Welcome back to Feature Fridays!
Obedience isn’t easy…but is fear holding you back from doing what God has called you to do?
Click below to check out Heather Lindsey’s video on stepping out on faith. Even in uncertainty and doubt, making decisions based on faith can lead to blessings you’d never imagine.
Welcome back to another Feature Friday! (Unfortunately, a day late!)
As we remember the sacrifice Christ made on the cross, let us rejoice in knowing His work is finished, as He declared. When we go through our daily lives, we are fighting from a place of victory, not fighting for victory.
Today’s feature is a powerful animation that depicts Christ’s death on the cross. By conquering death, the Lord has overcome the world, and we can be made new in Him.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
(John 11:25-26)
The profile // about the artist
Norton Hall Band
The pull // why i like it
I heard this song on Spotify, and I absolutely fell in love with it. Beautiful instrumentals–(Love the violin!) Strong vocals. Powerful lyrics.
The message // what it means
No matter what the enemy throws at us, Christ Jesus promises to keep us and sustain us, and He will. The Lord spoke these words, so He will fulfill them. He delights in us, wants the best for us, and can set us free. All it takes is childlike faith to allow Him to work.
When I fear my faith will fail
Christ will hold me fast
When the tempter would prevail
He will hold me fast
I could never keep my hold
Through life’s fearful path
For my love is often cold
He must hold me fast
The call // best to listen if
You need a reminder of Christ’s love and promises for you. I love that this song repeats Christ WILL hold us. Claiming God’s promise is often the first step in seeing it manifest in our lives.
Hey, friends! Are you frustrated with where you are in life? Do you find yourself questioning whether you’re on the right path? Whether you have value?
I’ve been there, and I’m excited to share! I tackle these questions in a new YouTube video below.
Click to check it out!
The profile // about the artist
United Pursuit
The pull // why i like it
A friend of mine introduced me to this band, and I binge-listened to them on Spotify. Needless to say, I was hooked–especially to this song. Its calming melody always brings me into worship and acknowledging God for who He says He is.
The message // what it means
God is faithful and loving, and He is truly enough. Although the world around us, people and circumstances in our lives change, He does not change. His character and promises remain the same, and we can have confidence in that.
“Lord you’ve been faithful to plant the seeds
And you will be faithful to always send your rain”
The call // best to listen if
You need a reminder of who God is. There’s something beautiful in this worship, declaring the truth of His character over and over again…”Though the seasons change, Your love remains.”
Welcome to Feature Fridays–quick insights to fuel and encourage you after a long week!
I came across a wonderful video by YouTuber LeahsEssence on learning how to trust God during the process–not when we get the victory but before we even see any change.
I definitely feel as though I’ve been challenged in this area. I have mostly seen testimonies about how God has helped someone after his or her trial is over. These are powerful accounts of God’s blessings, but I also like to hear insight about what faith looks like in the process–how we can trust God in the midst of uncertainty.
This YouTuber shares her encouraging testimony on how she’s learning to trust God now even when she doesn’t know the future.
Check it out!
If you’re looking for answers from a Christian perspective, submit your question or prayer request, and it might just appear in a future YouTube video or blog post.
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The profile // about the artist
Casting Crowns
Check out previous Casting Crowns #WorshipWednesdays posts:
The pull // why i like it
This song reminds me that following God is absolutely countercultural–in the best possible way. When you decide to accept Christ and trust in Him, you learn not to fear what the world fears. Instead you can be eternally-minded, in peace because of His promises, at rest because He gives you rest, and stable because of His love.
The message // what it means
Ever feel like life gets a bit “noisy”? It often seems hard to know which direction to take because there are so many opinions in our daily lives and online. However, when we have a solid relationship with Christ, we have access to the “voice of truth.” While the world will try to tell you who you are, where you should go, and what you should fear, God’s voice is the one that speaks the truth about your identity and that there is no reason to fear. It’s up to us to reject the voices that take life away from us and listen to the One who speaks life into us.
“Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth”
The call // best to listen if
You’re struggling with fear and confusion. Both are easy ways that the enemy can deceive us and steer us away from the course God has set out for us. But when we worship God and study His Word–when we listen to His voice–we will have victory over the enemy’s lies.
O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
(Psalm 98:1-4 KJV)
I look forward to looking back. I love to understand what I’ve learned in the previous months, what God has been doing throughout the whole process and how my faith has changed. One thing that became more apparent to me recently was the significance of praising God.
At the beginning of the summer, I wrote a blog post called “The Choice,” which you can read here. In that blog post, I spoke about the nervousness I felt starting a new internship but how I was deciding to make the choice to trust God through it, even though I didn’t know what the outcome.
What I learned is that through discomfort God often grows us the most.
I can happily say that I’ve had an incredible experience this summer, and I can only attribute that to Him. The funny thing is that I had a positive experience not because it was easy but because I realized that God was pushing me to grow. I realized that God was in the process of opening doors in my life with new opportunities and relationships. Yet if I hadn’t focused on what He was teaching me, I probably wouldn’t be satisfied in the way that I am. I probably wouldn’t have been able to clearly see the ways in which He was moving in my life.
I learned that I wasn’t supposed to simply sit through any initial discomfort and let it pass. Instead I was to lift up God and understand that He was truly working things together for good. I challenged myself to praise God everyday, especially in situations that were daunting. No matter how I was feeling, I wanted to hold onto one true fact: God is good, and because of that, there is hope, and I am taken care of and watched over.
Reflecting on this, I’ve asked myself: What exactly is it that praise does for us?
Praise is such a powerful manifestation of faith.
We are able to acknowledge God’s goodness and authority in our lives. His glory becomes more real to us. Instead of focusing on our challenges and shortcomings, we recognize the truth that He is able. This truth overpowers any hindrances in our lives. Nothing else matters. Nothing is impossible. Because God is good, and this goodness supersedes everything. When we praise God, it is surrender. It is allowing God the space to do everything He needs to do, instead of us fighting against Him in the midst of His work.
Surrender is understanding that we fall short but that God saves us from our weakness and raises us up in strength.
The enemy doesn’t want to see us acknowledging who God is and increasing in faith, so often he attacks us with thoughts of doubt, hopelessness, and despair–these things that gnaw at us from the inside. However, praise is nourishment to our faith.
Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”
When we praise God, we acknowledge who He is, and we believe in His promises. The Bible has so many excellent verses that serve as examples of this in which God is acknowledged for who He is within His promises:
“But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3 (KJV)
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)
“For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” Psalms 33:4-5 (KJV)
What all these verses have in common is that they display the promises of God that will come to pass–His protection, His goodness, His gift of salvation–and they shed light on who He is: a faithful God, a God who is longsuffering, a God who does things in truth. In a similar fashion, when we praise God, we acknowledge His promises that will come to pass, which we can be confident in because of who He is.
Our eyes open to how God is working in our lives when we praise Him. Praise is a weapon against the enemy’s deception. I once saw a quote that read: “I will see it, when I believe it.” In terms of faith, when we believe God’s goodness–when we decide to come to that understanding and acceptance of what is already true–we will see it in our lives.
You don’t need all the answers to what’s going on. It’s unfortunately in our nature to doubt, to question, to forget what we’ve been delivered from. However, I encourage you to remember that no matter what you’re going through, God is the same, and He is taking care of your burdens.
The first verse in Psalm 98 powerfully reminds us that God has done marvelous things and that He has already claimed victory. As followers of Christ–members of His kingdom–this is victory is for us to claim as well. Don’t allow your emotions to cause you to miss out on what God is doing in your life. Pray and ask God for the faith to trust Him and the ability to surrender everything to Him, and praise Him for all that He has done and continues to do.
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
(Psalm 63:1-7 KJV)
LizMargaret 