01/11/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Don’t be ashamed to wear your crown

“I hate when I look in my closet and find clothes instead of Narnia.” H.B. Bolton

The song GOLD by Britt Nicole carries a great message for her audience. In summary: for all the girls and boys all over the world, it doesn’t matter what you’ve been told, you are worth more than gold. In fact, you’re a king, a queen, inside and out. Don’t be afraid to hold your head up high and wear your crown. (Full lyrics and a great film clip are below)

I can’t help thinking that this is the very same message C.S.Lewis brings to children (of all ages) in his adventures to Narnia. In Aslan’s realm, the children are crowned as rulers over the kingdom, with special gifts and talents given them. They are afforded great power and respect from all creatures.

“To the glistening eastern sea, I give you Queen Lucy the Valiant. To the great western woods, King Edmund the Just. To the radiant southern sun, Queen Susan the Gentle. And to the clear northern skies, I give you King Peter the Magnificent. Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia. May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Yet back through the wardrobe, back in ‘reality’ they are simply children, children who should be seen and not heard. In this reality we adult humans can see ourselves in this way, as very ordinary people, accidents of biology, mere vapours. We can be despondent about our very existence, and become dependent on the affirmations of others. We can think we must impress others to ‘justify our own existence’. (Have you seen that awful bumper sticker?) We need to remember the reality of the spiritual realm, of God, and the intent God had for us, for the creatures he made in his own image. We were designed to be his image-bearers, designed to give glory to him as we display his character for all to see. (If you are not yet convinced of the existence of a Creator and the spiritual realm, check out this book – “Rumours of another world” – Max Lucado)

The Lord has crowned us as rulers over creation:
“What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him?
You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet.” (Hebrews 2:6-8)

He has Crowned us as co-heirs with Christ, if we are in Christ. We are stunningly individual and unique people who all play a vital role within His Body here on planet earth (see 1 Corinthians 12).

We are to shine like stars as witnesses to those in the heavenly realms:
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing,so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.” (Philippians 2:14-16)

As Britt Nicole would say, we shouldn’t be ashamed to wear our crown. Don’t wait for the world to affirm your existence. God made you, for a reason.

GOLD

Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh

You were walking on the moon, now you’re feeling low
What they said wasn’t true, you’re beautiful
Sticks and stones break your bones, I know what you’re feeling
Words like those won’t steal your glow, you’re one in a million years

This is for all the girls, boys all over the world
Whatever you’ve been told, you’re worth more than gold
So hold your head up high, it’s your time to shine
From the inside out it shows, you’re worth more than gold (Gold gold, you’re gold)
You’re worth more than gold (Gold gold you’re gold)

Well everybody keeps score, afraid you’re gonna lose
Just ignore they don’t know the real you
All the rain in the sky can’t put out your fire all the stars out tonight, you shine brighter

So don’t let anybody tell you that you’re not loved
And don’t let anybody tell you that you’re not enough
Yeah there are days when we all feel like we’re messed up
But the truth is that we’re all diamonds in the rough
So don’t be ashamed to wear your crown
You’re a king you’re a queen inside and out
You glow like the moon, you shine like the stars
This is for you, wherever you are

So don’t be ashamed to wear your crown You’re a king you’re a queen inside and out

You may also like Britt Nicole’s STAND

And these other posts:

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam – or maybe a firework It’s always a good time

24/10/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Rising Sun (All Sons and Daughters)

Here is another song from All Sons and Daughters. Again the lyrics have a beautiful Psalm-like quality. As you may know, I’ve embarked on a quest to find singable contemporary Psalms. Suggestions are most welcome. Enjoy!
(Scroll down for youtube link with lyrics).

Rising Sun

Praise Him all you sinners, Sing oh sing you weary
Oh praise Him all you children of God
We lift high His glory, Shown throughout our stories
We praise Him as the children of God

Our great redeemer, Glorious Savior
Your name is higher than the rising sun
Light of the morning, You shine forever
Your name is higher than the rising sun
Your name is higher than the rising sun

Praise His name forever, Speak it loud and clear now
Oh praise Him all you children of God

Our great redeemer, Glorious Savior. . .

Hallelujah, Name above all
Simply to speak Your name is praise
Hallelujah, Now and always
Forever we lift Your name in praise
Hallelujah, Our God, You reign
Simply to speak Your name is praise

Our great redeemer, Glorious Savior. . .

Hallelujah name above all
Hallelujah name above all
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Learn more about the Album Sons & Daughters Live

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Great are You, Lord (All Sons & Daughters) The Bible’s Songbook

18/10/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Great are You, Lord (All Sons and Daughters)

GREAT ARE YOU LORD
Written by: Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan, David Leonard (All Sons & Daughters)

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore
Every heart that is broken
Great are You, Lord

It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise to You only

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore
Every heart that is broken
Great are You, Lord

All the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Great are You, Lord

You can find the lead sheet for this song on CCLI. (Hope to try it at church! It has a very Psalm-like quality!) Find out more about the album All Sons & Daughters Live. You may also like their song Come to Save us which could be great for a Christmas special.

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Why do we sing about wrath? Angels long to understand the story of grace

11/10/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

10 Big Daily Reminders

This is a post I found at Desiring God. It is a great summary of the things we are so quick to forget (overnight)! We now have several copies around the house. Enjoy.

Ten Big, Daily Reminders by Matt Reagan | March 20, 2013

I wake up lost every morning. At least that’s what it feels like. Perhaps something similar is true of you. Somehow during the night I’ve forgotten the big realities about God and the universe and myself and the gospel. I desperately need to steady myself with biblical truth rather than stumbling forward to live from unbelief.
I tend to forget the big realities during the day as well. I regularly catch myself living on the idiotic assumption that I will constantly remember the things that really matter — and that I will act in line with them. I assume that the realm of the seen and touched will not overwhelm the realm of the unseen and hoped for.
But in reality, whether it’s night or day, I don’t stay awake to what’s truly important for very long. I am like that college kid who sits in church on Sunday morning trying to keep his eyes open after an irresponsibly late Saturday night. My eyelids droop by default, and my mind wanders from the glories of the Bible to superfluous, naturalistic daydreams (that may or may not end with an embarrassing full-body twitch that snaps me awake again). So I’ve learned over time to put structures in place that remind me of those unseen things, especially during my bleary-eyed, half-conscious mornings. One effort is this list of ten truths. I hung it up next to our dining room rocking chair (my preferred spot for study and contemplation). It’s developed over the years as a list of the daily reminders I need most. Many of them overlap substantially, but a double reminder only reinforces the original purpose.

1) God exists. (Exodus 3:14; John 8:58)

It seems so simple, so basic, but I tend to wake up a naturalist, and a narcissistic one at that. I assume that all there is in the world is what is in front of my face. My bed, my wife, my kids, and most importantly myself. The simple yet ultimate existence of God immediately clears my lens, makes me small, and infuses meaning into every step. God exists — and that changes everything.

2) God loves you. (Romans 5:8; John 16:27; Jeremiah 32:40–41)

Another massive biblical reality, this immediately counters my hesitation to embrace God’s ultimate authority, reminding me that he has set his affections on this little speck of a person. He is far from indifferent toward me.

3) Jesus died for you, and the Father has now bound himself to give you only good things. (Romans 8:28; Romans 8:32)

This draws me quickly to the central reality of all history: the cross. It is an objective truth set in time and space, so it immediately draws my gaze away from my own capacity to garner acceptance from God through my efforts. Furthermore, the outworkings of the cross make clear that even the harshest trials will come to me as blessing, for my ultimate good, no matter how bad I feel at the time.

4) God sees you as perfect. (Hebrews 10:14; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

My self-absorption, anxiety, and self-pity know no bounds. They must be beaten into submission by the beauty of imputed righteousness. The question, “How am I doing?” is met head-on with the answer, “Perfect.” In that regard, every day is a good day.

5) That is because of Jesus’ perfection, not yours. You deserve hell. (Romans 3:10; 1 Timothy 1:15)

There are two main purposes here: first, to counterpunch when my flesh looks for a way to subtly claim credit for the perfection that is mine only in Jesus; second, to maintain a sense of trembling gratitude for my salvation. While I enjoy the glory of the gospel, there should always be an awestruck voice in the back of my mind that is whispering, “I shouldn’t be here.”

6) You will die. (James 4:14, Hebrews 9:27)

Nothing brings clarity to me like this simple and straightforward reminder. How quickly I assume my earthly immortality, and how often I need to think of myself as a terminal cancer patient.

7) You will live forever in the new heavens and new earth. (Romans 8:18, Hebrews 10:34)

I don’t want to be a clear-headed fearer of death, like some atheistic poet. I want to glory in the guarantee of indescribable bliss that is just around the corner. And I want to live like it’s real — because it is.

8) For now, you are an exile on the earth. (Hebrews 11:13–16)

This keeps me from feeling at home when I’m not at home (especially in my own home). It prepares me for not fitting in, for weird looks when I speak with conviction about Jesus, and for holding loosely to every bit of earthly life.

9) Nothing on earth is truly worth putting your hope in. (Jeremiah 2:13; Galatians 6:14)

This is a practical specification of #8. It is right for me to remember that I will inevitably be disappointed by every earthly pursuit or relationship or emotional experience. It runs me back to my true Home and the true Bridegroom.

10) You have no right to be unhappy. (Philippians 4:4; 1 Peter 1:8–9)

This is a summarizing application of all the previous reminders, but it merits its own slot. How quick I am to become “blah” when there is a treasure trove of happy reality at my disposal! I must beat this into my discontent little brain. I can be plenty unhappy, but I have no right to be.

These reminders flee from my mind like stray socks in an armful of laundry. Every time I pick one up, another falls. By the time I read #10, #1 is beckoning again. What a grace that #4 is still true!

You may also enjoy:

Song of the Morning (at A Needed Word)

Why wouldn’t we remember Christmas? Is Your Smart Phone making you dumb?

30/09/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Grace dispels fear through the promises

John Piper “The Power of a Superior Promise” from Solid Joys Devotionals

12/09/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Is He really making a list, checking it twice?

Yes, Christmas is still several days away (well, 15 Saturdays at least), but I was revising some posts on Christmas and Christmas songs which I had shared in the past, and found this post (borrowed from My Broom). It contains some really encouraging thoughts about how God sees us, in defiance of a popular song about Santa. You know the one, where he makes a list, checks it twice, and will certainly find out who is naughty or nice.
Some of us mistakenly slip into thinking about God this way – that he is keeping a list of whether we are doing good or bad, and is completely discouraged by our lack of faithfulness. But God has moved to us with pure grace in Christ! This post also serves a reminder for me in parenting: at Christmas time we have the opportunity to tell our children that our gifts (to them) are not based on merit (and won’t be taken back if they are naughty!). Rather, they are gifts of GRACE and love – just like the gift of new life in Christ.

“IS GOD MAKING A LIST?
Having entered into the joy of salvation, many Christians spend the rest of their lives in a fearful and frantic state of trying to ensure they don’t lose it. They have tasted the Lord and found that He is indeed good, but their knowledge of the work of Christ is either incomplete or incorrect, and so they focus their efforts on staying in His favour ~ (not losing their salvation).
For those who have been taught that Christ bore your sins up to the moment you repented and then put the load of obligation to live righteously straight back on our shoulders, I would say this ~ ‘you don’t have to live a moment longer worrying if you are living your life well enough to keep God satisfied’.
It doesn’t matter how well you live your life ~ you will never be able to maintain your salvation by your good works, our salvation rests squarely on the work of Christ both for its inception and for its maintenance. We do not drift in and out of salvation according to whether we have keep our list short and repented of every sin we can think of. No, No, No, we have crossed over from death to life… to think otherwise would be to lift from us the curse of sin, only to place back on us the curse of fear.
The writer of Hebrews expands on this in chapter 4 and verse 10; he says; “For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own works, just as God did from His”. Have you ever thought that Christ has also rested from His work on the cross? When Christ said; “it is finished” He meant the entire problem of sin was finished for those who fix their eyes on Christ and Him crucified.
The only thing that remains is for us to live in the assurance of our completed salvation by faith, Hebrews calls this ‘rest’, it is a completely new way of living, one of boldness and confidence, based entirely on Christ. Some will say that I am advocating a license to sin, hardly, I am advocating that we don’t have to sin any longer because Christ has given us righteousness… we are free to live from the sheer joy of knowing that God doesn’t keep a list.
I’ve tried to live the yo-yo life of pleasing God by watching every step I take, it’s exhausting, it’s crushing, it’s dis-empowering. Now I spend my day focused on Christ’s goodness and not my own, and if I trip up I don’t get stressed, I just rest in the fact that all my failings were crucified with Christ.”

Praising God makes our joy complete

We all know that self-praise is no praise at all – and seeking the praise of others is even worse. Nothing sounds so bad as someone describing or complaining about all their great efforts and actions simply so we can praise them for it!

So why then does God so eagerly and perhaps egotistically command us to praise Him? The pages of Scripture (which are in fact ‘God-breathed’ – 2Tim3:16) constantly direct and urge us to praise God. So basically he is asking for it. He created us for His pleasure and he does delight in our praise. Yet he doesn’t need our praise, surely? He is not insecure like us! On the other hand, yes he does deserve praise, so why shouldn’t we praise Him?

Perhaps the short answer to this dilemma is that praising God is good for us! God knows this, so directs us to praise Him. But let me direct you to some relevant discussion from C.S Lewis and John Piper to explain:

“Just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?” . . . The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. . . I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. . . If we were not allowed to speak of what we value and celebrate what we love and praise what we admire, our joy could not be full.”
(C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms)

“So if God loves us enough to make our joy full, he must not only give us himself; he must also win from us the praise of our hearts — not because he needs to shore up some weakness in himself or compensate for some deficiency, but because he loves us and seeks the fullness of our joy that can be found only in knowing and praising him, the most magnificent of all beings. . . . God is the one Being in all the universe for whom seeking his own praise is the ultimately loving act. For him, self-exaltation is the highest virtue. When he does all things “for the praise of his glory,” he preserves for us and offers to us the only thing in all the world that can satisfy our longings.”
(John Piper. Desiring God, pages 48–49)

So praising God completes our joyful experience of his good and gracious character. How important it is then to see our music ministry as providing an opportunity to do just that – to bring people to praise God, even when they don’t “feel” like it or sing with trepidation because they sing ‘out of tune’.
People need to praise God. Praising God not only completes our joyful experience of his love, it also takes our eyes from ourselves and our problems to the One who holds us together, who has moved towards us with compassion in Christ.
Let’s keep doing all we can to bring people to the place of praise!

(And this may be the topic for another blog post but I’ll mention it anyway: God sings over us!
“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17 – almost a Three Sixteen!))

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Why is it so Critical that we Sing Together (from the Blazing Center)

Working for those moments of Joy You are our Song from Age to Age

16/08/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

The waterfall, river and reservoir of God’s grace

I have been really enjoying a smart phone app called “Solid Joys” which comes from the pen of John Piper. Each daily devotion takes about a minute to read, and a few more minutes to contemplate. (You can look it up here if you would like to read online, or check your phone’s app store.) This one is on the theme of grace and how it relates to our past, present and future. Grace is not just about God doing good to us, but also in us. I hope you will find it as encouraging as I did.

The Different Tenses of Grace

We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12)

Grace is not only God’s disposition to do good for us when we don’t deserve it — undeserved favor. It is also a power from God that acts in our lives and makes good things happen in us and for us.

Paul said that we fulfill our resolves for good “by his power” (verse 11). And then he adds at the end of verse 12, “according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The power that actually works in our lives to make Christ-exalting obedience possible is an extension of the grace of God.

You can see this also in 1 Corinthians 15:10: By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

So grace is an active, present, transformative, obedience-enabling power.

Therefore this grace which moves in power from God to you at a point in time is both past and future. It has already done something for you or in you and therefore is past. And it is about to do something in you and for you, and so it is future — both five seconds away and five million years away.

God’s grace is ever cascading over the waterfall of the present from the inexhaustible river of grace coming to us from the future into the ever-increasing reservoir of grace in the past. In the next five minutes, you will receive sustaining grace flowing to you from the future, and you will accumulate another five minutes’ worth of grace in the reservoir of the past.

“Living by Faith in Future Grace”

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08/08/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Seeking truth or comfort?

“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth …”
C.S. Lewis

I discovered this quotation today and thought it would have gone well with my previous post on taking control of your life – but really it stands alone. Blessings!

07/08/2013 by sevennotesofgrace

Taking control doesn’t guarantee safety or happiness

“Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.”
Oswald Chambers

There is an illusion of safety that comes with being the driver of a car. We think we have control over the brake, the steering and accelerator, and we feel safer since we are calling the shots. We think we have control over our destination, that we will arrive safe and happy. And we can foolishly think this holds true while juggling a coffee or phone – or both! On the other hand it takes a great deal of trust (particularly for me) to hand over the controls to an unseen pilot who sustains your life 30,000 feet in the air in a metal tube, and promises to deliver you safely to some distant destination. Yet statistically we are safer in the air! (There is a 1 in 20 000 chance of death by air travel, but only 1 in 100 by car! Read more here).

Now I know this is not a perfect analogy, but the same is true of the Christian life in many ways.

When things seem to be going wrong in our life, and we are not enjoying the level of happiness we (think we) see all around us, it is all too tempting to grab the reins and take back control over our life. We think our way (or the way of the world around us) will lead to fulfillment and lasting joy. Even if God has explicitly put certain choices off limits, our hurts push us to take back control. We may feel desperately lonely as a single woman, a childless mother or uncherished wife (talking mainly to the women here today). We think God (and others) don’t understand just how difficult it is to live like this! And in this state it may seem like a great idea to have an affair or hook up with an unbeliever, to focus on the selfish pursuit of eternal youth, or fill your life with material things that (also) can only buy short term joy. But taking control doesn’t mean we will be happy!

As Christians we have placed our lives in the hands of our Saviour. That’s how we became Christians – by submitting to Christ, to His revealed will, to His word. We chose to live with Christ as our Lord and Saviour, to walk His way, worthy of the life he called us, worthy of His name we own. So even in the hard things of loneliness or loss, God’s way is still the best way. His ‘restrictions’ are motivated by love and designed for our good! If we take control and choose to live outside of his revealed will, it won’t be long before we find ourselves in a greater state of unhappiness than we were in before.

There are no easy solutions in this fallen world, but If you are in Christ then pushing Him out the driver’s door won’t help. Try digging deeper into His living words. Try serving, try building deep relationships with others, sharing your frustrations and praying together, and growing in the knowledge of God. These things will not fulfill all our longings in this life, but they will be living inside God’s good will for us. As John Piper says (in a post entitled “Are Christians Satisfied?“):

“Christ does offer total satisfaction, much of it right now in hope and forgiveness and growing power to love. But all of it in the age to come when we will be made perfect in a perfect world. Then there will be no sense in which we will be disappointed in ourselves or in our circumstances at all.”

Choosing to go God’s way definitely means we won’t have our hands on the wheel, but the One who does is infinitely wiser and greater than we. Keep trusting Him!