Learn From The Night- Sent by Ravens

Life isn't just about the destination. It's about the journey too.

Life, something that thousands of people every day throw away because they don't find any meaning to it. What are we supposed to do when the people we love lose sight of the truth that every second we have to live is worth living to the fullest? It's too easy to fall captive to the lies that the world throws at us about the meaning of life.

Just look at the lyrics to the popular song "It Will Rain" by Bruno Mars. This is exactly what the world wants to tell us about what life is all about.

"If you ever leave me, baby,
Leave some morphine at my door
Cause it would take a whole lot of medication
To realize what we used to have,
We don't have it anymore."

"There's no religion that could save me
No matter how long my knees are on the floor, oh
So keep in mind all the sacrifices I'm making
To keep you by my side
And keep you from walking out the door."

"Cause there'll be no sunlight
if I lose you, baby
There'll be no clear skies
if I lose you, baby
Just like the clouds,
my eyes will do the same if you walk away
Everyday, it will rain,
rain, rain"

According to this song, there would be no point to life without the singer's 'baby'. The world is pushing the idea through our minds that love is all there is to life. Without it, what point is there in living? Another example of this is the Twilight series. At least a dozen times throughout the four movies released thus far, there are scenes where both Edward and Bella lament that without the other, there would be no point in living. At one point, Edward goes so far as to attempt suicide because he thought Bella was dead. If love is the only reason for living, we're in for a world of trouble, because in our fallen condition, the ability to truly love has been lost. All too often, we see stories on the news about love gone wrong with one or both parties dead as a result. Love cannot be the only answer to why we should care about living.


We can't do life on our own. Because of our sinfulness, we would be doomed to a life separate from God, one that truly would be worthless. But because of God's mercy toward us, we don't have to do it alone. He promises to be there with us. And even though it seems like it's not worth it, like there's no point, there is a purpose behind why we're here on this rock called Earth. We learn through the difficult times that life is hard, but it is always worth living. Our life has a grand purpose and meaning, one that is inseparable from the true love that can only come from Christ, the one that gave His life so that we might live ours.

Are you ready to learn from the night? God will never give up on you. You shouldn't give up either.

Sent By Ravens - Salt and the Light

"Salt and the Light" by Sent By Ravens


Hey guys, thanks again for reading. It's been a crazy summer, to put it simply. Between working thirty hours a week at the Aquarium (no complaints about that, though) and several hours a night worth of homework, the summer completely blew by me. It's just another fifteen days and I'm headed back to school for another year of excitement, intrigue, and death. Or something like that. Based on last year, it's going to be awesome.

I'm getting really excited to be back at Cedarville with all my fellow Cedarvillains (yeah, we're all that bad). I'm not sure whether it's got as much to do with starting up classes (and a whole new major) again or catching up with friends as it does getting back into chapel five times a week and getting plugged into a new church family again. I'm really looking for ways to get involved beyond just playing the piano on Sunday mornings so people can get a feel-good vibe about singing and praising, because there's so much more to it than just that.

Just acting out our lives as if we're successful and even spiritual won't cut it. We might be able to fool those around us and maybe even ourselves, but if we're all talk and no action, it's just "a burden from our tongues." Just like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13, it doesn't matter how 'christian' we act in front of others or how many good things we can do. Unless our hearts are truly in the right place- broken and empty at the feet of Christ- it's all for nothing. It's just like the ephemeral mist over the water in the mornings: it's beautiful while it lasts, but it's gone in the blink of an eye. Our faith is only as strong as the words we speak in the truly difficult situations- when it's down to the wire and every word counts.

Is His love really you need? Or do you need the approval of others in your life too? What will you choose?

We Came As Romans- Mis//Understanding

Hey all, thanks again for reading today! Same as last time, I just want to give you a quick warning before you click the 'play' button on my video. If you're not a fan of hardcore music, hit the mute button on this one, because it's a bit more intense than a lot of my other music. The lyrics are included on the video, so you can just read along with it if you choose to do that.

Anyway, I was watching this video today because the band (We Came As Romans) just released this song in preparation for their new album in September, and I'm a pretty big fan of their music (their lyrics are amazing, in particular). But this song specifically stuck out to me today, and I'm sure a lot of people can relate to this. Have you ever felt like no matter what you do, it always ends up just making things worse than they were? Regardless of how you treat people, they treat you like the fool they take you for. Sometimes it just feels like we don't really understand this world, or that we don't even belong.

And that's really the truth about it: we don't belong here. As Christians, we're just sojourning here on Earth for the short years we have in this life. And though we get mistreated and abused, it's up to us to make the most of the time we have here. Luckily, we don't have to do this alone. Like the song says, we have each other to rely on when we're down, and God's always going to be there beside us to bring us through the tough times, even if it might not seem that way at the moment.

For those of you that know what's been going on in my life over the last month and a half or so, this song almost exactly sums up how I've been feeling, so I thought it would be appropriate to talk about today. If you're at the same place I am right now, take comfort in the fact that you're never alone there, and it doesn't have to stay that way.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus- Reap

(Just a quick disclaimer here: As always, when you read my blog and listen to the music I put on here, you're subjecting yourself to two things. The first is my opinion and my take on the world, but the second one is the lyrics and the style of the music, for better or worse. If you don't like what's here, I apologize, and keep checking back because what I'm blogging about today may be way different from what's up the next time, and so on.)



I don't really have anything fancy to talk about right now, but I felt like this song has been on my mind for a while. I've had an interesting few weeks since I updated the blog last, to say the least. My summer's beginning to get pretty busy already, with around 20 hours of work a week and my online classes to keep up with. And I've been dealing with what I don't know how describe any way other than as a small bout of depression or maybe just emptiness. The more hours I work, the more I learn, and the more responsibilites I get, the less I feel like I have to offer to anyone in any significant way, and it's been draining me of any real excitement I've had.

And that's where my song for today comes in. Galatians 6:7 says that "whatever one sows, that will he also reap". Whatever you put into your life is what's going to come back out of it eventually. If you go filling your life with garbage like drugs, alcohol, sex, etc., what do you think is going to come of that? You're sure not going to enjoy it later. The same can go for what may seem like innocuous things like work and responsibilities. If you let yourself be taken over by these things rather than focus on God first, they're going to take control of you and make your life miserable later.

As both the song Reap (the one you should still be listening to) and Mark 8:36-37 say, "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?" What good will it do you if you spend all your life working and slaving away in order to get ahead in this world if you trade away your soul in the process? Or how about the reverse of that even? It won't do you any good to just get by and waste your life on the ephemeral pleasures this world offers. It's what you do about your soul that matters for all eternity. I would never say that it's a bad thing to be ambitious, but never let that get between you and what's ultimately important, because it can only lead to emptiness. You can have the world and all it can give you if you want it, but beware you don't find yourself headed for that space in hell, as the song so kindly puts it.

Breaking Benjamin - I Will Not Bow

Hey everybody, it's me...back from the grave of nothingness that the blog got for the last month. I just figured I'd share a bit of what's been going on for the last little bit for you all. Pretty much the reason I stopped writing earlier is because some things happened between myself and people which kind of took me out of the mood of blogging or getting excited about sharing music in general really. It's not something I talk about much, but this blog post is about what's been through my head lately. I'm not going to bow down and give up just because the problems of life get in my way and try to slow me down.

I kind of brought this up at youth group on Sunday night with our lesson for the night. Each one of us was asked to be prepared with a verse that we could apply to our lives, and because this stuff's been on my mind for a while, I came with 1 Peter 1:7, which says, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." Even though we're going to go through trials and even if they push us down sometimes, we can't bow down and give up because of them. They're there to increase our faith in God, not to drive us farther away from him.

Anyway, I've got a few bits of news for my summer and my blogging in case you're still reading. Since I'm working anywhere from 25-40 hours a week right now and I have a couple online classes for school, I'm going to be pretty busy. I probably won't be updating every other day like I had been doing before a few weeks ago. But hang in there with me, because I've got a few exciting things up my sleeve for the summer. Thanks for reading!

30 Day Song Challenge- Day Ten

Hey guys, I'm sorry about not writing in so long. It's been a pretty rough few weeks for me, just because there's been a lot going on with school and some things that needed dealing with. At any rate, I'm going to return to the 30 day challenge I was working on before I stopped writing. When I left it, I had finished days one through nine. Today's challenge picks up with 'A song you can sleep to'. You're in for a real treat with this song, if you've never heard of it. Philosophically deep and challenging, this song will make you think twice about everything you know about music. You should stop whatever you're doing and pay close attention to this song. And if you feel so inspired, please tell me your impressions in the comments. I really want to hear your thoughts on this one!

Enjoy!

30 Day Song Challenge- Day Nine

Today's challenge is "a song you can dance to". But since I'm a baptist, and baptists don't dance, I'm going to commit suicide now. My blog now belongs to Tim 'SA' Vehrs. (you wish)
Anyway, today's song is "The Feeling" by Kutless. I had a hard time picking this one, just because there were so many good songs I wanted to do for this. Some of the other picks were 'Love Liberty Disco' by Newsboys (epic album, by the way, if you ever have a chance to listen to it!), 'Freefalling' (The Almost's cover of it), and 'Dance or Die' by Family Force 5. But I picked this one because the lyrics caught in my mind for whatever reason.

Just like this blog (at least I hope), there's more to the songs we listen to and sing than just the music. There's a greater meaning behind what we do than what we say, often enough. And just like this song says, we need to show the world that we, as Christians, are real. We don't just play church on Sunday morning and then go back to 'the other six days of the week'. We need to live out our faith every day of the week if we're going to make any difference in the world. Faking it to keep up appearances just tells the world that we're no different than they are. It doesn't meant that we can't enjoy life to the fullest. But we have to be authentic in everything that we do. It's time to stop hiding behind our 'Sunday best' and let the world see how real Christians live, all seven days of the week.

(Recap)
Day One- (Favorite song) 'Everything' by Lifehouse
Day Two- (Least favorite song) 'Baby' by Justin Bieber
Day Three- (Song that makes you happy) 'Amazing Grace(My Chains are Gone)' by Chris Tomlin
Day Four- (Song that makes you sad) 'In The End' by Linkin Park
Day Five- (A song that reminds you of someone) 'Bring Me To Life' by Evanescence
Day Six- (A song that reminds you of a place) 'This is Home' by Switchfoot
Day Seven- (A song that reminds you of a certain event) 'Life is a Highway' by Rascal Flatts
Day Eight- (A song you know all the words to) 'Jesus Freak' by Newsboys (ft. Kj-52)

30 Day Song Challenge- Day Eight

Day eight's challenge is: "A song you know all the words to". And my song pick for today is 'Jesus Freak' by the Newsboys (Ft. Kj-52). It's not the original version performed by DC Talk, but I personally like this remake better than the original. I was working on memorizing this a while back, and it's still stuck in my head. (if you're wondering why I was memorizing it...stay tuned) All of us as Christians should honestly be Jesus freaks, fanatics that aren't afraid to look foolish for His cause. Sports fans get real excited when their team is playing, and they're not afraid to speak up to defend their favorite. Music fans rave about their favorite artist's new album or tour. But how often do we get crazy excited about how God's moving in our church, or in the community? Not nearly often enough, myself included in this.

We need to slow down and examine where we're placing our attention. Is it focused on the temporal things of this earth, or is it on the heavenly acts of God in our lives?

(Recap)
Day One- (Favorite song) 'Everything' by Lighthouse
Day Two- (Least favorite song) 'Baby' by Justin Bieber
Day Three- (Song that makes you happy) 'Amazing Grace(My Chains are Gone)' by Chris Tomlin
Day Four- (Song that makes you sad) 'In The End' by Linkin Park
Day Five- (A song that reminds you of someone) 'Bring Me To Life' by Evanescence
Day Six- (A song that reminds you of a place) 'This is Home' by Switchfoot
Day Seven- (A song that reminds you of a certain event) 'Life is a Highway' by Rascal Flatts

30 Day Song Challenge- Day Seven

Today's challenge is "a song that reminds you of a certain event". The event this song reminds me of is the cross-country drive my family went on ten years ago from New York to California. We moved my grandmother, who was retiring and moving, out to California, driving over five days from one corner of the country to the other. It was a really cool chance to get to experience a bunch of different biomes one after the other. Life on the highway for a few days is a tiring experience, but it's a great learning time as well.

Life is much the same way. On the highway we call life, it's not an easy road to travel. It's tiring at times, and we have to deal with the bumps and bruises that come along with it. But life is also a learning experience, and we can learn from all of the rough patches. God has a plan for every time we experience difficulties on the way, if we will stop and listen to Him. Sometimes, we just have to yield to His voice in our lives so He can teach us another life lesson.

'Life is a Highway' by Rascal Flatts

(Recap)
Day One- (Favorite song) 'Everything' by Lighthouse
Day Two- (Least favorite song) 'Baby' by Justin Bieber
Day Three- (Song that makes you happy) 'Amazing Grace(My Chains are Gone)' by Chris Tomlin
Day Four- (Song that makes you sad) 'In The End' by Linkin Park
Day Five- (A song that reminds you of someone) 'Bring Me To Life' by Evanescence
Day Six- (A song that reminds you of a place) 'This is Home' by Switchfoot

Switchfoot -"This is Home" - THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA

Today's challenge is "A song that reminds you of somewhere". This should probably be really obvious, but this song reminds me of home. Yeah, home. Shocked much? Right now, my home is Connecticut, and before this last summer, it was New York. And in a lot of ways, it still is, although I love where I am now. And I begin to wonder some times where I will call home after college is over and I begin the next stage of life. There's a lot of important decisions upcoming in the next four years, but right now, I'm just trusting in God a day at a time. Switching majors in college is a big step, but I think that I'm being called in a new direction. (Ask about it if you don't know or if you're curious or whatever) One day at a time, trusting in God's mercy that is new every morning.
('This is Home'- Switchfoot)

Recap-
Day One- (Favorite song) 'Everything' by Lighthouse
Day Two- (Least favorite song) 'Baby' by Justin Bieber
Day Three- (Song that makes you happy) 'Amazing Grace(My Chains are Gone)' by Chris Tomlin
Day Four- (Song that makes you sad) 'In The End' by Linkin Park
Day Five- (A song that reminds you of someone) 'Bring Me To Life' by Evanescence

30 Day Song Challenge- Day Five

Today's song is 'A song that reminds you of someone'. This song actually reminds me more of a group of people than a single person, but that's twice the awesomeness. Who does this remind me of? Two of my best friends ever- Savannah and Misty! They're co-authors on a writing project that's been underway for almost two years now, called "Ice Sword Chronicles". We haven't been updating it very much lately, because we're either busy with school or working during the school year. This is one of the things I'm looking forward to the most this summer (besides obviously seeing family and friends at home again): being able to work on ISC with the gang again.

That being said, this song is part of the 'mythos' behind the story we're writing. One of the main characters, Hanna, typifys this song almost exactly. She's basically a trained assassin who falls in love with an innocent guy who gets kidnapped after a confrontation with an old enemy. She and the rest of the cast go to incredible lengths to rescue him, and over the events to follow, she begins to learn how to live life again. Basically, it's epic.

('Bring Me To Life' by Evanescence)

(Recap)
Day One- (Favorite song) 'Everything' by Lighthouse
Day Two- (Least favorite song) 'Baby' by Justin Bieber
Day Three- (Song that makes you happy) 'Amazing Grace(My Chains are Gone)' by Chris Tomlin
Day Four- (Song that makes you sad) 'In The End' by Linkin Park

30 Day Song Challenge- Day Four

(Recap)
Day One- (Favorite song) 'Everything' by Lighthouse
Day Two- (Least favorite song) 'Baby' by Justin Bieber
Day Three- (Song that makes you happy) 'Amazing Grace(My Chains are Gone)' by Chris Tomlin

Today's challenge is 'a song that makes you sad', and I think that this a really good song that fits that theme. Just from the title, "In the End" to the piano intro, you get the feeling that this isn't going to be a happy-go-lucky song. And it's actually kind of depressing, when you think about it. It's a look back on life, and all of the regrets that we hold. Even though we can try as hard as we can under our own strength, nothing really matters when we do it alone. And try as they might, the world cannot explain this outside of God. Unfortunately, many people turn away from Him and reject His love.

(In the End- Linkin Park)

30 Day Song Challenge- Day Three

(Recap)
Day One- (Favorite song) 'Everything' by Lighthouse
Day Two- (Least favorite song) 'Baby' by Justin Bieber

Today's 'challenge' is "a song that makes you happy", and I can't think of many that make me happier than this one does. It's such a great reminder of the freedom that we have through the grace of God, something that we don't deserve and that we could never pay for with our pitiful humanity, or any work that we could do on earth. Paul says that all our righteous works are 'as filthy rags' in God's eyes. We can't earn our salvation, but rather it's a gift. And with it, our chains are truly gone and we've been set free from the sin that "so easily besets us."

('Amazing Grace-My Chains Are Gone' by Chris Tomlin)

30 Day Song Challenge- Day Two

No offense to people who actually like Justina...Justin...Bieber, but I really dislike almost everything about his singing. I can't necessarily say that I like this song less than any other of his, but it's probably the best example of his (terrible) work, so I picked this one. And Justin Bieber is just another one of the young stars on conveyor belt of terrible worldly influences. Just like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Miley Cyrus (etc), what started out as an innocent (as much as anybody can be 'innocent' after the fall) kid was turned into a media attraction. And all the negative influences of the world are thrown at these stars with so much more strength, because they're in the spotlight. This isn't to say that he's doomed to fail, but he's certainly in a position to become a bad influence for the future generation (beyond the tween swooning that already happens).

"What's a bieber?"

"I dunno...kinda sounds like a girl."

RECAP-
Day 1- 3/29/11 (Favorite song) 'Everything' by Lighthouse
Day 2- 3/30/11 (Least favorite song) 'Baby' by Justin Bieber ft. Ludacris

30 Day Song Challenge- Day One

Hey everybody! I figured that, since I write about music anyway, this blog would be a great place for me to start the '30 day song challenge'. For those who don't know what this is, for thirty days, I'm going to post a different song that matches up with the criteria for that day. Here's the actual list, so you know what song matches up with what criteria, if you're actually following this through.

day 01 - your favorite song (3/29/11)
day 02 - your least favorite song
day 03 - a song that makes you happy
day 04 - a song that makes you sad
day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone
day 06 - a song that reminds you of somewhere
day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event
day 08 - a song that you know all the words to
day 09 - a song that you can dance to
day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep
day 11 - a song from your favorite band
day 12 - a song from a band you hate
day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure
day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love
day 15 - a song that describes you
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate
day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio
day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio
day 19 - a song from your favorite album
day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry
day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy
day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad
day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding
day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral
day 25 - a song that makes you laugh
day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument
day 27 - a song that you wish you could play
day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty
day 29 - a song from your childhood
day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year

Today's 'challenge' is my current favorite song. Being the music junkie that I am, I don't stick with a favorite song for very long. But this song grabs my heart every time I listen to it. I'm not sure that I've ever actually made it through the song without tearing up, because it's so moving, especially alongside the skit in the video I attached. I HIGHLY recommend you watch this if you haven't already...and even if you have, watch it again. Now. I'm seriously not writing any more, so if you want a theology moment, get started with that video.

Disciple - Worth the Pain

Hey everybody, I know it's been almost two weeks since the last time I blogged...the last few weeks have been insanely busy. Last week, I don't think I went a day without at least two meetings in the afternoon, not to mention an exam and a few projects. This week is pretty homework-heavy, with two more exams and two presentations to work on. But at the same time, I've gotten to do some pretty awesome stuff the last few days. Friday night and Saturday morning was what's called CedarMania, where junior high students come here to Cedarville for an all-nighter, stuffed with games and really cool messages. I got to be a group leader for a youth group of six kids, which was a whole lot of fun. This year's theme was 'Wanted', and it was basically about how, because of the fall, we're all outlaws from God's truth and His rules. But we're desperately wanted by Him all the same, more than anything we could possibly think of or desire. In a world where self-image is so important, it was a great message for us to hear.

After coming back from my break from writing, I thought that I'd continue my thought from before on the theme of pain. But let's take it another step from the last post. We know that the pain helps us, but the Bible tells us in several places that we are to count it as joy when we suffer. 1 Peter 4:16 says "If anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name." We can turn what is a bad, evil thing into something that praises God. The apostles did this in Acts 5 (v. 41): "Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name." Even though they were imprisoned, beaten, and even killed, they counted their pain as a blessing. How many of us could do that today if this were to happen to us? Or would we reject the blessing of our pain and "Curse God and die" (Job 2:9)

In Second Corinthians 12:10, Paul tells us, "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Even though he had to deal with intense persecution during his ministry, he endured it for Christ's sake. Through his weaknesses, he was able to be more effective than he could through his strengths alone. And we'll never be alone in our suffering, when we are in fellowship with other believers. Galatians 6:2 issues the command, "Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." We are called to be there for our brothers and sisters when they go through the trials of life. With the body of believers behind us, and with God always with us, we're never truly alone in our pain.

Our suffering is for a reason: the proclamation of His name and His Kingdom is worth our pain. Let's be the light in the world by thanking God for allowing us to suffer for His name.

Kutless - To Know That You're Alive

Hey everybody, thanks a bunch for praying for my spring break trip to Nashville this week! (or at least I hope you did...) It was a really good time of helping out people affected by the flood last May (it only got about 15 minutes of coverage nationwide, so you probably didn't hear much about it). The video I shared earlier in the week is a slideshow of pictures from right after the flood happened. Anyway, we got a ton of work done this week and it was totally worth the time spent.

Today, I wanted to blog about this song because there's a whole lot of suffering going on in the world around us. As you (should) know, Japan was hit with a massive earthquake and tsunami early yesterday morning (early afternoon for them). The death toll is expected to be in the thousands right now, and analysts say that the expenses for the damage could be in the billions. Millions are homeless and displaced because of a nuclear power plant's cooling system failure.

I personally know several people that are going through some hard times right now. Whether it be the loss of a loved one, a recent diagnosis of an illness, dealing with new medicines and their side effects, or a rough recovery from surgeries, they have a lot to deal with right now. Life can be a painful process often enough. But it's the pain in our lives that shows us that we can't do it on our own; rather, we need Christ there to help us manage life's difficulties. Like waking up from a dream, we need that 'pinch' to know that we're awake. It's never fun, but we need that pain to know that we're still alive. It's there for a reason.

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." -C.S. Lewis: The Problem of Pain

Nashville Tennessee Flood 2010

Hey everybody, I figured what with not updating the blog the last few days I'd give a quick update on what's up. This week, I'm going to be volunteering with Samaritan's Purse in Nashville (over Cedarville's spring break). I probably won't be updating my blog between now and the weekend, but I might have a few surprises here and there. Who knows?

I'd appreciate prayer for the families whose homes we're working on in the wake of the massive flooding last summer, both that we'd be able to get a ton of work done while we're here, and that we'd be a blessing to them as we share Jesus' love.

3 Doors Down - Citizen Soldier ft. The National Guard

(Dedicated to all those who haved served or are currently serving in the armed forces)

This song has a very obvious message, and a less-obvious, but spritually focused message if you look at it from a different light. And I don't want to detract at all from the original intent of this song, because I appreciate the sacrifices our brothers and sisters make to keep us safe every day, and they are all heroes. When people are in need, they'll be there. They stand on guard so that we can live our lives in safety.

The same, however, is true about our Christian family in many cases. We're all citizen soldiers, "holding the light for the ones that we guide from the dark of despair." We're always there both for our fellow believers, but for the lost and those in need. And the line "the strongest among you may not wear a crown" is incredibly true. There are so many people that put on a show of strength on the outside, but inside they are lost and needy. It is our duty as 'Christian soldiers' to stand up both for each other and our rights and for others who may be impoverished, homeless, hungry, naked, friendless, and without a Savior.

LIGHTS - Saviour

(Thanks to Mike for sharing the awesomeness that is Lights with me) So, where are you right now? And no, I don't mean your physical location...that would be slightly creepy of me. Are you on your knees, praying to the silence that the situation in will change somehow? All of us have the things that linger in the back of our head, calling us to them when we need something to rely in. We can deny that we're in pain to others, but we can inwardly be suffering through a great deal. Even if we feel like we can't share with those around us, we still need someone to talk to about our problems. And that's where our Saviour steps in.

He's the one that we can run to to break free from our chains, whatever they're holding us to. No matter how strong you are, sooner or later you'll need Him. But because He loves us so much, He won't force us to accept or love Him. Things will never change without you making the choice to run to Him.

However, the longer we stay rooted in our broken states, the harder it's going to be to break free and let go of the pain. When we don't give it to Him, the sin and brokenness turns to rust that makes it harder to move from where the pain took over. If we give it to Him, He'll stand us back up on our feet so we can keep going, even though we may often fall back down again. We can always rely on our Saviour to come for us, just like we'll always need His saving grace in our lives.