Zach Williams Makes Good Music

Same guy from the last video...another great song! He's the Worship Pastor at Trinity Grace Church in New York City. Check out his site...http://www.zachwilliams.com/

Come Thou Fount

I had the amazing opportunity to be at the Catalyst Conference when this was performed. I've always had a thing for the original version of this hymn but I absolutely love the edition with the verses from Psalm 29. Tonight at The Post we sang this song and I just couldn't help but marvel at how well this song describes my heart as well as God's character. This may be my favorite worship song. Have a listen and read the lyrics.

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise his Name, I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;

God of glory, voice of thunder,

Split the cedars, bring us under,

Oh the shadows, of your wings;

You give us strength, you give us peace;

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

God of glory, voice of thunder,

Split the cedars, bring us under,

Oh the shadows, of your wings;

You give us strength, you give us peace;

Ruth

I would have loved to have returned from Kenya with some grand revelation or a story of how I heard the audible voice of God. I think that would be the hope of most people who go on a short term mission trip. It was mine! But during my trip to Kenya that wasn't the case. Even though I didn't have some kind of special revelation, God allowed me to see so much of who He is and how He is working in and through the lives of my Kenyan brothers and sisters. Through the interaction that I had with the people and hearing their stories God revealed himself.

One story keeps replaying in my mind. It's the story of Ruth. We met Ruth while going on home visits with Pastor Julius of 14 Falls Redeemed Gospel Church. Before we started visiting homes we met with Pastor Julius at the church. He told us that the homes that we would be visiting were the the ones with families struggling the most. These families are in the midst of dealing with extreme poverty and a drought that has seized Kenya for some time now. Pastor Julius and the volunteer staff at 14 Falls overflow with God's love and care for widows, orphans and vulnerable children, and we would soon see this first hand.

We left and began walking through a maze of shambas. A shamba is a small garden where the people grow produce for themselves. We followed a path that weaved in and out of shambas and homes until we reached the small mud hut where Ruth and her family live. Ruth is a single mom of 3 and works her land to provide for her children. She noticed that we were coming and ran into her hut to get seats for us. She welcomed us and through Pastor Julius introduced us to her children since she didn't speak english. You could tell that she was so proud of her children and loved them very much.

Pastor Julius began to share about Ruth's involvement at 14 Falls. Not only is she very consistent in her attendance but Ruth volunteers as the leader of the hospitality ministry. You could totally see her in this role because of how welcoming she was. Every week she comes to church early and welcomes the people as they enter. She talks with visitors and introduces them to other members of the church.

We continued to talk with her about her children and she prompted her son Samuel to sing for us. I watched her smile as Samuel sang and saw a joy in this woman that is missing in so many people. One of the ladies on the visit with me asked me to look up Psalms 127:3-5. It says this.

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children are a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate."

Pastor Julius interpreted these verses to her and then asked that I pray for the family. As I prayed I could not help but thank God for the opportunity to meet with her. In this short visit God had revealed so much to me about how He is changing lives despite so many adverse situations.

In the midst of her extreme poverty Ruth knows what is most important. She sacrifices her time and effort volunteering at church. The time and effort that she spends at church could be spent working in her shamba or trying to provide more for her children, but she chooses to be consistent in her attendance and volunteer in helping make people feel welcome. Her life is changed and she is overflowing with love and joy that can only come from Christ. She doesn't get distracted by the difficulties she faces in life but remembers what is most important.

We could all learn something from Ruth. I know that I walked away knowing that I have no excuses for serving Christ with everything that I have. God deserves my praise and adoration in every situation. In times of abundance and in times of hardship. There are never reasons or periods of time in life to not serve and glorify God.

Back to Reality...

Its been a crazy week and a half since coming back from Kenya. Coming back to reality is good without doubt. I've been able to see my wonderful fiancee twice in the last week which is amazing! We've done a lot of planning for our wedding and I got to see where our wedding will take place. At the Post we had a great event for our volunteers and saw a lot of great servants come out and worship. My issue isn't that reality is bad but that reality is busy. I had hoped to come home and really spend some time reflecting on what God was doing in my life and in Kenya but I guess that wasn't realistic at the present time. So today, 10 days after Kenya, I finally have some time to honor the experience God blessed me with. Hopefully within the next couple of hours (or days) there will be something new to read here...if not...someone make me write something! There is too much that I really need to reflect on and share!