"The Motions"

"And as he was setting out on his journey,
a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him,
"Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good except God alone.

You know the commandments:

'Do not murder,

Do not commit adultery,

Do not steal,
Do not bear false witness,

Do not defraud,
Honor your father and mother.'"
And he said to him,
"Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth."
And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him,
"You lack one thing:
go, sell all that you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful,

for he had great possessions."

-- Mark 10: 17 - 22, ESV

The story of the rich young ruler is well known. He wanted desperately, I believe, to know that He would spent eternity in heaven. He knew the commandments. He knew Who to ask. But Jesus, Who can see deep into our hearts, knew what stood between this man and the salvation of his soul: his riches. His wealth was this young man's passion. He was unwilling to part with it, even to gain eternal life.

"Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

-- Matthew 10: 39, ESV

Jesus demands our all. Nothing else will do. So the question is this: are you willing to lose your life - to give up everything that is precious to you without reservation - and follow Christ, or are you, like the rich ruler, going to walk away because the cost is too high? What is it that you are holding to so tightly? Is it a possession? Your spouse? Your children? Lay it at the feet of Jesus.


If you've followed this blog, you know my passion for music. I highlighted Matthew West's song, You Are Everything in this post. His latest single, The Motions, speaks of giving everything for Christ instead of simply "going through the motions", pretending to be His follower.

"I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything?
Instead of going through the motions"

Holding Faith,

Another Great Song

I was listening to K-Love this morning, and heard a song called Where I Am Going, which was sung by Glen Campbell. (Anyone else remember him?) I really like the words, which are to me another reminder that the life after this one is worth waiting for.

WHERE I AM GOING
(written by Jimmy Webb)


Feel like I'm coming out of the storm
Watching dark clouds drift away
Saying goodbye to all the pain I used to know
It's time to let it go

Just can't seem to make myself conform
To what the world wants me to be
But the difference doesn't hurt me anymore
I know they'll welcome me

Where I am going there will be no compromise
No tears will come to cloud my eyes
Where I am going
And all the precious world I've had to sacrifice
Will be given to me twice
Because He paid the price
And it's worth it all just knowing
Where I am going

Do you want to go riding with me
To a place that lasts forevermore
Please don't think that you are one among the few
I'm different just like you
Where I am going there will be no alibis
No might-have-beens or sacrifice
Where I am going

And all the questions still unanswered in my mind
Lord, I'll leave 'em all behind
I'll only find the answers
I'll only keep on going (Keep on going)
Where I'm going
(Where I am going) There will be no compromise
No tears will come to cloud my eyes
Where I am going
And all the precious world I've had to sacrifice
Will be given to me twice
Because He paid the price
And it's worth it all just knowing
Where I am going
(Where I am going there will be no alibis)
Where I am going
(Where I am going)

Holding Faith,

Daily Blessings #10

Today I am thankful for music. I find that music soothes my soul, and God often speaks to me through good, Christian music.

I was listening to Hillsong United today. One of my favorite songs from their With Hearts as One/The I Heart Revolution CD is Joel Houston's Where the Love Lasts Forever.

Your mercy found me,
Upon the broken road,
And lifted me beyond my failing,
Into Your glory,
My sin and shame dissolved,
And now forever Yours I’ll stand.

(Pre-Chorus)
In love never to end,
To call You more than Lord,
Glorious friend.

(Chorus)
So I throw my life upon all You are,
‘Cause I know You gave it all for me,
And when all else fades,
My soul will dance with You,
Where the love lasts forever.

(Bridge)
And forever I will sing,
Lord forever I will sing,
Of how You gave Your life away,
Just to save me, Lord You saved me.

With You, where the love lasts forever.

Holding Faith,

Music That Inspires Me

We sang a couple of new-to-me songs on Sunday night. This one - The More I Seek You - expressed the cry of my heart. There's a YouTube video at the bottom of this post.

The more I seek you,
the more I find you
The more I find you,
the more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet
Drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breathe,
Hear your heart beat
This love is so deep,
It's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace,
It's overwhelming

Holding Faith,

Whoa

While trying to write a review of Hillsong's new CD - This Is Our God - I was at their website, and read the following:

"20 August 2008
In the past 24 hours it has been brought to our attention that Michael Guglielmucci’s illness is not what we have been led to believe.

Michael has confirmed that he is not suffering with a terminal illness and is seeking professional help in Adelaide with the support of his family.

This news has come as a great shock to everyone including, it seems, his own wife and family.
Please pray for the Guglielmucci family during this difficult time."


I highlighted Michael's song, Healer, in this post. It remains an awesome song, even if the story behind it is a fabrication. Nonetheless, God has, and I believe, will continue to touch lives through the song.

Singing Praise

I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.

-- Psalm 7:17, ESV
**********************************

Sunday was an awesome day! Grace and I had gotten permission to sing a special during evening service (because the worship teams lead music at night, we don't normally have specials then.) As it turned out, the other female vocalist wasn't going to be there, so the worship leader asked me to fill in. I was apprehensive, knowing that (based on Grace's testimony as their keyboard player) things tend to be a bit lax in the group, and that there wouldn't be a lot of practice time - it's just the way things are. I went to practice on Thursday, but the guitar player wasn't there, so it was very difficult to rehearse, and I went away feeling ill-equipped for Sunday night's service. Fortunately, after initially experiencing severe butterflies, my stomach calmed down, and we were able to practice enough before service that I thought I could get through it.

And get through it I did. There were some rough spots, and as usual, the sound guys didn't have the balance right (my husband and I have complained about this for a while), but God blessed. I was blessed. I worshiped. I felt I was serving the Lord and the congregation, something I haven't felt since changing churches almost two years ago. (There's not a lot one can do without being a member, and even if we were, my priority is taking care of my husband and family.) And, I hope, the congregation was blessed.

Oh, and our special went wonderfully! We sang Beautiful the Blood by Steve Fee and Louie Giglio. (Click for the lyrics.)