Thanks guys for all the support. I didn't expect to see so much feedback. It is humbling, really, it is. Thanks a lot. If you ever feel like commenting but don't have an applicable account to do it, feel free to comment on my status when I say something about my blog post.
So the next one in my 3-part series of my look at the Newsboys continues with my all-time favorite worship song. "I Am Free." While not just a Newsboys song, they do perform it a lot, and the first time I ever heard the song was by them, so it counts.
This song means so much to me. The message of the song is simple, yet there is such a deep meaning.
I am free to run/ I am free to dance/ I am free to LIVE for you/ I am free
There is so many times that I will sit through an evangelistic event and I will hear the Evangelist say these word's. "Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, or else you will spend eternity in Hell." It is also all over the billboards everywhere. "ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST, OR REGRET IT FOREVER!" Now, I am in no place to judge, because they are right, it does say in the Bible that Jesus "is the way, the truth and the light." There is no denying that. However, what FRUSTRATES ME TO NO EARTHLY END is one simple thing.
THERE IS MUCH MORE TO BECOMING A CHRISTIAN THAN NOT GOING TO HELL!!!!!!!
You see, something that people don't understand, is that, when we accept Jesus Christ in our life and decide to follow him, it changes people. I've seen it, and I'm sure you have seen it yourself. And I'm not just meaning when one immediately says "I'm a Christian" that all their troubles go away. That's simply not true. It's about living and following God.
What's interesting, in the Gospel's, Jesus talks about heaven and hell, it is true. However, he spends much more time talking about how to live your life, not what happens after death! Jesus died for us, so we could be free to live for him. That is what the song is about. Even the first verse (through you the blind will see, through you the mute will sing/ etc...) describes how, when one follows God and devotes their life to him, they LIVE for him. Not die!
Some Christians only talk about the aspect of knowing "where you will spend eternity." That is part of it, but not the only part! If I'm an Atheist or an Agnostic, I'm asking myself "Why would I want to follow a God who only affects me after death? Why would I want to follow a God that I am just fearing because I am afraid he will send me to hell?" Now, the inconvenient truth is, we must still fear God, but fear does not equal scared. Feared equals respected. God does not want us to be afraid of him, he wants our respect, our admiration, our worship. He wants to walk with us, and help us out in life's problems. THAT IS WHERE THE FREEDOM COMES FROM!!!
Freedom in God is just like Peter Furler says in the video "Freedom in your head, Freedom in your heart, Freedom in your emotions, Freedom in your marriage...it only comes through the blood, through the word, through the church, through the purpose of God, and the price? THE PRICE HAS BEEN PAID!!!!"
John 8:36 says "So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
If you accept Jesus Christ into your heart, and you follow him, and I mean FOLLOW him. Live your life the best you can the way he says to, I can personal say you will be set free. I'm not perfect, and I know I don't have a perfect life. However, I have a God I can turn to for help, whose word I can turn to when the going gets tough, who I can pray to for guidance, where I don't have to worry about what will come, but knowing that God is with me through it all. I know he has set me free.
So I invite you, to examine your life. Do you feel stressed out, burdened? Feel like you need a freedom? Accept Jesus, not just because you can spend eternity with him in heaven, but because you will have someone there for you always, who will set you free from your burdens in your life. And the price? THE PRICE HAS BEEN PAID!!!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Just wondering...
Ok, so I have two posts in my blog so far. I also plan on writting a third post, as I am already working on it. However, I have a critical question...
Has anyone even read my blog so far?
The reason I started a blog is not hte typical reason people start blogs. I want to write my thoughts on things and get feedback from people. I want to be a preacher. I don't get many oppurtunities to actually speak in public, so I wanted to get a feel for my style and what people think of how I present them and what they think of my ideas themselves. This is why I CRAVE feedback, so I can try to better myself. That is why, needless to say, I was VERY disapointed to see I had no comments. Of course, I jsut found out, you have to have a google account to post comments. So this is what I am going to do. I have updated my status on facebook to this;
David Bryce Bowers has posted a new blog post. He isn't going to tell you what it is about except I am going to ask this one question. Yes or No?
I am begging you, PLEASE comment if you have read this. I really don't care if I have a lot of people reading my blog, but if no one is reading it and I can't learn from the experince, which is why I started it in the first place. However, I will admit, that I also started it hoping people would stumble upon it so they could read a message pertaining to Christ, so I will probably continue anyway, even if one person is reading it. Thank you soooo much for your time and I plan on releasing my next blog post sometime this week.
Thanks a lot,
Bryce Bowers
(by the way, here is a link to my facebook profile, so you can even just click on here, making it eaier for ya http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=511101797&ref=profile)
Has anyone even read my blog so far?
The reason I started a blog is not hte typical reason people start blogs. I want to write my thoughts on things and get feedback from people. I want to be a preacher. I don't get many oppurtunities to actually speak in public, so I wanted to get a feel for my style and what people think of how I present them and what they think of my ideas themselves. This is why I CRAVE feedback, so I can try to better myself. That is why, needless to say, I was VERY disapointed to see I had no comments. Of course, I jsut found out, you have to have a google account to post comments. So this is what I am going to do. I have updated my status on facebook to this;
David Bryce Bowers has posted a new blog post. He isn't going to tell you what it is about except I am going to ask this one question. Yes or No?
I am begging you, PLEASE comment if you have read this. I really don't care if I have a lot of people reading my blog, but if no one is reading it and I can't learn from the experince, which is why I started it in the first place. However, I will admit, that I also started it hoping people would stumble upon it so they could read a message pertaining to Christ, so I will probably continue anyway, even if one person is reading it. Thank you soooo much for your time and I plan on releasing my next blog post sometime this week.
Thanks a lot,
Bryce Bowers
(by the way, here is a link to my facebook profile, so you can even just click on here, making it eaier for ya http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=511101797&ref=profile)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Entertaining Angels
So I don't know who all reads my blog, but I want to thank everyone for giving me their favorite Newsboys songs. I will use some of the suggestions. In fact, the first one will be a suggested song (by music man Bryce Lathrop, thanks dude (if u read this)).
Entertaning Angels. I LOVE this song. Such meaningful words and Phil Joel sings it with such passion. One has to wonder, excatly, what is the message. Now this is my interpretation, you are free to come up with your own, and let me know what you think (again, I LOVE feedback).
Let's look at the verses first. Basically, the singer of the song is in a bad spot. He talks about how everything he is going through is "temporary." and is admitting "I feel so small/ Are you listening?" He knows he needs God's presence in his life. He has ran so far so quickly and everything he is doing is so empty.
You see that is what happens when we are seperated from God. When we are down in the dumps and we know we need God, we feel so small. Have you ever felt like that? Small? Finally, the singer knows that he needs God, and he askes "Will you take me back again?" He says (in the second verse) "I'll hold my breath/and wait for you to breathe." Basically he is saying that he will give up his life, he will stop trying to do what he thinks is right and will listen to God's will and let God be the one that guides him. We need that, God knows our lives, he knows what we don't, his wisdom passes our understanding. When we are lost, if we give up our life to him, he will help us and bring us out so we can breathe again.
The chorus is the most powerful part in my opinion.
"Entertaining angels/By the light of my T.V. screen/ 24-7 you wait for me/Entertaining angels/By the time I fall to my knees/Host of heaven, sing over me"
Its amazing to think about. God loves us, 24/7. He workes in our life and leads us to him, and he waits for us to finally accept him. No matter how far we run, or how messed up our life get, he waits for us to call on him. Finally, when we get to that point, and fall to our knees, the angels rejoice because someone has accepted God's power in their life and they have been saved. "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents." (Luke 15:10). When we repent, it entertains the angels, because of the joy it brings them, and our creator God.
God wants us to come home to him, he wants us to follow him. We need to follow him. A lot fo the times we trust in temporary things that fall away and let us down. However, there is one that always waits for us, that is always willing to bring us peace.
So I invite you, as you read this, if there is anything in your life that is sepreating you from God, if you feel helpless and small, if it feels like something in your life is missing and you are relying on temporary thing, to repent, and get rid of your desires, and run to God. He is waiting for you, and once you repent, the celebration in heaven will begin.
Entertaning Angels. I LOVE this song. Such meaningful words and Phil Joel sings it with such passion. One has to wonder, excatly, what is the message. Now this is my interpretation, you are free to come up with your own, and let me know what you think (again, I LOVE feedback).
Let's look at the verses first. Basically, the singer of the song is in a bad spot. He talks about how everything he is going through is "temporary." and is admitting "I feel so small/ Are you listening?" He knows he needs God's presence in his life. He has ran so far so quickly and everything he is doing is so empty.
You see that is what happens when we are seperated from God. When we are down in the dumps and we know we need God, we feel so small. Have you ever felt like that? Small? Finally, the singer knows that he needs God, and he askes "Will you take me back again?" He says (in the second verse) "I'll hold my breath/and wait for you to breathe." Basically he is saying that he will give up his life, he will stop trying to do what he thinks is right and will listen to God's will and let God be the one that guides him. We need that, God knows our lives, he knows what we don't, his wisdom passes our understanding. When we are lost, if we give up our life to him, he will help us and bring us out so we can breathe again.
The chorus is the most powerful part in my opinion.
"Entertaining angels/By the light of my T.V. screen/ 24-7 you wait for me/Entertaining angels/By the time I fall to my knees/Host of heaven, sing over me"
Its amazing to think about. God loves us, 24/7. He workes in our life and leads us to him, and he waits for us to finally accept him. No matter how far we run, or how messed up our life get, he waits for us to call on him. Finally, when we get to that point, and fall to our knees, the angels rejoice because someone has accepted God's power in their life and they have been saved. "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents." (Luke 15:10). When we repent, it entertains the angels, because of the joy it brings them, and our creator God.
God wants us to come home to him, he wants us to follow him. We need to follow him. A lot fo the times we trust in temporary things that fall away and let us down. However, there is one that always waits for us, that is always willing to bring us peace.
So I invite you, as you read this, if there is anything in your life that is sepreating you from God, if you feel helpless and small, if it feels like something in your life is missing and you are relying on temporary thing, to repent, and get rid of your desires, and run to God. He is waiting for you, and once you repent, the celebration in heaven will begin.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
I've got a question...or a poll if you will
Ok...So I am still hopelessly fixed on listening to the Newsboys. Because of this, I was wondering, what is your favorite Newsboys song? I'm going to write 3 blog posts looking at Newsboys songs and what they mean to me, and ask for what they mean to you. If you don't know who the Newsboys are, I STRONGLY reccommend finding out. So far these are the top 3 songs that I am planning on doing (if no one responds).
1.I Am Free
2. Stay Strong
3. Shine
So please, input, feedback, votes, WHATEVER!!! Would be greatly appriciated. You can also comment on my facebook if you wish with your vote or your feedback anytime (or if you are one of the few following me on twitter ( dbbowers is my username on there) then you can comment using that)
1.I Am Free
2. Stay Strong
3. Shine
So please, input, feedback, votes, WHATEVER!!! Would be greatly appriciated. You can also comment on my facebook if you wish with your vote or your feedback anytime (or if you are one of the few following me on twitter ( dbbowers is my username on there) then you can comment using that)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Make a Joyful noise! but...
I tend to get on the fix where I listen to a certain band over and over again. My latest has been a christian band by the name of Newsboys. In my opinion they are the last of the three "super groups" in contemporary christian music, the other two being DC Talk and Audio Adreneline (yes you can make arguments for other bands, but this is just my opinion). I really enjoy their music, He Reigns, Something Beautiful, I Am Free, Glorious, Breakfast Song...the list goes on and on. (Just for the record, I think they are just as good with Michael Tait as Peter Furler)
Lately I have been trying to listen to one of their songs before my first class to uplift my spirts and get my day going on the right note. I like to sit and reflect on the song and pray to God, asking how he would want me to live my day today. I also think about what the song means and how I could apply it to my faith. This morning practice is one that I am enjoying more and more each time I do it.
The other day I noticed a discussion on facebook. There was a group of people discussing the theological depth and musical depth of worship songs and how contemporary worship songs are being dumbed down.
Now I am not posting this because I am angry, in fact, out of the people who partook in the discussion, I have a great respect for all of them that I know. However, I seem to be in the minority with my opinion.
One of the songs that I have been listening to, and a song that we perform at my home town church a lot is "Amazing Love (You are my King)." Here is basically the entire lyrics of the song:
I’m forgiven because You were forsaken, I’m accepted, You were condemned.
I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me, Because You died and rose again.(Repeat x2)
(Chorus)Amazing love,How can it beThat You, my King, should die for me? Amazing love,I know it’s true. It’s my joy to honor You, In all I do, I honor You.
Not a lot of words to the song, nor is it that musically challenging. However, in my opinion, it has a GREAT tehological depth! What does that mean, to honor God? What does it mean to have joy in honoring God? "Spirit within me?" What does that mean? and after all, it is amazing love? How can it be that God's love for me is so amazing that I deserve such love?
My point is that their is sooooo many questions that come out of that little short song. In my opinion, when you can look at a song and think about what it means, and you have several questions, that is theological depth!
Besides, worship music is about worshipping God. It is also about what the church declares about God. In that song, we are declaring that God has this amazing love that is so great, that the only thing we can do is try to honor him because of that love.
Now I understand some of the old hymns have more theological depth to them, however, worship is suppose to connect us to God. Some people are not conencted to God by singing old complicated hymns, even if they are theologically deep. They are connected by listening to the words, singing them outloud, no matter how bad they sound, and simple lyrics that just get stuck in your head and drilled in your brain so you can reflect on that song and apply it to your life. They are also connected to music they enjoy, so that God's message can become mroe personal to them.
The important thing is that people are connected to God in worship. If that is by using old hymns with great theological depths...GREAT. If it is by simple songs that people can easily remember and can easily sing to...GREAT. God wants us to come to him, just as we are. The important thing is to praise him!
Lately I have been trying to listen to one of their songs before my first class to uplift my spirts and get my day going on the right note. I like to sit and reflect on the song and pray to God, asking how he would want me to live my day today. I also think about what the song means and how I could apply it to my faith. This morning practice is one that I am enjoying more and more each time I do it.
The other day I noticed a discussion on facebook. There was a group of people discussing the theological depth and musical depth of worship songs and how contemporary worship songs are being dumbed down.
Now I am not posting this because I am angry, in fact, out of the people who partook in the discussion, I have a great respect for all of them that I know. However, I seem to be in the minority with my opinion.
One of the songs that I have been listening to, and a song that we perform at my home town church a lot is "Amazing Love (You are my King)." Here is basically the entire lyrics of the song:
I’m forgiven because You were forsaken, I’m accepted, You were condemned.
I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me, Because You died and rose again.(Repeat x2)
(Chorus)Amazing love,How can it beThat You, my King, should die for me? Amazing love,I know it’s true. It’s my joy to honor You, In all I do, I honor You.
Not a lot of words to the song, nor is it that musically challenging. However, in my opinion, it has a GREAT tehological depth! What does that mean, to honor God? What does it mean to have joy in honoring God? "Spirit within me?" What does that mean? and after all, it is amazing love? How can it be that God's love for me is so amazing that I deserve such love?
My point is that their is sooooo many questions that come out of that little short song. In my opinion, when you can look at a song and think about what it means, and you have several questions, that is theological depth!
Besides, worship music is about worshipping God. It is also about what the church declares about God. In that song, we are declaring that God has this amazing love that is so great, that the only thing we can do is try to honor him because of that love.
Now I understand some of the old hymns have more theological depth to them, however, worship is suppose to connect us to God. Some people are not conencted to God by singing old complicated hymns, even if they are theologically deep. They are connected by listening to the words, singing them outloud, no matter how bad they sound, and simple lyrics that just get stuck in your head and drilled in your brain so you can reflect on that song and apply it to your life. They are also connected to music they enjoy, so that God's message can become mroe personal to them.
The important thing is that people are connected to God in worship. If that is by using old hymns with great theological depths...GREAT. If it is by simple songs that people can easily remember and can easily sing to...GREAT. God wants us to come to him, just as we are. The important thing is to praise him!
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