Posts tagged Tenth Avenue North

Hey everyone… it’s been a while since I’ve done a blog post, but you know, life gets in the way… but I’m back now after a much needed break, and I will be making sure I do frequent blog posts, at least once a week, maybe twice…

Now, a few blogs ago (or maybe near the beginning of my blogs…); I talked about a Tenth Avenue North song called ‘Losing’, and the significance behind that song. You can read that blog here. But coming back to the subject of this particular short blog, the band released a superb album last month called “The Struggle” (which in my opinion you should all grab on iTunes immediately, or within the day!); and one of the songs which stuck out to me, besides the lead single, was the title track. In my opinion Mike Donehey is one of the most profound and poignant lyricists and songwriters today; just look at the lyrics below and listen to the song via lyric video above.

There’s a wreckage, there’s a fire
There’s a weakness in my love
There’s a hunger I can’t control
Lord, I falter and I fall down
Then I hold on to the chains You broke
When You came and saved my soul
Save my soul

Hallelujah
We are free to struggle
We’re not struggling to be free
Your blood bought and
Makes us children
Children, drop your chains and sing

So why, Lord, do I still fail
Do I wear thin
Why do I still give in to temptation
On my own, I am bankrupt
I don’t trust You or take You at Your word, Lord
What You’ve promised

Hallelujah
We are free to struggle
We’re not struggling to be free
Your blood bought and
Makes us children
Children, drop your chains and sing

Hallelujah, death is overcome
And we are breathing
Hallelujah, our stone hearts become
Flesh that’s beating
Hallelujah, chains have been undone
And we are singing
Hallelujah, the fire has begun
Can you feel it

Hallelujah, death is overcome
And we are breathing
Hallelujah, our stone hearts become
Flesh that’s beating
Hallelujah, chains have been undone
And we are singing
Hallelujah, the fire has begun
Can you feel it

Hallelujah
We are free to struggle
We’re not struggling to be free
Your blood bought and
Makes us children
Children, drop your chains and sing

Now I don’t know about you, but I do struggle. Whenever I am losing focus in the things I do each day, and my mind wanders to how a God so pure and mighty could ever love someone like me; sometimes it is hard to reconcile that fact with the fact that Jesus died and rose again, just for me. Sometimes, and I guess this is subconsciously, I try to do more and be better- so that God can love me more and that I can be accepted and appreciated for who I am. But the truth is Jesus has already done all the work, so I don’t have to. That’s the beauty of grace. He died and took on all of my sin, and all of humanity’s sin, so that we each have the chance to live again with Him. We are free, and that should be a wonderful thing that we don’t have to carry this heavy load around us anymore. Sure, you may not be able to please your friends or parents, every single time, but that’s fine because you don’t have to. Who are you proving yourself to? Yourself, your close friends and family? God? He is already pleased with you, as I am sure the people close to you are as well! As such; we are free from expectations, and we should be able to do what is set on our hearts (by God!), because if it is in His plan, it will happen!

So what chains are you holding onto, what things do you want control of, and what things do you want to prove to persons X, Y, and Z? Because of Jesus did for us 2000 + years ago on the cross, we are free, and we are not struggling to be free. So ‘…children, drop your chains and sing…’, and let’s live life to the fullest!

Hallelujah, death is overcome!

Til next time

Joshua

You're Beautiful, In His Eyes

sarahisawriter:

This whole thing started at the mall a few weeks ago. I was out shopping with my sister when I walked into one of my favorite little clothing stores and saw thee most beautiful pair of bright red jeans.

Confession: I’ve recently developed an odd fascination with brightly colored pants. But…

So the time has come this week for another blog, but instead of giving you some pearls of wisdom from my own life (which I will indeed do in a couple of days!! Hang tight!); here’s a blog post (above) that I found today, which was very encouraging and inspiring to me.

Speaking about a very challenging topic- obesity or being overweight or not that fit- which is quite prevalent in teenagers and young adults in the 21st century (I don’t know that facts but somewhere I read that one in two Aussies are overweight!! I can’t imagine the stats for the U.S…); the writer Sarah, who is a reviewer and writer for New Release Tuesday, completely floored me with her personal blog post about her plight and her mission to lose weight. Writing in a very informal way in which I could relate to, this young woman has inspired me to think about the issues in my life and the insecurities that I have believed about myself that need to be given over to God so that He can lead me into a place of rest in Him. While I was starting this blog, I wasn’t even thinking about reblogging a post, until I actually followed Sarah’s tumblr page (was that a coincidence that I did after Sarah’s recent post? Probably not, as God is always working, but that’s another blog post, another topic, and another day!); but God certainly does work in mysterious ways!

Now that brings me to my question to all of you readers… Do what people think about you, your appearance, your habits, your character, your personality, your opinions; do they really matter? Society says a few things about us, ranging from (and I’m paraphrasing here!) ‘you are what you eat’, to ‘you need to sow your wild oats by the time you reach ___ age!’ The world says all these things, and the TV says things too, with advertisements that make us second guess ourselves and try to steer us to buy stuff that we think will make us happy, but they will not in the end. There is a longing, a void that needs to be filled, that cannot be filled with material possessions or food, but only by Jesus!

Opinions of others about you and what people say do matter, in the sense that it is our networking and our connections that will get us far in life, in our career etc; but in the sense of eternity; the only opinion that really matters is God’s. For in Romans 12:2 it says that we are part of this world but not in it. We were created for a specific purpose, and when you know what God has called you to do on this planet, then other people who will tell you otherwise that you can’t, without knowing what God wants for you, are really just talking through their nose! For if God wants something to happen for and to you, it WILL happen, maybe not in a couple of days like you wanted, but in God’s own timing!

With God with us, we can really do the impossible. So the goals you want, the dreams, aspirations that may seem so far out of reach, are in fact in reach when God is right beside you. He will help us regardless if our dreams are lofty or small, regardless if we continuously shoot ourselves in the foot or fall into the pit (involuntarily or voluntarily); God’s love for us is so unconditional it’s daunting and overwhelming!

You know, I don’t know what you’re going through right now. It may be that you are struggling with an addiction, thinking you’re a failure because of a past hurt or regret, or you may just be down because of a goal you wanted to attain by a certain time frame hasn’t happened. Or a family member may have been ill. Or, sometimes you may be feeling the total opposite, you’re feeling on top of the world, without a care, and feeling like you can conquer anything! Just remember that it takes one word, one thought from Satan, one thing that happens wrong that gets us from point A of ecstatic euphoria, to point B of depression. Just know that whatever you are going through God is there and he wants to be our wing man! To be all of our wing men!! No matter what we’ve done, who we are, who we’ve been, who we’re afraid we would or can be, who we’re being told we should be; God is saying to you right here, right now ‘I love you just the way you are, but I love you too much to let you stay that way!’ We all have our faults, yet our faults and struggles should never define us. We are children of God, and we are more than our successes or failures.

But on the flipside, just because we are believers in Christ doesn’t mean we have a free pass to doing whatever we want whenever we feel like it! On the contrary, it’s because of our faith in Jesus Christ that will ultimately create a restlessness inside of us of not wanting to go back to our lives before we knew and fell in love with Him. That’s not to say that while we are Christians, Satan won’t tempt us and distract and tell us lies. In fact the pestering and the ‘white lies’ Satan tells us will only increase. But now we have our secret weapon with us- Jesus, who has conquered the grave! that’s a powerful ally right there! We do in fact know that our fears from Satan, are just lies!

With Christ, we can do anything, but not everything is in God’s plan… that’s a tough pill to swallow, by any means. He is willing to help and guide us on our path, but if a door closes, it’s because God has opened another one somewhere. If our goals fall short, it’s because God says ‘not now, another time!’. He is always talking and giving us advice, through our friends, co workers, family, sometimes through non Christians!! God’s words to us are for the continually development of our character, and though through our life experiences (some of which I will talk about in a later blog) our life views can change; God’s view of us never changes- just read Psalm 139!

He knows us all by name, and each one of us He sees as unique and beautiful. No matter what the world says we are beautiful. In his eyes, the only eyes besides our own that matter; we are beautiful. In despite of everything the world tells us; we are beautiful. Whether wear a size 8 or 22 shirt, or anything in between, we are beautiful. There’s a song by MercyMe, titled “Beautiful” that has shown me that true beauty is not found on the outside, but on the inside. It’s one of my favourite MercyMe songs! But that doesn’t mean we need to stay as we are. Just like Sarah has emphasised in her above blog; our journey of self worth starts with Jesus, and then continues. Note the ‘continue’…

With Jesus, the road called life will be easier, just take His hand and go along with what He reveals to you as important in Your life. He’s been where you have, he’s felt what you’ve felt so trust Him. He is calling! My prayer to each one of you is that you will answer Him, and trust your entire plans to Him. No matter if they sound crazy or silly!

Now a question before I finish up (wow, this reblog turned our to be a blog after all!) What are you struggling with that you need God’s help in? Whatever it is, with His strength, all things are possible! Now that is something to celebrate!

Now I’m off to exercise, but given the almost stormy looking weather outside, I think I’ll just settle for Nintendo Wii!

Til Next Time

Josh.

3 notes 

Fear Is Just a Lie

I was browsing tumblr and following blogs the other day, and I found out Mac Powell, lead singer of Third Day, was recording a solo country album. And I was like ‘ummm, no thanks…’ See I was never into country music per se; just a couple of songs here and there by Carrie Underwood and Point of Grace. And while I do love Third Day and their songs do hold a special place in my heart, as they were one of the first bands I listened to, apart from Delirious?; the idea of Mac going solo, and singing in a genre that may or may not be ‘Christian’, irked me a bit. The band wasn’t splitting up, nor was Mac’s faith in question, but I still felt uneasy. Then I figured out what was bugging me. Fear of the country music genre. Fear that I may actually like the genre, and fear of the types of CD’s I would buy or songs I would listen to if I loved the country genre more so than the CCM genre…Ok, so this blog is about fears. Scary isn’t it? We all have them. Whether they are irrational or rational (but are any of them are?), they all exist. Fear of spiders, snakes, sharks, enclosed spaces, heights, people, physical contact, brussel sprouts, dust, whatever else. And what gives one person the willies gives another person a thrill.

Take me for an example. I have an irrational fear of heights called acrophobia. I don’t know how that happened (probably from watching Wile E Coyote and Road Runner cartoons every weekday when I was in primary school- that’s about 6 years straight!) but whenever I get on a ladder, or even step on a chair to put groceries away on the highest shelf, my stomach gets a bit queasy, and…I’m not sure I haven’t stood up on a chair long enough for me to figure out what happens next- I usually just step quickly down to the safe, safe ground. I agree, this fear does sound a bit irrational indeed! Now what happened on photo day, you ask? Well, when I was in high school (and primary school as well for that matter!) I think I just grinned and beared it, I don’t know. But while I have this thing about heights, another person would go ‘eh, 10, 20, 30 storeys high, no big deal!’. And that is where we are all wired differently. Each person is unique, and I guess each person has their own fear/s which  may or may not be different from the bloke next door. But herein lies the question- where does fear come from? Is it natural, and what does Jesus say about it? Should we just accept our fears as part of us, or as something that can be changed?

There are more than 350 references to ‘do not fear’, in the Bible, far the most repeated command in all of scripture (it was referenced in the Christian movie ‘Facing The Giants’, so I’m not sure if that is true or not! Regardless, the concept of not fearing is a big one in the Bible!). So there is no reason for us to fear. Well, I guess some fear is good, for the right reasons, aka- fearing God because He is Holy… sometimes us worshipping God is due to us being in awe of Him, and being afraid of Him, not because of what He will do to us, for God will never hurt his children, but simply for who He is. God is Almighty, and we are as small as dust, so I guess it’s natural to fear someone so holy and powerful. But what about all the irrational fears, as in fears of things of this world?

Tenth Avenue North is one of my favourite bands at the moment, and leading up to their 3rd studio release titled “The Struggle”, releasing in August; lead singer Mike Donehey has released some study videos, one of which is titled ‘Fear Is Just a Lie’, in it Mike explains where fear comes from. The fear of things such as the long list in the first paragraph, according to Mike, and I agree; is from Satan, who gets you to believe a lie. The root of fear is a lie, when Satan says ‘oh, you’re not good enough’, or ‘if you do so and so, you’ll be happy’. And on the surface, it sounds all nice and pretty, because Satan is also known as the ‘Father of all Lies’. That’s his profession, to tell lies, and make them sound like truth, so you’d think he’d be an expert at that. And Satan could use anyone to tell his lies, even our closest friends, or family, or fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. So who would you believe in such a situation? How would you know what is truth and what is a lie?

Mike then goes on to say that if we can trace each one of our fears back to either a truth of a lie (our fear of spiders, snakes, and other poisonous and health aspects of life may stem from truth, yet our fear of heights or brussel sprouts are from lies…); then the fears from the lies can be countered by God’s Word, which never lies. God is truth, and the Bible speaks truth. So when we know and are in a relationship with Jesus Christ, and have seen and believed the truth, it will be easier for us to spot the lies, therefore, dismissing them before we even have a chance to believe them. And our fears, while some of them still there, will diminish! There’s a song that has hit me to the core explaining this issue, titled ‘Strong Enough to Save’; and in it, Mike from Tenth Avenue North explicitly says fear is just a lie, and goes on to say that there is grace for all of us, and Jesus is strong enough to save us from our fears. What a fantastic and freeing notion!

So, obviously not all of our fears are going to be eradicated overnight. And some fear is good for us, because crazy things like petting a snake and swimming with sharks are just ridiculous (well that’s what I think anyway!). But we can do something about our irrational fears, or fears stemming from lies told to us by Satan. What we can do is pray to God, to reveal to us what we are believing, and to instil in us His Word, His Truth, and His Plans for us. So tomorrow, I’m still gonna be a bit weirded out by country music, and I’m still gonna be freaked out by how high I am off the ground. But that’s ok! It’s all a learning process, and in time, God will help me overcome most, hopefully all of my fears, that are known to me and that are hidden as well!

Here’s a question: what are you afraid of? Is it rational? What are you believing about this aspect in your life- is it a truth or a lie? God is here, ready to take your fears and use them into something good for His Kingdom. Just roll with it, and let Him take over! Who’s with me?

Til next time,

Josh

2 notes 

God Is Not An Elephant

The above link is for the brand new Tenth Avenue North’ single ‘Losing’, off their upcoming album ‘The Struggle’, releasing August 2012 via Reunion Records. I don’t know about you but I love this song. It’s catchy, contains a myriad of instruments, and lyrically speaks volumes. The song can also minister to anyone’s life in my opinion. Now this song has a behind the scenes video to go along with it, which can be viewed here, and in this video, Mike, the lead singer, basically says that God is not an elephant, which on the surface is a bit weird. But let me run with this notion for a bit. There’s a saying that an elephant never forgets. I don’t know where it came from, but it’s there. Then Mike goes on a spiel about how he had a bad experience with an elephant, and how it frightened his 5 year old self a number of years back. But what stuck out for me was how he compared God to the elephant. Mike went on to say that God, unlike an elephant, does forget some things. One thing God forgets, which is pretty significant, is our sin. Whatever we have done is swept away, because of Jesus’ death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection 3 days later. So we don’t have to keep acting as if we need to keep doing things for God, or doing more, or better things, for Him to love and accept us. He already does, and that’s the beauty of grace. We do not ‘do more so he’ll love us’. He loves us, and as a result, we will do good things out of that outpouring of our love for our Heavenly Father.

But more importantly, we cannot judge, and say, ‘oh, this person has done x, y, and z, therefore I will not love them, and I will not forget what they have done. They have wronged me, and therefore, I cannot forgive, as they have put me through so much pain’. Because Jesus himself says to our enemies, or our closest friends and family whom we feel have wronged us, ‘You are forgiven, and your sins are forgotten’, who are we to act like an elephant towards others when God could easily have acted like an elephant to us, be chose not to because he loves us, and ultimately wants the best for us? Here’s a challenge- let us act more like Jesus each day, by refraining from our impulses, and using His strength to forgive others when we at first feel that they do not deserve it. For in Luke 23:34, Jesus said ‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they do’.

We are all strangers in this land trying to live with the world. But know this: that we are not part of the world, we do not have the same values of the world. So let us not act like we are part of this world. Simple? Well, I reckon it’s easier said than done. So what’s the first step in living more like Jesus? There is no easy first step. But here’s one for thought. A prayer: ‘Dear God, help me live more like you. You are not an elephant, You do not judge me for all of my wrongdoings, so I pray that with Your help, I will not be like an elephant. I pray that I will not judge others, no matter how hard it gets. Give me your strength and peace. Amen’

Now, I’m off to eat afternoon tea, but I’ll be back to blog soon.

Until next time

Josh

6 notes 

Tenth Avenue North is one of my favourite bands. Check them out! Mike, their lead singer, is the real deal! Here they are playing their hit single ‘You Are More’, which won an award yesterday for the best Christian music video of the year 2011. The basic concept of the video is how we can come to Jesus with our hurts and our failures, our shortcomings and other things we may beat ourselves up about, and God can and will wash us clean, like how the water washed over the blackboard in the video. Because of what Christ did for us, we can live a holy, blameless and spotless life, and Jesus can be the centre. Like Mike has sung in the video, we are more than our choices that we have made, more than the sum of our past mistakes! What a fantastic notion, that should be celebrated! Hallelujah!

So if you are feeling down today, check out Tenth Avenue North, and read 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. Guaranteed you will feel uplifted! Did it work? I pray to Jesus that it did!

3 notes