Sidewalk Prophets

Buckle your seat belts.... I'm so full of joy, I can hardly sit down at work today. Yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing Sidewalk Prophets in concert at World's Fair Park. Those boys can worship like I've never experienced. Dave, their lead singer, has one of the most amazing male voices I have ever heard. He can sing higher than I can! His range is incredible. Their songs are amazing as well. God is truly blessing their career as they recently signed to tour with Winterjam 2010!!!!!!!!! Cannot wait for them to be in Knoxville on March 6th. Enough of their bio :) So, you may be wondering why I am so pumped about them. Below are their lyrics to a song entitled "You Love Me Anyway" ...

The question was raised
As my conscience fell
A silly, little lie
It didn’t mean much
But it lingers still
In the corners of my mind

Still you call me to walk
On the edge of this world
To spread my dreams and fly
But the future’s so far
My heart is so frail
I think I’d rather stay inside

CHORUS
But You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
You love me anyway
Oh Lord, how You love me
How You love me

It took more than my strength
To simply be still
To seek but never find
All the reasons we change
The reasons I doubt
And why do loved ones have to die?

CHORUS

I am the thorn in Your crown
But You love me anyway
I am the sweat from Your brow
But You love me anyway
I am the nail in Your wrist
But You love me anyway
I am Judas’ kiss
But You love me anyway

See now, I am the man that called out from the crowd
For Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking ground
Yes then, I turned away with this smile on my face
With this sin in my heart tried to bury Your grace
And then alone in the night, I still called out for You
So ashamed of my life, my life, my life

But You love me anyway
Oh, God… how you love me

CHORUS

You love me, You love me
You love me, You love me
How You love me
How You love me
How You love me


If you've ever needed proof that God loved you, here you go. Every single song they sing will touch you in some form, or at least it did me. I cannot wait to see to what extent God uses these men to lead this country in worship. Check out their website @ http://www.sidewalkprophets.com/ . You can listen to their songs and learn more about them.

Where the spirit of the Lord is....

2 Corinthians 3:17 says “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

There is a song that we sing at church that I cannot seem to get out of my head this week. It’s titled “Freedom Reigns” and the version I’ve heard is by Rita Springer. Below are the words. Read them over, let them sink it, and then you can read on.

Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
If you're tired and you are thirsty, there is freedom.
If you're tired and you are thirsty, there is freedom

Freedom reigns in this place.
Showers of mercy and grace
They are falling on every face
There is freedom!

Lift your eyes to heaven, there is freedom.
Oh, lift your eyes to heaven, there is freedom.
Give your all to Jesus, there is freedom.
Give your all to Jesus, there is freedom.

Freedom reigns in this place
Showers of mercy and grace
They are falling on every face
There is freedom

Jesus reigns in this place
Showers of mercy and grace
They are falling on every face
There is freedom!

I absolutely love this song. It never fails that when I am having a rough day and I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders , I open my bibleand my eyes fall on scripture that reminds me that in Christ, there is freedom; freedom from fear, freedom from addiction, freedom from hatred and jealousy, freedom from everything that can hold me back in this life. I find myself so frustrated sometimes, because I allow the world to weigh on my mind and my heart. My absolute favorite passage of scripture is found in Isaiah 43:3-4, “ for I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Others were given in exchange for you I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me You are honored, and I love you.

When I sit and contemplate what had to take place because of my sin, I can’t help but weep. Christ offered up his life, God offered up his son! There is no reason for me to ever fall captive to anything! The mercy is greater than all my sin. The grace is sufficient and fills the gap for me. I should never feel unloved, inadequate, abandoned, failed or any other emotion of defeat. While the people on this earth may not make me feel like it, I have worth! I am called to great things in this one life. I have the ability to positively impact this world. I have the power to make or break someone’s day by the words that escape my mouth and the actions I chose to take. I’m here to tell you that there is abundant freedom in Christ and it’s so incredibly easy to reach. Jesus paid the price for YOU!! Please know that. You are cherished and loved beyond your wildest dreams. Hold tight to that promise. May you be blessed!

~by His wounds *BG*