Not sure if anyone else does this, I actually hope you do, but I’m a big fan of worshiping in the car on the ride into work every day.  i’ve got about a 45 minute commute each morning & try to find different ways to worship each day.  some days it’s music, some days it’s listening to readings of the bible, some days it’s listening to sermons from various preachers.  this particular morning it was worship with Bruce Springsteen.  let me give you some lyrics to these 2 songs:

Track 9: Rocky Ground:

Rise up shepherd, rise up,  Your flock has roamed far from the hills
Stars have faded, the sky is still, Sun’s in the heavens and a new day’s rising

You use your muscle and your mind and you pray your best
That your best is good enough, the Lord will do the rest
You raise your children and you teach them to walk straight and sure
You pray that hard times, hard times, come no more
You try to sleep, you toss and turn, the bottom’s dropping out
Where you once had faith now there’s only doubt
You pray for guidance, only silence now meets your prayers
The morning breaks, you awake but no one’s there

We’ve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground,  There’s a new day coming

(c) 2012 Bruce Springsteen

and Track 10: Land of Hope and Dreams:

I will provide for you, And I’ll stand by your side
You’ll need a good companion now, for this part of the ride
Leave behind your sorrows, Let this day be the last
Tomorrow there’ll be sunshine, And all this darkness past

Big wheels roll through fields, Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams

This train, Carries saints and sinners
This train, Carries losers and winners
This Train, Carries whores and gamblers
This Train, Carries lost souls
This Train, Dreams will not be thwarted
This Train, Faith will be rewarded
This Train, Hear the steel wheels singin’
This Train, Bells of freedom ringin’
This Train, Carries broken-hearted
This Train, Thieves and sweet souls departed
This Train, Carries fools and kings
This Train, All aboard

(c) 2012 Bruce Springsteen

Both songs speak of hope and clearly speak of faith & speak of new days coming.  Yes, these are very universal themes, themes that can be taken in many different ways but on this particular day, in my car, with the sun shining and the windows down, as i looked over the Hudson River…Bruce was preaching to me.  Feeding my soul.  Bringing me a little closer to the God that i believe in.  The God that looks down and says, “I’m here”, I’m the One that will see you through the rocky ground, i’m the One that will be here when all else fails.  I’m the One that will bring you to the land of hope and dreams. I sent my Son to do nothing else but that, provide a way for you to enter the land of hope and dreams.  I sent my Son to die for you so that you could get on that train and live with Me forever.  Your faith will be rewarded, your broken heart will be restored, your hurt will be replaced with joy.  Pain will be overcome by goodness and hope will come.  No matter what, hope will come. Hope will prevail.  Whatever you’re going through, know that.  Our God continues push hope through the darkness.

I needed that that morning.  I needed this & God came through.  Who knows if Bruce knew that when he wrote those songs he’d be leading worship on that Wednesday morning.  It doesn’t really matter.  All i know is that when God wants to speak to you, don’t wait for the voice from heaven to come booming down.  Turn on a little Bruce Springsteen. The Real Boss used the other boss to speak to me that morning.

Here’s “Land of Hope and Dreams” from a performance in New York City:

i love the fact that i can pray when i drive, i can worship when i drive.  this is what i tried to do as much as i could.  i thought a lot about easter, a lot about sacrifice and a lot about how little i sacrifice.   i try to sacrifice, i really do.  i fasted a few weeks ago for three days, it was a liquid fast, it was extremely difficult but incredibly humbling.  i did that for two weeks in a row and then again for one more day the week after that.  a total of seven days of liquid fasting.  i won’t share all of what i fasted for but one major part of it was for worship at the church that i lead worship at, Liquid Church in Nutley, NJ.  i pray for the church daily, i pray that God would use the worship to draw His church closer to Him.  i pray that i would lead humbly, lead in a way that would glorify Him and not glorify me.  i don’t want the attention, i want the attention to be drawn to Him.

i get so many people every Sunday that come up and say, “oh i love your voice”, or “great music this morning”, that’s all well and good but i really want people to say, “great worship this morning” or “i was really drawn closer to God through the worship this morning”.  i don’t lead worship on Sundays or at my shows so that people can see how great i sing or how well i perform.  i lead worship because it’s part of my DNA, it’s part of who i am.  i lead worship so that others can experience what i’m experiencing….an encounter with a God like no other.  A surrender to the one who loved me so much that He gave His only Son to die for me so that others might live.  I worship because God deserves all that I can give Him.

When you worship this week, see beyond the musicians and the singers, look for God in the songs, look for God in the music.  He, after all, is the One who gave us the music, gave us the melodies, gave us the talent to do what we do.

Don’t get me wrong, i appreciate the encouragement, but i want there to be a bigger picture than just the performance. It’s not about the performance, it’s about the heart behind the performance, it’s about worshiping a God who deserves the sacrifice of who we are.  I don’t want to be a fan of God, i want to be someone who is a true follower, someone who leads others to Him through the talents that He’s given me.  That’s what i try to do on Sundays and every other day of my life.  I encourage you to do the same.

So as you drive around this week, even if it’s for 10 minutes, try to pray, try to worship instead of listening to talk radio or the ball game.  take a moment to sacrifice, sacrifice for the one who sacrificed so much for us.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it’s shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2-3)

I just finished John Eldredge’s “Beautiful Outlaw”.  He ends the book by pleading with his readers to hold on to this, to hold on to what we just experienced together.  i thought it was a brilliant way to end a book.  so many times i finish a book and move on to the next one without applying the principles that i just learned.

the principle in this book is simple.  Jesus is life.  Jesus should be in every aspect of my life.  He should be in everything that i do.  Here’s a quick excerpt from the book that hits this right on the head:

“When i’m in Christ or he’s in me or however you describe that, everything is different-the way i see myself, the way i see you.  i am the man i want to be.  as we love him, experience him, allow his life to fill ours, the personality of Jesus transforms our personalities.  the timid become bold and the bold become patient and the patient become fierce and the uptight become free and the religious become scandalously good. They look to him and become radiant (Ps. 34:5).  they looked to Jesus and became like him.  loving Jesus helps us to become what human beings were meant to be.  as Athanasius said “he became what we are that we might become what he is“…..you realize that whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not-in all our efforts we are continually portraying the personality of God to the world.”

wow.  in all our efforts, we are continually portraying the personality of God to the world.  think about that just for a minute.  think about your day, think about how you represented yourself today to the people that you interacted with.  i’m actually ashamed right now.  i walked past no less than five people today that needed monetary help and i did nothing.  kept on walking.  i walked past people that were hungry today and did nothing.  did i smile to the cashier at the Starbucks that i had breakfast at.  i think so, can’t remember.

the message of the book is plain & simple.  jesus was a guy that people wanted to be around, a guy that people could relate to.  he was easy to talk to. he loved and loved well.  he was compassionate, kind, caring, helpful, loving, a friend, a companion.  he did it with ease, he was humble about it.  never boasting but giving all the credit to his father in heaven.  Jesus became what we are so that we could become what He is.  Am i getting closer to what He is, do i have those traits?  sometimes.  i’d like to have them more.

Eldredge goes on to say that every morning now he prays this prayer – “Lord Jesus, i give my life to you today, to live your life”.

This desire, to know the real Jesus, is something I strive for.  He’s someone i want to be around more often.  i stumble, i fall, i continue to frustrate myself with how ridiculously i look at life sometimes, but if i strive for Him more, maybe some of those things will change, maybe i won’t stumble as much, maybe i’ll have the right words to say to someone at the right time.  maybe Jesus will shine just a little bit more through me and maybe the world will see the personality of God a little bit clearer though his child.

i encourage you to read this book.  As Eldredge says at the end of the book “Let his life fill yours, introduce him to others, there are a lot of people out that there need to know this Beautiful Outlaw”.

check out more info on this at http://www.beautifuloutlaw.net

thanks for reading, pls comment here on this page…..

There is the piano figure that starts the track that is just a great hook on it’s own, then these pleading voices come in….basically it’s a love song, a song that describes the desire that you have when you’ve broken up and really want to just talk to that person again.

“it’s a quarter after one, i’m all alone and i need you now, said i wouldn’t call but i’ve lost all control but i need you now, and i don’t know how i can do without, i just need you now”

they stroll into the second verse….”and i wonder if i ever cross your mind, for me it happens all the time”…. more pleading, more heartfelt vocals.  pure unadulterated, unashamed pleading for another person.  ”i just need you now”….

they finally get to the best line in the song, and repeat it twice..”i’d rather hurt than feel nothing at all”….

think about that line for a minute.

the message of the song is simple, we need other people, we need them to talk to us, to love us, to almost validate our existence.  in  a world of everything being focused on “me”, this song stands apart and says it’s not just about me but it’s about “us”.  i need “us” to be an “us” again.

i couldn’t help but relate to that on a spiritual level.  have you ever had those nights where it literally is a quarter after one and you’re all alone and you need God to intervene, to reach down and call you, to let you know that it’s not all about “you” but it’s about the relationship that you have as a human and a savior.

i have.  they are lonely moments.  moments when you feel like it’s just not happening.  where is God in all of it?

If you have those “need you now” moments, don’t fret, we all have them, we all cry out for a savior.  we say “i need you now” and feel that He’s nowhere to be found and then find a verse like this:

Deuteronomy 31:6 – “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

God will never leave us.  God will never forsake us.  These are promises that cannot be denied because they are written in His word & He tells us that His word will never return void (Isaiah 55:11).  Even when it’s quarter after one and you feel all alone, God will be there.  You need Him now, like you need him every moment of every day.   I need Him now, like I need Him every moment of every day.

Check out the song, it’s incredible.  It’s why God created music.  You can find it on their iTunes Session album.  Click here & enjoy.

AL ANDREWS – The Boy The Kite & The Wind

- Al gave a fantastic talk on dreaming and bringing your dreams into reality.  i won’t give away the story but check out his website & more importantly check out his book.  it’s a really great children’s book that he wrote.  he’s using all of the proceeds to benefit various organizations around the world that will help people “Take Flight”.  Organizations ranging from education and food programs to development projects and orphan care.  Buy a book, read the book to your kids or grandkids and tell others about the book so they can help support this worthy, worthy cause.  You can buy it here.

MIKE WESTENDORF – “Blessed Is the One”

- Mike and I have kind of become kindred spirits in the indie world.  He and I have been sharing our journey a bit with each other and it’s been a cool relationship to have.  He’s released a new single called “Blessed Is The One” that you can download for FREE via noise trade by clicking here.  Enjoy.

TONY DUNGY speaks on Adoption at the Superbowl…..in your living room…..

This is pretty cool.  Tony Dungy has long been a supporter of adoption or a while.  For those of you who don’t know,  Tony Dungy is the best selling author of  Quiet Strength, Uncommon and new release,  The Mentor Leader. He led the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl victory in 2007, the first such win for an African American coach. He retired from coaching in 2008 and now serves as an analyst for NBC’s Football Night in America. He and his wife, Lauren, are the parents of seven children.  Four of them have been adopted.  Take a listen to his thoughts on adoption:

“God places people in your lives in different ways and he knows what he’s doing. And, he has things set up perfectly. Our, actually, first child that, son that we adopted, Jordan, ended up having a medical condition that I don’t know that he would of survived with anyone else. But, we had the resources; we had the insurance to be able to take care of it. My wife has had the patience to deal with it. It was just the perfect situation for Jordan to come into, and God had it all planned out. It also taught us, you know, basically he adopts all of us. We come into his family that same way, so it’s been a real, real blessing.”

Here’s the video that you can show in your living room during half time:

Click here to view the embedded video.

LIVE IN NASHVILLE:

Thought I’d share with you a little video of a performance I did at the World Vision conference a last week.  It’s of the song “The Love of Jesus” which is the first single from “The Walk” ep.  The whole reason for the conference was to hear about the work that World Vision is doing all over the world.  The performance is good but I’d love to have someone email me back and say that they sponsored a kid via this website:  http://www.sponsorachildnow.net – enjoy the music and then save a life.  i’ll send you a few CD’s and a t-shirt if you do, just let me know you did.  thanks so much for partnering with me on this cause.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks for reading, listening, supporting & caring.  All the best…..