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| Find "Amen" by For King & Country here. |
I
"stumbled" upon a song by my most favorite of all time bands for
Christian Pop. In this song, they speak of a "death to life"
experience which entails the newness of creation under the work and person of
Jesus Christ.
I love this
song for so many reasons, not the least of which is the visual artistry that
captures the mind in this beautiful transformation - from dead to alive; from
dark to light; from dead and dry bones to an awakened heart, mind and
soul! I have the link above and lyrics below for you to listen at your pleasure. :D
In this song
there are particular lyrics which allude to several key passages of
scripture. Though the song was written to describe Luke Smallbone's
experience of baptism, there are elements of the NEW creature sung as
tribute to God for His kindness, His power, His overwhelming grace, and His
love. After the Lord changes you from being dead in your sins to living
in with the new heart of His Son, we show our allegiance, our gratitude and our
testimony of who He is and what He has done by a public confession of
baptism.
In the video
of the song, there is a scene that involves the bones of a creature. What
creature, we don't know, but it's symbolic. Dryness.
Desperation. Death. Decay. Darkness. There's a similar
account of a valley of dry bones given in scripture. The prophet, Ezekiel, is given a
vision by the Lord to better understand what He will be doing in the lives of people that they would live for Him, heart and soul. This "doing" will be a total renewal - a
permanent transformation - of something that once had no life, and nothing of
its own to be able to live, breath and have being. The imagery of
deadness is us in our sin. Us in our depravity. Us in our fallen
state and in need of rescue, renewal, restoration, revitalization!
Ezekiel 37 - in my opinion - is the best inspired scripture for helping us understand this concept.
This is why I chose to journal here - it's so vivid and hard to ignore!
Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these
bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones:
Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come
upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall
live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus
says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from
your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord,
when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you
shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I
am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.
(vv. 4-6, 12-14)
(vv. 4-6, 12-14)
(vv. What's the point of God's message to and working through Ezekiel?
There's a huge change that will be taking place in the lives of those whose God is Yahweh. Yahweh, Himself, speaks of a glorious restorative power that will rest on - rattle, even! - His people, to renew and strengthen them, and bring them life to prevail against the enemy as His personal warriors! WOW!
"God gave Ezekiel an unthinkable directive. God told him to prophesy to the bones so that the bones would come to life. It is one thing for God to bring the dead to life; it is quite another thing for God to involve mere mortals in the process. Ezekiel began to speak to the bones, and God worked through Ezekiel's words: the bones started to come back together…Ezekiel marveled as a resurrection took place." (The Jesus Bible, p. 1329)
If you are in Christ, did you know that you're part of
God's personal army?
Did you know that scripture tells us that as we are a part of the army of the Lord, when we fight against our enemy - when we attack the lies, deception, darkness, confusion with truth, love, grace and purity - the enemy cannot withstand? Cannot prevail? This is huge, and the undertaking is led by our Warrior King!
King Jesus!
God's gracious moves toward us cause an encounter - a collision - wherein righteousness covers iniquity and light covers darkness. The holy union of a Holy God to our unholy selves is remarkable, but God does such things because of His grace, even amid His holiness.
"God's Word has incredible effects; it brings the dead to life. As God's Word is proclaimed, the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to revitalize the people of God. Jesus told his followers that their only hope was to depend on Him in every way (John 15:5). God's Word always does what it intends: "So is my Word that goes our from my mouth: it will not return empty to me, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). God's Word can bring light into darkness and life into dead places. People are encouraged to read and listen to the Word of God." (The Jesus Bible, p. 1329)
And why not?! If we read it, it will have an awakening effect that we cannot understand until we read. Even then, the power of transformation will be so deep into our soul that we may not get a glimpse of the changes that are taking place. Change is hard to track. It's difficult to measure.
My home pastor encouraged us as a congregation to track our change not by the hour, the day, or even the week; rather, to track it by the year. Who were we last year? What changes have we seen in our inner man since last year. Those with open Bibles should be changed to a visible degree. That's awesome! It's encouraging, and I too encourage us all to consider looking into our Bibles, reading, studying, meditating, thanking God daily, praying, that we as "new creations" would continue to live as Christ!
The rehearsing of the gospel daily in our lives, our roles and our situations brings on revival that the Lord meant for His people. In this, we live victoriously as His light in the world. In this, we are able to testify of the goodness of God, and the glory yet to come!
The world needs truth!
The world needs life!
The world needs Jesus!
We were given a unique position in Christ. This position bids us to proclaim the good news to those around us, to speak life into the deadness, and truth into the lies! Ezekiel did it. We can too!
I slipped a stamp in here as well that speaks of resulting outcomes from a life changed by the Word of the Lord:
Did you know that scripture tells us that as we are a part of the army of the Lord, when we fight against our enemy - when we attack the lies, deception, darkness, confusion with truth, love, grace and purity - the enemy cannot withstand? Cannot prevail? This is huge, and the undertaking is led by our Warrior King!
King Jesus!
God's gracious moves toward us cause an encounter - a collision - wherein righteousness covers iniquity and light covers darkness. The holy union of a Holy God to our unholy selves is remarkable, but God does such things because of His grace, even amid His holiness.
"God's Word has incredible effects; it brings the dead to life. As God's Word is proclaimed, the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to revitalize the people of God. Jesus told his followers that their only hope was to depend on Him in every way (John 15:5). God's Word always does what it intends: "So is my Word that goes our from my mouth: it will not return empty to me, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). God's Word can bring light into darkness and life into dead places. People are encouraged to read and listen to the Word of God." (The Jesus Bible, p. 1329)
And why not?! If we read it, it will have an awakening effect that we cannot understand until we read. Even then, the power of transformation will be so deep into our soul that we may not get a glimpse of the changes that are taking place. Change is hard to track. It's difficult to measure.
My home pastor encouraged us as a congregation to track our change not by the hour, the day, or even the week; rather, to track it by the year. Who were we last year? What changes have we seen in our inner man since last year. Those with open Bibles should be changed to a visible degree. That's awesome! It's encouraging, and I too encourage us all to consider looking into our Bibles, reading, studying, meditating, thanking God daily, praying, that we as "new creations" would continue to live as Christ!
The rehearsing of the gospel daily in our lives, our roles and our situations brings on revival that the Lord meant for His people. In this, we live victoriously as His light in the world. In this, we are able to testify of the goodness of God, and the glory yet to come!
The world needs truth!
The world needs life!
The world needs Jesus!
We were given a unique position in Christ. This position bids us to proclaim the good news to those around us, to speak life into the deadness, and truth into the lies! Ezekiel did it. We can too!
I slipped a stamp in here as well that speaks of resulting outcomes from a life changed by the Word of the Lord:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I am a new creation in Jesus!
I have been changed by His word, and continue to be changed by His Word!
I am part of the army of King Jesus!
I can live victoriously in His life and grace!
I will proclaim truth and testify of His love!
And all the people said, "Amen and amen!"
Much love,
Deeds
@mercies_journaled on IG
Please shop for "Messy Stamped Alpha," and "New Creation" using my affiliate link, here.
Please shop for "Messy Stamped Alpha," and "New Creation" using my affiliate link, here.
"Amen" song lyrics:
Count to three and say a prayer
Down for love and up for air
Underwater, overjoyed
Water for a thirsty soul
Water for a thirsty soul
Down for love and up for air
Underwater, overjoyed
Water for a thirsty soul
Water for a thirsty soul
Baptize me into Your love
Oh my spirit's overcome
Body, mind, and skin, bone
Love Him, wanna make it known
Love Him, wanna make it known
Oh my spirit's overcome
Body, mind, and skin, bone
Love Him, wanna make it known
Love Him, wanna make it known
I'm comin' alive with You
I'm comin' alive with You
I was livin' a lie 'til you
I'm comin' alive with You
I'm comin' alive with You
I was livin' a lie 'til you
I'm comin' alive with You
All the people say
Amen! Amen!
All the people say
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Yeah!
Amen! Amen!
All the people say
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Yeah!
Resurrection day is here
Bells are ringin' loud and clear
Caterpillar to a butterfly
Risen to another life
Risen to another life
Bells are ringin' loud and clear
Caterpillar to a butterfly
Risen to another life
Risen to another life
Yeah, I'm comin' alive with You
I'm comin' alive with You
I was livin' a lie 'til you
I'm comin' alive with You
I'm comin' alive with You
I was livin' a lie 'til you
I'm comin' alive with You
All the people say
Amen! Amen!
All the people say
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Yeah!
Amen!
From death to life (Amen!)
From dark to light (Amen!)
I'm singin' out tonight (Amen! Amen!)
Amen! Amen!
All the people say
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Yeah!
Amen!
From death to life (Amen!)
From dark to light (Amen!)
I'm singin' out tonight (Amen! Amen!)
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