Grace, Mercy, Love, Forgiveness, Healing

Have you ever felt absolutely filthy in the sight of God? I have. And just like every other person in this world, I struggle daily with the sin that is the filth that covers my flesh.

I have days where I feel like I'm dragging, and all the thoughts are focused on the doubt of my calling, how I am not "Christian" enough, not Godly enough, to be the leader that God has called me to be, and that my gifts and talents have been made useless by my own weakness and willingness to give in to temptation, anger, and sin. That voice of deceptions tells me, "You're no example. What are you doing up there 'serving the Lord?' You're never going to be good enough." And sometimes I believe it.

But then, there is always some small reminder that puts me back in focus, and gives me the proper perspective.

I sang at church on Sunday, and that morning I was feeling really down on myself. I was wondering how I was going to sing there's only grace, there's only love, there's only mercy, and believe me it's enough with any sort of conviction.

As the music began, I prayed, "Lord, just please help me. Give me peace."

I sang the words, and at the end of the song realized that God had given me a gift through that song, and that those lyrics were speaking to me in that moment, to what was in my heart.

Wow. I didn't expect that.

God never changes. He always forgives. He always shows love, mercy, and grace to us. And that's enough to wash away even the most disgusting filth we could ever get ourselves into. Even if it's for the hundredth time.

Only Grace by Matthew West

There is no guilt here
There is no shame
No pointing fingers
There is no blame
What happened yesterday has disappeared
The dirt has washed away
And now it's clear

There's only grace
There's only love
There's only mercy and believe me it's enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
There's nothing left now
There's only grace

You're starting over now
Under the sun
You're stepping forward now
A new life has begun
Your new life has begun

There's only grace
There's only love
There's only mercy and believe me it's enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
There's nothing left now
There's only grace

And if you should fall again
Get back up, get back up
Reach out and take my hand
Get back up, get back up
Get back up again

There's only grace
There's only love
There's only mercy and believe me it's enough, it's enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
There's nothing left now
There's only grace

There's only mercy and believe me it's enough, it's enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
There's nothing left now
There's only grace

so get back up, get back up again
get back up again

Valleys and Mountains

Thought that I was all alone
Broken and afraid
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me

And I didn't even know
That I had lost my way
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me

'Til You opened up my eyes
I never knew
That I couldn't ever make it
Without You

Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I've been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God

As I travel on the road
That You have lead me down
You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me
I have need for nothing more
Oh, now that I have found
That You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me

I confess from time to time
I lose my way
But You are always there
To bring me back again

Chorus

Sometimes I think of where it is I've come from
And the things I've left behind
But of all I've had, what I possessed
Nothing can quite compare
With what's in front of me
With what's in front of me

-Mountain of God by Third Day

There have been plenty of times in my life when I've felt "broken and afraid." And even though I didn't realize it at the time, God was there throughout the whole thing, because looking back I can see his big ol' footsteps in the sand. He was there guiding me, carrying me. I know there were times when I was lost, and He was there, though I couldn't feel Him.

I heard a sermon recently, and in it the speaker was talking about mountaintop experiences, and going through the valley after them. He explained that there were different ways of looking at a valley experience---you can be in the moment, looking at the valley, and wondering where the way is outta there, or you can look to that next mountaintop, and move toward it. It's all a matter of attitude and perspective. We can choose to wallow in our pain, soak in our despair, or we can say, "This is hard, but things will be better. God will You help me?"

But still, so often when we are going through something, we'll say, "If I only had this, things would be better." I have been guilty of that myself. But slowly I've begun to realize that all of the things that I think I need are nothing, and that the only thing I need is God. He's more than enough.

Jesus came and paved a way for us. It's not the easiest road to walk sometimes, but ultimately through perseverance and faith, we'll see that splendor in front of us. We'll feel that grace and love and might live and in person. How awesome will that be? Won't it make all of the struggles worth it?

Third Day & David Crowder*Band --- What a Show!

I had never seen the David Crowder*Band in concert prior to this show. I must say I was very impressed. David has a way of getting an audience involved (and it didn't hurt here in Abilene that he is a fellow Texan...we support our peeps. ;) ). I had bought A Collision a couple of weeks prior to the concert, and thought it was a good record, but seeing them live, and being a part of a real worship experience was amazing. I loved the song You Are My Joy live and in person. It's definitely a standout on the record, but live it's one of those songs that just draws you in to worship.

After Crowder's set, Tai Anderson, Third Day's bassist, came out and spoke a little bit about his trip to Uganda earlier this year. Children there are being taken from their families in the middle of the night and forced into being soldiers in the country's war. There are some villages where children treck each night to a place where they can sleep safely, without fear of being kidnapped. The story was really moving, and he talked about the work that World Vision is doing there in Uganda for these kids. The AIDS situation there is bad as well.

Then, Third Day came out and rocked the house! They opened the show with Tunnel off of their latest release Wherever You Are. I love that song, and I think that was a great way to open the show, as the white curtain fell down. Their stage lights and what-not were pretty amazing as well...I loved the flames during Consuming Fire! I also loved that they did my favorite song off of the latest record, I Can Feel It, and that they did Consuming Fire and Thief. I Saw the Light with the Crowder guys was off the hook! In fact, the whole acoustic set was pretty stellar.

Here's the full set list, via the Third Day Blog:

Tunnel
Creed
I Got a Feelin'
I Can Feel It
Consuming Fire
Keep On Shinin'
Thief
I've Always Loved You (acoustic)
Your Love Oh Lord / Nothing but the Blood (acoustic)
I Saw the Light (w/ Crowder)
Blessed Assurance
You Are So Good to Me
I Believe
Show Me Your Glory
My Hope is You

***Encore***
Come Together
Cry Out to Jesus
God of Wonders

Overall, I think this was an excellent show, and if you have a chance to go, you should do it! Third Day does not disappoint, and neither does the David Crowder*Band!

I can't wait to see Third Day again. :)


My pictures of the show on Flickr...