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How This Woman Became Pro Life Against All Odds
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Sister rock/metal trio, GFM (Gold, Frankincense, & Myrrh), is premiering the music video for their new single, “Where Were You,” at HMMagazine.com. In addition to today’s video premiere, the single (produced by Joey Sturgis) will be released Friday, May 21st at iTunes and other digital outlets. Watch the exclusive video premiere here: https://hmmagazine.com/hm-premiere-gfm-drops-new-music-video-for-where-were-you/ The new video and single aims to bring awareness to the topic of suicide and mental health, and the importance of staying connected to those around you.
“We wrote ‘Where Were You’ with Kellen McGregor from Memphis May Fire and Eric Varnell to remind others to reach out to the people in their lives,” says GFM. “We lost a member of Team GFM a few years ago to suicide, and we know many people have lost someone in their lives due to the same cause. The truth is, you never know who is really struggling or when it’s going to be too late. That’s why it’s so important to check up on people because that one conversation may save someone’s life.”
GFM is not your average teenage girl band. Real-life sisters CJ, Maggie and LuLu are continually breaking boundaries in so many areas of the music industry while spreading positivity with the ultimate goal of reaching people for God with their unique blend of rock and metal. If you enjoy the melodic content of Paramore, and the character themes of Slipknot, then you have found the perfect matchup in GFM. Their musical journey began with 2016’s Identity Crisis, followed by 2019’s Oh, The Horror! GFM kicked off 2020 with new singles in anticipation of their upcoming EP, Operation Take Over. While the pandemic put a pause on the group’s heavy touring schedule, they still managed to hit the road for a short summer run while performing over 20 livestream events that have kept fans engaged.
The group has performed at festivals throughout North America and Europe, while sharing stages with the likes of Breaking Benjamin, Thousand Foot Krutch, Demon Hunter, A Day To Remember, Disturbed, Halestorm, Chelsea Grin, All That Remains, Drowning Pool and more. Their hit single, “Taking Over,” held the #1 spot on the CMW Chart for 4 weeks in a row, while “Graveyard of Identities” and “On the Inside” were both Top 10 hits on the Billboard CHR Chart. To date, GFM has racked up over 1.3 Million streams on Spotify.
The “Where Were You” music video was filmed on location at Castle Otttis in St. Augustine, Florida.
For more information, visit the official website at www.theGFMband.com.
Sister Rock/Metal Trio GFM Premieres “Where Were You” Music Video
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Luke O’Neal
Scar and NailFormat(s): Christian AC
ENCOURAGING WORDS “Email me that!” – Brian Tucker of Christian Mix 106
“I can hear this being sung in churches as a worship song across the country!”
-Crystal Trina Hollowell and Duke White of Current FM
“Such a great song and it was an honor to have you open for us”
-Joseph Rojas of Seventh Day Slumber
“This is my favorite song you’ve ever written!”
-Temple Baptist Church in Chesapeake, VAUPCOMING EVENTS
Ahoskie NC 5/7
Virginia Beach VA 7/24
Portsmouth VA 8/6
Chesapeake VA 9/10
Virginia Beach VA 9/18
Social Media/Music Link: linktr.ee/lukeonealmusic
New Christian Rock Song By Luke O’Neal “Scar and Nail”
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From Abby:
My dad’s name is Clay but everyone in my hometown calls him “Coach”. He’s an award-winning great guy! Everybody loves my dad. He was standing near third base coaching at a tournament out of town when he dropped to the ground in agony. The game stopped and the crowd watched as my dad lay on the ground. He was sure he’d been shot… He hadn’t been shot but some of his internal organs were rupturing. That was just the beginning of my dad’s health journey of one surgery after another. He was in and out of hospitals for years.
My mom is a strong woman, but I remember her breaking down and crying. She said all we could do was pray, although she was preparing for the worst. It was hard for me to watch and understand at the time because I was just 9 years old when this all began.
We went to a hotel and my mom was sitting next to the bedside table. She grabbed the Bible and randomly opened it to Psalm 150. She read it through entirely and called out for all of us to put our hands in the air and praise the Lord. I remember it like it was yesterday. She read aloud to us, “Psalm 150. Praise the Lord! Praise God in his Sanctuary!” And then she said, “I don’t care how any of us feel. He’s with us! God sees us right here.” The amazing part of this is that the hotel we were staying in was called – The Sanctuary! So, when you listen to the song there’s a line that says, “Everywhere I am – There you are!” And it’s based on that very moment.
There is a happy ending to my story. My dad is alive and well! God healed him completely.
Since then, my family and I have dedicated our lives to serving Jesus. We’ve been on several missions’ trips around the world. Honestly, that’s where I met Dave Lubben – out on the mission field. We jokingly say we’ve been in prison together – because we actually were in prison together in the Dominican Republic for an outreach where we handed out Bibles to prisoners while sharing the Gospel. If I hadn’t gone on the mission trip, I would never have met Dave and this song may never have made it to light. My mom and I, Dave Lubben, Tyrus Morgan and Kevin Mac wrote this song. We’ve always believed it to be a special song. We have sincerely and literally prayed over this song. We prayed that it would rush into the lives of broken people and bring them peace and restoration. It is my hope and prayer that when people listen to this song that they will be drawn to Jesus. He is my Sanctuary, and I would love for Him to be yours as well.
This is my Sanctuary story…
Psalm 150
Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his Sanctuary.
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power.
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
praise him with clash and symbols,
praise him with resounding symbols.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
Josh Lauritch | 55 PROMOTION
Introducing Abby Robertson “Sanctuary”
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NASHVILLE, TENN. (MAY 21, 2021) Three-time GRAMMY nominee, three-time KLOVE Male Vocalist of the Year and Dove Award winner Danny Gokey has released a new song, “Stand In Faith,” from his upcoming album. The new, anthemic song is available here and the lyric video debuted today here. Gokey will release a new, full-length studio album on August 20th. This past year has been difficult for everyone around the globe, Gokey has also recognized the challenges everyone has faced and hopes this new album will be an encouragement and reminder of what faith means to each person and how to stand strong in what you believe. Many of the songs on the new album were birthed from what he has learned during this last year and how to look forward with these lessons learned.
“I wrote this song to be an anthem that people can sing over their lives to encourage their faith for the miracles and breakthroughs they’re believing God for,” explains Danny Gokey about his new single. “Faith brings our hopes into reality!! It’s the confidence and trust in God that’s needed to acquire the things we long for but don’t yet see. Faith invites God in to work on our behalf. More now than ever before, faith should be our bedrock & our foundation. I pray this song revives the hearts of many who listen to it and gives them the needed fuel to persevere in any difficult situation.”
The new album follows his widely successful 2019 release Haven’t Seen It Yet, which produced the newly certified RIAA Gold Single, “Haven’t Seen It Yet.” This is his second Gold certified career single, and the song was No. 1 at Christian radio for seven weeks making it his fifth No. 1 radio single.
It was also announced this week that Gokey is nominated for the fifth time for “Male Artist of the Year” for this year’s KLOVE Fan Awards, which is the only Christian music fan-voted award show. He is the reigning Male Artist of the Year from 2019 and has won the category three times in the award show history. Fans can vote here for Gokey and other categories. He will also be performing the Spanglish version of his No.1 radio single hit, “Love God Love People” during the pre-taped broadcast, which will air on TBN on June 4th.
In step with many of the messages of his songs, Gokey continues to give back to the community as he has from the start of his career, which began during his time on American Idol during Season Eight as a Top 3 finalist. His foundation, Better Than I Found It, is a nonprofit organization established to support and encourage other non-profits who are making a difference in their community. Gokey’s foundation partners and walks alongside other organizations to help them move to the next level for the most impact. Learn more about the foundation inspired by his song, click here.
Three-time GRAMMY nominee Danny Gokey has released a new song “Stand In Faith”
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Because in much wisdom there is much grief; and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.
– Ecclesiastes 1:18
A heavy dawn groans into a new day, dragging an underbelly full of yesterday’s burdens.
Like the clouds, I awaken gray. Whiny child inhabiting an elder’s body, my first lucid thought of the day is not one of joyful gratitude at the gift of life, but of overwhelming sadness.
Mostly, I hurt for my family. My children are all entering various stages of middle age. My grandchildren vary wildly in age, from their twenties to toddlerhood. My husband and I cherish all of them like the treasures they are.
We are overjoyed with their successes; devastated by their sorrows. In the hard seasons I awaken in the night to find my husband weeping for his family. We have spent many nights and days in a pain so deep I thought it would kill us.
Then I wonder.
How does my heavenly Father take it?
Of course, He’s God. We somehow equate His power and sovereignty with a certain coldness. He’s anything but distant, however. He is all-present, all-knowing, and all-powerful. Because He’s all-knowing, He absorbs the pain of each sorrow.
Silently.
With us. For us.
Because He’s all-present, He is closer than you could imagine.
He’s listening, holding you – heart and breath and soul – when you don’t even know He’s there.
And because He’s all-powerful, He’s working behind the scenes to give you the best possible outcome, even if you can’t see it now.
How do I know this? God has told me in His Word. And I’m a mom. He has taught me the power and pain of parental love.
In these weeks between our national celebration of moms and dads, I contemplate the divine source of the two strikingly contrasting and complementary roles. Everything good about a mother and a father comes from the mind of the Creator. Parenthood is the dual expression of His nature. He’s tender and gentle, but firm when necessary. He protects us but drives us upward, even when we resist Him. And when our sin breaks fellowship with Him, we never stop being His kids, because we wear His name.
When we hurt, God hurts.
When we find victory, He rejoices.
I remember this as the dark clouds release a gentle rain onto the parched earth. I remember heaviness comes before restoration, a night’s weeping before the joy in the morning. God is here, fully present in our sorrows and longing for us to understand He allows the pain to bring us home.
Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?
– Psalm 56:8
Slightly Obsessed #256: Silently, He Absorbs Your Pain
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Muslim Woman Finds Unconditional Love in Jesus
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![Colton Dixon – Made To Fly [Official Music Video]](https://cmaddict.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/cmaddict-default-01-150x150.png)
Colton Dixon – Made To Fly [Official Music Video]
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At least 35 people were killed, and hundreds left homeless following seven separate attacks on communities in central Nigeria’s southern Kaduna State in the last two months. Through its partner on the ground, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) is providing food and medical aid to victims in Southern Kaduna, including 1,000 people displaced by Fulani attacks at the end of last year.
According to CSI’s local partner, the Justice, Development and Peace Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan (JDPC Kafanchan), the attackers set houses on fire, and destroyed or looted properties. The attacks on mainly Christian villages have been attributed to Islamist Fulani herdsmen. In one community alone, Kizachi Dawai, 12 people died and were laid to rest in a mass grave. In the latest attack on Wawan Rafi where four people were killed, two churches were burnt to the ground, indicating a religious motive.
Hannatu Christopher, 45, and her family had a narrow escape after their village, Kurmin Gandu, was overrun.
“The four of us including my husband and two children were in the house when suddenly we heard gun shots,” she told CSI’s partner. The family managed to escape into the bush. “None of us in the family was hurt but the entire house was burnt down. We lost food, beddings, a motorcycle, some money, and many other valuables. All the crops we harvested were destroyed. Three days before the attack, the Fulani community living with us left the village and they are yet to return, maybe for fear of revenge, but we have no thoughts of revenge – we leave everything to God. We were living happily together before but now we are living in fear and looking to others for survival as we don’t have food and shelter.”
Livinus Yohanna, 47, of Kizachi Dawai, lost his wife and two of his children when the herdsmen invaded his village in mid-March. His home and vehicle were burned to ashes.
“Years back we co-existed peacefully with the Fulani people as friends and neighbors,” says Yohanna, “but today they treat us as enemies even though they are living with us in our ancestral land. They have taught their children to see us as enemies. We no longer feel safe in our ancestral land. We are praying to God that he will one day bring this violence to an end.”
For more information visit http://csi-usa.org.
About Christian Solidarity International:
Founded over 40 years ago, CSI is an international Christian human rights organization, campaigning for religious liberty and human dignity, and assisting victims of religious persecution, victimized children and victims of catastrophe. CSI delivers emergency food assistance, medical treatment, and other lifesaving aid to victims of religious persecution and natural disasters in Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Nigeria, South Sudan, Pakistan, and other hotspots around the globe. CSI is currently the only organization working to liberate Christians and other South Sudanese forced into slavery by government-backed forces during the Sudanese civil war. For more information visit https://csi-usa.org.
Dozens dead, hundreds displaced in central Nigeria attacks on Christians
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Newsboys – Magnetic (Audio)
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Peter responded and said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’
– Matthew 14:28-30
John the Baptist was dead.
When Jesus learned his cousin had been beheaded, He took a boat to a secluded place to mourn. The crowds discovered His whereabouts and tracked Him down, waiting on the shore for His return.
They didn’t care about His pain. Probably no one asked about His loss. As always, the Savior put the needs of the people before His own and healed them.
As the day dragged on, the crowd refused to leave. The disciples asked for permission to send them away, citing the late dinner hour. Jesus instead challenged them to feed the people themselves.
We all know the story. The disciples brought what they had to Jesus, and He multiplied their meager offering to feed the crowd. He sent the people away, commanded the disciples to cross the sea in the boat, and withdrew to pray.
But the day was not done.
While he prayed on the mountain, the weather turned foul on the sea. The boat carrying the disciples was battered by the storm, and the disciples were afraid. Jesus perceived the danger and went to them.
As the wind whipped around them and the waves pitched their boat, Jesus emerged out of the tempest, walking on the water toward them. Not expecting to see Jesus crossing the sea without a boat, the disciples thought He was a ghost.
Jesus called to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter, always the brash one, asked Jesus to call him out upon the water.
Jesus replied, “Come.”
Peter climbed out of the boat and joined Jesus on the waves. But the storm raged under their feet.
What was Peter expecting? Did he think the sea would simply calm because Jesus was with him?
Why had they encountered such fierce weather, anyway, when they were only following Jesus’ command to cross the sea? Not only had the storm not calmed, Peter put himself in danger by obeying the Lord.
Didn’t the crowd receive their miracles? Sure, they did, and so did Peter.
But Peter also learned a lesson.
When Jesus granted his bold request, He knew Peter was unprepared for all that it entailed. Overcome with fear and doubt at the waves, the disciple began to sink into the sea. The Lord pulled him to safety.
The disciple’s mistake, of course, was to take his eyes off Jesus when he realized he had stepped out of his comfort zone. But still, by believing and obeying, Peter did the unthinkable. He walked on water. When he was overcome with doubt, he called out to God and was saved out of his own failure.
Jesus took him back to the boat, stopped the wind, and took them safely to the other side.
What was the lesson Peter learned?
Find the Savior in your storm, and never look away.
The applications for our own lives are many:
- Don’t let our own sorrows keep us from seeing the needs of others.
- Seek God in prayer always.
- Dare to pray bold prayers but be prepared for all that the answer may bring.
- Obedience doesn’t always mean the journey will be smooth.
- Don’t let fear warp our vision of the Christ.
- Never take our eyes off the Savior.
- Be assured we will always reach the other side safely.
What storm are you facing today? Are you content to stay in the boat and wait for deliverance? Or are you willing pray a bold prayer and walk upon the waves?
Whatever you do, keep your eyes on the Savior, always.
Slightly Obsessed #255: Never Look Away
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16 April 2021 – Franklin, TN – Today, two-time GRAMMY Award® and multi-GMA Dove Award® winner Zach Williams drops a new song, “Turn It Over.” Accompanied with a lyric video, the track is now available on all digital platforms and will appear on Williams’ Rescue Story Deluxe Edition, slated for release in June.
“Turn It Over,” an autobiographical song about Williams’ journey of faith, and, as he recently shared, “It feels like a prayer for this current time that has been filled with fear and doubt.” The song was written by Williams along with Jason Ingram and Paul Mabury.
Additionally, “Less Like Me,” his current single at radio, continues to be Williams’ fastest-rising song in his career. It is currently No. 2 on both the Billboard Monitored and AC Monitored charts.
Due to the pandemic, Williams’ Rescue Story Spring Tour was postponed to this fall, but he has been able to get back on the road with his Drive-In Theater Tour, hitting cities across the country. Joined by Mac Powell and CAIN, the tour will run through June. Concertgoers are getting to hear all of his top hits along with newer songs such as “Turn It Over,” “Stand My Ground,” and “Less Like Me.” It’s a show you won’t want to miss! Be sure to visit his tour page for all of the latest tour dates and information.
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Zach Williams drops a new song “Turn It Over”
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NASHVILLE, TENN. (April 16, 2021) – Tim Timmons releases his new album HERE on Integrity Music available today. This special eight-song release is an invitation to encourage the listener to pray and keep a thankful heart throughout the day. “I think if I was going to put a practice or theme to the songs on this record, it would really be ‘What am I giving my attention to? What do we give our worship to all week long?’ It’s about aligning and re-aligning our hearts to Jesus,” shares Tim Timmons about this project.
Timmons kicked off this year releasing the song, “This Is The Day,” which is featured on today’s release and is his radio single currently moving up the National Christian Audience chart. This song reminds the listener to practice thankfulness all day long. And as one who is all too familiar with trials and pain, he takes this song to heart personally.
“I’m now 21 years into a 5-year death sentence with an incurable cancer diagnosis […], one of my primary reminders is to practice thankfulness for another day that I get to wake up,” explains Timmons. “Focusing on Jesus’ nearness in and through our struggles is where we realign ourselves toward joy. I see the gift of cancer is perspective. It’s really the open door to speak into peoples’ stories.”
Timmons has been releasing new music with Integrity Music since 2020. He debuted his first project in 2013 with Cast My Cares followed by 2015’s Awake Our Souls. He has been writing songs for himself and for other artists, including a GRAMMY® nomination for co-writing MercyMe’s “Even If,” which stayed at No. 1 on the National Christian Audience charts for 19 weeks.
“For years I’d heard people all over town talk about Tim Timmons in the most unique way,” shares Andrew Osenga, Director of A&R, Integrity Music. “It has been such a joy to get to know this guy and find that it’s all true, and to partner together to create an album of songs that invites the listener into this same relationship that so many people in Nashville were talking about. This is an album that befriends you and invites you in: To come alive to the heart knowledge that you are seen, valued and loved, and to be present HERE, safe in the love of Jesus.”
Later this month, he will be launching his podcast “10000 MINUTES: The Experiment,” hosted by Timmons with co-hosts Chris Cleveland (STARS GO DIM) and Emmoe Doniz along with some amazing special guests. The Experiment is a weekly deep dive into the adventures and struggles of living out our daily lives WITH Jesus, not for Him.
All of his songs – Timmons calls them prayers – have stemmed from personal experience after spending the previous 15 years leading worship in Orange County, California. He is now based in Nashville, with the past nine years touring full-time around the world.
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Tim Timmons releases his new album “HERE”
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Franklin Boone Performs Switchfoot “Meant to Live” on American Idol 2021
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But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil.
– Hebrews 5:14
We walked through the tall, dry grass with a forester friend as we checked out the progress of the fledgling evergreens on our property overlooking the river valley.
The men sauntered down the hill, intently inspecting the little trees. The friend’s wife followed. I brought up the rear, watching my feet.
In this part of the country, you never know what might be lying in your path.
Toward the bottom of the hill, I heard the buzz and saw the grass part beside me. The rattler had lain quietly while the others passed, and only alerted at my approach.
I shrieked. The snake crawled away. My husband carried me back up the hill.
In north central Idaho live two species of snakes that look remarkably alike to the casual observer. The bullsnake, a subspecies of the harmless gopher snake, has a pattern much like its venomous neighbor, the Northern Pacific rattlesnake.
When threatened, it coils and shakes its tail in warning. A longer inspection reveals this species to have a longer, thinner body and rounder head.
The rattlesnake is fatter, shorter, and more docile. Its head has the characteristic viper triangular shape with the hooded eyes. Its tail has the namesake rattles to warn an intruder. Sometimes, the first alert to its presence is its distinctive, loud buzz. Occasionally, it gives no warning, and you must be able to recognize it before it strikes.
Both snakes are beneficial hunters.
One can kill you.
Satan is compared to a snake in the Bible because of several common qualities:
His predatory nature.
Snakes hunt and feed on the vulnerable.
The ability to camouflage his presence.
Like a snake, he blends into his surroundings to get close to his prey.
His deadly bite.
Satan comes “to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10 NASB)
In our part of the country, it’s imperative to know the difference between a harmless snake and a venomous one. It’s a deadly error to either denounce the innocent as evil or fail to recognize danger ahead. It takes trial and error, success and failure, to discern good from evil.
We live in challenging times. The temptation is strong to either ignore the warning signs or to lash out blindly at those around us. Our challenge is to be as wise as the serpent. Know what is good and what is evil. Be smarter than your adversary. Be as gentle as the Spirit of God.
Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves.
– Matthew 10:16
Slightly Obsessed #254: Be Not Deceived
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The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
– Henry David Thoreau, 1854.
My Southern-born mom put it less eloquently – but more graphically – when she declared, “I’m so low I have to look up to see a snake’s belly.”
It’s hard to get much lower than the dirt. And that’s where the serpent wants us, groveling in the dust as he slithers over us.
Christians are under attack like no other time in history. There is more persecution of believers in this age than ever before. Satan roams the earth, storming homes, churches and families. He feeds on shattered lives, hearts, and relationships while he grows in insolence against heaven.
We have been shaken as everything we believe is trampled under the brutality. Our trust in God’s Word faces its most severe challenge. What happened to all His promises?
Alone, trapped in hopelessness, our people suffer in quiet despair. We can’t even understand the heartbreak happening to us, much less tell someone else.
Just like Jesus’ first disciples.
When the disciples met the Christ, their hopes soared. The majesty and power of the carpenter ignited their imagination. They believed. He was the Messiah, the King of the Jews. They followed Him, watched His miracles, listened to His word, and rejoiced. The Kingdom of God had arrived.
They eagerly waited for the Anointed One to take His throne. Instead, he bled and died at the hands of the executioners, sending a shock wave through the Jewish believers.
He was dead and buried. Like the dreams of His followers.
So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst….
– John 20:19
In their panic, they forgot everything He told them. Imagining they were next to be killed and in complete despair, they trembled behind locked doors and waited to die.
Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week….
– Matthew 28:1
Then the day of promise began to dawn.
True to His word, Jesus rose again. Nothing but the graveclothes of their misconceptions remained in the tomb. The miracle of miracles shattered the desperation.
Slaying the serpent. Raising us up out of the dirt.
Seating us in the heavens with Him.
Slightly Obsessed #253: As It Began to Dawn – When God Invades Our Despair
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When God Invades Our Despair
Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week….
-Matthew 28:1
So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst….
-John 20:19
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” Henry David Thoreau wrote in 1854.
My Southern-born mom put it less eloquently but more graphically on her bad days: “I’m so low I have to look up to see a snake’s belly.”
It’s hard to get much lower than the dirt. And that’s where the serpent wants us, groveling in the dust as he slithers over us.
Christians are under attack like no other time in history. There is more persecution of believers in this age than ever before. Satan roams the earth, storming homes, churches and families. He feeds on shattered lives, hearts, and relationships while he grows in insolence against heaven.
We are shaken as everything we believe is trampled under the brutality. Our trust in God’s Word faces its most severe challenge. What happened to all His promises? Where is the life of victory?
Alone, trapped in hopelessness, our people suffer in quiet despair. We can’t even understand the heartbreak happening to us, much less confess our struggles to someone else. So we hide in the darkness, convinced of the permanence of the death of our hopes and dreams.
Just like Jesus’ first disciples.
When the disciples met the Christ, the majesty and power of the carpenter ignited their imagination. They believed He was their Messiah, the King of the Jews. They followed Him, watched His miracles, listened to His word, and rejoiced. The Kingdom of God had arrived with this Deliverer.
They eagerly waited for the Anointed One to take His throne. Instead, he shocked them by dying at the hands of the executioners. All they hoped and believed died with Him
In their panic, they forgot everything He taught them. Imagining they were next to be killed and in complete despair, they trembled behind locked doors and waited to die.
Then, it began to dawn.
True to His word, Jesus rose again, conquering death in a single moment. Nothing but the graveclothes of their misconceptions remained in the tomb. The miracle of miracles shattered the desperation, killed every lie of the serpent, and raised them up out of the dirt.
Now they understood. God had planned it all. At no moment were they ever out of His hand. Even in their deepest night, He carried them toward the greater dawn of a new forever, better than anything they could have imagined. And nothing was lost except their fears.
This Easter morning, the tomb still lies empty. The risen Savior still reigns over this earth and every single moment of our lives. He will give us strength for today as He crushes the enemy under His feet through our acts of faith.
The serpent is defeated. Arise from the dirt.
Dawn is coming.
The Lord has risen indeed…!
-Luke 24:34
Slightly Obsessed #253: As It Began to Dawn
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TobyMac – Help Is On The Way (Maybe Midnight)
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Disciple – Best Thing Ever (Lyric Video)
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for KING & COUNTRY – amen (Official Music Video)
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