Disclaimer: I started this post Sunday, attempted over the past few days to organize it a bit more, may or may not have succeeded...but still wanted to share :)
Hello all! It is a somewhat lazy afternoon at the Perry household. After our church service this morning, we were able to have lunch with some good friends (who feel more like family) from church. Then we made a quick Kroger run to get food for Community Group tonight and then partook in an afternoon nap. Amen. I just wanted to write a bit about a few things on my heart. It may or may not take long...we shall see :)
This is a song that has become very dear to me. I can't remember when I first heard it...it may have been at church or on Pandora. Either way, from the first time I heard it, I was intrigued, challenged, convicted, thankful and it drives me to worship every time I listen to it or sing along with it. It is by All Sons and Daughters and is called All the Poor and Powerless. You can listen to it here. And here are the lyrics:
All the hearts who are content
And all who feel unworthy
And all who hurt with nothing left
Will know that You are holy
And all will sing out
Hallelujah
And we will cry out
Hallelujah
Shout it
Go on scream it from the mountains
Go on and tell it to the masses
That He is God
We will sing out
Hallelujah
And we will cry out
Hallelujah
All the poor and powerless, And all the lost and lonely...Well, that's me, that's us, that's every human being and the spiritual state that we are in without Christ's grace, His strength, His salvation, and His companionship. And you know what else? That's people that you see walking along the side of the road dressed in dirty clothes and maybe barely making each step, or someone sleeping on a bench in the park that you run through each morning, or the single mother having to decide each month how to make money stretch through bills and also feeding her children, or the friend you may have who refuses to even discuss anything about the God you worship- poor, powerless, lost, lonely...or it's you, both spiritually and physically. How interesting...did you catch that? The spiritual state that we are all in, if not for Christ, is also the physical and even mental state that so many who we often turn a blind eye toward are living in every day. If that doesn't pierce your heart... Proverbs 14:20-21 says:
Hello all! It is a somewhat lazy afternoon at the Perry household. After our church service this morning, we were able to have lunch with some good friends (who feel more like family) from church. Then we made a quick Kroger run to get food for Community Group tonight and then partook in an afternoon nap. Amen. I just wanted to write a bit about a few things on my heart. It may or may not take long...we shall see :)
This is a song that has become very dear to me. I can't remember when I first heard it...it may have been at church or on Pandora. Either way, from the first time I heard it, I was intrigued, challenged, convicted, thankful and it drives me to worship every time I listen to it or sing along with it. It is by All Sons and Daughters and is called All the Poor and Powerless. You can listen to it here. And here are the lyrics:
All the poor and powerless
And all the lost and lonely
All the thieves will come confess
And know that You are holy
And know that You are holy
And all will sing out
Hallelujah
And we will cry out
Hallelujah
And all the lost and lonely
All the thieves will come confess
And know that You are holy
And know that You are holy
And all will sing out
Hallelujah
And we will cry out
Hallelujah
All the hearts who are content
And all who feel unworthy
And all who hurt with nothing left
Will know that You are holy
And all will sing out
Hallelujah
And we will cry out
Hallelujah
Shout it
Go on scream it from the mountains
Go on and tell it to the masses
That He is God
We will sing out
Hallelujah
And we will cry out
Hallelujah
I don't know what it is, but that song just does something to me...It has everything to do with Jesus and who He is. It's a lot of things like I listed above...challenge, conviction, gratitude...It may not be the same for you but let me share why it penetrates my heart.
All the poor and powerless, And all the lost and lonely...Well, that's me, that's us, that's every human being and the spiritual state that we are in without Christ's grace, His strength, His salvation, and His companionship. And you know what else? That's people that you see walking along the side of the road dressed in dirty clothes and maybe barely making each step, or someone sleeping on a bench in the park that you run through each morning, or the single mother having to decide each month how to make money stretch through bills and also feeding her children, or the friend you may have who refuses to even discuss anything about the God you worship- poor, powerless, lost, lonely...or it's you, both spiritually and physically. How interesting...did you catch that? The spiritual state that we are all in, if not for Christ, is also the physical and even mental state that so many who we often turn a blind eye toward are living in every day. If that doesn't pierce your heart... Proverbs 14:20-21 says:
"The poor is disliked even by his neighbor, but the rich has many friends. Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor."
Am I saying that everyone always dislikes the poor and shame on you? No. Is it convicting to me to think about how I really view the poor, and think about how, if I really care as much as I say I do, what am I doing about it? Absolutely. But let's keep going... All the thieves will come confess...I love the lifestyle change that this portrays. If you think about characteristics you would use to describe a thief, I highly doubt that you would talk about how one would readily confess. But that's what happens when the Lord changes a life. There is a change. A deep change. A character change. And know that You are holy. Oh, to know that He is holy. If you know Christ, then you know that He is holy. You can't help but know. If He wasn't, then why would you want to follow Him? Scripture repeatedly reminds us of the holiness of God.
(Isaiah 6:3- "And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!'"; Isaiah 43:15- "I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.") And even if you deny it, it doesn't change His holiness. He's still holy.
Now go back and think about the people you may have had in your mind when you read the previous lines of the song...and think about them coming to know His holiness. If you are a believer, think back to when that was your spiritual state- poor, powerless, lost, lonely...What did it do when you came to know of God's holiness? If only words could describe....How beautiful it is to be and to see a sinner set free from the bondage of sin and come to know the holiness of God! It makes you want to just shout right? Hmm...let's see about those next lines...
And all will sing out, Hallelujah, And we will cry out, Hallelujah- I don't know about you, but when I read or sing those words, there are exclamation points in there! Hallelujah! Psalm 96:9-"Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth!" Psalm 99:9- "Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!" Hallelujah, praise God...He is holy!
The song then continues with examples of others physically, mentally and spiritually in need of God and His holiness- All the hearts who are content, And all who feel unworthy, And all who hurt with nothing left, Will know that You are holy
I love the next part of the song...it is the natural response to all of the previous lines. Shout it, Go on and scream it from the mountains, Go on and tell it to the masses, That He is God (!) Fellow believer, does that resonate within you? There is overflow there. God's Word says, "...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34b) I long for my heart to be filled in that way, so that the overflow is praise to God and then sharing of the gospel. Shouting it, screaming it, wanting to tell the masses. I love how Psalm 96:9 continues into the first part of verse 10 "Say among the nations, 'The Lord reigns!'..." Psalm 66:1-4 says, "Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of His name; give to Him glorious praise! Say to God, 'How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies come cringing to You. All the earth worships You and sings praises to You; they sing praises to Your name."
Too often I see telling others about God and who He is as something that I should do as a Christian, rather than something that is or should be a natural overflow of my heart. The Lord has penetrated my heart to its very depths. He has rescued me out of the miry pit of my own filth and loosened the bonds of sin. He died so that I could live set free. He rose from the dead. I serve a LIVING Savior. I am the most wretched of sinners, yet He has covered me with grace and clothed me with His righteousness and presents me as holy. I am not good. He is. I am not perfect. He is. That's well worth declaring! His glory should not be kept quiet. How can I see people all around me living in bondage to sin or as poor, powerless, lost, lonely, unworthy, and hurt and not tell them about the God who is rich in love, powerful, the Way, desires a relationship with us, completely worthy, and the Healer?? Who am I to keep that to myself? What kind of testimony am I giving of a mighty God if I am not overflowing about Him? I am so thankful that my declaration of His glory is no indicator or measure of how glorious He is...but oh, how I am missing out if I don't take part in sharing it!
I know this is a rambling post...and I'm sorry I'm late in posting it. I've tried what seems like a million times over the past couple of days to organize my thoughts more clearly, but I didn't really succeed in that and that is ok. I just want to be diligent and consistent in sharing about God and what He is doing in my life. My heart has been so burdened lately for the poor of my area, whether poor in spirit or physically poor. I long to see people as God sees them. I long to desire for their soul to be saved and for them to know Christ. I long to daily long for it so much that I can't help but declare Him to those I come in contact with.
Shout it.
Go on and scream it from the mountains,
Go on and tell it to the masses,
That He is God!
We will sing out
Hallelujah
And we will cry out
Hallelujah!
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