“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” ~ Isaiah 9:6
A look and listen back to the 2015 release (Album: ‘Hope Love Joy Peace’) of ‘Wonderful Counselor.’ It’s still alive and relevant today!
Lyrics: Wonderful Counselor, born to us Born to love, and want good for us You want good for us, Lord Jesus
Wonderful Counselor, given to us Given to guide, and provide for us You provide for us, Lord Jesus
Your presence surrounds me Your glory for all to see
Wonderful Counselor, sent to us Sent to heal, and to comfort us You comfort us, Lord Jesus
This album was inspired through an advent season of change, It was written and released ten years ago as I was adjusting to my mother’s residential change to heaven. It marked a time of transition, a moment of growth, and the realization of a deeper faith through healing.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” ~ John 1:5
Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? ~ Romans 2:4
Lyrics: Once again Lord, I come broken I come broken to Your Throne You receive me (with) arms wide open (And) You adoringly welcome me home
Once again Lord, I come humbly I come humbly to Your Throne You receive me (with) arms wide open (And) You adoringly welcome me home
I cry out Your name Jesus my Savior You reign I cry out Your name Jesus my Savior You reign
Once once again Lord I come grateful I come grateful to Your Throne You receive me (with) arms wide open (And) You adoringly welcome me home
Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? ~ Romans 2:4
The goodness of God makes possible indulgence in the hearts of foolish men, but brings about repentance in the hearts of wise men. ~ Jon Courson
My daughter’s good and compassionate nature makes her a prime target for others who want to take advantage of her. (I never had to teach her how to act, but how to protect herself from how she acts naturally). Yet I’ve experienced myself taking advantage of God’s love and kindness. Not so much now as I’ve matured in my faith, but as a young man when I was beginning my journey.
It’s becoming ever imperative that I delve into His Word often as a way of staying on the straight and narrow. I’ve found it to be the best way to remain cognizant of my attitude and responses in my life and the world around me. In doing so I can recognize and correct my worldly desires and in a beautiful way reinforce my relationship with God.
Lord, thank you for your never-ending tolerance and patience. May I never grow into a life of ungratefulness.
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. ~ Ephesians 6:12
You see, as New Testament believers, our fight is never against people, but against principalities and powers. Thus, we should be waging war in the Spirit through prayer against this perversion that has blinded so much of our country and our leaders. ~ Jon Courson
I see our society as indicative of a serious moral issue. We can candy coat it, we can spin all kinds of worldly scenarios, but inevitably it’ll come down to our lack of moral fiber.
Other than being an example, I don’t see any other way of making a dent in our world’s decay. Lately I seem to return to the idea of being bold in our response to damning situations, because I know from experience how easy it is to just walk away without making waves, without making a statement …but that’s probably the only way (baring an act of God) that any change can happen.
Father, embolden me to be a proud, unabashed, soldier for you!
If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say?
Oh, without a doubt, it would say Dig Love! It’s my belief that above all, that’s what’s wanting in our world, we just don’t seem to care about each other anymore, we have discounted the value of human life.
With just one voice, love can be heard With just one hand, love can be felt With just one smile, love can be seen With just one heart, change can begin Dig love ~ E.M.
So much has been written about mankind’s need for hope, and there’s never been a time when we didn’t need it. Scripture says, ‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.’ (Romans 15:13 ESV) ~ E.M.
Hope of the World ushers in a radiant light, instills hope, and leaves you with a smile that lingers
The Further
I was asked recently about the journey of this song, as in how did it get to this version, and on this album? It’s no doubt the oldest song on the project. It was written twenty years ago and has gone through quite a few differing arrangements over that time. I was never really happy with it, in fact I had no intentions of including it on an album back in 2011 called The Twelve. It took some prodding from a voice on my accountability team. And yes, I have a real accountability team that keeps me on the straight and narrow, or at least it attempts too. I included it back then because it was always an engaging song during times of worship. What made me uncomfortable was not the message, I love the message, but the musical setting never quite felt right. I always struggled to find a nice little niche to sing it from …where it didn’t feel awkward.
The Chapel Songsproject was created as a collection of easy to access worship songs for the small church, not that they couldn’t be embellished and sung in larger communities, but so many of todays popular recordings can be intimidating for musicians who aren’t professionals, and I wanted to provide an album of songs a single guitarist or pianist could lead with.
So I revisited this song and toyed with some sparse arrangements, and eventually found one that made me smile, and that was it. The lyric video is an unplugged version of the album track and presents an even simpler approach. The message is still intact, and is certainly still relevant. God’s messages always are!
Hope of the world Shine on us You are the Answer
Fill up our hearts, fill up our souls Lure us away from all that’s wrong Fill up our hearts, fill up our souls Give us the strength to carry on
Here we stand, blessed with each new day Here we stand, humbled works of clay
This past week my wife and I traveled south to warm up before the holidays. While being on the road I found my mind wandering in and out of all sorts of thoughts and prayers. I don’t think I’m alone in discovering that my mind operates differently when I’m not being disrupted by the noise of the world. Open road driving seems to provide a time and space for me to ponder, and to plan, but like life in general there are always unexpected wrinkles along the way, and this trip was no different in that respect.
Our first day was littered with accidents, none prayerfully that were life ending, but none the less they were there in numbers that seemed greater than usual, and which made me very aware of the rubberneckers. It was in that state that I started to think about, and pray about, the need to be curious…
I’ve met many people in my life. Some that thought they were better than me because they had more education. Some thought they were better because they had more money. And then there were some that thought they were better than me because they knew the Bible better.
Life is ultimately filled with all different kinds of people that are all struggling to find their way. Because the road is fraught with failures, some individuals create an image of themselves that quite possibly isn’t true.
Now the reasoning for such created images are probably seeded in some kind of personal insecurity. The doubts and fears can cause the best of us to want to invent a better us, a stronger us, a more secure us.
The problem is that the new self, underneath the invented one, still retains the same shortcomings.
The imagined persona is just a created character that acts one way in front of others, but still falters when no one is looking.
The desire to share this dilemma is that you and I are sometimes innocently attacked by the lie. Over the years I’ve detected such instances early on and have been able to protect myself. But as a youngling I often felt prey to the demeaning words and uppity actions of others.
In retrospect I’ve discovered that the well educated were often very disappointed in their standing in life, the affluent were often living in fear of losing all that they had acquired, and all the Bible knowledge in the world did no good if it couldn’t be applied to a life.
When we strive to please God instead of the broken world we live in, we are bound to feel good at the end of the day.
Knowing that you did all that you could to make this world a more loving place lifts our spirits and more importantly make our God smile.
So walk tall today and tomorrow, walk strong today and tomorrow, and walk lovingly today, tomorrow and everyday we’re blessed with.
Works 