Casting Crowns - Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me) with Lyrics

Casting Crowns is one of my favorite Christian bands. Here is one of their many fantastic hit songs, Glorious Day (Living He Love Me) with the lyrics. No commentary necessary from me on it, it speaks for itself. I've just included some scripture I feel is appropriate to each line of the chorus, one each from the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. ENJOY!

Living He loved me,

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying:

"Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you."

-Jeremiah 31:3

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come

that He should depart from this world to the Father,

having loved His own who were in the world,

He loved them to the end.

-John 13:1

Dying He saved me

And I will pour on the house of David

and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem

the Spirit of grace and supplication;

then they will look on Me whom they pierced.

Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son,

and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

-Zechariah 12:10

But God demonstrates His own love toward us,

in that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood,

we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

-Romans 5:8-9

And buried He carried my sins far away

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

And they made His grave with the wicked—

But with the rich at His death

-Isaiah 53:8b-9a

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death,

that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,

even so we also should walk in newness of life.

-Romans 6:4

Rising He justified freely forever

I will ransom them from the power of the grave;

I will redeem them from death.

O Death, I will be your plagues!

O Grave, I will be your destruction!

-Hosea 13:14

And therefore “It (Abraham’s faith) was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him,

but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him

who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,

who was delivered up because of our offenses,

and was raised because of our justification.

-Romans 4:22-25

One day He's coming, oh, glorious day,
oh, glorious day

I was watching in the night visions,

And behold, One like the Son of Man,

Coming with the clouds of heaven!

He came to the Ancient of Days,

And they brought Him near before Him.

Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,

That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.

-Daniel 7:13-14a

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him,

even they who pierced Him.

And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.

Even so, Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord,

“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

-Revelation 1:7-8

What is Worship? - Beyond the Music

A very dear friend of mine shared this funny worship video with me. It’s funny, but at the same time, sad. Isn’t the twist of these worship lyrics true of many in the Church, or if we’re honest, ALL of us at some time or another?

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

- John 4:24

I’ll admit I’ve had times when I’ve been in a worship service and really didn’t feel like being there and just sort of “going through the motions.” I’m sure we all have. Are we getting all dressed up in our “Sunday best” to be seen “going to church” so we can look all spiritual? Are we busy looking at what so-and-so is wearing? Do we really “surrender all” to Jesus, or do we just “surrender some?” Are there things in our lives that we want to keep control of in the flesh? Do we have things deep inside us that we don’t dare let out because we’re afraid of what others will think? “If they knew this about me, would they think I’m not Christian enough?” Or do we deny the truth even to ourselves because we’ve been taught to believe that Christians aren’t supposed to have this or that issue they struggle with? Of all places, the Church (the body of believers, not the building) should be where we can let our guard down, open up to our brethren, be real, confess to each other our problems without being judged so we can lift each other up and encourage one another. We shouldn’t be made to feel like we have to fake it and act like we have it all together. I’ll be the first to admit… I don’t. It is Christ alone that holds me together. (link to Louie Giglio- Laminin post) Nothing is hidden from Him. God searches the heart and knows us better than we know ourselves.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,

that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,

holy, acceptable to God,

which is your reasonable service.

And do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

- Romans 12:1-2

This begs the question then, “what is worship?” It is certainly not the music. Sure, the music can produce an emotional reaction, but we can be fooled by our own emotions. Worship is summed up very well in Romans 12:1-2. I’m not trying to “rewrite Scripture,” but I believe you can think of worship by considering this passage something like this: when you realize God’s mercy on you in giving Himself to save you, it should make you want to live your life for Him in all ways, giving yourself fully to Him, setting yourself apart for His purposes for you, obeying what He has commanded you to do, and seeking to please Him alone. Don’t be how the world says you should be, but seek to be what God says you can be in Him, by letting His Word transform your thinking into what He desires for you, and put that thinking into actions where people see Christ in you, and not yourself. Worship music is great and can help us get/keep our mind set on Christ, but true worship goes far beyond the music. We have to keep the focus on Christ as we seek Him with all our hearts, and seek to live out the Gospel according to His will for us, that others are drawn to Him and not ourselves. Ask yourself, “Am I exalting Christ? Or me…”

Walking in Mary's Shoes

Carefully consider the words to Mary Did You Know, and take a moment to put yourself in Mary’s shoes. If you’re a woman, and an angel had told you that you were going to have a son, but you were still a virgin, how much faith and courage do you think it would take to tell your fiancé? If you’re a man, and your betrothed came to you with this, would you believe her? Just the simple act of telling Joseph put her very life at risk because she could have been stoned to death according to the Law. Mary stepped forward on faith that God had given her a special child for a special purpose. Could she have possibly comprehended just what that purpose was? Could she have ever got her head around the concept that her child was fully man, yet fully God? That He was, indeed, God in the flesh? Sure, she saw him growing up, teaching in the temple at a young age, amazing the temple leadership with his knowledge and understanding of the Scripture He Himself spoke into being. She saw the miracles He performed. She saw Him turn water into wine, restore sight to the blind, heal the lame, cure lepers, raise the dead back to life; but did she know her Son would have to give His own life? Did she understand that He was God’s perfect sacrificial Lamb? Many Jews believed the Messiah would be a military ruler that would defeat the Romans and liberate them from their human bondage. Little did they understand that Messiah was coming to deliver them from the spiritual bondage of sin. Can you imagine what must have been going through Mary’s mind as she saw her Son beaten, tortured, humiliated, and finally executed on a cross? Was she waiting for a miracle, like an army of angels or something, to stop this from happening? How could God let this happen to her promised Son? Imagine her anguish as she saw her Son, beaten to a bloody pulp, laid to rest in a borrowed tomb. For three days she grieved, until she saw her Son resurrected from the grave. Was it not until then that she understood that the Son she delivered came to deliver her? Was it then, after enduring unimaginable grief, that she finally knew it was all part of God’s plan? Truly, Mary was blessed among women. Moses got but a glimpse of God, but Mary was entrusted to give birth to His earthly form, raise Him as her child, hold Him, nurse Him, and love on Him. Any mother will kiss her baby, but did she know just how privileged she was to literally kiss the face of God? Unlike any other, God found favor with her, indeed.

Creative Nativity Story with a Modern Twist

This a very creative telling of the Nativity story with a uniquely modern twist. It's too cute and very much worth the viewing. There is no embed code to put it on here with a preview in a player, so please click on the link. It's on a site called GodVine.

http://www.godvine.com/Story-of-the-Nativity-Told-in-a-Very-Unique-Way-112.html

Extreme Guitar Hero Christmas Lights

I came across this video of a kid combining Guitar Hero with Christmas lights. I thought it was pretty creative and would be something cool to share.

Praise the Lord and Pass the Pepto | Liveblog | Christianity Today

Praise the Lord and Pass the Pepto Liveblog Christianity Today

This is a video of a children's praise song that has caused some controversy in an article on Christianity Today. Some call it irreverent, some are ok with it. It's just the song with the lyrics on the screen, not a video of kids singing. Have a look at it and chime in with your comments.

Carman - Satan Bite The Dust!