Music Monday: Love is War

This week's song is "Love is War" by Hillsong United. My awesome friend, Marissa, actually suggested this song and I'm glad she did, because I had never heard it before.

I have a feeling that many Music Monday's will feature Hillsong United...they just have such powerful lyrics that are hard to ignore!

"In Your justice and Your mercy
Heaven walked the broken road
Here to fight this sinner's battle
Here to make my fall Your own

Turn my eyes to see Your face
As all my fears surrender
Hold my heart within this grace
Where burden turns to wonder

I will fight to follow
I will fight for love
To throw my life forever
Into the triumph of the Son

Let Your love be my companion
In the war against my pride
Long to break all vain obsession
Till You're all that I desire

Turn my eyes to see Your face
As all my fears surrender
Hold my heart within this grace
Where burden turns to wonder

I will fight to follow
I will fight for love
To throw my life forever
Into the triumph of the Son

And I know Your love has won it all
You took the fall
To embrace my sorrows
I know You took the fight
You came and died but the grave was borrowed
I know You stood again
So I can stand with a life to follow
In the light of Your name"

I think my favorite lyrics in this song are, 

"I will fight to follow...I will fight for love...to throw  my life forever into the triumph of the Son."

I think it shows that it isn't always easy to follow...but although it may be tough, I will still follow.

The same with love. The love that Jesus asks of us, can be difficult at times because of our own selfishness, but Jesus wants us to live in love, so we should fight for love. 

When we stand firm and persevere, we through our "lives forever into the triumph of the Son." Jesus is glorified when we overcome the inner struggle from within. 

This song is a great picture of how life can be challenging, it can feel like a battle at times, but in the end, Jesus always wins. 

What lyrics speak to you? 

Any suggestions for future Music Monday's? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Day 3 In Him we find...

Two things you should know about me...well, three actually. One-I love music. I definitely can feel the Holy Spirit in music. Two- Audrey Assad is my all time favorite singer. Her voice is like butter and I could listen to her all day, everyday. Three- my  all time favorite band is Tenth Avenue North. I saw them a few years ago when they opened for Casting Crowns and I've loved them ever since. Their sound is unique & their lyrics are full of meaning.

So last night was a great night. You wanna know why? I went to Tenth Avenue North's concert and Audrey Assad opened for them, along with The Rend Collective Experiment (Irish Christian band-they're one of my favorite bands now). Yep, it was pretty, stinkin awesome. It started with an upbeat Irish band with cute accents (I'm a sucker for an Irish accent haha), then we were serenaded by Audrey and then we were jammin out with TAN. Let me tell you, these guys are so energetic and Mike (the lead singer) is hilarious! I laughed so much. If you have a bucket list, go write down "Go to a Tenth Avenue North concert", if you don't have a bucket list, I suggest you create one just for them...go on...I'm serious...you won't regret it. I promise. I still can't stop thinking about last night...it was that good.

Moving on. Their latest album is called The Struggle and the songs that explain how in life we often struggle. Most of the time we think of struggling as a bad thing. I mean, who wants to struggle, right? However, a lot of times God uses struggle to show us something. Whether it be for us to cling to Him or to learning something, there is purpose. It may sound mean, but it isn't...it's love. Mike said last night "He cut us to heal us, He died to revive us." Word!

I think one of the reasons last night was so awesome was because I could relate to the message. My Lyme Disease has been a struggle, BUT God has used it. So I'm thankful for this struggle. The Bible never tells us that life will be easy, but that we will face persecution and struggle. Jesus says (John 16:33), "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." However, if we seek out God, He will use the struggle for His glory. I know I may talk about this a lot, but it is so important. Everyone struggles. That's life. Good news though, "we are free to struggle, we're not struggling to be free." Those are the words of TAN's song, The Struggle.

Galations 5:1 says, "It is for freedom, that Christ has set us free." When He died on that cross and rose from the grave, He was saying that death has overcome. Death and struggle cannot keep God from moving. It only shows His glory much more. It's hard to think that death can be a good thing, but with God all things are possible. A lot of people think that Christianity is all about rules and never missing church, but that's not it at all. Jesus has made us free from our sin. All we need to do is believe in that truth and follow Him. Let Him use your struggle. Whatever struggle you may be facing right now, He can take that struggle, use it for His glory and restore you.

In Him we find freedom.

John 8:31-32- Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Hebrews 9:15- For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-- now that He has died as a ransom to set them free. . .
2 Corinthians 4:8-12- We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Check out their song "The Struggle"! "Don't Stop the Madness", "Worn", and "Losing" are good ones too...heck, just check out the whole album! Let me know what you think!

 

 The girls- my eyes are glowing, aren't they? I can't get them fixed :/

The crowd raising their arms up to the Father...love it!

 

Scripture today is Luke 17-18.

Have a great weekend & don't let struggle get you down, let it lift you up!

Are you afraid of the dark?

Yesterday, I had my monthly doctor appointment for Lyme. Good news- 2 times in a row-my doctor says we are getting closer to the "light" at the end of the tunnel! Yay!! God is good! I'm staying on the same regimen for the next month and then will probably start on some other tough medicine to get me even closer to the end! I'm one excited girl! What made it even better was that I was able to spend some time with 2 other fellow "Lymies". It's amazing how being in the presence of people who are going through the same thing can really help get you through. We called it our little "lyme away". Pretty clever, huh? 

Speaking of light at the end of the tunnel, are you afraid of the dark? I wouldn't really say that I'm afraid of the dark like I used to be as a kid. I don't run to the light switch to turn on the light like I used to, but I will say that being in the dark can sometimes arouse some not-so-good feelings. However, I've learned lately, that being in the dark isn't all that bad. I mean, as a "Lymie", it's better to be in the dark, because of light sensitivity but that's not exactly what I'm talking about. 

I started reading this book called, "Seeking a Miracle" by Julie Tillman. I'm only two chapters into the book and I love it! Like the kind of love that pushes you to go highlighter crazy (I love my Nook highlighter tool). Seriously though, 90% of the two chapters are highlighted. I mean it's that good. Anyway, moving on. So far it has talked about how God moves. He doesn't have small movements, he has BIG movements. Obviously, since He parted the Red Sea, He makes BIG statements. Can't deny that. 

While I was reading last night, I had an epiphany about light and darkness. When it is dark, it is easier to see light. Pretty simple, right? For example, if you turn on the light in a room with windows during the day, the light isn't differentiated like when you would turn on a light at nighttime. When it's dark, the light shines bright. So where am I going with this?

We all go through dark times in our lives. We face times of struggle. We face times that we lack understanding and vision. We face times that cause us to fear, but it's during these times, that God shines bright. 1 John 1:5 says, "This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all." In our darkness, He is magnified. Isaiah 45:3 (NASB) says, “I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name." Sometimes it takes being in the dark for us to see God. Don't get me wrong, we can see God during our good times, but darkness definitely doesn't limit God, it often magnifies Him. 

Isaiah 42:16 (NASB) says, “I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, in paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains.These are the things I will do, and I will not leave them undone.” Even though we may feel alone and scared in the dark, we should have hope. It may be dark, but that doesn't mean God has left us, it gives us all the more reason to seek Him, because He is light and He shines bright.

If you are joining along in the year long journey of the Bible, yesterday's scripture was Luke 1 and today's is Luke 2-3.

I need more fruit!

 

I need more fruit. Plain and simple. Did you know that the recommended amount of fruit for adults is a minimum of two cups a day. Fruit is an important part of healthy living because it gives us vitamins and minerals that help fight of illness, strengthen our immune system and give us energy. 

Are you getting the recommended amount of fruit a day?

That's not the only fruit I need more of...I need more fruit of the Spirit.

 

Have you heard of the "fruit of the Spirit"? If you haven't, that's okay because you are about to learn them! We learn about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23..."But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." So basically the fruit of the Spirit is an attitude, a lifestyle, a result of living in the Spirit, not an actual fruit that you eat. So you may eat a cup of strawberries and an apple a day, but are you forebearing the fruit of the Spirit? I'll be honest with you...I sometimes (well, more than sometimes) struggle with the fruit of the Spirit. I've noticed, however, that the more dedicated I am to serving God, the easier it is to live by the fruit of the Spirit. For example, the days where I have dedicated my whole self to God and have immersed myself in the Word, I feel this joy and I think, "Why do I feel so free and so happy?" Or when I'm at the store and it's so easy for me to be kind to others, I think "What has gotten into me?!" God then reminds me, "Hellooo!! It's my Spirit! Duh Chelsea!!" The more focused I am on God, the Holy Spirit intervenes and gives me the ability to live in "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodnesss, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control". Now, I'm not saying I'm perfect when that happens (because I'm not), but it becomes possible to bear that kind of fruit when I'm living by the Spirit. When I'm loving, kind, faithful, gentle, etc., that is NOT me...it is the Holy Spirit living IN me. The Holy Spirit can live in ALL of us. It's definitely a choice to follow Christ and to live as He has called us to live, when we do that the Holy Spirit kind of "takes over". Can you imagine if EVERYONE produced the fruit of the Spirit? Oh my goodness, that would be AWESOME! This world would be a MUCH happier place! We can't change other people and the decisions they make, BUT we can change the way WE think and the way WE live.

 

So think about this...are YOU bearing the fruit of the Spirit? Are you focused on God? If not, ask God to give you the hunger to seek Him, to live out His calling on your life, and to bear the fruit of His Holy Spirit. He wants us to live that way! So I challenge you to really dedicate yourself to God and His teaching. Trust me, you will produce some AWESOME fruit (of the Spirit, which is better than an actual fruit!). Plus, people like that kind of fruit (of the Spirit)...I mean, who wants to be around someone who is hateful, sad, impatient, rude, unfaithful, aggressive and impulsive? Um, I know I don't!

 

Pray this with me...Dear God, I thank you that you make it so clear in Your word what you can produce in me when I live according to Your will. Help me to hunger for Your Word and to live the way You have called me to live. Move your Spirit within me and produce fruit that will bring others to You. Thank you for the many blessings you have given me. In Christ's name, Amen.

 

P.S.- If you are following along with the read-your-bible-in-a-year plan, today's reading is Matthew 17 & 18, yesterday's was Matthew 15 &16. Also, if you're memorizing a verse, don't forget to practice it and hold it close to your heart!