Have you ever experienced one of those moments that you didn’t want to end? We call those forever moments. They happen once in a lifetime, or if you’re lucky you’ll get a few of these. They start off simple and yet something about those moments make you never want to let go. What’s your most recent forever moment?
This year as we make our final push toward Christmas, we know that things in our lives have been different to say the least. Even Christmas this year is sure to be something different than in every year past. But what would it take for this Christmas to be one of your forever moments? What would it take for you to see past the disturbing events of this year, beyond the disruption to your Christmas normal to find something truly worth holding onto this year?
Today’s MusicMonday is a new song to me but the message is important enough that we need to hear it today. Forever Amen. Christmas was God’s forever amen moment. It was the moment when everything he had promised throughout the Bible came to fulfillment. Christmas was never just about Christmas. The point of Christmas wasn’t just about a baby’s birth. It was so much bigger! It was the start of a forever moment that would be God’s gift to you and me.
Trying to find newer songs for Christmas isn’t really all that easy, so when I find one I like to highlight it here. This one was brought to my attention recently and I feel it has a pretty good upbeat feel. Add to it a good message and we have a hit!
Today’s MusicMonday is about your Christmas list. What’s on your list? Do you know what you want for Christmas this year? For many our lists contain clothes or additions to our home. Some have electronics on their list while others it’s all about jewelry. Whatever is on your list perhaps there’s something better.
This year has been especially difficult for many people. We’ve all struggled in ways that we weren’t expecting to say the very least. I heard someone talking recently about their Christmas list. And it struck me that their list didn’t contain anything for themselves! They built their list around what they wanted to get everyone else. Wouldn’t it be great if we all thought like that? How much different would the world be if we focused on what we could do for others instead of what we want for ourselves!
This year as you prepare for Christmas, stop for a minute and take inventory of all the amazing things you already have in your life. Think about the many blessings and the tremendous relationships that surround you. These and so many more moments in our lives are all part of what we already have. So essentially everything we need for Christmas, we probably already have!
This has to be one of my all time favorite remakes of this song. I’ve always loved the song but when For King and Country did this remake, I just couldn’t get enough of it! From the message of the song itself to the added drum intensity, the song just gives me chills.
The reason I like this song so much, regardless of who plays it, is the real message it gives. To some people, this remake is just a lot of noise and performance driven stuff. But think about it for a second. The drummer boy couldn’t do anything but beat the drum. It was noise to some. It was annoying to others. But it was his song and he played it with all he had.
As the drummer boy played for Jesus at his birth this was the only way he could honor the King of kings. He knew the child was special. He had no gold or frankincense or myrrh. He didn’t have an offering to give that was of any worldly value. All he had was his tiny, little drum.
As we continue our journey toward Christmas, we have to pause for just a moment to make sure we have a proper understanding of what this whole celebration is about anyway. It’s nice to give people the greatest gift of all time, but it’s not the size or cost of the gift that counts. It’s all about the heart.
Today’s MusicMonday is all about the heart. It’s all about playing your drum not worrying what others think of you or the noise you make. It’s about playing your drum for the King. So go. Play that drum. Play with all your heart!
As I stand at my desk in my office and look out the window at the snow falling on this last day of November in 2020, I decided it’s time to start the journey toward Christmas. We’re in a time of year in the church known as Advent. It pretty much means waiting, preparing, anticipating what’s coming. And how fitting is that this year!
This year has been a doozie to say the least. We all need a little to look forward to don’t we? So we’re going to go full out in our push toward Christmas this year. It’s the season of life and light and joy and hope and peace and love. These things are needed more this year than ever before.
On this first Music Monday of the 2020 Advent season, we highlight an old familiar song. There’s something about groups that remake old songs and liven them up a little. I enjoy sitting in my office with my cup of coffee and just being taken to younger days when we’d sing this song in church on Christmas.
What are some of your favorite Christmas memories?
As we move toward Christmas, I want to be totally honest and tell you the only way Christmas can make a difference in our lives is if we realize it’s real meaning. It’s not about the packages and presents and decorations. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. The packages will be unwrapped. The presents will eventually grow useless. But Jesus, born for you will never grow old and will never be out of style.
So have a happy Advent season. Keep your eyes on the real meaning of Christmas. And find joy in the everyday moments this season!
This world is full of burdens and many of those burdens are not ours to carry. The problem is we don’t know the difference between what we’re supposed to carry and what we should unload. When we hide our problems, we end up carrying them around with us. The weight of these problems can be crippling to say the least.
This week as you sit around the table with your family, or look in on them virtually, take a moment to unload those burdens. Don’t throw them at other people. But unload them on Christ. We’re invited to run to Jesus and give him our troubles.
Today, just pause for a minute. Consider the things that are weighing you down. Say a little prayer and give them to Christ. Then let yourself be held in the arms of the Father. Let him be your comfort. Let him be the one who keeps you strong and safe.
My prayer for you today is that you find rest for your soul, comfort from your pain, company in your loneliness, and calm for your distracted mind.
Ok so I’m going to just be blunt for a minute. I’m sick and tired of this mess. No, I’m not talking about the whole covid thing, although I’m getting tired of that too but something bigger than that. I’m not even talking the politically charged world that’s become the normal, at least for now.
I’m talking about the hate. I’m sick and tired of the hatred people are slinging around lately. Have you ever been to the zoo? Ever watch the monkeys when they get upset with each other? They sling their crap at each other. Well, this world is starting to act like a bunch of monkeys doing just that very thing. And it’s ridiculous.
Look – I get it. You don’t agree with your neighbor. Who cares? Your family member voted for a different political candidate. Well, good for them. You don’t wear a mask but your friend does. Sure sounds like a ridiculous thing to let ruin a friendship to me!
Can you please tell me when hate became the new normal? Why is it that we feel so much more comfortable throwing people under a bus than having an honest and civil conversation? And when you have that conversation, don’t expect the other person to bend to your will. You see that’s the fallacy many are working with right now. They think that as soon as they present their case in a well-thought out manner, the other person no longer is allowed to disagree.
Well, sorry to be the bearer of truth here but if you’re allowed to have your opinion, then your neighbor is allowed to have theirs too.
This is not rocket science. It’s not even science! It’s common sense! Just be kind. Quit trying to be king. Just be kind! Don’t agree? Get over it. I’m not trying to be mean here but seriously don’t let a disagreement tear apart a friendship or family. Be kind!
You see if you really look at it. We can all defend our position. You can defend your political stance, but so can your neighbor. You can find someone who speaks your viewpoint on covid, or seatbelt use, or vaccines, or the safety of online shopping. But so can the person who does things different than you. The issue isn’t that we do things different. The issue is that we let difference divide and breed hate. Be kind!
Today’s Music Monday is about just that. It’s time for a revolutionary idea. Let’s get back to the basics of humanity for just a minute. Be kind! It’s really that simple. Disagree and be kind. Agree and be kind. Argue but be kind. Be angry but be kind. It’s possible – you should try it!
The truth is that rarely is the truth found in our world. We tell those little, innocent lies all the time right? I mean someone asks how you’re doing and instead of being honest and telling them what you feel, it’s just easier to say Oh I’m fine. Thanks for asking.
But the truth of the matter is, it’s ok to not be ok. It’s ok to be broken and feel like the world is crashing in. It’s ok to feel like you’re losing control and need help. It’s ok to feel like you’re all alone at times. But it’s not ok to hold it in.
Truth be told we all need someone in our lives that we can confide in. Someone who we trust so much that we can lay our darkest secrets on. Someone whose opinion matters, whose ear listens, whose heart cares. We all need someone with whom we can share truth but also who will honestly share truth back to us.
It’s easy to surround ourselves with the people who will tell us yes. It’s easy to find the people say what we want to hear. But to find real strength, we need to find the truth. Not your version of it. Not your opponent’s version of it. But the truth. There is only one truth in a situation. And in the end the truth comes to light. When the truth is revealed, we need to accept that truth and walk on. But be careful in your search for truth, make sure you’re not just listening to the voices who are all saying the samething. Try to put holes in the story you’re hearing. See if it holds water.
Most importantly find someone who will speak truth to you. Lean on them. Confide in them. Let them love you with the tough love that’s sometimes needed.
This week I wanted to share this song with you. It’s a song about who we are and how we need to view one another. This song isn’t about which side of the aisle you sit, what color your skin is, what gender, nationality, or financial status. This song is really about everyone on this earth.
We’ve lost sight of something really important. We’re all made in the image of God. Whether you believe it or not, doesn’t really change the fact that we didn’t have life until God gave it to us. We often live this image well, but there are times when we falter and live out a broken image.
Today I ask you to pause and just look around. Look at how different we all are. But look at how similar we all are too. It’s easy to see the things that make us different. It’s easy to see the things that separate us and cause division. It takes work to focus on the things that unite us. We all need air to breathe and food to survive. We all walk by putting one foot in front of the other. We all need sleep to stay healthy and exercise to stay fit.
We don’t all eat the same things or sleep at the same times or workout the same way. But just because we do things differently doesn’t mean we’re any less made in the image of God. Take time today and look around you and value the image of God that is present in everyone around you – yep even those people who are way different than you!
What would it look like if the church lost its walls? What would it look like if there was no boundary holding the church back? What woudl happen if one day God just knocked down our walls of fear and separation and released us into the world? Well…welcome to 2020!
The current reality of the church is that we have become a church with no walls! God took our love for building and comfort for meeting spaces and brought that to an abrupt end. I don’t need to remind anyone about all of the disruption to normal life this year has brought. But what if God is up to something?
When we were no longer able to go through our regular Sunday morning routines, we felt a little discombobulated. When being face to face with our church friends was no longer possible, we were thrown off and didn’t know what to do. When we no longer were allowed to be in our buildings or see our friends’ faces, we lost a little hope. But what if God was making us into a church with no walls?
The start of the church in Acts looked a lot like what we’re seeing right now. Well minus masks and distance and technology. But I hope you get the point. The church didn’t have buildings or meeting spaces. They didn’t have set times of day to meet. They were fluid. They were flexible. They were everywhere, because they had a realization that we’ve forgotten.
God built his church to be a church with no walls. How are you going to live as part of a church with no walls? What will that look like for your time of worship? How will your fellowship look different?
Today’s MusicMonday was released in the middle of our pandemic reality. And to be honest it’s probably a message that is a few years too late but oh so true for our present reality.
The point of the song is that we have to start the change needed in the world and it has to start somewhere. And that somewhere is right here and right now.
The message of the Bible isn’t one of blame or pushing responsibility off to someone else. The Bible is about claiming our struggles and admitting our part of the problem. I’ve had a long-time philosophy in my life that I won’t bring a problem if I’m not also willing to bring a solution and be part of that solution.
The divided world in which we live today makes it too easy to blame someone else. Put others down for not seeing life the way we see it. Even “unfriend” someone because they won’t bow to our way of living. Sure there are some issues that are pretty critical to who we are as followers of God, but most of the things we take a stand on really aren’t that important or critical.
Take time to realize that the change you’re looking for in the world won’t start with the person across from you at work, beside you at church or even the one who lives with you at home. That change has to start right here and right now with you.
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