Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from Love-Love Tioseco by means of an interview, viewing the Blade Moto radio show and research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
Months ago, my very dear college buddy Love-Love Tioseco acted on the direction of the Lord to provide frontliners food to eat during the height of the COVID-19-related lockdown here in the Philippines. You can read all about that in my special feature in this website.
A lot has changed since then. Although the authorities are still cautious and monitoring cases of COVID-19, the community quarantine levels around the country have eased which helped pave the way for more people to travel around and among them are employees and business owners/managers who were allowed to move on with their economic activities. The Philippines still has a long way to go to recover the economic momentum that was lost as a result of the initial lockdown. We are all moving on the road to recovery.
Going back to Love-Love (note: she is the Secretary of the Luzon Motorcyclists Federation, Inc. or LMFI), in recent times she has been hired to host the official radio show of car accessories chain store Blade Auto Center called Blade Moto (also referred to as Blade Mo To). Specifically, she hosts the radio show on Tuesdays in two segments at 11AM and 2PM and it is streamed live online via the Blade.ph Facebook page, the Blade Auto Center Facebook page, the Blade Auto Center YouTube channel, and Blade Auto Center on Instagram to name some.
Love-Love Tioseco hosts the Blade Moto radio show every Tuesday at 11AM and 2PM. Her jacket is that of Colegio de San Juan de Letran. (contributed photo)
Officially, Love-Love started hosting the Blade Moto show on November 3, 2020, the morning segment of which I tuned in and even had a comment read on the air. I’m not a motorcyclist myself but I learned a lot from the topics discussed between Love-Love and the guests on the show. Of course, it was also fun reading comments from viewers who got acknowledged on the air. Through the show, you will also learn about motorcycling, what the motorcyclists’ culture of the Philippines is like, who is who among the motorcyclists, what the bike clubs are, how to drive properly during times of disaster, and more. I should also state that Blade Moto is also an ideal show where motorcyclists can reach out to the public and share their views so that people can understand them better.
Love-Love interacting with viewers who commented live during the November 24 morning show.
My question highlighted during the November 10 morning radio show.
To get the scoop about how she got involved with Blade and their radio show (under the Blade Radio line), I asked Love-Love some questions and below are her answers (in blue).
How Blade Moto came to be
How did you get your break to become host of Blade Moto radio show?
Many thanks to my boss Blade CEO Mr. Robertson Sy Tan who offered me the job to be one of his radio show host at the same time, it is an honor to be a part of the Blade Family so i immediately accepted the job on the spot.
Since the show started, how was the reception from the motorcyclists and other viewers? Did you and the producers receive lots of feedback via text, email or online messages?
The number of viewers has been growing especially those who inquire about the laws that discriminate motorcycle riders and those who like sending funny comments to my featured guests which actually makes the radio show lively.
Most of the messages we receive from our viewers are those who demand for shout outs while watching us live online.
What can people expect from future editions of the show you are hosting? Is something exciting coming?
I do not want the public to have high expectations but rest assured that our radio show will not endorse government officials and we will make it a point to always promote safety for all road users.
Conclusion
In concluding this article, posted below are the November 3, November 10, November 17 and November 24 YouTube videos of Blade Moto in full for your viewing pleasure. I encourage you all to watch out for all future shows of Blade Moto with Love-Love every Tuesday via Blade Auto Center’s YouTube and social media channels. There is always something new to learn and enjoy!
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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Hey everyone! Welcome back to the latest edition of my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) series. Previously I published CMAs of worship songs of the Australia-based Planetshakers Church and so far I’ve seen that their songs are not only greatly composed and very nicely performed, their musicians and creators are indeed anointed by God. For easy reference, check out my CMAs of How I Praise, So Good, Encounter Song and All.
For the newcomers reading this, Planetshakers was established as a church by the couple Russell and Sam Evans in Melbourne, Australia back in 2004 out of a deep desire to see more people encounter Lord Jesus. Before even the church’s establishment, Russell Evans had a radical encounter with the Heavenly Father and this compelled him to establish a conference called Planetshakers in 1997. That conference went on to become renowned for the passionate praise and worship done. The rest became history.
In this CMA, we are about to take a close look at one of Planetshakers’ recent worship songs which has been played a lot this year during their Sunday worship services. That song is called 247 365 (pronounced twenty-four seven three-six-five) and it is the opener of their brand new album titled Over It All. The said album – released November 6, 2020 – was recorded during the pandemic and for encouragement, Planetshakers referred to Psalm chapter 96 in the Holy Bible.
Going back to the song for review, Planetshakers confirmed (via the official description of the official music video also released on November 6, 2020) that 247 365 was birthed as a soundtrack to Psalm 118: 24 in the Holy Bible. It is a declaration to praise God all twenty-four hours each day, and for each day of the year regardless of what situation you are experiencing. For holy insight, refer to the different translations of the holy scripture below…
This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)
This is the very day of the Lord that brings gladness and joy, filling our hearts with glee.
Psalm 118:24 (TPT)
This [day in which God has saved me] is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24 (AMP)
Now that the holy inspiration for 247 365 has been made clear, below are the lyrics of the song. Follow it and enjoy.
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[VERSE 1]
What a beautiful day that You have made
I will praise ‘ya
What a glorious day that You have made
I will praise ‘ya
–
[PRE-Chorus]
Lord, I bless ‘ya
Lord, I bless ‘ya
In all things, my soul will sing to You
–
[Chorus]
Everybody sing
Everybody sing unto the king
Let the praises ring
Let the praises ring
It’s all for Him
It’s all for Him
–
[VERSE 2]
Every moment I wake
I’ll lift up Your name
I will praise ‘ya
Not a day goes by without lifting You high
I will praise ‘ya
–
[PRE-Chorus]
Lord, I bless ‘ya
Lord, I bless ‘ya
In all things, my soul will sing to You
–
[Chorus]
Everybody sing
Everybody sing unto the king
Let the praises ring
Let the praises ring
It’s all for Him
It’s all for Him
–
[BRIDGE – x2]
I got a 24/7, 365 kind of praise, yeah!
I got a love so deep
It’s flowin’ out like a river
–
[Chorus]
Everybody sing
Everybody sing unto the king
Let the praises ring
Let the praises ring
It’s all for Him
It’s all for Him
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Now we can start with the analysis of the lyrics. The opening lines What a beautiful day that You have made, I will praise ‘ya, What a glorious day that You have made, I will praise ‘ya can be easily traced back to Psalm 118: 24 in the Holy Bible. In my experience having attended many Sunday worship services at church, the words “the day the Lord has made” is occasionally repeated and our pastor emphasized that the day God made is one that should be treasured always as it is the time that we – children of God led by faith – must use in praising Him, honoring Him, thanking Him and exalting Him without any hesitation. It is also a day for us to rejoice in His presence. Also we must remember that when we attend worship service, gather together as a spiritual family (we are part of God’s family) and praise Him, we do it out of willingness and with firm decisions. Because really, worship of the Lord is not meant to be done by obligation and certainly not to be done out of tradition. That being said, He created us to worship Him, follow Him, be faithful (not religious) to Him and more. Praising the Lord is itself meant to enjoyed, hence the rejoicing. The Lord loves not only the faithfulness and willingness of His children, He also loves their cheerfulness.
Next are the following lines: Lord, I bless ‘ya, In all things, my soul will sing to You. While we His children are blessed, guided and protected, we should always bless the Lord in return. Take note of the holy scripture below.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places of Christ.
Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV)
The apostle Paul praised God for all the blessings He has bestowed on His people. The said blessings are ours because of our relationship with Lord Jesus. There is also the spiritual blessing which refers to divine privileges and resources available now. It is essential that we bless our Lord willingly and wholeheartedly.
Next lines to analyze: Everybody sing unto the king, Let the praises ring, Let the praises ring, It’s all for Him. Singing to the Lord is an expressive and lively way of praising Him. Refer to the following holy scriptures.
I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 89:1 (NKJV)
Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And let Your saints shout for joy.
Psalm 132:9 (NKJV)
Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!
Isaiah 42:10 (NKJV)
The above scriptures are just a few of the many scriptures related to the singing to the Lord found in the Holy Bible. That being said, the lines of Everybody sing unto the king, Let the praises ring, Let the praises ring, It’s all for Him are indeed relevant and holy. Lastly, singing rises out of the essence of our souls.
Next lines to tackle: I’ll lift up Your name, I will praise ‘ya, Not a day goes by without lifting You high. As Christians, we don’t just keep on worshiping the Lord, we must also magnify Him. By magnifying the Lord, we can help Him save the many lost and unsaved souls living with us in this divided world. We can also help other Christians who are backsliding (losing their faith) and help them strengthen their faith and keep on being in the path of God and be with Him. Learn from the following scriptures…
Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His might firmament! Praise Him for His might acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
Psalm 150:1-6 (NKJV)
I refuse to be ashamed of sharing the wonderful message of God’s liberating power unleashed in us through Christ! For I am thrilled to preach that everyone who believes is saved—the Jew first, and then people everywhere!
Romans 1:16 (TPT)
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the LORD with the harp; Make a melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. For the word of the LORD is right, And all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
Psalm 33:1-5 (NKJV)
The final lines to be analyzed are as follows: I got a 24/7, 365 kind of praise, yeah! I got a love so deep, It’s flowin’ out like a river. The first line clearly reflects the title of the song. It essentially expresses unending endurance of praising, honoring and exalting the Lord. We don’t praise the Lord out of tradition nor obligation, rather we do it out of very deep love and a whole lot of heart. The last line referring to flowing and the river can be linked to the holy scripture below with the words of Lord Jesus…
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
John 7:37-38 (NKJV)
So there you have it! As I analyzed in accordance to what was written in the Holy Bible (God’s Word), 247 365 is indeed a very holy song and its lyrics were written by anointed people. Musically, the song is very hip and highly energetic. It is so energizing, it is ideal to motivate worshippers at church with it and it will help boost them to keep on praising the Lord, pursing Him and reaching up to Him even more! It’s no wonder why 247 365 was played a lot during Planetshakers’ Sunday worship services this year. I personally love this song. The worship song is indeed great and you should consider buying the album Over It All.
In concluding this article, embedded below is the official music video of 247 365. Watch it, enjoy it, share it to others via social media and praise the Lord with it. Keep on praising the Him and always remember to be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!
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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there.
Hello everyone! Welcome back to my ongoing series called Christian Music Appreciation (CMA). Today we will take a close look at an old worship song from the 1990s titled I Live To Know You which was released years before social media started. As of this writing, the official video of a live performance of the song is available for viewing at the YouTube channel of Hillsong Worship.
Now we can start with the lyrics of the song presented below for your reference…
Standing in Your presence
Lord, my heart and life are changed
Just to love You and to live to
See Your beauty and Your grace
–
Heaven and earth cry out Your name
Nations rise up and seek Your face
And Your Kingdom is established
As I live to know You more
–
Now I will never be the same
Spirit of God, my life You’ve changed
And I’ll forever sing Your praise
I live to know You, Lord
I live to know You, Lord
–
You’ve called me, I will follow
Your will for me I’m sure
Let Your heart beat feel my heart’s cry
Let me live to serve Your call
Now we can start analyzing parts of the lyrics and find out how they are related to the ultimate authority of reference, the Holy Bible (God’s Word). Standing in Your presence, Lord, my heart and life are changed, Just to love You and to live to, See Your Beauty and Your grace – These lyrics easily relate to our true purpose as Christians. Being creations of the Heavenly Father, we are truly meant to praise Him, glorify Him, love Him and take our rightful place by Him. We were never made to be separated from God. Follow the scriptures below…
This people I have formed for Myself, They shall declare My praise.
Isaiah 43: 21 (NKJV)
“But the hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4: 23-24 (NKJV)
Praise the name of the LORD; Praise Him, O you servants of the LORD! You who stand in the house of the LORD, In the courts of the house of our God, Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant.
Psalm 135: 1-3 (NKJV)
Of course, before people can enter His kingdom, everyone needs to be born again. For the newcomers reading this, this is about submitting yourselves to the Lord, ask for forgiveness and then making the sacred decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Getting saved and become new creations under the Lord are what the lineLord, my heart and life are changed is about. Learn from the following scripture below…
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3: 3 (NKJV)
Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.
2 Corinthians 5: 17 (TPT)
Next lines to analyze – Nations rise up and seek Your face, And Your Kingdom is established. These lyrics symbolize the realization of people who decide to seek the Lord and be willing to do His will instead of their own will. It is a fact that we all live in a screwed-up world because Satan (a long-time loser who is immortal because Adam gave him dominion by betraying God) continues to deceive a lot of people trapping them with unbelief, religion, idols, traditions, rituals, fear, strife, violence, poverty and more of what is worldly. It was with the victory of Lord Jesus over Satan that humanity got saved and brought real hope to everyone. It is up to people to decide to rise up, seek the Lord, submit themselves to Him and get saved. Once saved, they will become true children of God and be willing to do His will as He has a plan for each and everyone! Learn from the scriptures below…
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29: 11 (NKJV)
Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever, Amen.
Hebrews 13: 20 (NKJV)
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6: 33 (NKJV)
Next lines to analyze – Now I will never be the same, Spirit of God, my life You’ve changed, And I’ll forever sing Your praise, I live to know You, Lord. While the first three lines are connected with Isaiah 43: 21, John 4: 23-24, Psalm 135: 1-3 and other related verses in the Holy Bible, the line I live to know You, Lord is itself highly significant and very in-depth.
For people who have yet to be saved, knowing is based on the academic approach of this world which itself is not spiritual. To know the Lord truly is not limited to just reading books…it is about having an established personal relationship with Him and having fellowship with Him by means of privately praying in tongues to Him, being totally faithful to Him and living on with the Holy Bible as the ultimate authority of reference of their lives. To know the Lord truly involves personal interaction and communication with faith in Him as the foundation. Of course, anyone who has yet to really know the Lord must first decide to open his or her heart to Him and get saved (born again). Be open to the Holy Spirit. Learn from the following scriptures below…
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12: 2 (NKJV)
We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
1 John 4: 6-9 (NKJV)
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel and those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Jeremiah 31: 33 (NKJV)
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
John 14: 26 (NKJV)
God revealed to the prophets that their ministry was not for their own benefit but for yours. And now, you have heard these things from the evangelists who preached the gospel to you through the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—the gospel containing wonderful mysteries that even the angels long to get a glimpse of.
1 Peter 1: 12 (TPT)
Finally, the next lines to be analyzed are as follows – You’ve called me, I will follow, Your will for me I’m sure, Let Your heart beat feel my heart’s cry, Let me live to serve Your call. It is very clear we are all God’s creations and long before we were even created, He made plans for each and every one of us. Long before we were even born, the whole world and humanity declined since Adam rebelled against God who later sent His Son Lord Jesus to save humanity and defeat Satan. As creations of God, it should not be surprising that He calls out to us. The calls He made, we must answer immediately and with the utmost priority. Learn from the scriptures below…
So never be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor be embarrassed over my imprisonment, but overcome every evil by the revelation of the power of God! He gave us resurrection life and drew us to himself by his holy calling on our lives. And it wasn’t because of any good we have done, but by his divine pleasure and marvelous grace that confirmed our union with the anointed Jesus, even before time began! This truth is now being unveiled by the revelation of the anointed Jesus, our life-giver, who has dismantled death, obliterating all its effects on our lives, and has manifested his immortal life in us by the gospel.
2 Timothy 1: 8-10 (TPT)
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who call you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are not the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
1 Peter 2: 9-10 (NKJV)
So there you have it. The lyrics written by Darlene Zschech for I Live To Know You are truly holy in accordance to what was written in the Word of God. Very clearly Zschech, who leads Hope Unlimited Church (HopeUC) with her husband Mark, was anointed by the Lord to compose this song during her time with Hillsong Church. When it comes to the music, I Live To Know You is played with a medium pace and is soothing to listen to. It also makes for easy singing and praising to the Lord.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there.
Suicide is defined as the act or an instance of taking one’s own life voluntarily and intentionally (source – Merriam Webster Dictionary). For so long has suicide affected societies worldwide and left a lot of families very hurt.
What is disturbing in the survey of the WHO on the said topic is that the age-group of 15-29 years saw suicide as the 2nd leading cause of deaths in 2016. To break down the 2016 statistics, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for people aged 15-29 among both genders and the females. Among the males, suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death.
While varied organizations and researchers have their own definition of the age group for youth, the Jesus Global Youth Day organizers defined it verbally as below the age of thirty, which I personally witnessed during the 2019 Jesus Global Youth Day held here in the Philippines. As such, the 15-29 age group would be counted as youth at least in this article.
Back to the topic at hand, the menace of suicide affecting youth right down to the local level of Barangay BF Homes, Parañaque City made its presence felt when I interviewed Barangay BF Homes Sangguniang Kabataan (BFSK) chairwoman Mariel Tumang twice in 2019.
During the first interview (published here), she told me that suicide among the youth in the local community was present not just in the form of committed suicide (confirmed death) but also in the form of thoughts (suicidal thoughts or suicidal thinking) inside the minds of young people.
Then, months later, in another interview Tumang confirmed to me that a tragedy happened when a 21-year-old man living in the depressed community of Masville hanged himself to death because he broke up with his girlfriend (click here). The victim was a loss not only to his family, his friends and the neighborhood, but also for the economy (note: he was already working in the private sector). Tumang stated that their definition of youth is 15 to 30-years-old.
Along the way, Tumang and her SK kagawads (Youth Councilors) attended seminars on dealing with suicide through the aspect of psychology and behavior. Whatever topics and skills they learned, they made ways to make their community youth aware of it by holding seminars locally.
The sad trail of youth suicide also goes a long way back in the form of archived news reports. In January 2014, a 16-year-old boy killed himself inside his house in Cebu City because of his failure in school (click here) and his school adviser confirmed to his mother that he would not be going to fourth year high school.
On April 2016, a 15-year-old girl was found dead hanging from a mango tree (click here) in Talisay City, Cebu. According to the archived news report, a suicide note was left behind by the victim (a stay-in student of a school) and she reportedly told one of her superiors she wanted to kill herself and no reason was given. Before the tragedy happened, her superiors at school found it disturbing that she (the victim) was very silent. Included in the news report was a police officer who revealed that the victim lost her father to insurgents while her mother (who was then linked to another man) was later killed in a vehicular accident with her live-in partner.
What cause young people to commit suicide? There are several factors related to society, economics and psychology. Here are the factors I narrowed down.
Failure to deal with fear early in life
Depression
Physical abuse
Loss of purpose
Peer pressure
Gender confusion
Lack of parental guidance or counseling
Being misled by pop culture or online trends
Internet addiction
Being misled by fake news or distorted news
Getting bullied
Being misled by rumors
Living with negative vibes in his/her local environment (note: in the Philippines, most barangay youth councils have presence in economically depressed communities dubbed as developing communities)
Shame or embarrassment
Being misled by those living with unbelief
Temptations
Obsession with people, images and things they idolized
Becoming addicted to something dangerous
Being trapped by religious traditions, rituals and other restrictions
Having selfish desires or very high expectations
Lack of focus on the Lord
While taxpayers’ money is being spent by government bodies of different levels to develop the youth and help prevent suicide, I honestly believe that the menace of suicide can be solved more effectively by having the youth realize their true purpose as creations of God. It is by having faith in the Lord that young people can truly become strong, stable and more knowledgeable with their lives. It is by having a personal relationship with the Lord that the youth can truly move forward with. If the youth can be educated to reject all forms of hindrances that prevent them from truly establishing faith in the Lord, they would be better off and youth suicide would be reduced dramatically.
Sadly, government programs for youth development remain insufficient to bring the youth to God, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
What I noticed is that the Christian faith and spiritual approach to solving and preventing youth suicide is missing among the key development programs of barangay youth councils.
Ironically in 2019, in the city of Parañaque specifically, there were barangay youth councils that organized their own beauty pageants featuring local homosexuals as candidates which most likely added to the suicide factor of gender confusion. This is sad because not only was taxpayers’ money most likely used to fund such events, it gave the youth the false message that homosexuality is legitimate. In truth, homosexuality is an abomination and certainly Satan loves it when people are fooled into believing that homosexuality is good and accepted as normal in society. Let’s read a holy scripture confirming that homosexuality is wrong and evil.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 (NKJV)
As a whole, 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 made clear that people trapped by sin will never make it in God’s kingdom. As such, the youth today still have time and opportunities to turn away from sinful behavior, submit themselves to Lord Jesus for forgiveness, accept Him as their Lord and Savior to start a new life with dedication to live under His holiness. This is the good news that the youth, whether they are still trapped by the darkness of unbelief (read: atheism and secularism) or religion (read: idolatry, wrong theology, traditions and rituals) should know.
To help the youth understand their true purpose in life as God’s creations, they should be taught with the following holy scriptures (apart from teaching them they need to be born again as written in John 3: 3):
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, will all your mind, and with all your strength.
Mark 12: 30 (NKJV)
If you then were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
Colossians 3: 1-2 (NKJV)
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 (NKJV)
Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
Colossians 3: 5-7 (NKJV)
By becoming Christian, the young one can start a new life free from the sins and youthful lusts of the past. As part of getting reformed by Lord Jesus, the new life youth should learn to strongly reject the many form of lust like gratifying sensual cravings (example: losing his or her virginity in exchange for sexual pleasure), desiring the forbidden (example: taking illegal substances), longing for evil (example: bringing down other youth to bring yourself up just to feel good and proud), and engaging in experiences that are contrary to God’s will. These are emphasized in the holy scripture below.
Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2: 22 (NKJV)
The Christian youth living the new life should learn to conduct himself or herself in an exemplary manner. This is expected because once someone gets born again, he/she is under the Lord and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit. Because really, under the watch and care of God, age does not matter and this also means being youthful as a Christian is NOT a disadvantage. It also does not matter if people will find Christians a peculiar people because this is expected. Learn from the next holy scriptures.
Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
1 Timothy 4: 12 (NKJV)
The LORD has chastened me severely, But He has not given me over to death.
Psalm 118: 18 (NKJV)
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special peope, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
1 Peter 2: 9-10 (NKJV)
Conclusion
I believe that involving Lord Jesus in the lives of the youth will spare them from suicide and all other factors that lead to self-destruction. I honestly believe that no amount of taxpayers’ money spent and no sophisticated government program can be more effective on preventing youth suicide (and suicide in general) than emphasizing faith in the Lord, believing in His Word (with the Holy Bible as the main reference) and applying biblical lessons in life.
Please take note that the dreaded presence of secularism is still in the minds of many government officials (note: there is a so-called separation of church and state in the 1987 Constitution).
If the youth realize their true purpose as creations of God, then it would be great not only for the local community but also the whole world. An enlightened youth, as children of God, definitely would not even think about suicide nor give the devil any room into their lives. The youth should realize how essential it is for them to study the Word of God (the Holy Bible) and prioritize it as their ultimate authority among all reading materials. With the Lord on the youth’s side, the menace of suicide and Satan can be defeated and the youth can grow in holiness as they grow into adulthood. Christianity, not feelings or earthly matters, should be embedded into the minds and hearts of the youth. Because really, everybody needs Lord Jesus and the youth need Him. With more youth believing and trusting in Jesus, cases of youth suicide will be much smaller!
As such, I highly recommend that Christian teaching (complete with studying the Holy Bible) should be included more in youth development programs and suicide prevention programs of youth councils. The youth who are spiritually unsaved must be taught the truth that they need Lord Jesus and have faith (not religion) in Him.
At this point, I’d like to reach out to the unsaved youth reading this…if you seek salvation and are ready to submit yourselves to the Lord, and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:
Dear God,
I believe that Jesus is Your Son, and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty of my sins. I believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead and that He is alive! Right now, I call on the name of Jesus. Jesus, come into my heart. I receive You as my personal Lord and Savior. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me by the power of Your blood. Thank You for saving me and giving me eternal life! Help me now to follow Your plan for my life. Amen.
Congratulations! You are now a child of God! Praise the Lord and always be faithful to Him! No more darkness in your life caused by unbelief or religion (and the idolatry, traditions and rituals that come with it). Your new life under the Lord has truly begun!
From this point on, acquire for yourself a copy of the Holy Bible (New King James Version is recommended), study it and apply its many lessons in your life no matter what situation you are in right now. I also recommend you to join a church of born again Christians near you and find your place in the spiritual family. Worship the Lord together with them and remember that each of you has a personal relationship with Him. That personal relationship with God is strictly off-limits to everyone, even to your family.
The Holy Spirit is in you and you are now a new creation! You are a youthful Christian right now, and you can keep growing spiritually for the rest of your life. Remember that God loves you and He is definitely happy over your conversion.
As a new and young Christian with the Holy Spirit in your heart, never allow yourself to get involved in youth movements that involve unbelief, religion, idolatry, traditions and rituals because those are not holy. The only youth you need to get involved with are your fellow Christians (those who got born again like you), and the only reference of authority you need is the Holy Bible. Once you get involved in a new Christian church, you can always ask the pastor if they have a youth ministry you can join in.
In ending this piece, feel free to enjoy these Christian praise-and-worship YouTube videos plus a few ones featuring the model Christian youth herself, Sadie Robertson! Hallelujah!!!
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved souls out there.
Planetshakers is an evangelical Christian Pentecost church based in Australia driven by a desire to empower generations to win generations. Planetshakers confirmed it believes that the Holy Bible is God’s Word which is accurate, authoritative and applicable to people’s daily lives. Founded in the form of a conference 1997, Planetshakers has a long-lasting pursuit for the presence of God and already they helped many people come to the Lord and establish personal relationships with Him. Planetshakers also has a contemporary worship music band which has several internationally acclaimed albums on its record of achievements.
I am thankful to the Lord that I personally watched live the performance and worship leading of Planetshakers during one of the nights of Jesus Global Youth Day that was held here in the Philippines. Since then, I followed them on Facebook and viewed many of their Sunday worship services. Planetshakers returned here in the Philippines on January 2020 and was unsurprisingly successful in attracting a huge audience and leading them to worship the Lord.
The one Christian praise and worship song that always remind me of Planetshakers is their hit song How I Praise, which is highly energetic, has a cool sound and very holy lyrics. The title of the song itself is a nice reminder of how we Christians should praise the Lord.
Before teaching a bible lesson, let’s read first the lyrics of How I Praise. The song is part of their album Glory, Part One.
+++++
[Verse 1]
This is how I praise You
I throw my hands up
To You my Saviour
I’m gonna stand up
And give You everything, everything, everything
All that I am
–
[Verse 2]
This is how I praise You
I’m going all in
Yeah I’m on fire
I’m gonna dive in
And give You everything, everything, everything
All that I am
–
[Pre-Chorus]
‘Cause I’m in love with You
Yeah I’m in love with You
For all You’ve brought me through
My praise belongs to You
Woah, oh, oh, oh, oh
–
[Chorus]
This is how I praise You
This is how I praise You
–
[Verse 3]
This is why I praise You
‘Cause You’re amazing
And You are greater
You’re everlasting
And You are everything, everything, everything
Jesus You are
–
[Pre-Chorus]
‘Cause I’m in love with You
Yeah I’m in love with You
For all You’ve brought me through
My praise belongs to You
Woah, oh, oh, oh, oh
–
[Chorus]
This is how I praise You
This is how I praise You
–
[Bridge]
Glory to the King, glory to the King
To the one who reigns on high
Everybody sing, let the praises ring
To the one who reigns on high
Glory to the King, glory to the King
To the one who reigns on high
Everybody sing, let the praises ring
To the one who reigns on high
–
[Chorus]
This is how I praise You
This is how I praise You
+++++
I really love How I Praise. Many times I saw them perform it during their Sunday worship services and also during their January 2020 stop here in the Philippines (via YouTube). I not only enjoy the song every time, I also lift my praise to the Lord.
The lesson we can focus on in relation to this song is the praising of the Lord which the Holy Bible is full of. Christians as well as unsaved souls who could become Christians, will always learn the ways and value of praising Him. Let’s start with this holy scripture.
Sing to the LORD, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and gladness are in His place. Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, and the let the earth be glad; and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.”
1 Chronicles 16: 23-31 (NKJV)
The above scripture has lines about the Lord and glory which instantly remind me of the lines Glory to the King, Glory to the King, To the one who reigns on high from the lyrics of How I Praise. The scripture’s lines of Give to the LORD relates well to the song’s lines of I’m gonna dive in, And give You everything, everything, everything, All that I am. Ultimately, both the holy scripture and the song strongly emphasize praising the Lord in very lively ways which is the least we Christians can do since it is God who created the heavens and created us, and He is the ultimate one that idols (gods of the people) can never ever match. Defy idols, reject idolatry and don’t worship people, relics and images. It’s all about focusing strongly on the Lord and praising Him strongly. Worship the Lord directly! God is great!
Let’s check the next few scriptures.
I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up hands holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
1 Timothy 2: 8 (NKJV)
Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
Psalm 63: 4 (NKJV)
We lift up our hearts and hands To God in heaven.
Lamentations 3: 41 (NKJV)
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD.
Psalm 134: 2 (NKJV)
Uplifted hands are an integral part of Christian worship. It is done not in tradition (other churches do it as their tradition) but as a definitive part of worshiping Him with all your heart, honoring Him and blessing Him. The above four holy scriptures about lifting hands to the Lord are related to key lines in Verse 1 of the song which read: This how I praise You, I throw my hands up, To You my Saviour.
God is our creator and eternal father. For all the good He made, for all the provisions He made, for all the promises He made and kept, and for sending His Son Jesus to save us all, God deserves all of our praise. Planetshakers’ hit song is a lively reminder of this.
Overall, How I Praise is a praise and worship song I encourage you all to listen to with the Lord in your heart. We Christians who got born again are the Body of Christ. We are the church! As such, I recommend you approach your church musicians to consider playing How I Praise during Sunday worship service or during holy seminars (for as long as live music is needed). If you need an excellent song that will surely energize your church members on worshiping the Lord, How I Praise is it!
In ending this, here are a few YouTube videos of How I Praise for your enjoyment and faith in the Lord! Be led by the Holy Spirit, always!
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved souls out there.
Chances are, you may have seen the latest video previews of the much-awaited remake of Resident Evil 3 as published by varied media outlets like IGN, GameSpot and others in coordination with Capcom.
Like anyone else, I am personally excited for the remake and I was fortunate enough to have played the original version of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis on the original PlayStation way back in 1999. How different were the times back in 1999 – no Xbox LIVE yet, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram and no YouTube yet.
Out of curiosity, I went on to watch the video previews of the RE3 remake hoping to see the latest.
Jill in an encounter with Nemesis.
To my regret, it turned out that Capcom gave the gaming press too much to show. In short, spoilers were made without restraint. Apart from story and character details, there were key sections and visual elements from the game that I believe should have been kept secret. Those details, sections and visual elements could have been saved as big surprises for the gamers (especially the millions of younger gamers who never played the original Resident Evil 3), but they were spoiled! How unfortunate it was for me to have seen them.
In writing this, for those who have not yet seen those recent video previews, I will not share those here. In fact, I urge you to avoid seeing them. Regarding new stuff from those previews, I only used two screenshots to keep spoilers very minimal here.
What I can share here that is not a spoiler at all is that Capcom’s developers implemented a modernized way of dodging in the game effectively even as the default 3rd person, over-the-shoulder is used. The way it looks, dodging in the remake seems more responsive than the hit-or-miss dodging in the original RE3.
Jill and Carlos.
Just wait for the game’s April 2020 release instead and enjoy the game with limited exposure to the online previews (including text articles that shared a lot of the spoilers that the recent video previews carried).
You have been warned.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenoris still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
God is our creator, our father and our source. The Lord is our provider (Jehova-Jireh) as it was written in Genesis 22: 14 in the Holy Bible: And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”
Truly the Lord is the ultimate source of opportunities, blessings, progress, prosperity and so much more. God makes His way through the world’s economic systems to provide us with the money and other essential resources we need to survive and grow.
Ultimately, in return to receiving provisions from Him, we the creations of God are meant to thank Him in return deeply.
This brings me to a wonderful Christian praise-and-worship song that was played at our church by the very talented band – Thank You, Lord.
Thank You, Lord is a song from the Hillsong Worship album “God Is In The House” which was released way back in 1996. It was written by Dennis Jernigan. Below are the lyrics.
For all that You’ve done, I will thank You
For all the You’re going to do
For all that You’ve promised
And all that You are
Is all that has carried me through
Jesus I thank You
–
And I thank You
Thank You Lord
And I thank You
Thank You Lord
–
Thank You for loving and setting me free
Thank You for giving Your life just for me
How I thank You
Jesus I thank You
Gratefully thank You thank You
It is truly a very beautiful song and a very ideal song to sing when thanking the Lord at church. Beyond the beauty of it, it is important to take note of the key parts of the lyrics.
Here’s a look at the opening section of the lyrics.
For all that You’ve done, I will thank You
For all the You’re going to do
For all that You’ve promised
And all that You are
Is all that has carried me through
Jesus I thank You
That section reminds me of the holy message in Psalm 107: 8-9 (NKJV) which goes as follows:
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
In reality, God created us all to worship Him and serve Him while living our personal lives with holiness under Him. He did not create us to be evil. As His creations, we are not meant to be consumed by poverty, darkness and frustration. For as long as we are faithful to the Lord, He will take care of us and provide for our needs in ways that go beyond our understanding while we live in the flesh. God always keeps His promises and we all have to be patient for the promise to be fulfilled because whatever turns out is always worth the wait for it came from Him.
As we are blessed and loved by Him, we should give thanks. Look at this scripture from Psalm 95: 2-3 (NKJV).
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, And the King above all gods!
God is great and the ultimate provider, the ultimate father and the ultimate justice! He is always the greatest no matter where you live in and no matter how many deities or idols there are in the culture of the place you live in. If we resort to idolatry worshiping people, the false gods or whatever, life will be hollow, sad and filled with darkness. But with God, we will be blessed and taken cared of by Him for as long as we remain faithful to Him. God is real and He is watching us all. All the more reason for us to thank God, give back to Him and honor Him! The above scripture relates well with the song’s line: For all that You’ve done, I will thank You.
Now let’s take a look at the scripture in 1 Chronicles 16: 34 (NKJV).
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
God is not only the ultimate provider, He is also very generous and kind to the faithful ones. It is a fact that the Lord rewards the faithful abundantly. The mention of His mercy enduring forever is related to His forgiving of those who repented to Him and submitted themselves to His authority. This alone is another great reason we have to be thankful to Him.
Going back to the song Thank You, Lord, you can clearly see now why it is a great and holy song to perform when thanking God for the love, the care and provisions He blessed us with in return for being faithful to Him.
Of course, while you are free to enjoy His blessings, don’t be too focused on yourself (avoid covetousness, greed, selfishness and the like) and never let your wants dominate you. Being blessed, remind yourself to give something back to Him (note: at least 10% of your income through tithing) and become a blessing to others. Without God, none of the blessings would happen and our existence would have been hollow.
In closing this piece, watch below the official Hillsong YouTube video of their 1996 performance of Thank You, Lord.
Enjoy it and always be faithful and thankful to the Lord!
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenoris still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
For other Christian Music Appreciation articles related to Hillsong, click the highlighted below.
I am very pleased to announce to you all that my website and myself got a major boost of support from Crypto Comics, a YouTuber who specializes in comic book reviews and, at the same time, he is also a publisher of independently made comics.
I recently donated several old comic books to him in support of his franchise and YouTube channel. The good news here is that he not only received them, he recorded an unboxing video (opening the package) and went as far as calling for support for this website, my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco, the Geeks and Villagers Facebook page, the Havenor Fantasy Facebook page and myself.
You can watch the video right below.
Crypto Comics and I share common interests in comic books, specifically superhero stuff from the 1990s. We both admire the Ultraverse line of comic books that were published by Malibu Comics. He has published a whole lot of video reviews of comic books published by Marvel Comics, DC Comics and others. I personally enjoy watching his video reviews which come with reviewing the comic book, reading the dialogue and narration and providing some in-depth analysis.
I also encourage you to visit the Crypto Comics FB page right here.
Recognize this on FB and you’ll find the FB page.
Thank you for your time. Please support Crypto Comics and enjoy all the good stuff about comic books he made available online.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenoris still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Hi everyone! I got something nice to share to you in this latest edition of my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) series.
Recently while attending Sunday worship service, our church musicians (who are very blessed by God with great talent as each of them is faithful to Him) performed a song that really engaged me and my fellow Christians. That song was The Stand.
Written by Joel Houston and released in March 2006 as part of the United We Stand album of Hillsong United, The Stand is a lively reminder that each of us was created by God. As His creations, we truly have a purpose to honor Him, serve Him, worship Him and keep on being faithful to Him. Along the way, the Lord loves us and He is so generous and merciful to us. Don’t forget how long and how much God has blessed the faithful. God is the source of all prosperity, opportunities and progress!
For your reference, here are the lyrics of The Stand.
The Stand
You stood before creation
Eternity within Your hands
And you spoke all life into motion
My soul now to stand
–
You stood before my failure
And carried the cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon Your shoulders
My soul now to stand
–
So what can I say
And what could I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You
–
So I’ll walk upon salvation
Your Spirit alive in me
This life to declare Your promise
My soul now to stand
–
So what can I say
What could I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You
–
So what could I say
And what could I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You
–
So I’ll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
So I’ll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours
–
(So I’ll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
And I’ll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours)
–
So I’ll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
And I’ll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours (Oh Lord I will stand)
–
So I’ll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
I’ll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours
–
So I’ll stand
(With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
I’ll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours)
–
So what could I say
And what could I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You
Before the song was played during Sunday worship, the Passion Translation of Romans 12: 1 was displayed on screen and emphasized by the lead singer of the service. It read:
Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.
This particular holy scripture is related with the lyrics of The Stand. Truly, we should humble ourselves and submit to Him. We who have been saved should not let ourselves be dominated by religion and its idols (note: do not worship people, images, those carved figures and many other elements that keep you away from the Lord) so that our respective personal relationships with Him will not be affected negatively. Each and every one us should be mindful as to why God created us and we really have a purpose to live in holiness under Him.
Those who are unsaved (or even lost as souls) can be saved and the good news is that there is still time for them to willingly decide to be born again. Anyone who has sinned a lot before can still surrender themselves to the Lord directly for His forgiveness and acceptance. Anyone who does not want to remain an unsaved or lost soul anymore can still reach out to Jesus and make the major decision to accept Him as Lord and Savior. Truly to be born again means becoming a new creation of the Lord with a purpose to live in holiness.
If you are already a saved soul living with the Holy Spirit in your heart, try to reach out to the many unsaved souls out there and invite them to your church to the best you can. Saving the unsaved and the lost souls is a goal worth achieving again and again all for the Lord. Those who will be saved will not enter religion (which itself is unnecessary and deceptive) but have a genuine personal relationship with God. There is more to the relationship with the Lord than religion.
Back to the song, there is a clear message about gaining salvation through God who sent us His begotten son Jesus to save us all. We all struggle with sin, temptation, frustration, darkness and challenges before realizing that we were all created by the Lord who had been watching us all the time. These were emphasized in the first three paragraph of the lyrics of The Stand.
You stood before creation
Eternity within Your hands
And you spoke all life into motion
My soul now to stand
–
You stood before my failure
And carried the cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon Your shoulders
My soul now to stand
–
So what can I say
And what could I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You
As I mentioned previously, Adam’s rebellion towards God recorded in the Book of Genesis marked the fall of humanity and in the many generations that followed, people struggled and sinned until Jesus came to spread the good news (as well as God’s love), died for everyone’s sins and returned from the dead. Jesus ascended to Heaven with a promise that He will return to us.
Clearly, as creations of God, we are destined to be saved and that can only be realized by believing in the Lord willingly and by practicing faith by the heart (not the mind). As I learned from our pastor, we have free will (which God gave us) and we can decide to authorize Heaven on Earth.
There is still time and hope for any unsaved soul to be born again (refer to Jesus’ words in John 3: 3 and the subsequent verses) to become a child of God, to stand with arms high and heart abandoned in awe of the Lord, and truly be His. Now that you’ve read this, I encourage you to read the Holy Bible and apply what you learned into your life, listen to The Stand and let its holy lyrics flow in you, reach out to the Lord, pray to Him always and follow His plan for you!
In concluding this article, embedded below is a YouTube video of The Stand. Enjoy this and move forward with the Lord! 😊
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenoris still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrascoand follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
To truly connect to God and His Son Jesus (our Lord and Savior), one must have a genuine heart of worship and deep faith. In this piece, let me discuss with you the beautiful and holy Christian worship song The Heart of Worship (written by Matt Redman) which was part of the album Intimacy.
We start with these two YouTube videos.
Below are the lyrics for your reference.
+++++
When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that’s of worth
That will bless your heart
I’ll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what you have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart
–
I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, Jesus
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, Jesus
–
King of endless worth
No one could express
How much you deserve
Though I’m weak and poor
All I have is yours
Every single breath
I’ll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what you have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart
–
I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, Jesus
I’m sorry, lord, for the thing I’ve made it
And it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, Jesus
–
I’m coming back to the heart of worship,
And it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, Jesus
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
And it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, Jesus
–
It’s all about you
It’s all about you
It’s all about you
It’s all about you
It’s all about you
It’s all about you
–
It’s all about you
It’s all about you
It’s all about you
It’s all about you
–
I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, Jesus
I’m sorry, lord, for the thing I’ve made it
And it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, Jesus
+++++
Clearly faith is meant to be done by the heart and not by the mind. There are verses in the Holy Bible about the heart of worship. Here are some for your reflection and enlightenment.
I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore.
(Psalm 86: 12)
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
(Ephesians 5: 19-20)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
(Colossians 16: 3)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
(Proverbs 3: 5)
And Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ (Matthew 22: 37)
Going back to The Heart of Worship, in my view the song emphasizes a person’s return to the Lord Jesus Christ with the will to worship Him. Lines like I’m coming back to the heart of worship,And it’s all about you, It’s all about you, Jesus, make this clear. It also acknowledges that the Lord looks into a person’s heart to determine if it is a heart of worship or not. In other words, there is no hiding on the part of people from the Lord.
This brings me to the lesson that worship is not limited in the form of words about a promise to worship but rather it is about dedication to worship the Lord, to trust in Him, to thank Him for His blessings, love and care, and live life with continued faith in Him. In short, worshiping the Lord is an essential part of genuine Christian living.
The song and the above bible verses strongly resonate with me for I had gone through the frustrations of religion-based living, descended into living in darkness (caused by religion), became a lost soul (for years I stopped believing in God and Jesus) before finding my way back to Lord by accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Being Born Again and being part of the Kingdom of Light, I received the Holy Spirit in my heart and I worshiped the Lord a lot more than my entire old life. My faith, my trust and my dedication to the Lord are stronger than ever before. This is my experience about living with a heart of worship.
It is indeed true that religion is not essential because the personal relationship with God matters more which requires faith (certainly not religion). As such, you need to be born again and I encourage you to read John 3: 3-7 in the Holy Bible.
Do not forget that you should only worship the Lord. Avoid worshiping idols, both living and non-living. Don’t worship people. For true Christian living, your heart of worship and faith are truly meant for the Lord only.
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