music monday// the reason i sing

There are so many things we do in relation to the various spiritual gifts and talents the Lord has given us to use to point people to Him. and there scores of motives underlying why we do what we do. The Lord out of His grace has blessed me with the gift of writing. It’s one of the clearest ways I express my thoughts and what He places on my heart.

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This song convicts me of the why I write. I must write to ultimately bring God glory, not to draw attention to myself. It’s all about Him. maybe you draw fantastically, design, sing, dance, engage in public speaking, act, write, play an instrument, have a special love for kiddos…whatever creative art the Creator has blessed you with, I urge you to use it to serve Him. personally, I know that even if it’s a small platform the Lord has given me now to point my writing to Him, as long as I keep being faithful with it, He is faithful to open wider doors.

 the reason i sing~ jimmy needham

If it’s just to top a song chart

To feed the kids and get a bigger car

The skies already have a lot of stars

And they all sing Your name

And if I’m here to write a number 1

To get a gold or maybe platinum

Make me a singer who is unsung

Cause You won’t share Your fame

Cause even accolades someday

Will fade away, oh just like me

Yes everything but You, yeah

And many years from now

It won’t matter how

I write the rhymes I do yeah

Help me get back to the reason I sing for You.

I’m always looking for the limelight

To dim my house and make the stages bright

Compared to You I’m just a night light

Against the blazing sun

I enter rooms and hope they notice me

To fill my social insecurities

I’m asking if there’s any hope for me

Cause there’s only room for one

Why are we so convinced

a bigger audience is simply common sense to have?

Maybe success is measured best

by nothing less than our obedience.

So if i’m destined for a small stage

The small crowds and the small pay

Then maybe even in a small way,

I can bring You fame.

“ “well done, my good servant!” his master replied. “because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.” Luke 19:17

“he who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but He who speaks of the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.” john 7:18

“to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” 1 samuel 15:22

“I am the Lord; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols.” Isaiah 42:8

“heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.” Matthew 24:35

“for we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

“there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.” 1 corinthians 12:4-5

                                   what are the special gifting the Lord has blessed you with?

Are you doing what you do just for the money or to draw attention to yourself? Ponder on this a little more and resolve to use your talents and spiritual gifts for God’s glory. :)

xoxo, gen delali.

music monday// well done

i know very well that my life on earth here is a journey, a pilgrimage, a non-competitive race, yet an important marathon still. and there's a prize- eternal, unending number of days in the beautiful presence and light of God in heaven. and sometimes the troubles of this life and its fruitless worldly pursuits try to obliterate, blot out my hope and the precious knowledge of this prize. the cares of this world try to derail me of my purpose as a pilgrim, traveler in this world to show forth the praises of Jesus who called me out of darkness into His marvelous light, to love God and people, to share the Good News of the salvation of Jesus with others through the unique and specific abilities and giftings the Lord has placed in me. 

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and when encouragement to finish this journey well floats to me like a song, and weaves into my heart like a story, i smile and get a new surge of determination to keep moving forward towards my Home. my real, forever home- Heaven. that's what this song brings me- encouragement towards the upward call. and i hope you find it too.

i'm gonna share some words that stuck out to me in the story that goes with the song...(find the video of the story here.)

...and she said, "when i stopped and looked up, all i could see was the fog. but if i could have just seen the land, i think i could have made it. 

to me[moriah], that is a beautiful picture of heaven. so many things that we go through here on earth-all the struggles, all the distractions- it's like a thick fog that's between where we are here and where we're going to be. my prayer and what i'm hoping to do through studying scripture, praying, and seeking the Lord is to cause that fog to slowly lift so i can begin to get a tiny glimpse of what heaven's going to be like. i hope that this song, well done encourages you to put your hope in heaven and to continue to run this race to hear those beautiful words being spoken from afar that, "well done, My good and faithful servant."

well done~ moriah peters

i'm headed down this narrow road, chosen by a few

and all that i know is You told me to follow You.

i'm taking a risk and leaving it all, not knowing what i'll go through

but i'm not alone as long as i follow You.

so when my life's a leap of faith, i can hear You say, well done, well done.

i'm gonna chase You, Lord. i'm gonna show the world Your love, whoa.

i'll run, i'll run. i'm gonna run this race to hear You say well done.

if people walk with me, talk with me, looking for truth

they're gonna find out soon.

if they're following me, then they're gonna follow You.

so let my life speak loud and clear. Lord, i wanna hear, well done, well done.

i'm gonna chase You, Lord. i'm gonna show the world Your love, whoa.

i'll run, i'll run. i'm gonna run this race to hear You say well done.

i'm so glad that i get to serve You, Lord.

You're the only one i'm living for, whoa.

and i'm gonna run straight into Your open arms

i'm gonna follow You with my whole heart, whoa, whoa.

well done, well done.

i'm gonna chase You, Lord. i'm gonna show the world Your love, whoa.

i'll run, i'll run. i'm gonna run this race to hear You say well done.

i'm gonna run this race to hear You say well done.

i'm gonna run this race to hear You say well done.

well done.

"do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." matthew 6:19-21

"enter through the narrow gate. for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." matthew 7:13-14

" 'His master replied, 'well done, good and faithful servant! you have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. come and share your master's happiness!' " matthew 25:21

"but whatever were gains to me i now consider loss for the sake of Christ. what is more, i consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake i have lost all things. i consider them garbage, that i may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ...but one thing i do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, i press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus." philippians 3:7-9;13-14

"do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? run in such a way as to get the prize. everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. they do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last for ever. therefore, i do not run like someone running aimlessly, i do not fight like a boxer beating the air. no, i strike a blow to my body[a daily dying to self-saying no carnal pleasures/sin] and make it my slave[subjecting thoughts and actions to the obedience of Christ] so that after i have preached to others, i myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 corinthians 9:24-27

"therefore, since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. for the joy that was set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." hebrews 12:1-3

i pray that you, yes you, reading this will not lose sight of heaven as you walk with the Lord to accomplish your purpose on this earth. i pray you don't lose hope when life gets messy and hard. i pray you get to fully know the specific talents, abilities and spiritual gifts God has given you, and i pray you choose to use them to honor only Him by using them in a specific, unique way to share the Gospel, the Good News of Christ to a dying world. i pray you finish this journey on earth really well and relish in your heavenly reward of eternal life + you get to hang out with the hero of your story-Jesus! the super loving, caring man to ever walk the face of this earth! ahhh, the best life ever! :)

xoxo, gen delali.