 Timothy 2:8, Revelation 12:11, Daniel 3:25, Genesis 50:19, Daniel 3:27, Psalms 24:7, Psalms 100:4, Habukkuk 2:14.
WHEN EVERTHING IS SHAKEN
When we moved back to Missouri five years ago, the transition wasn't always easy. In a new place with all things & friends familiar now very far away, I often felt like things were just shaking and crumbling all around me. I was comforted by the realities of Psalms 91:1 and Hebrews 4:16...that His secret place is my refuge and His throne of grace is my hope and help. It was like this process was foreseen by my mentor and friend Pastor Cathy Walker, for when we left Oklahoma she sent us with a framed poem she wrote full of encouragement that regardless of where we were, God's purpose & desire for our lives was that we be molded and formed into His image. The second verse of this song came from portions of that poem.
AN OFFERING
This song is my heart cry to always lift up pure, spirit-and-truth worship to my Lord, the kind of worship that comes from the depths of who we are and is fully emptied out on Him like sweet perfume. The song was birthed after a dear friend at church brought an encouraging word to our body regarding a pleasing offering of worship to God. Some phrases in the song are exactly the words God had impressed on her heart.
I'M OVERTAKEN
Just one moment in the presence of God can change your life forever. When we see Him in His majesty, we will find ourselves overtaken, overwhelmed and overcome with who He is until we cannot help but bow our knees to His Lordship. His presence then overflows without measure into every part of our life. This song came during one of my personal worship times when God's presence was so near, so quieting, so real and so weighty. Being in that unexplainable atmosphere of His presence draws us to abandon ourselves to the One who has apprehended us.
I LET IT ALL GO
This song was written soon after our move from Oklahoma back to Missouri. The transition to a new place, new home, new job, new church, pretty much new everything was not exactly easy for us. Still we knew that God's purpose was the prize set before us and to pursue Him we must let go of anything that would take our eyes off of Him. It's not always the bad stuff like disappointments, failures and fears that hold us back. Sometimes it's the plans we've made, the successes we've experienced and the comforts we rest in. Everything outside of Him has to be laid aside and so we're free to embrace our King.
HAVE YOUR WAY
When writing a good story, one needs the 5 W's...who, what, when, where and why. God Himself wrote His-story (history) and summed it all up in Jesus. His person is who, His passion is what, His presence is both when and where, and His purpose is why. He is all we need to know. All that matters is that He has His way in us and His loving, captivating grace makes that possible.
THE GREAT EXCHANGE
Over the years I've learned anything less than what God intends for us will not satisfy that inner longing we have and when I offer my Lord anything other than a surrendered "YES" I settle for less than God has purposed for my life. He has made the fullness of His life and love available to us all; the only thing we have to do is relinquish control and trade over our lives for His. That is when He becomes more than a Savior...He truly becomes Lord of our lives.
HEAVEN DANCES IN YOUR EYES
It's pretty obvious this song was written for my little prince and princess. The first verse and chorus were written when Kendrick was a baby. He's always had eyes that just seemed to burst with joy. As I would hold him and look at him, I could sense the purpose and potential God has placed in ALL His children. I tried for almost 4 years but could never write another verse to the song. The second verse didn't come until Keirsten was learning to walk and I found myself holding each of her hands up to help her balance herself on this new journey she was facing. This time the picture came to me of how we're given the early years with our children to train them in the way they should go, knowing we'll release them confident in God's keeping love. Everyday we have the opportunity to build up or break down a foundation for them to stand on. Agree with God's purpose for them and declare it over them!
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