This Day...

Here are the lyrics to John Waller's catchy tune, The Blessing:

Let it be said of us
While we walked among the living
Let it be said of us
By the ones we leave behind
Let it be said of us
That we lived to be a blessing for life

Let it be said of us
That we gave to reach the dying
Let it be said of us
By the fruit we leave behind
Let it be said of us
That our legacy is blessing for life

This day
You set life, you set death right before us,
This day
Every blessing and curse is a choice now
And we will choose to be a blessing for life

Let it be said of us
That our hearts belonged to Jesus
Let it be said of us
That we spoke the words of life
Let it be said of us
That our heritage is blessing for life

For your Kingdom, for our Children
For the sake of every nation

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May all of these ring true as the Day of the Lord draws near.

Rush of Fools

Rush of Fools is an up-and-coming Christian music band that formed out of my alma mater, Auburn University. Check out the lyrics to their hit single, Undo:

I’ve been here before
Now, here I am again
Standing at the door
Praying You’ll let me back in

To label me
A prodigal would be
Only scratching the surface
Of who I’ve been known to be

Turn me around, pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, I need Your help I can’t do this myself
You’re the only one Who can undo what I’ve become

I focused on the score
But I could never win
Trying to ignore
A life of hiding my sin

To label me
A hypocrite would be
Only scratching the surface
Of who I’ve been known to be

Turn me around, pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, I need Your help I can’t do this myself
You’re the only one Who can undo what I’ve become

Make every step lead me back to
The sovereign way that You

Turn me around, pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, I need Your help I can’t do this myself (Jesus)
You’re the only one who can undo
You are the only one who can undo
You’re the only one who can undo What I’ve become

Context is Everything

In John 7:37-38, we read: "On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'If anyone is thirsty, let Him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘streams of living water will flow from within Him’'."

This is impossible to understand in full if you don't know the context surrounding these events, so here it is:

It’s the great event of the Jewish calendar. Rabbis used to say that if you’ve never rejoiced at the Feast of Tabernacles, then you’ve never rejoiced. It was of great value to be at the Feast of Tabernacles and to see the ritual – in remembrance of the water from the rock during the Exodus (Numbers 20:2-13) – that would take place. For seven days the priests would go to the Pool of Siloam and they would be carrying golden pitchers; they would fill those pitchers with water and then make their way through the streets of Jerusalem towards the Temple courts and they would be singing songs of praise to God. The streets would be crowded with tens of thousands of people from all over Judea and Galilee and the Diaspora, or Dispersion, who would make their way to Jerusalem. On those seven days, they would gather in the streets to watch this procession as the priests carried these golden pitchers towards the Temple. And then one of the priests would take the pitcher and pour out water and a regular offering of wine before the Lord, beside the altar of sacrifice in the Temple where the daily sacrifice would be offered. This was to symbolize the blessings of the Messianic Age, when life-giving water would stream out over all the earth, just as the water flowed from the rock in the wilderness. And the people of God would wave their branches and they would cry out, “God is our Savior; let us draw water from the wells of salvation.” And then on the last day of the feast, having done this once on day one, twice on day two, etc., they would go around the altar seven times, and thenthe chosen priest would pour out the water and wine before the Lord by the altar. And he would raise his hand and the whole congregation would fall silent. It was the climax of the Feast of Tabernacles. And at that moment of silence on this occasion, Jesus stands up and shouts, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." Can you imagine it? “Whoever believes in Me as the Scripture has said, ‘streams of living water will flow from within Him.’” Other translations render the quote this way: “Out of His heart will flow rivers of living water.” So in essence, Jesus is saying, "Only I can fulfill this reality - I am the true Rock from which the water of life flows." And in order to illustrate His claim from the Scriptures, He alludes to a passage - commentators disagree over which one - Isaiah 12:3; 44:3; 55:1; 58:11; Zechariah 14:8, and applies it to Himself. Jesus is saying, “Moses offered pictures and symbols, but I offer the reality. This Feast of Tabernacles ritual that you’ve been doing for centuries is all about Me!”

Wimpy Preachers / Temptation to Compromise the Gospel

Kudos to Southeast Christian's Dave Stone for his message, "In God We Trust?" on Sunday, July 1. Preaching from Psalm 33, Stone opened his heart, confessing the temptation that he faces to water-down the Gospel, to preach only on topics that would draw attendance, and to avoid controversial issues, etc. He reaffirmed his priority to stay the course in preaching the Bible, staying true to God's Word, and he received applause for his promised faithfulness.

Stone also declared himself to be patriotic, regarding America, but he pledged his allegiance first and foremost to God, to Jesus Christ. Stone acknowledged the downslide of America over the past 40 years and mentioned that part of the contribution to this sad truth lies in wimpy preachers refusing to preach a message of sin and repentance, giving in to the culture and compromising the Word of God.

Finally, Stone noted that the nation of Israel experienced cycles of blessing, sin, judgment, and repentance in its history, akin to the time of the Judges; and he offered two Biblical solutions that could lead to the alleviation of this downward spiral for America - for any nation whose God is the Lord: first, there is judgment and punishment through the giving over of a people to their sinful desires; but second, in 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says these words:

"If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Let's pray a prayer of thanks for Dave Stone and the ministry outreach of Southeast Christian Church. Let's pray that God would continue to work positively through Stone, Kyle Idleman, and the great number of ministers and teachers that serve under their leadership. And let's pray for our nation, seeking God's face and repenting of our sin. For then, God will hear and forgive and heal our land. May God bless America.