Savior, please

I introduced this song to the fellowship because at the time it was basically my prayer to God. He literally saves me from all the bleh in my life. I still need this song to help me go through my low moments. The low moments seem to never stop coming. God is really testing my patience. It really is scary sometimes. I wonder how much more I can handle. How much more do I have to endure? This song reminds me that God is on my side. He will never stop saving me.

I hope you enjoy this song :)

'Til I see You face to face...Come, Lord Jesus, Come

I don't have too too much to say. Maybe I'll edit this post later. But I just wanted to post up a couple worship songs that have really been encouraging me the past couple of weeks/days =]. I'll put down my favorite lines. If they touch you too, praise God! & if you feel like commenting, please do so we can rejoice with you =]. Take care, peoples!

"With All I Am" ~Hillsong




The greatest love that anyone could ever know
it over came the cross and grave to find my soul..
and 'til i see You face to face, and grace amazing take me home,
I'll trust in You

I will live, a child in awe of You


"All Who Are Thirsty" ~Kutless



Nothing but Your will for me,
I am only free when You--
Come, Lord Jesus, Come


"Came To My Rescue" ~Hillsong




I called, You answered
and You came to my rescue, and I
wanna be where You are

In my life, be lifted high!
In my world, be lifted high!
In our love, be lifted high!

okay, there's actually something I realize I probably didn't share with some of you who view this blog. This song, "Came To My Rescue", has a special significance for me. There was a time in February where I was feeling spiritually dry. On retreat with my church from SD, there was an extended time of worship, and I was asking God to really touch me. I actually felt like God telling me that I should go outside to listen for Him, but I was a little resistant, kind of hoping that I could be ministered to through the songs instead. But eventually, I prayed, "okay..I don't really know what you're doing God, but I'll go outside and try to listen to you there." I go outside and look at the stars; and not 5 minutes later, I met the leader of the guest worship band (not on stage at the time). We both actually shared with each other that we were having some difficult spiritual dry-spots of our own. And for him, he was having a hard time loving his teammates. I asked if I could pray for him, and he said, "you know, I had actually just asked God to send somebody to pray for me..". Like wow, right? And while we were actually talking, I could hear the song "Came to my Rescue" play from inside, and I couldn't help but side-focus on the lines, "I called, You answered.. and You came to my rescue and I wanna be where You are." I'm convinced that outside, praying with that person, was exactly where God was intending to show up in both of our lives.

It doesn't even end there x]. When the person was praying for me, he felt convicted to pray for my mom and her spiritual walk. I didn't talk to him at all about my mom before we started praying. He told me he had no clue what it meant; if it doesn't mean anything, then it'll just pass, but it's what he felt led to pray about. I talked to my family on the phone after the retreat, and it turns out that it was on that same night, my mom was sharing with the High School Fellowship during candlelight sharing at their retreat that she wanted to take her walk with God more seriously. like WOW.


Our God is AMAZING. =]. Thanks for reading this far!

I dare you to move.

"Dare You To Move" ~Switchfoot

I think its safe to say that all of us have heard this song like a kabajillion times (well, okay, at least I listened to it that many times xD). This is one of those songs that you can kind of listen to SO often that you can sing the words, and have fun singing it, but have no real thought about what it really means. But it's really cool when you go back to a song and you get some kind of new (or old, but reminded) insight about it :]. And (ta-da!) this happened for me and this song XD.

What really struck me recently was actually from the second verse, when the song goes, "...welcome to Resistance..". I started thinking as if we're trying to get somewhere, but there's resistance; a force pushing you back. This image really solidifies me as if I'm trying to go in one direction, but I feel a physical shove to my chest (kinda like a bully-push). It's then when the brain actually has to make a decision: (1) to back off because there's now something trying to stop you from moving in your desired direction, or (2) to move; forward, struggling forward. From this standpoint, the motivation of "i dare you to move" really means so much more now.

What does this mean for me? I think of so often the ways that I want to move in a certain direction, but refuse to for various reasons. One instance is in trying to talk to my friends about God and being open about Jesus: I have the desire to, but I feel the shove in my chest of "what if they don't listen?" or "is it even worth it?". Resistance.

As I was walking from class and thinking about this song (yes, even more x]), I noticed something kinda cool about the structure of the song. The entire song goes through a complete progression. The first verse is the first stage: Existence. Welcome! Now that you're here, what are you gonna do? Everyone's watching. "I dare you to move." Alright! Second stage: Resistance. Welcome... now that you've been pushed; now that you know its not just a straight path with no obstacles, what are you gonna do? The tension is here.. maybe you feel like you've fallen.. and there's no way you can move on, because of either yourself or something else.. but the third stage: Redemption. Forgiveness. Salvation. Beauty for Ashes! In your weakness, in the midst of Resistance and falling, God redeems you. What a weight lifted! But now what..? What are you gonna do now? Stand there? Stay where you are? "I dare you to move."

By now, you've probably seen the video & heard the song =]. This version is actually a new video made by Switchfoot, & came out just recently. I found it as I was looking for a good vid to post here x] and I really love it. I think the imagery in here is really awesome, especially with the emergence of the wave of people moving against him; the Resistance. But he pushes his way through, and eventually, made it all the way through the mob of people. There's kind of a sense of liberation as he exits the fog and the mob, because it's over & he's made it through. I just thought it was really awesome. The original music video is actually really good as well, if you wanna watch it, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOTcr9wKC-o&a=0l0T6_mJ2JA&playnext_from=ML

(wow this feels long, haha.) Yeahs, I dunno, this song is really cool for me :]. Thank God for cool music =D! I'm really hoping this song will remind me that 1st of all, life wasn't meant to have no obstacles; its ridiculous to think that there will be no resistance. But He dares me to move, not to let the doubt, fear, (etc) hold me back. And also to remember the beautiful stage of Redemption! Great stories to tell, when we're picked up off the floor, and move =].

Thanks for reading this far! Hope you were blessed!

[Please] Reign in Us

Hey peeps!! I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted any songs.. but here we go again, and I really hope ya'll will be blessed =]. This song is another worship song, written and performed by Starfield, titled "Reign in Us"



To be very honest, I don't really know what to type up.. but I know a few things.

The chorus really echos what I really desire in my heart. "Oh, Great and Mighty One, with one desire we come: That You would reign, that you would reign in us!" I love singing this, because in my own life, I realize all these areas where I don't let God reign. When I think of the word "reign", I think of rule; I think of sovereignty (haha, even bigger/vaguer words xD). Basically, I think of God being in complete control. So I ask myself, "God, could you please reign in me?" I am a very forgetful/sway-ey person, prone to wander in mind and heart and emotion. With all the times that I forget that I'm living for God and not myself, I feel the need to plead with my soul and cry to God that He would reign in my life. All of my selfish thoughts, wondering about how MY name will be glorified and not His.. I'm in such desperately need of His touch.

The last part really stuck out to me when I first sung it. Reminding me that this purification, this commitment to God, is not just for myself. God intends for us to be a light into this world and show how awesome He is! It's all about the glory of God. So I'm still praying to God this prayer for myself and for us:

So reign, please reign in us..
come purify our lives, we need Your touch
come cleanse us like a flood, and send us out
so the world may know You reign,
You reign in us..


=].

When I Think About the Lord

I'm trying to go through the Gospels right now, and just trying to understand God's grace and love. And sometimes, when I just lie there on my bed thinking about God's grace, how He sent us Jesus--free of blemish, God's one perfect son--to die for in our place...and then at the point of Jesus' death, how God TURNS AWAY and FORSAKES Jesus at that one instance in time when God should be condemning the human race. What love, what grace....it makes me wanna shout....

HALLELUJAH!
THANK YOU JESUS!
LORD, YOU'RE WORTHY OF ALL THE GLORY AND ALL THE HONOR AND ALL THE PRAISE!

Dirty Shoes

Link to Songhttp://politiik.xanga.com/audio/1161c3857572/

"Dirty Shoes" - by Tim Be Told
Lyrics: http://www.timbetold.com/LyricsDirtyShoes.html

Hi, there. This song really strikes a chord in me. It's a pretty straightforward song in terms of the meaning, but I really like the way the lyrics are written. The one line that particularly catches my ears is the part in the bridge that goes: "the halo 'round my head is a good toy." The bridge as a whole actually strikes me. It's so easy for me as a churched teenager to elevate myself to a "holier than thou" mindset over those who party, or those who stay out late, or those who are involved in a sexually active relationship--those people whose lives deviate even slightly from my "ideal," churched lifestyle. "Yes, these people certainly need Jesus in their lives," my mind would muse. And then, at high school fellowship, how easy again as a leader in the group, to put up a saintly facade as if I were more Godly than my brothers and sisters, especially those who weren't official "leaders." All that without even recognizing--well, maybe recognizing--but not acknowledging to my brothers and sisters that I am just as wretched, that I am just as dirty. I'm tired now of hiding my "dirty shoes"for so long now.

Little boy, whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do with all those dirty shoes?
Hide 'em in a room, yeah?
Leave 'em out of view, you got a lot to lose

Well, that's what I've been doing in high school. It's difficult for me to do. Hiding it in a little private room does nothing for me; Jesus still knows. I need Jesus's grace just as much as those whom I had stupidly deemed "ungodly heathens." What are my "dirty shoes"? I'll tell you (as difficult as it is for me)... I've been caught in the world of internet pornography for most of my high school career, and it's something that I still struggle with today. Am I ashamed? Of course. Romans 7:15-25 lays out the struggle of sin. But 1Peter 3:18 also says that "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righeous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit." And Paul also writes in Romans 5:8 that "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." I hold onto that--trying to understand God's love and grace.

So there it is. This is just one pair of my dirty shoes. But God's gonna make it clean. I'm holding onto that...

"To Surrender is to Gain"

I miss this blog a lot. I have not had much time to actually post something, but I have been listening to the songs and reading your posts, and they are all very encouraging. I should be studying for my midterm now, but I have been wanting to share these songs for a while now.

Lyrics: http://www.timbetold.com/LyricsTheHymn.html

Lyrics: http://www.timbetold.com/LyricsAllofMe.html

At the beginning of last quarter, a friend of mine from the church I go to in San Diego introduced me to this band called Tim Be Told, and I have fallen in love with their music since. The song "All of Me" became pretty much my life anthem for the past few months: I listen to it practically every day multiple times. I chose to share these three songs--"The Hymn," "All of Me," and "Honor You"--simply because I connect a lot with them for a long time. But do expect me to share more songs from them--I love them so much!

Let's start with the first song: "The Hymn (O What Mercy)." The lyrics are very eloquent, but they deliver a basic message that we all have heard many, many times. Essentially, we are broken, we are dirt, but despite our mishaps, God saves us, though we may not always recognize it. It's really easy for me to overlook the power expressed in this message of the gospel, simply because I hear it so many times that it has become cliche for me. But it really shouldn't be; I really should NEVER tire of hearing the gospel. I am currently being discipled by one of the upperclassmen in my fellowship (who is conveniently the one who shared this band with me), and he made it clear to me why I should never forget the gospel. It's really interesting, actually. He pointed out how a lot of the times when we go through hardships and then are so consumed with ourselves and how everything's messed up, well, eventually (though it's not always the case) we remember the gospel--or at least some form of it--and we recognize how essential God's grace is. While it is definitely good to go back to the gospel, how much more clarity one would have going through hardships with the gospel in mind. Well, that's just for me anyway.

One thing I really like about the song is the way that the lyrics are structured. In the middle of the first two verses, the lyrics emphasize our own shortcomings: "still my darkness veils all the victories / that you've seen me through" and "but our silence veils all the answers / that they seek from you." However, by the third verse, the climax of the song, we see the opposite: our shortcomings no longer matter. Surrounded by a powerful, symphonic aura, and delivered with strong vocals, the lyrics accentuate God's victory: "But your hope unveils all the answers and reveals the truth / By the cross you've made a way..."

I had actually intended "All of Me" to be the crux of this post, but seeing how I started to ramble a bit, I'll try to be brief. Like I mentioned, this is one of my favorite songs, and I really connect with it. One thing I struggle with is idolatry. I give myself to many things other than God, i.e. certain people, school, whatever it may be. I put all my strength and heart, all my hope and trust, into these things--much more than I give to God--but the thing is, I always end up in a worse state, farther from God. The second verse reflects my sentiments very well:

"I am restless in my soul

Stealing their affections, trying to fill an endless hole

I have cried alone so many times

'Cause I can't feel your love

I remember when you used to be enough"

Yeah. To be brief, I am very overwhelmed right now. It's hard to turn to God, but I do know--I have experienced it!--the joys of giving myself to God. I just pray that my trust in God remains strong, even through tough circumstances. Okay. Listen to these songs while reading the lyrics; it's really nice.

The last song...it's really simple and straightforward. Here are the lyrics:

"I have toiled and labored

For things that pass away

Working just to savor these numbered days

Fruitless seeds I've sown

Worthless things I've grown

I offer You all that I own, though small and simple

I pray it honors You alone"

Great prayer in conjunction with the previous song.

Alright I really need to continue studying for my midterm now. It's gonna be crazy! But I pray that I can give it up to God and that it honors Him. Alright, study time!

Enjoy Tim Be Told! :)