concert for a cause
our church had a concert tonight with keith and kristyn getty, a married couple who are gifted hymn/songwriters. it was a free concert, but they took up an offering to raise money to set up a water filtration system in haiti. water mission international, what an awesome organization to practically serve people in need. http://www.watermissions.org
anyways...
the concert made me think of 2 things. first of all, i realized yet again that my secret dream would probably be to sing in a band. i get nervous at the idea of singing for my livelihood-- i think you have to be pretty good to do that...or not, from what i've seen of some recent pop stars, ha-- but i love the idea of rocking out with a full band, just having a blast! i am blessed to sing with our worship band at church and this definitely fulfills my passion to sing in this capacity, so no worries...i'm not going to quit my day job! :) on a more serious note, one of the Getty's songs "By Faith" is basically walking through hebrews 11 and of course, mentions heroes of the faith, not by name, but the idea that we are 'surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses'. our pastor uses that a lot to talk about how we live out the christian walk has a lot to do with those who went before us. how can we give in and give up when so many have died for the cause of Christ? heroes in the bible yes, but heroes who have walked before and among us and devoted their lives to the cause of christ, who have used their jobs, their time, their resources to further the kingdom of Christ. how can we make light of what God has called us to when it was the passion that these people pursued? i was picturing a race, like a half-marathon or a marathon, or even a 5K. i love running. i know a lot of people don't and that's fine, but for me it is not only a great way to burn calories, it is a wonderful time to think, pray, catch up with people, de-stress, etc...so, back to the race analogy. after you have finished a race, you feel good. maybe not physically, because you are exhausted, but it is the most fulfilling kind of exhausted humanly possible. ok, so, you're done with the race, handed your race chip in, hydrated a little and feeling good. well, before you get too comfy, you run back to the finish line and watch people cross the line...then you back up a little and see the folks that maybe can see the finish line but still have a ways to go...if you go back a little more, there are the guys who don't see the finish line yet but they know it's coming. one of the best things after finishing the race is cheering for those that are still going...whether you know them or not. you know what it's like to almost be done and have someone cheer for you, man it feels good. so, with that same energy and more (cause you're done running!), you cheer and encourage and holler! you can do it! almost there! finish line around the corner! finish strong! don't give up! you're so close! hang in there!
that's what our heroes of faith are saying to us. don't give up! i know it's tough, but if you could see what's coming, just hang in there! i know, i've been there and if i did it, you can do it! don't give in to that temptation to quit-- sure, it's easy to stop and walk and quit the race, but hang in there, be strong! don't give in to that sin-- i know it's the easy thing to do when you're weary, but we're we're here cheering for you and we believe in you! better yet, Christ has given you His strength, so keep going and finish strong!
thank you, heroes of faith, for your example and the motivation you give to "fight the good fight of faith".
anyways...
the concert made me think of 2 things. first of all, i realized yet again that my secret dream would probably be to sing in a band. i get nervous at the idea of singing for my livelihood-- i think you have to be pretty good to do that...or not, from what i've seen of some recent pop stars, ha-- but i love the idea of rocking out with a full band, just having a blast! i am blessed to sing with our worship band at church and this definitely fulfills my passion to sing in this capacity, so no worries...i'm not going to quit my day job! :) on a more serious note, one of the Getty's songs "By Faith" is basically walking through hebrews 11 and of course, mentions heroes of the faith, not by name, but the idea that we are 'surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses'. our pastor uses that a lot to talk about how we live out the christian walk has a lot to do with those who went before us. how can we give in and give up when so many have died for the cause of Christ? heroes in the bible yes, but heroes who have walked before and among us and devoted their lives to the cause of christ, who have used their jobs, their time, their resources to further the kingdom of Christ. how can we make light of what God has called us to when it was the passion that these people pursued? i was picturing a race, like a half-marathon or a marathon, or even a 5K. i love running. i know a lot of people don't and that's fine, but for me it is not only a great way to burn calories, it is a wonderful time to think, pray, catch up with people, de-stress, etc...so, back to the race analogy. after you have finished a race, you feel good. maybe not physically, because you are exhausted, but it is the most fulfilling kind of exhausted humanly possible. ok, so, you're done with the race, handed your race chip in, hydrated a little and feeling good. well, before you get too comfy, you run back to the finish line and watch people cross the line...then you back up a little and see the folks that maybe can see the finish line but still have a ways to go...if you go back a little more, there are the guys who don't see the finish line yet but they know it's coming. one of the best things after finishing the race is cheering for those that are still going...whether you know them or not. you know what it's like to almost be done and have someone cheer for you, man it feels good. so, with that same energy and more (cause you're done running!), you cheer and encourage and holler! you can do it! almost there! finish line around the corner! finish strong! don't give up! you're so close! hang in there!
that's what our heroes of faith are saying to us. don't give up! i know it's tough, but if you could see what's coming, just hang in there! i know, i've been there and if i did it, you can do it! don't give in to that temptation to quit-- sure, it's easy to stop and walk and quit the race, but hang in there, be strong! don't give in to that sin-- i know it's the easy thing to do when you're weary, but we're we're here cheering for you and we believe in you! better yet, Christ has given you His strength, so keep going and finish strong!
thank you, heroes of faith, for your example and the motivation you give to "fight the good fight of faith".
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