What if We...

Hey all, this is the latest from This Guy Over Here, and the second instillment in the 'What If We...' mini-series. So this weekend, I had the awesome experience of being able to travel to Chicago with a group of friends from Purdue. To say the least, it was a spiritual rejuvenation. To see how God was working in the lives of my friends was a major encouragement. I won't talk very long about the weekend, but I did want to highlight one event that happened that I thought was really awesome!

So how many people know what a flash mob is? Basically, a flash mob is a large group of people who gather in one spot and do some action at the exact same time. You may have seen television shows or commercials where one random person bursts out in song, and then all of these people follow in a choreographed fashion. That is one example of a flash mob. Anyways, when we were in Chicago on Saturday, we took a walk over from Navy Pier to Millenium Park because we had to get some pictures by the gigantic bean! Right when we walk up, we hear this loud whistle and people begin to lay down all around us! So, being naturally smooth, we lay down with the crowd. We look around and almost everyone is laying down! Now my second question for you is have you ever heard of planking? Planking the act of laying down as flat as possible, usually on some sort of sign or post. So here we were, laying down next to the Bean in Millenium Park, participating in a giant planking flashmob. The ordeal lasted for about three minutes and then everyone stood up and went on their way. The spectacle was big enough that it made ABC and NBC news in Chicago, and if you want proof, check out this website. Click over on the pictures 43 times and you will see us! Here is a picture of Amber Enyart planking, and you can see my right shoulder. I'm the guy in the multi-colored striped shirt. Whats up.

PLANKING FLASHMOB PROOF!

Anyways, onward to our dive into the mini-series 'What If We...' Today, the topic of discussion is going to be:

What If We... Stepped Forward?

And for this blog, I actually switched things up a bit. If I get tired of writing out my thoughts in paragraph form, I know that you as the reader eventually gets tired of reading in the same fashion. While in Chicago, on Saturday night when we were staying at my grandma's house, I couldn't sleep. Like most times when I can't sleep, I went to a lighted area and I pulled out a piece of paper and began to write. I prayed to God to show me what He was wanting me to write about, and all I kept getting or seeing from Him was this image of an army of us. An army of you and me, our friends, parents, teachers, co-workers, all lined up in marching formation before God. We had on armor. But it wasn't normal armor. This was the armor described in Ephesians 6. It was radiant and spotless silver. And I was in the front row. Seeing this, I put my pencil to the paper and a song came out. To this date, I have written 9 songs. But this song was different. In this song, almost every single line was directly from scripture. I'm talking almost every one. It was as if God was pouring scripture out to my heart to write line after line. Almost all of the scripture comes from Isaiah. It was incredible, and I want to share the song with you now, as well as the references. I will post the lyric on the left, and the reference on the right. Here we go:

Stepping Forward

(Prelude)

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Isaiah 6:8

"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"" Isaiah 6:8

I'm standing in the front row,

in my plate' of righteousness. Ephesians 6:14

The questions of my Savior, reference to Isaiah 6:8

are pounding through my chest. reference to Isaiah 6:8

My heart is full of fear, Psalm 143:4

but this fear is of the Lord. Isaiah 11:3

I breath deep, and with the

gospel of His peace, I step forward. Ephesians 6:15

and I said:

"Here am I. Send me." Isaiah 6:8

(Chorus)

God will fight, He will conquer, Isaiah 27:1
He will come to save the lost. Luke 19:10

By His righteous hand He'll raise us Isaiah 41:10

as His shoulders bear the cross. John 19:17

He will carry, He will rescue, Isaiah 46:4

He will shine in every splendor. Psalms 50:2
In His salvation we are found, Isaiah 12:2
He is our Yahweh forever.

In the battle at the gate Isaiah 28:6

He is my source of strength. Isaiah 28:6

Yet their arrows are too sharp Isaiah 5:28
and their darkness has no length. Isaiah 5:30
But amidst all the adversity, Isaiah 30:20

fire won't set me ablaze. Isaiah 43:2
Because my walls are His salvation, Isaiah 60:18
and my gates are made of praise. Isaiah 60:18

(Chorus)

God will fight, He will conquer, Isaiah 27:1
He will come to save the lost. Luke 19:10

By His righteous hand He'll raise us Isaiah 41:10

as His shoulders bear the cross. John 19:17

He will carry, He will rescue, Isaiah 46:4

He will shine in every splendor. Psalms 50:2
In His salvation we are found, Isaiah 12:2
He is our Yahweh forever.

By the 'Way of Holiness' Isaiah 35:8

His soldiers come back to the throne.
We will enter Zion with singing, Isaiah 35:10
and we'll dance to trumpets blown.
Crowned with everlasting joy, Isaiah 35:10
our gladness is overtaking. Isaiah 35:10
Sorrow and sighing will flee away, Isaiah 35:10
as his glory is breathtaking.
We will watch the rains of righteousness Isaiah 45:8
and hear the Lord proclaim: Isaiah 43:1

"Fear not, I have redeemed you. Isaiah 43:1
I have summoned you by name." Isaiah 43:1

"YOU ARE MINE." Isaiah 43:1

It is such a neat image to think of stepping forward, being clad in the armor of God, and calling out "Here am I. Send me!" The bible talks about how we will fight at the Gates of Zion and in many places, it talks about how God makes much of us by rewarding us, be it with everlasting joy or simply everlasting life with Him. So, I guess deep down, the meaning of this song was to be a question, asking if you would be the person to step forward from the front lines. Everyday, as Christians, we stand in God's army, and everyday, God issues the challenging questions in our life, asking "Who shall He send?". Well today is the day to STEP FORWARD for Christ. Imagine if we stepped forward everyday in our homes, our schools, or our offices. There is no better way to bring Glory to Him than laying our lives down on the line day in and day out.

I want to close this blog with the verse Psalms 27:1.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?"

Today, practice stepping forward. Ask God to give you the strength to be the soldier that He is calling you today. What if we... Stepped Forward?

Buried and Risen in Christ,

Signing off,

JD