The Phil Files

You can take it to the bank! Jesus’ promises can be trusted. How do I know? Look at all the tough promises he made — going to Jerusalem to die, that he would be rejected and resurrected, that he would lay down his life for his sheep, that the shepherd would be killed and the sheep be scattered … — and he kept those. So if he was willing to keep the tough ones to show us his love and redeem us, how much more will he not also keep the ones that include us in his grace and bring us to the Father?

That’s what my heartlight.org article, “Promises Kept,” is all about this week: Jesus’ promises can be trusted. Take a read and then I’d love to hear your response to the following questions (or, even if you don’t read the article, what’s your take on the questions?)

What are your favorite promises of Jesus?

* Why can you trust these promises to be true?

* What do they help you look forward to experiencing with God in the future?

* How do they help give you reassurance in difficult times?

Why do you think we tend to forget Jesus’ promises when we are going through times of trouble?

How does Jesus’ proof of his faithfulness to the hard and painful promises give us assurance that he will keep the glorious promises?

What can you do to help some other believer hear and accept the promises of Jesus?

For the past 15 years, one of my favorite music groups — Christian or secular — has been Delirious?! Alas, the time has come to say goodbye to these guys who brought a wave of change to Christian music and who put social consciousness as well as staying true to biblical views of people and their value to God into their music these last 5 or 6 years. They played the end of their last U.S. tour this past weekend and I know I will miss their style, thoughtfulness, passion, and energy. Nothing quite like seeing them live and joining in on the non-stop journey of music, praise, and call to action.

I was blessed with a preview of their new greatest hits album, History Makers, and it’s got about 30 or so of their greatest songs. If you get a chance, take a look and see what you think. While some of their older favorites are best known — “Lord You Have My Heart,” “Shout to the North,” “Majesty,” “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble,” & “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” — I love some of their new stuff as well as the old stuff — “Paint the Town Red” & “History Maker.” My all time devotional song to Jesus is one of their older ones, “What a Friend I’ve Found.” And during one of the darkest times in my journey of faith, the song “Every Little Thing” seemed to pop up again and again to minister to the broken and wounded parts of my heart. Here’s the lyrics of that song for you to ponder.

Everything must change
There’s a mirror showing me the ugly truth
These bones they ache with holy fire
But I’ve got nothing to give, just a life to live
If your world is without colour
I will carry you, if you carry me

Every little thing’s gonna be alright
Every little thing’s gonna be alright [x2]

There’s no-one else to blame
I live my life between the fire and the flame
I’ve built my house where the ocean meets the land
It’s time to live again, pull my dreams out of the sand
Let your world be full of colour
I will carry you, if you carry me

When it’s all falling down on you
You’re crying out but you’re breaking in two
When it’s all crashing down on you
When there’s nothing you can do
There is someone who can carry you

Here’s to BlueTree rising to fill the void, both lyrically and also musically, but they’ve got big (white) shoes to fill!

To the Delirious? lads, thank you and good work. Most of all, thanks for the passion you have for Jesus … oh, and here’s a little reminder, every little thing is going to be all right because there is Someone who can carry you!