December: God of God

Merry Christmas!

What is the first thought that pops into your head when that phrase is spoken? Could it be shopping, presents, Christmas trees, lights? Or could it be family, food, football, basketball? 

There's nothing wrong with any of theses, but what we often forget is why we, as christians, celebrate Christmas. 

This month, I chose Enfield's God of God. This song embodies not only our Savior's birth, but tells the story from the prophet Isaiah, leads to His death on the cross: the reason why Christ was born, and his resurrection. 

God of God by John Julian (Chorus by Enfield)

Deep in the prophets’ sacred page,
Grand in the poets’ winged word,
Slowly in type, from age to age,
Nations beheld their coming Lord;
Till through the deep Judean night
Rang out the song, Good will to men!
Hymned by the first born sons of light,
Re-echoed now, Good will! Amen.

Born to reign in us forever,
Born a child and yet a king
Born His people to deliver
Let us all in anthem sing,
"Hallelujah, the Messiah has come!"

That life of truth, those deeds of love,
That death of pain ’mid hate and scorn,
These all are past, and now above
He reigns our King, once crowned with thorn.
To Him who sits upon the throne,
The Lamb once slain for sinful men,
Be honor, might, all by Him won,
Glory and praise! Amen! Amen!

O God of God! O Light of Light!
Thou Prince of Peace, Thou King of kings,
To Thee, where angels know no night,
The song of praise forever rings!

Christ was born. Christ was born so that he could deliver a sinful race: to die for a filthy people and make them right with God. Since God is a holy God, He and sin are separate. They cannot be mixed. And since God is a just God, sin must also be punished. Apart from God, we are sinful men and we are condemned and His wrath is all we deserve, "but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved-" (Ephesians 2:5-6). 

This is why we celebrate Christmas :)

Chaos: Temporarily Closed

Praise the Lord that this semester is over!

This semester has been one of the craziest I've been through. 

I can't thank the Lord enough for sustaining me through this chaotic semester. He has really taught me to trust in Him to provide for my needs. My studies were taking a toll on me and I really wanted to just stop. Stress is no fun. My nose was literally in a book everywhere I went (or in my laptop writing research papers). The last three weeks were the most chaotic. An online class that I had neglected due to another online class has finally caught up to me. Professors in all classes were assigning last minute projects. So in total, I had three weeks to complete 10 exams, write 6 papers, 3 presentations and study for 5 finals. Praise the Lord for giving me the strength and endurance to finish strong. 

A trial that I went through in the last couple weeks and still am going through is getting my classes for the following semester. It's been crazy. Not only has tuition gone up nine percent, but we have been limited to 15 units maximum. Along side this cap, we also have fewer classes with fewer seats. I felt threatened. I had a really late registration date and I couldn't do anything about getting my much needed seat in my much needed classes. I sat back and watched my classes fill up. 

Prior to my registration date, I have sent all my possible future professors multiple emails, letting them know about my unfortunate position. There were so many hoops I had to jump through. Trusting the Lord was a difficult thing to do. It was all there: I knew I had to trust in the Lord to provide, but applying it was a whole other issue. I know that no matter where God puts me, He'll be glorified best. I realized that this was super similar to my housing situation last August. The Lord is good and He'll provide for his children. May I continue to praise Him despite my own circumstance.

James 1: 2-4

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Throughout it all, the Lord has provided me with encouragement and much support from the lovely people in my lives. I thank you all so much for your prayers, love, and keeping me focused on Christ. It means the world to me. I can't thank you enough. 

Aside from this hot mess... a lot of fun happened too.

1 Corinthians 10:31

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Amen.

November: Come, Thou Fount

Oh my, it's already the end of November. :( Everything has been so overwhelmingly busy that this month's song is barely making the deadline. I've got approximately two weeks of school left and a butt-ton of projects, papers, exams and other miscellaneous things to take care of. My prayer this whole month was to continually praise the Lord despite my own circumstance and it was most definitely a challenge. However one way I kept Christ as the center of my focus despite the chaos around me was to preach and review the gospel daily.

This month's song is: Come, Thou Fount sung by Page CXVI

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

I am bound for the kingdom,

Won't you come with me?

Hallelujah, we sing.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

Unfortunately, the version of this song that I've selected doesn't include the last verse, but I decided to still include it lyrically because it is encouraging to see our end goal after our life has finished and that end goal is Christ. Oh, that day when freed from sinning - Christ will be ours. We can have perfect and holy communion with him when we're in heaven. I can't wait until that day, but until that day comes, may I continually live a life that is both honoring and pleasing to him. Oh, those good ol' gospel centered hymns. How true they ring.

God has truly been gracious to me throughout this semester and he continues to bestow his grace and mercy on me. Praise the Lord for saving me and making me his own. :)

October: I Will Glory in My Redeemer

Everything has been a blur. I've been overwhelmed by how much I have had to do in the last month, whether it be classes, a cappella, church, etc. I haven't had the best attitude about it. I constantly have to remind myself to study well for God's glory.

Despite all this, the other night, I had the opportunity to just sit down and talk with a friend about God. For months, I have been praying for opportunities to share the Gospel with those whom I love and are not saved and the other night, the Lord had granted my prayer.

As I sat with this friend and discussed my faith, praying through the words I spoke, I was able to share the Gospel. A seed has been planted. I can only continue to witness to this friend and live a life that is glorifying to God. After all, the loudest sermon you preach is the life you live. So in light of the Gospel, I've chosen a song that reflected the Gospel.


This month's song is "I Will Glory in My Redeemer" by Sovereign Grace Music

I will glory in my Redeemer

Whose priceless blood has ransomed me

Mine was the sin that drove the bitter nails

And hung Him on that judgment tree

I will glory in my Redeemer

Who crushed the power of sin and death

My only Savior before the Holy Judge

The Lamb Who is my righteousness

The Lamb Who is my righteousness

I will glory in my Redeemer

My life He bought, my love He owns

I have no longings for another

I’m satisfied in Him alone

I will glory in my Redeemer

His faithfulness my standing place

Though foes are mighty and rush upon me

My feet are firm, held by His grace

My feet are firm, held by His grace

I will glory in my Redeemer

Who carries me on eagle’s wings

He crowns my life with lovingkindness

His triumph song I’ll ever sing

I will glory in my Redeemer

Who waits for me at gates of gold

And when He calls me it will be paradise

His face forever to beholdHis face forever to behold

This song is a kindly reminder of what the Gospel is and reminds us of who we live for. We do not live for ourselves, but for Christ. What a joy it is to know that we know the truth and that we live in light of it. A joy to know that we have been redeemed from our sins.

Pray for me. Pray for more opportunities to share the Gospel with others. Pray that I may radiate Jesus Christ from my life. Pray for my friend, that the Lord would reveal Himself to him.

Thank you for all your love and support.

1 John 1:5-9

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

September: How Great Thou Art

Here we are again. How in the world did we get to the end of the month so quickly? I'm torn between happy and scared at the same time. There's just so much to do in so little time.

So far this month has been go, go, go non-stop. I don't think I've had a "me" day this month. I've either been doing stuff with my a cappella group or I've been doing stuff related with church and if I'm not doing either of those, I'm doing school work. As much time I think I may have on my hands, time slips through my fingers like grains of sand and before I know it, it's gone. As these deadlines approach, additional projects pop up and new deadlines are added to this crazy and out of control agenda.

Not a day passes by that I don't think about my mama. I've experienced both joy and sorrow. I miss her. I miss her hugs. Her broken english. Her laugh. Her smile. This video sums it up: 

None the less, she is with Christ and I rejoice all the more. My heart is truly glad in what the Lord has given me. May I continue to praise and bring glory to Him, despite my own circumstance. To read the beginning of my mom's journey click here.

This month's song is How Great Thou Art. This song rings true in my heart. The version I'm going to share with you is by Ascend the Hill. You can listen to this version by clicking here. The lyrics are below:

O Lord my God,
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made
I see the stars
I hear the mighty thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
When through the woods
And forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees
When I look down
From lofty mountain grandeur 
And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze

Then sings my soul
Then sings my soul

And when I think
My God, his Son not sparing
Sent him to die I scarce can take it in
That on the cross
My burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin
When Christ shall come

With shouts of acclamation
And take me home, What joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow
In humble adoration
And there proclaim, "My God, how great you are!" 

Then sings my soul
Then sings my soul

How great your love for us! (Then sings my soul)
You shed you blood for us! (Then sings my soul)
How great your love for us! (Then sings my soul)
You shed you blood for us! (Then sings my soul)

How great your grace for us!
That you gave it all for us!

Then sings my soul,
My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great you are! 
How great you are!
Then sings my soul, 
My Saviour God, to Thee, 
How great you are!
How great you are!

How great he really is. Why? 

Ephesians 2:1-10 ¹ And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work inthe sons of disobedience— ³among whom we all once lived inthe passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body^[a]and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴But^[b] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— ⁶and raised us up with him andseated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

That is why. I feel like that verse is a fair summation of the sing. Despite how quickly or frequently my life is changing, God has remained ever-present and has been the most constant thing in my life. I cannot thank Him enough for all he has done for me. I am unworthy, but I thank Him daily for his grace - that I no longer have to wallow in sin and be a slave to it - living life blindly, arrogantly, ignorantly. He saved me from my sin. I cringe to think where I would be today if it weren't for Christ because I could confidently say that I would not be here in this room typing this blog. I am his. Who am I to be his? Without Christ, I am nothing. Without Christ, my mama wouldn't be in heaven praising Him. Without Christ, life is meaningless.


Then sings my soul: how great thou art!