Finding God In Secular Things- Phillip Phillips "Home"

A lot of times, people think the only place you can hear God’s voice is in church, or Christian events, or Christian books, or Christian music. God is not that limited. He can speak through secular things as well. In order to prove my point this week’s post is about how God spoke to me through Home by Philip Philips. First the song verse (S:), then my interpretation (I:)followed by a (B:)bible verse.

S: Hold on, to me as we go

I: God wants us to cling to Him as we go through life. He wants to be in constant fellowship with his children.

B:1 Thessalonians 5:21 “hold on to what is good.”

S: As we roll down this unfamiliar road

I: Life is full of unknowns for us, and it can be scary, but we can find comfort in that fact that this road is not unfamiliar to the one who made it, and he’s walking down this road right beside you every step of the way in case you fall.

B: Psalm 23:4 “even if I walk through a very dark valley… you are with me”

S: And although this wave is stringing us along

I: Trials and heartache can make every second feel like an eternity.

B:1 Corinthians 15:30 “why also do we endure trails every hour?”

S: Just know you’re not alone

I: But, God is with us. We’re not alone.

B: Matthew 1:23 “They will name him Immanuel. (Immanuel means “God with us”)

S: Cause I’m going to make this place your home

I: This is all in His plan and if we ever need to go home all we have to do is go to Him.

B: 2 Corinthians 5:8 “So I say that we have courage. We really want to be away from this body and be at home with the Lord"

S: Settle down, it’ll all be clear

I: It’s said countless times in the Bible; Do not be afraid.

B: Matthew 17:7 “Do not be afraid”

S: Don’t pay no mind to the demons

I: Our God is stronger than them, and he will fight the battle for us.

B: Mark 1:34 “[Jesus] forced many demons to leave people”

S: They fill you with fear

I: If we don’t let him fight it for us, we will surely lose.

B: Job 3:25 “everything I feared and dreaded has happened to me”

S: The trouble it might drag you down

I: We can get so caught up in all of life’s messy inconveniences.

B: Job 3:26 “I have no peace or quietness. I have no rest, only trouble.”

S: If you get lost you can always be found

I: But all we have to do to find our way back to look back to Him.

B: Luke 15:9 “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin”

S: Just know you’re not alone

I: Because he will always be there.

B: Joshua 1:9 “the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”

S: Cause I’m going to make this place your home

I: And he has a place prepared for you. You weren’t made for this life. Earth is not your home. Heaven is.

B: John 14:3 “After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am”

S: Settle down, it’ll all be clear

I: So don’t be afraid.

B: Romans 15:33 “The God of peace be with you all. Amen.”

S: Don’t pay no mind to the demons they fill you with fear

I: When we’re scared,

B: 1 Corinthians 2:3 “I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling”

S: The trouble it might drag you down

I: Full of hurt,
B: 1 Peter 1:6 “though no for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials”

S: If you get lost , you can always be found

I: And lost your way,

B: Luke 15:32 “We had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

S: Just know you’re not alone

I: You don’t have to face it alone.

B: Matthew 28:20 “Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.”

S: Cause I’m going to make this place your home.

I: And you can find your way back home.

B: John 14:23 “Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

            This song is part of Billboard’s top one hundred. Most people would think of it as secular. I, however, think that God likes to use what would surprise us the most to communicate with us. Jesus was called the Word. God communicated with us with the Word. With Jesus. He surprised everyone when he did too. Using a virgin girl, about to married to a carpenter, to give birth to a baby in a manager. Then even when Jesus grew up, he wasn’t a political figure or war hero. He spoke of peace, and love and acceptance.  If God could surprise us then, what makes you think he can’t surprise us now? What makes you think he can’t use a pop culture song to tell his children that he loves them?

            Thank you guys so much for coming back to read my posts. Don’t be shy! In the comments, tell me what is something that you see God in that most people wouldn’t think of as spiritual?

Studying the Books of the Bible; John

"When they finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs”

John 21:15

Welcome back all! This week I want to talk about one of the gospels. One that is different from the rest. John. While Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the synoptic gospels, John is not, because despite being a gospel and writing about the same overall topic and time period, John many differences from the other Gospels. Perhaps because John was very different from the other disciples.

“God loves the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life”

John 3:16

I’ll admit it, before researching for this, I never really thought much about the apostle John. When I thought of the apostles my first thought was always Peter and my second always Judas. I never knew how close John was to Jesus. I should have, I’ve read the gospels enough, but I never really noticed.

“A new command I give you; love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34-35

As told in Matthew 2:21-23, John is the son of Zebedee, and him and his brother, James, were a pair of inseparable fishermen. They weren’t the only fishermen, or the only brothers, or the only brothers who were fishermen out of the disciples. Peter and Andrew were also brothers who were fishermen. There was something special about John though. In Matthew 17, John goes with Jesus, his brother James and Peter up a mountain for the famous Transfiguration where they see Elijah and Moses. Only three disciples went on that mountain and John was one of them. Then in Mark 10:37-38, John and his brother ask Jesus if they can sit at his right hand in heaven. Though, as you know, Jesus wouldn’t promise them that, you know Jesus loved John because when he was about to die on the cross he looked to John and asked John specifically to take care of Jesus’ mother (John 19:26-27). Also you may or may not know this fisherman was the author of four other books of the bible as well; 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation.

“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

John 14:23

So, we get it. John was important. How was his gospel so different that it couldn’t be called synoptic though? Glad you asked.

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this; to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

John 15:12-13

The Temptation of Jesus that is found in Matthew 4:1-11,  Mark 1:9-13 and Luke 4:1-13 is no where to be found in John. Same with the Transfiguration. Even though John was there he was the only one not to write about it (Matthew 17:1-13,  Mark 9:1-8, Luke 9:28-36). The Lord’s Supper is missing in John (Matthew 26:26-30, Mark 14:22-26, and Luke 22:7-20). The Sermon on the Mount, so famous in Matthew 5-7 and the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6:9-13,  are only in Matthew, not in John. Also John doesn’t have any parables or talk about Jesus casting out demons. Why would that be? Why did John decide to not include these important things?

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”

John 17:24

John wanted the focus to be on love. He didn’t want to show Jesus the strong in temptation, or the holy in the transfiguration. Not Jesus the all knowing, who predicted his own death at the last supper, along with predicting that he would be betrayed and that Peter would pretend not to know him. He didn’t want to write about Jesus that teaches at Sermon on the Mount, that teaches with parables or taught us the lord’s prayer. He didn’t want to focus on the miraculous casting out of demons. He wanted to focus on Jesus’ love. He also had stories not in the other gospels. Jesus’ first miracle at a wedding, Jesus and telling the Samaritan Woman about the Living Water, the death and resurrection of Lazarus, were all only in the book of John. All acts of love.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

John 15:9

Over time, along with some other fun things, I plan on going through all the books in the New Testament and talking about them. What would you like to know about the books? Do you want to hear more about the history or what’s actually in it? Would you like interpretations of specific stories in them? Whatever you want, I’ll try to incorporate.

Thanks and God Bless!

Jillian

Who Am I?

Hey everyone! I started Becoming Still because I have seen in the world around me, and in myself, a distance from God that I’m not happy with. So I’m starting with the man (I mean… woman) in the mirror.

Now I could tell you some of the superficial things about me. Twenty years old. College student just trying to graduate so I can move on to seminary. I like loose-leaf tea, devouring books and learning anything new, whether it’s a new language, a new instrument, or even just learning how to drive stick. (I’m going to need prayers for the last one).

But is that really what you care about? Do you really read blogs just to learn fun trivial facts about strangers? I mean, if so, all power to you. I don’t judge. But I have a feeling you’re here for more than that. You’re here to read something that you can apply to your own life. No guarantees that it will be life changing (though that would be so cool) but I’d thought I’d start my first post with my beginning. My testimony.

I’ve always believed in God and loved church and sermons but I still felt like communication with God was my monologue then His, not a conversation. I felt like the love of God was important, but not enough. I still believed I couldn’t survive without acceptance from someone, anyone, else.

After a miserable year full of death, abandonment and many panic attacks I found myself completely alone and abandoned. I didn’t have anyone else. God was my only hope of survival.

I’ve been reading Christian books for a while, devouring them really, and finally I found one that saved me. Many of you might have heard it. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.

It taught me how to have a conversation with God not a monologue. Once I learned that, I finally got to actually know Him, and I learned that He was enough. I’ve learned two words that have become my mantra; pray and listen.

“pray without ceasing”

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (ESV)

“For God speaks time and time again but nobody notices”

Job 33:14 (ISV)

I would have never been able to get through without Him. My whole world was crushed. Now it’s made right. Being able to communicate gave me a sense of love and belonging when all I ever knew before was fickleness and rejection.

I really appreciate any and all of you who follow me into my journey of closeness with God through Becoming Still. I would love to get to know you. So go ahead. Tell me your testimony. Even if mine wasn’t life changing to you, yours may be to someone else. Yours may be life changing to me.

All of God’s Blessings,

Jillian