Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life

     This summer, Mom and I did some cleaning around the house. One of the things we found was an old CCM magazine talking about the upcoming book and CD set chronicling the 100 greatest songs in Christian music. While the article hinted at some of the songs featured in the countdown, we were really curious to see the entire list. While we could find the track list for some of the CDs, we couldn't see the entire list without reading the book. We had to use an inter-library loan to get it, but it was worth it to be able to uncover the mystery of which songs made the list.     My parents and I really enjoyed reading the book and seeing the choices that the editors made. Some of the songs on the list came as no surprise. (Among the top five were " Awesome God " by Rich Mullins, " Jesus Freak " by DC Talk, and " I Can Only Imagine " by MercyMe.) Some of the songs I knew well, but not their original versions. (I've sung " Soon and Very Soon " ...

    In June, Matthew West posted a video for his song "Modest is Hottest". I've heard that it was quite a fun video, but I have never been able to watch it myself. The reason is simple: too many people can't seem to take a joke these days. What he had created as a lighthearted take on raising girls in today's culture was brutally attacked by those who have been hurt by "Modesty Culture", causing him to remove the video mere days after it had been posted.     One of the main problems I see in our culture today is an inability to cope with things we don't agree with. Rather than dealing with things that offend us, we push for them to disappear. To stay in our comfort zone, we push away anything that tries to interfere with the safe space we've made for ourselves.     The response to this video is a prime example. All of these people triggered by the video probably could have figured out before they watched the video that it would trigger them. Even...

"You give the sparrows everything they need You light the stars and you paint the leaves You clothe the lilies with your majesty And you don't even love them like you love me" ~ " Like You Love Me " - Tauren Wells     From the first time I heard this song, I absolutely loved it. Sure, the melody is catchy and fun to dance to, but that's not the reason. This song is a great reminder of an even greater truth: God loves people more than any other thing He created.     This song is based on Matthew 6:25-34. Part of the Sermon on the Mount, this passage is about trusting God rather than worrying. Jesus teaches that God feeds the sparrows and clothes the lilies more beautifully than any human being could ever be dressed. In saying this, Jesus was assuring us that we had no need to worry about anything because the God who cares even about the birds and the flowers will care even more about us because He made us in His image.     Now, I know from experience that th...