More Than a Song - Discovering the Truth of Scripture Hidden in Today's Popular Christian Music

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In difficult seasons of life we often seek to know "why," or even blame someone or something as if it makes it all better. This week's song "Thy Will" by Hillary Scott is a moving ballad of surrender to the will of a God we can trust. I use this song to introduce us to Hagar, who had to do a little submitting to God's will herself.

I find it so interesting that Hagar gets to name God in this section of God's Word.

On this episode I discuss:

• Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - our Bible Interaction Tool Exercise this week is:
  • Journal your dialogue with God
• Being in a situation where you thought God led you, but now you are just broken and hurt
• The story behind why Hillary Scott hasn't shared what the song is about for her - You Tube Video
• Potential areas of Scripture that this song might lead - Matthew 6, Luke 11
• The promise of God to Abram without the "how" or "when" details we all long for - Genesis 15:5-6
• Introduction to Hagar, servant of Sarai in Genesis 16
• How it ended up that Hagar was pulled into Abram and Sarai's story - Genesis 16:2
• From conception to contempt - Genesis 16:3-4
• How Sarai was hoppin' mad at the consequences of her own choices - Genesis 16:5-6
• Some messages by Beth Moore that helped me understand this section better - The God Who Sees
• God's tendency to ask us questions to draw into dialogue with Him - Genesis 16:7-9
• God's call for submission along with a promise - Genesis 16:10-12
• The part where Hagar names God - Genesis 16:13

 

   

Additional Resources

• Lyrics and the story behind the song - Taste of Country

This Week's Challenge

Read Genesis 16 and try this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises of journaling your dialogue with God based on the questions posed to Hagar in verse 8. Then, if God gives you direction, follow it...submit to His authority over your life. You can trust Him.

 

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We can hide behind convenient truth when things are swell, but when our feet are to the fire the deep truth tends to come out. Will we be willing to log years of faithfulness such that our circumstances no longer define God's ability or position in our minds? "Even If" by MercyMe leads us to a powerful "even if" moment in Scripture.

What can we learn from three friends in a foreign land?

On this episode I discuss:

• Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include
  • Reading in context
  • Reviewing introductions to books of the Bible
  • Consider the historical context
• Introduction to the Book of Daniel - BlueLetterBible.org
• The background of the three friends highlighted in Daniel 3
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's position in the province of Babylon - Daniel 2:49
• Despite their wisdom and faithful service to the king, there were those waiting to tattle on the friends - Daniel 3:8
• What the friends chose to direct their attention to
• We don't have to defend ourselves and we don't have to defend God
• The enemy's "go-to" play from his playbook as old as the Garden of Eden itself
• The fact that the friends had long since decided how they would respond

   

Additional Resources

Download the single or entire album by clicking the link below.

• Lyrics

This Week's Challenge

Read Daniel 3 in context -- meaning start in chapter 1 and read all the way through chapter 3. Consider the historical context of this story. Perhaps even complete additional study on the historical details. Ask yourself how you would respond in this situation. Decide today that you will remain faithful even if God doesn't choose to rescue you in the manner you desire.

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Your emotions and feelings are real, but they are not reliable. This week we will use "Maybe It's Ok" by We Are Messengers to explore the truth about God so that we can truly say, "It's okay that I'm not okay."

We can trust God to hold it all together even when we feel like it's all falling apart. Let's discover this together in Scripture.

On this episode I discuss:

• Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include:
  • Reading in context
  • Make a list
  • Follow the cross references
• The wonderful conference I attended - Proclaim Truth Conference
• Your emotions and feelings are real, but they are not reliable
• Instead of taking our cues from our emotions, we rely upon who God has told us He is
• It is wrong to seek knowledge of self independent of our knowledge of God
• Reading Colossians 1:15-20 to discover the characteristics of Christ
• Discovering that not only did Christ create all things, but He holds all things together
• Following the cross reference to John 1:1-3
• Making a list of all the things Christ created
• How all things are created for Christ...not us
• Christ is the sustainer of all things - Hebrews 1:3

 

Additional Resources

• The story behind the song "Maybe It's OK" by We Are Messengers - YouTube
• Lyrics - Klove

This Week's Challenge

Read Colossians this week and then take a few moments to home in on Colossians 1:15-20. Make a list of the characteristics of Christ you see here. Use a study Bible or online resource to follow cross-references to other parts of God’s Word to see what it says about these characteristics of Christ. Really consider these characteristics and then view your “not ok” circumstances through the lens of the Savior who holds all things together.

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Sometimes our lives can be broken. Other times we can be completely decimated -- rendering us into a pile of dust. How fortunate for us that we serve a Creator Who knows just what to do with dust. Mack Brock sings of God's ability to create out of dust in his song "Into Dust."

Let's be encouraged together as we explore what God can do with a little dust in Scripture.

On this episode I discuss:

• Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include:
  • Reading in context
  • Make a list
• An example of how something may look perfect on the outside, but be so fragile it can explode into a cloud of dust
• The story behind the song "Into Dust" by Mack Brock - Worship Together
• The book by Lysa Terkeurst - It's Not Supposed to Be This Way
• "Dust doesn't have to signify the end. Dust is often what must be present for the new to begin." - Lysa Terkeurst Article
• How in Scripture God uses dust to create, to heal, and to start over
• God using dust to create - Genesis 2:4-7
• God using dust to heal - John 9:1-7
• How God doesn't NEED dust...He spoke into creation and healed from afar...but He sometimes chooses to use it
• God uses dust and water (a.k.a. clay) to form and reform us into the vessel as He sees fit - Jeremiah 18:1-12

 

Additional Resources

• The story behind the song "Into Dust" by Mack Brock with Lyrics and Chords - Worship Together

This Week's Challenge

Read Genesis 1 and 2, John 9, and Jeremiah 18. Ponder how God used dust in each of these areas of Scripture. Perhaps these can be jumping off points for you to read larger chunks of Scripture. Listen to His voice, repent and return. Amend your ways and deeds. Trust your dust in the hands of the master potter.

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I dropped a glass casserole lid on my tile kitchen floor the other day. It shattered into a host of small pieces. I'm still finding pieces of glass here and there. There's a difference between being broken and shattered. Shattered seem so irreparable. In Blanca's song "Shattered" she reminds us that the task of putting the shattered pieces back together is not too big for God.

Scripture offers many examples of shattered lives that God touches. We'll look at one example together this week.

On this episode I discuss:

• Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include:
  • Reading in context
  • Make observations
  • Ask questions
  • Consult a map
  • Remembering the people described in the Bible were real
  • Consult section headings
  • Read in a variety of translations
  • Make a list
  • Define words
• How we are able to comfort others because of our own experiences - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
• The daily practice of being washed in the Word as an act of worship - Ephesians 5:26-27
• The story of the widow of Nain - Luke 7:11-17
• Asking questions like, "Soon after what?" and "Where did he come from?"
• Looking up the towns mentioned in God's Word on a map...or even Google earth (after all they are real places and many still exist today)
• Picturing the crowd with Jesus and the crowd with the widow
• Defining a bier while considering the funeral customs of the day
• Making a list of the people depicted in this short story
• REALLY looking at the widow of Nain and considering the shattered pieces of her story
• Coming face to face with how Jesus RESPONDED
  • He saw her
  • He had compassion on her
  • He spoke to her
  • He came up to the bier
  • He touched the bier
  • He spoke to the dead man
  • He gave him to his mother
• The Japanese art of Kinsugi - Lifegate Article

Additional Resources

• The story behind the song "Shattered" by Blanca with Lyrics - Free CCM Article with video links
• Behind the song "Shattered" by Blanca - New Release Today Article

This Week's Challenge

Read Luke 7 for yourself. You might even take the challenge of reading in context — reading chapter 6 through 8 for yourself. Take a close look at Jesus in these stories. Identify the characteristics of your Savior that you may have glossed over in the past. Interact with the Word! Make observations, write them in lists, look up words you don’t understand, and enjoy your time being washed with the water of the Word.

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We live in a very self-centered society these days. I read a study recently that stated that 1 in 5 millennials would quit their job to become famous. This is not the way of Jesus, however. Casting Crowns song "Only Jesus" reminds us that "Jesus is the only name to remember."

Join me in Psalm 115 as we join the Psalmist in comparing and contrasting God and idols (anything that sets itself up as a god in our lives).

On this episode I discuss:

• Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include:
  • Compare and contrast
  • Make a list
  • Journal your dialogue with God
• Rapid Bible Read Through with Keith Ferrin - KeithFerrin.com
• "In the beginning, God..." everything that was created was made by God and for His glory
• The tension for me to give God glory alone and build a platform where more people can be exposed to what God is saying through me
• How the theme of Psalm 115 matches our song this week - Psalm 115:1
• Our "what have you done for me lately society" - Psalm 115:2
• God rescued us just like He rescued the Israelites from Egypt - instead of from a land of slavery, from a life of slavery to sin - 2 Corinthians 5:21
• Our great High Priest who completely saves and intercedes - Hebrews 7:24-27
• Making a t-chart with the characteristics of God on one side and the characteristics of idols on the other
• Rather than trusting in idols that are lifeless and ineffective and becoming like them, we are called to trust in the Lord - Psalm 115:9-11
• The house of Aaron (extra credit! learn more about Aaron beginning in Exodus)
• If you are a follower of Christ, you are described in the New Testament as a priest - 1 Peter 2:9-10
• Our current circumstances do NOT define our God - Psalm 115:12-13
• The final compare and contrast of the Psalm - Psalm 115:17-18

   

Additional Resources

• Lyrics and Chords - Essential Worship

This Week's Challenge

Read Psalm 115 and make a list of God’s characteristics and a list of the characteristics of idols (and ultimately those who trust in them). Compare and contrast what you see in the two lists. Feel free to follow a side-path of reading about Aaron in Exodus (and beyond) to understand a little more about the “house of Aaron” mentioned in this Psalm. Consider the idols in our day and age. Could fame or legacy be an idol that has seeped into your life threatening to dethrone Christ as the King of Kings of your heart? Declare with our song this week and through prayer, "Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name give glory."

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The red letters in our Bibles highlight the words of Christ. In Crowder's new song "Red Letters" he sings of the power of those words to change our hearts as the Holy Spirit breathes life into our spiritually dead bodies.

There are some pretty big ideas woven into this song. Let's explore the Scriptural basis together.

On this episode I discuss:

• Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include:
  • Reading in context
  • Referring to an outside resource
  • Reading in a variety of translations
  • Consulting all four gospel accounts
• The history of the Red Letter Bible - Crossway.org Article
• How this song reminds us of the Scriptural truth that we are born sinners and God sent a Messiah to redeem and restore all things
• We are sinners not only by action and attitude, but by nature - Ephesians 2:1-3
• Our destiny is hell without Jesus - John 3:35-36
• Christ's arrest and crucifixion - John 18-19
• How the priests lost sight of their true role and thus missed the Messiah in their midst
• Connecting the "prison walls" in our song to the veil in the temple torn in two - Matthew 27:50-53
• The significance of the veil being torn in two - GotQuestions.org Article
• The miracle of the cancellation of our debt through Christ's sacrifice on the cross - Colossians 2:13-14

 

Additional Resources

• Lyrics and Chords - Worship Together

This Week's Challenge

Sit in a larger chunk of Scripture by heading over to John 18 and 19 to review the details of Christ's crucifixion. Consider what Christ nailed to the cross as explained in Colossians 2:13-14 as you sing along with this week's song. Read this article about the creator of the Red Letter Bible and his hope for you, the reader of God's Word. Ponder the red letters of Christ's words, the red thread of redemption woven throughout the Old and New Testaments, and the significance of the salvation and freedom offered through Christ's sacrifice.

 

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Have you ever been asked to, "Walk a mile in someone else's shoes?" That's exactly the journey I took this week as I used Hannah Kerr's "Christmas Eve in Bethlehem" to lead me to the Christmas story once again.

This time through the Christmas story we'll seek to place ourselves inside the story and see how the story would/should go in our lives today.

On this episode I discuss:

• Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include:
  • Repetition
  • Listen to an audio version of the text
  • Remembering the people depicted in the Christmas story were REAL
• Jen Wilkin's C.I.A. Method - Comprehension, Interpretation, Application
• Tackling this week's question (that falls into the application step), "How would I respond?"
• The shepherds were real, Mary was real, Joseph was real...you get the idea
• How the "inn" may have been a family room and the manger may have been in the house - GotQuestions.org
• When Jesus comes at an inconvenient time, can we be bothered to make room?
• The warning to the Church at Laodicea that we should heed as well - Revelation 3:15-22
• Exploring how the shepherds believed - Luke 2:15-17
• Do I hear truth, go and see it for myself, and then share it with my friends?
• Taking note from the Magi who journeyed far and at great expense to worship Jesus - Matthew 2:1-12

 

Additional Resources

• Lyrics - Klove

This Week's Challenge

Read or listen to the Christmas story once again in Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2, and John 1. This time, remember that the people found in these accounts were REAL. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you respond? How DO you respond when God’s plans may lead you to give up your own comfort like the family members of Mary and Joseph? When God reveals something new to you do you hear, believe, see for yourself, and then share with others like the shepherds? Are you compelled to worship Jesus as a result of your study of Scripture like the Magi? Pray and ask God to reveal what He wants you to see in the Christmas story this year.

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"Jesus is Alive" is not normally a Christmas greeting, but I guess it could be! Josh Wilson's song "Jesus is Alive" reminds us all that Christ first came to life in human form as a baby in Bethlehem so long ago. That breath changed everything! When Jesus came back to life after Calvary, that breath changed everything again! So whether we are thinking of Christmas or the Resurrection, let's declare that Jesus is alive!

There is joy in the coming of Christ, but that doesn't mean that His coming eliminated all grief. Let's explore the two together.

On this episode I discuss:

• Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include:
  • Repetition - this is the fourth week in Christmas story Scriptures
  • Make a list
  • Read in context
• My desire for you to read the Bible and know what it says
• Making a list of verbs in Luke 2:8-20
• Contrasting the "good news of great joy" with the grief also found in and around the story
• How "long journey," "no room," and "manger crib" would not have been in my birthing plan (and frankly were probably not in Mary's either)
• How a virgin birth could cause grief - consider Matthew 1:18-19
• What may have happened between verse 24 and 25 - Matthew 1:24-25
• The section of the story we tend to skip over - Matthew 2:16-18
• How the good news that brings great joy was impacted but not superseded by sin and sorrow
• The disciples own grief to joy moments predicted by Jesus in John 16:17-22
• How Mary Magdalene's grief blinded her to the presence of Jesus standing right before her - John 20:11-18 

Additional Resources

• Lyrics and chords - Praise Charts
• The story behind the song "Jesus is Alive" by Josh Wilson - YouTube Video

This Week's Challenge

Give yourself permission to explore the joy and the grief in the Christmas story and in this season in your life. Read in Luke 2 and make a list of verbs and let them take you into your own adventure in Scripture. Don’t turn away from the grief described in Matthew chapter 2 or in John 16. Bring your sorrows and joys to the feet of Jesus. And like Mary Magdalene when she said, “I have seen the Lord!” and shared the words of Jesus with her friends, do the same with those in your life — sharing truth with a friend is the best!

 

 

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Lights are a major part of modern-day Christmas decorating traditions. It’s what completes the tree, or lights up small-town streets. The lights of Christmas and Matt Redman’s Christmas song “These Christmas Lights” is our inspiration to explore Scripture all about the Light of the World.     Use the lights of Christmas to remind you that Jesus is the true light.

On this episode I discuss:

• Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include:
  • Read in context
  • Slow down - linger
  • Repetition - this is the third week in Christmas story Scriptures
  • Read and keep on reading
  • Follow the cross references
• My struggle with lingering
• Considering the Christmas story after lingering in the knowledge of previous episodes (episode 248)
• The angels were doing what they were created to do - Luke 2:13-14, Psalm 148:5-6
• Praise the Lord...and sometimes use words
• Using Christmas lights to remind me of the glory of the Lord shining around the shepherds the night of our Savior’s birth - Luke 2:9
• Using Christmas lights to remind me that Jesus is the true light that gives light to everyone - John 1:9-14
• Using Christmas lights to remind me that Jesus is a great light in the darkness - Isaiah 9:1-2, Matthew 4:12-17
• Using Christmas lights to remind me of the call on my life to shine and reflect - Matthew 5:14-16
• Not observing the lights and looking away, but tarrying in His splendor 

 

Additional Resources

• Lyrics and chords - Worship Together
• The story behind the song "These Christmas Lights" by Matt Redman - YouTube Video

This Week's Challenge This week I explored the topic of light as it relates to Christ’s birth, but allowed what God has been teaching me to guide my path in Scripture. When I followed his lead, it took me back to Psalm 148 to link all that I've learned together. I encourage you to do the same. Read Scripture, but take time to meditate on it and consider what God may be revealing to you before quickly moving on to something else. (And yes, I explored new areas in Matthew and Isaiah, too. Sometimes I just can't help myself.)

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