Contemporary Christian?

I love Christ and I love music so I love Christian music. I also love music by Christians that may not fit the Contemporary Christian music category. There are two Christian artists I love to listen to that some of you may not have heard before, so check them out!

Josh Garrels is an independent artist from Oregon. I first met Josh when he played a show at Redlands High School for homecoming. His music was described as, “Folk, neo-soul, electronica;” that didn’t help. I began to understand that this “beyond-category” artist makes the kind of music that he loves. What hooked me were his lyrics. 

Pulling from biblical imagery, he sings of the struggle we all face to get closer to God. His most recent album, “Love and War and the Sea In Between,” includes a track titled “Ulysses” that has comforted me through many difficult struggles. You can watch the video for “Ulysses” here: http://youtu.be/JVQ_gAVNEpk

Another artist I appreciate is David Eugene Edwards. His current band, Wovenhand, includes some of the artist from his previous band, 16 Horsepower. David has been recording for twenty years. His lyrical style is haunting as he expresses his love and appreciation for his creator. 

I’m not sure how to categorize Wovenhand. They could be described as a rock band, but their music and their message push much deeper than normal rock anthems. Their most recent album, Refractory Obdurate, is available on Spotify. But be warned, David is a zealot and can be very confrontational and challenging in his lyrics and music. You can watch a video of Wovenhand here:http://youtu.be/2e3vLaHt7yY

Kevin Bibo

Testimonial

As explained by Dictionary.com
 

1. A written declaration certifying to a person's character, conduct, or qualifications, or to the value, excellence, etc., of a thing; aletter or written statement of recommendation.

2. Something given or done as an expression of esteem, admiration, or gratitude.

 

1 John 5:11-12: "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life."

 

I often talk about what God has done for me.  I am not the slightest shy to share my fervent faith specifically about how many ways God has blessed me.  Which is to say, I am always ready speak or in this case write a testimonial about what my God does for me. 

 

I have so many experiences as I look back in life.  If you take a few minutes to bring up past experiences, memories, can you see God's blessing upon you?  Are you able to recognize situations where God speaks to you?  Do you see Him speaking to you through people or perhaps through life events, in church or during prayer?   I bet you too have some great life events or when we use them to glorify God, testimonials.  Share them with everyone who'll listen and bring glory to His name. 

 

If there was one life event that I can look back upon and see God's Love and intervention it was when I flipped and rolled my car, and walked away.

 

I was 16 years old and I worked summer and weekends to save for a car.   I bought a '65 GTO, four door, cherry red, black interior, 389 with a trip-power manifold all for $3,200.  I loved this car about as much as anyone can love an inanimate object.

 

So I had taken my car to get new brakes to my local mechanic.  I brought the car home and all was well.  The next morning I was driving to school and when I tried to depress the brake I noticed nothing was happening.  I pegged it to the floor and still no slowing down.  So I decided to try the emergency brake.  No luck.  I am quickly approaching a red light and a big rig is crossing my path from the left.  I had to do something, so I turned the wheel with my left hand to the right and with my right I went to throw my stick shift into a lower gear to slow my vehicle.  

As I turned and grabbed the hurst shifter, I felt the left front tire hit the curb and up I went.  The car flipped back end up and over, landing on the roof and then proceeded to roll three times. I was traveling about 40 miles per hour prior to trying to stop and it wasn't that fast as the streets's maximum MPH was 45, so I was surprised that I took to the air and didn't just roll over the curb breaking my front axle.  This humongous piece of metal, after flipping, and rolling three consecutive times, by my count, and the testimony provided by witnesses, finally comes to a crashing hault resting upon its roof.

 

Obviously I survived.  But what were my injuries from a car that sustained such an experiece, with me inside not wearing a seat belt?  So here is where the Great I AM saved my life.  As I sit on the roof of the car I go to use the door handle and realize it was not where it normally would be located.  That's when I began to comprehend what occurred.  I exited the vehicle with no injuries.  What do I remember about the actual crash?   I remember looking out the windshield as it was being crushed inward, glass exploding from impact.  

I recall the entire actual crash in slow motion and one thing that ALWAYS stands out is the feeling of being suspended, being still, while everything around me crashes and tumbles around.  It was like I was in a protective bubble, held safely while everything in my environment around me violently continued on its path until completion.  If you simply think of what should of happened to me, from the physics alone, in this kind of accident, there is literally no way I should of walked away with zero injuries.  However some would argue head trauma definitely occurred.

 

That is the power of the one and true God!  He makes the impossible possible!

 

God bless you!

Ben Linares

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I like staying busy. It keeps my mind engaged and keeps me from getting bored. I find when I get too busy or too focused on something I tend to get short with people. My answers are very brief and direct and I’m sure I come off as if they are bothering me. That’s a problem…THAT is what bothers me. I don’t want to come across that way.

I spent so many years worrying about the wrong things and keeping busy with trying to achieve those things:

•        My title at work
•        My position at work
•        How much money I was making

There was always time for God. He was still a priority. What was neglected was my family. I worked long hours, had lots of meetings and traveled quite a bit. I was trying to climb the corporate ladder. Next thing I knew my two oldest kids were graduating from high school! Where had the years gone?

I had this saying I used to quote a lot: “We make time for what is important to us.” And I still believe that today. Had my family not been important to me back then? What a smack to the back of the head! Of course my family was important but my priorities were all messed up. I’m certainly glad I got things back in order. Life is so much more rewarding.

I think of the wise words of Solomon, the wisest man there ever was, in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11: “Meaningless, meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” That is so true, especially if we don’t have our priorities straight.

Pastor Jason

When The Storm Comes

“Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”  But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Matthew 8: 23-27

This passage is a great comfort to me. I believe there is a beautiful truth revealed in this story. But before we uncover this hidden gem, we should first take note of something.

In verse 23 we are told that Jesus got into a boat and His disciples followed Him. This is key to our own walk and relationship with Jesus. Just like the disciples of long ago, we too need to stay close and follow Jesus wherever He may lead us.

Does Jesus always lead us by the still waters found in Psalm 23:2? No, not always. Sometimes, like here in Matthew 8:24, He leads us to an oncoming storm.

We may find ourselves asking; “Why the storms and not just the still waters?” We need the storms along with the still waters to teach us to glorify Him in all things.

The reality is that just because we belong to Jesus and follow Him does not mean we will never have to face storms in our lives. But, (Now here is the treasure) because we belong to Jesus, we don’t have to be afraid of them!

 

In verse 26, when Jesus asked His disciples, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” He basically was asking them, “Why are you afraid when I’m right here with you? Why be afraid when I am in control?” Jesus knows who He is and He knows what He’s doing. Always.

Guys Night

Small group season started back up again. This means that Tuesday nights, Bekah (my wife) will be attending her small group. This also means Parker, (my two year old son) and I get to party like its 1999.

To begin our evening we all have dinner together. Then Bekah heads to her small group and Parker and I storm the backyard. We run outside, racing the sunset, trying to have as much backyard time as possible. Parker goes straight to the toy bucket and dumps all of his toys in the grass. He grabs his dump truck and a shovel and heads straight to the dirt.

Meanwhile I walk to a lawn chair and take a seat. A little time goes by and the dump truck is full. Now Parker and the dump truck are on the move. You can almost hear the gears turning in Parker as he tries to find the perfect place for this small pile of dirt. He stops at the ladder to the slide and pauses.

“Daddy!!!!” he says.

 “What’s up buddy?” (is my response).

“Slide…Up…Truck” (Parker tells me).

“Do you want me to put your dump truck on the top of the slide so you can roll it down?”

I ask.

“Yeahhhh,” he tells me with a big smile on his face.

I walk over and put the dump truck on the top of the slide for him. He climbs up and shoves the dump truck with all the dirt down the slide and says, “Uh oh …crash.”

These type of shenanigans continue for most of the evening. We stomp on the ant hills, and throw rotten oranges that have fallen off our tree, and slide just about every back yard toy down the slide. All of the stuff that mommy may have tried to discourage.

As the sunset begins to win the race we put our toys away and head inside for a bath, story time and bed. This concludes our guys’ night.

I’m so thankful for these times.

Austin McLeod