Jesus Christ

Top 10 Posts Of 2014

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As this year comes to an end, we want to thank you for keeping in touch with us. Your tweets, messages, Instagram comments, etc. encourage us and we hope that our posts do the same for you. Here are our most visited entries of 2014:

  1. Hand Of God
  2. The In-Between: Transitions In Worship (As seen on The Church Collective)
  3. Honesty Is The Best Policy
  4. The Father Heart Of God
  5. Endless Love
  6. Jesus Saves
  7. The Day After The Most Depressing Day Of The Year
  8. True Love (A Valentine’s Day Blog)
  9. Multitasking God
  10. Masks And Make-Believe

And here are last year’s top posts. Thanks, everyone, and Happy New Year!

Week 4 of Advent

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I don’t know about you, but our Christmas Sunday was filled with Christmas worship songs, new and old. It was a wonderful time of glorifying and loving our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we draw nearer to Christmas in this last week of Advent, let us focus on the love and presence of the Savior. His arrival is that much closer today – and since Week 1 of Advent, what have we done to prepare the way?

We’re very much looking forward to the birth of Jesus! As you may already know, Jesus is called Immanuel/Emmanuel (God with us, Matthew 1:23). In what ways are you allowing God to be with you this Christmas season, and how will you open up new avenues in your life for Him to be more present in 2015?

In this world, doors of opportunity are constantly opening and closing but remember that His love is unfailing and true. Presents are great and a fun way to show “holiday cheer” but while these presents that come & go, God’s presence is always with us. We pray that you have a great Christmas this year with your family & friends, remembering the significance of Jesus’ birth, and have a happy new year as well!

Reflection Song: Here I Stand

Week 3 of Advent

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What do you think of when you hear the word “joy”? Perhaps this Christmas present reveal from 1998. Or this cartoon.

But to me, the word “joy” almost instantly triggers a few Christmas songs: Joy To The World, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (“tidings of comfort and joy”), and Angels We Have Heard On High (“joyous strains”). So what is joy and how is it different from happiness?

I believe the difference can be summed up by the N64 kid above. Whereas your average child may have been happy to receive an N64 console, this particular child was filled with much joy! Joy by definition is a feeling of great or extreme happiness. And if happiness is a reflexive emotion, then I’d like to think that joy is our choice to take the next step and have a happiness that much greater. The birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Christmas justifies this kind of joy – we then make a choice to be joyful and, in response, we rejoice (to feel or show great joy)!

So when we hear “tidings of comfort and joy”, it’s the news of comfort, peace, and joy in the birth of Jesus. Our reaction and reflex then is made up of “joyous strains”, joyful songs of praise!

We may be glad to receive certain presents this year and that feeling may even last a while. But nothing gives everlasting joy like Jesus Christ – the whole reason for this time of year! In this third week of Advent, think about how Jesus brings you joy and in what way you can rejoice in His birth in these final 10 days.

Reflection Song: Only You

Week 2 of Advent

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Does anyone else feel like Christmas snuck up on us this year? It’s already Week 2 of Advent and there’s something about this time that makes it feel like the “calm before the storm”. Parents are still figuring out where to buy their children’s presents, bigger sales are about to take place, holiday traffic hasn’t really hit yet, etc. It just feels rather peaceful… for now.

But this kind of peace isn’t what we’re singing about when we say, “peace on earth, good will to men”. The peace that God supplies through His son Jesus Christ is so much greater: Jesus came to the earth to save us from sin and death once and for all! That’s a peace that can’t be matched because we have this peace now and forevermore.

Do you feel that peace in your life today?

It’s like that popular bumper sticker: No Christ, No Peace. Know Christ. Know Peace! As we continue this second week of Advent, be encouraged that the birth of Jesus on Christmas is also our peace. He isn’t called the Prince of Peace for nothing! Trust in Him and remember that nothing can separate us from the peace He gives, not even death!

Reflection Song: You Are Greater

Week 1 of Advent

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In this time of year where you see Thanksgiving products coming off the shelves and Christmas products overwhelming your favorite stores, we sometimes lose sight of what’s really going on around us. This year, Advent began in November, which makes it difficult to imagine that Christmas is around the corner (though we waited until it was sure enough December for this post).

In this first week of Advent, how are you preparing for Christmas? That could mean a lot of things… who you are buying presents for, what you are planning for Christmas Eve/Day, etc. But as we wait expectantly for the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, how are you preparing yourself?

John the Baptist reminds the people of Judea in Matthew 3 that we need to prepare straight paths for the Lord. Consider the things that are in the way in your life today and how we can prepare a way for the Lord to come. One of my favorite Christmas songs is O Holy Night, which has such a poetic line:

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease

How ironic that Jesus came so humbly to the earth, yet He is a King. As we continue with Week 1 of Advent, let’s prepare the way for Him as He breaks us free from the chains & distractions that may cause us to stray. Let’s look to Christ this Christmas season!

Reflection Song: Prepare The Way

What Am I Worth?

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What do you base your self-worth on? We look around and see competitions on television, whether it’s for singing, unique talents, funny videos, or even “beauty”. We see online posts and determine their merit based on the number of shares or likes… And this culture of ratings affects us.

When we start to come up with unrealistic expectations for ourselves, we start to feel disappointed and unworthy. Perhaps you feel that way right now because your week wasn’t what you expected or things just didn’t pan out the way you had hoped today. But instead of hanging onto the disappointments and things that bring you down, consider those in your life that lift you up & encourage you; consider the moments that bring you joy, the things that actually make you feel valuable. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Don’t get hung up on the value of material things and how they can affect your worth. With Black Friday just a week away, we look so far in advance all of the deals and promotions going on… how to get the best bang for your buck – for great discounts you’d stand on line for hours. You see this kind of desire and may feel like you’re not “worth it”, but God will tell you otherwise.

The Lord your God is with you,the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. – Zephaniah 3:17

Whether it’s something someone said to you, or the way you feel about yourself after a long hard day at school/work, know that you are loved by our almighty God in heaven! See yourself the way that the Father sees you. It may be hard at first, but be encouraged that the amount God loves you far outnumbers any racing negative thoughts you may have. “How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!” (Psalm 139:17).

If you’re looking for somewhere to start, start by looking to your family, your friends, those that are close to you… they love you too! You’re probably thinking of a few people right now. And, of course, don’t forget to look to God! You were bought with a price, you are worth it – God showed His great love for us with the sacrifice made on the cross with His son Jesus Christ, our Lord & Savior. So in this Thanksgiving season let’s be grateful, giving thanks and praise to God our Father who has redefined our worth. It’s because of Him we have life and everything within it, so going forward let’s continue to give Him our lives and everything we have, showing Him that He is worthy of it all!

Reflection Song: Unending Praise

Endless Love

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How amazing is God’s love? It is everlasting. It is unconditional. It knows no bounds.

We recently led worship at IN2 Church’s Crosswalk lock-in where they had the banner above, representing God’s neverending love for us. Throughout the night, people wrote on heart-shaped post-its with what they are thankful for and posted it on this banner. This should get us thinking… especially in this Thanksgiving season, what are you grateful for?

Lamentations 3:22 says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” One thing we can count on is God’s never failing love for us. And with His one and only son, Jesus, and the cross, we see His love displayed for us and making a way for us. This endless love is not something foreign or alien, but familiar and given freely to us by the grace of God. Because His love is endless, so should be our response! This reminded us of our song Unending Praise:

Lord, I live for You… Lord, I give to You unending praise, unending praise. More than anything, be my everything. We give You praise, unending praise.

Just as how we are the recipient of God’s unending love, may God receive unending praise from us – that our response to His love may be worship, that our lives would be worship, and He would be the object of our worship.

No matter what hardships you may be going through & experiencing, remember your relationship with the Lord and who He is. For starters, Psalm 145 says He is gracious, compassionate, loving, and good… so you are not in this alone. God is for us and Jesus Christ is the sign of His perfect love for us. Be encouraged today as you begin a new week for His glory. Be thankful and find peace & joy in His endless love for you!

Reflection Song: Here Today

Multitasking God

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It’s all the craze these days: How many programs can you run at once? Does your current internet browser support tons of open tabs? Can your smart phone split screens between apps? Multitasking is second nature to us, isn’t it? We might even (dare I say it) multitask God.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase “too busy for God” before. But I think Psalm 34:1-10 says it well: “I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.” If we are to extol/praise the Lord at all times, I think it’s pretty clear: we ought to praise the Lord… always!

The other day at our church I challenged people to reflect upon their life and how God fits into it. Now, obviously, God is bigger than that time slot. Yet, we even limit that amount of time when we’re “busy”, trying to negotiate & bargain our time with Him. So I want to ask you the same question today: How does God fit into your life?

A popular verse in the Bible that’s written all over the gospels is probably familiar to you, either from reading it or even as a song: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind.” How can this be if we only offer up some of our heart, some of our soul, some of our strength, and some of our mind? This leads me back to this idea of our band name, Shameless Plug.

Not too long ago someone asked me about the meaning, the purpose, the origin of our band’s name. If you’re unfamiliar with it, you can read about our story here. But when we multitask to the point where even we don’t know what we’re exactly juggling day-to-day, then we’ve lost sight of the important things – like the most important One of all, Jesus Christ. When we live life making Him known and famous, He becomes our shameless plug and we get to (not have to) praise Him at all times! Doesn’t that sound better than stressing out about your 15 errands today?

God is bigger than we let Him be. And maybe that’s especially true for you today. God, who is the ultimate multitasker (being the God of over 7.25 billion people in the world today), is our one True and Living God who sent His One and only Son, Jesus Christ, to show us His love and mercy. That’s actually one… huge… task. I think we’d all say that He’s worth all of our attention and being at the top of our list of priorities.

Let’s not cheap out on God by giving Him a discount of our time. Let’s give Him our all like we were intended to do. You can multitask your iPhone apps or your shopping lists, but let’s not turn our faith into a statistic. God is the One who deserves the praise, deserves the extollment, deserves the magnification and attention. Reflect upon your life again and what role God plays. Know that even in the hectic schedule you may have, God is in the midst of it. But don’t juggle him like one of your tasks. Give Him your best and give Him your all.

Reflection Song: All To You

The Father Heart Of God

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You and I have probably read or heard of “The Parable Of The Prodigal Son” more times than we can count. You may even know it as “The Parable Of The Lost Son”. For some reason, every time I hear a pastor preach on this story, it shines a new light on it every single time. If this is your first time hearing about it, please feel free to first read Luke 15:11-32 for some context.

You might think that “prodigal” could mean “lost” because in the parable the younger son loses his way, demands for his share of the inheritance before his father’s death, squanders it, and finally realizes his wrongs & comes home. But “prodigal” is actually defined as wasteful, extravagant, recklessly spending…

Recently we led worship at the Cornerstone Church Retreat, where YWAM speaker Rev. Joe Ferrante spoke on “The Father Heart Of God”. A couple of questions he asked that weekend were: How do you view God’s heart for your life? Do you believe that He really is good and that you are good enough for His love?

From time to time, we might feel like the younger son – thinking “I’ve got this”, ignoring God the Father, and wasting it all away on things we think we’ve got a handle on. Maybe you’ve actually done this in real life with your own parent(s). But as you know, life isn’t perfect… we aren’t perfect. Even Jesus said that in this world we’ll have trouble (John 16:33)! So why do we run away from God our Father and think that we don’t need His love and support?

Lately I’ve come to re-realize that the Father heart of God is as extravagant, as extreme, as prodigal as the younger son… but in the best sense possible! But to draw an even better picture, Jesus continues the story: the younger son comes home to beg for his father’s forgiveness. Yet the father, who was waiting for his son to return, sees him from a distance and runs to embrace him. I’m sure the son was surprised – I know I would be! But he says, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

The father’s response? “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

Not only does the father take him back… he throws a feast! If you were the older son at this point you’d probably be thinking as he does, “Hey… what’s this? Where’s my feast?”… But Rev. Joe Ferrante puts it very nicely here: The party may not necessarily have been for the younger son, but for the father. That’s how extravagant God’s love is for us. That’s how much and how long He’s been waiting for us to come to our senses and come home too. That’s how lavishly He wants to waste it all on you and me.

To even throw a party for the one who’s messed up so badly in life… wow. But you know, He gets it. Life’s tough and stuff happens. He gets it. Just as the father killed the fattened calf for the returned son, our Father sacrificed the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, so that those who see this sign of God’s perfect love would come home and realize the true heart of the Father.

No matter how badly or carelessly you’ve handled things, God is waiting for you to return… maybe even for the first time. You might not think you’re worth it, but He does! God searches our hearts and knows us (Psalm 139). He is good all the time, even when you don’t feel like you’re good enough for His love. Wherever you’re at today, I pray that you would experience an extravagant love from the Father like no other.

Reflection Song: Here Today

Honesty Is The Best Policy

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If we are to follow Christ then truth, honesty, and integrity are essential. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Honesty is a necessary component in following after Jesus. Conversely, dishonesty will pull us away from Him.

This past weekend we led praise at the New Life Summer Retreat, which had the theme Honesty. It was a really authentic time of worship and growth. Unlike your “conventional” retreat, there was no guest pastor to preach amazing sermons. Instead, testimonies were shared within small groups, and several were shared during the main session. We were really encouraged by these powerful stories and it was apparent how relationships were beginning to grow because of them.

Being honest with others isn’t easy in a time where we hide behind communicating through text messages, Facebook statuses, and Instagram comments. It’s so easy to mask your true self. But the testimonies shared were powerful and displayed how God has worked and is working through each and every one of us, molding us into the son or daughter He intended for us to become. What I was reminded was that honesty not only shows your character, but it also shows your faith. Throughout the Bible we are assured that it is impossible for God to lie. That’s a lot harder to say for ourselves… but with God setting the example, we ought to strive to be more true to others and to ourselves.

Proverbs 11:3 says “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”

In fact, we heard many stories of struggles, difficulties, and straying from God. A lot of it was covered up by deception, lies, and even trying to fool oneself. But as soon as they shared about how the truth was discovered (or re-discovered), that because of Jesus Christ we are a new creation, the stories took a turn where lives began turning back towards God the Father!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I thought of my own testimony – of who I was and who I’ve become because of Christ. We’re all constantly changing and experiencing changes. So it is important that we never lose sight of what’s ahead so that we stay true to who we ought to be in Christ. Surround yourself with honesty, truthful people, so that you too can be more honest and open with others, yourself, and God.

Today, let’s remember to stay in the truth, speak and live the truth, and you may also be helping others around you to the Truth! Jesus, the author of eternal salvation, is the way, the truth and the life… Let’s motivate and cultivate honesty through the love He’s shown us!

Reflection Song: Only You