Shadows

Given the recent discussions on this blog, and recent struggles I've been going through in my life, this song has been running through my mind for 3 days.  It's "Shadows" by The David Crowder Band, plus a bridge section from Christian rapper Lecrae.  It pretty much sums it all up for me.  I wish I could have seen this performed live :(

(CROWDER)
Life is full of light and shadows
Oh, the joy, and oh, the sorrow
Oh, the sorrow

And yet will He bring dark to light
And yet will He bring day from night

When the shadows fall on us
We will not fear
We will remember

When darkness falls on us
We will not fear
We will remember

When all seems lost
When we're thrown and we're tossed
We'll remember the cost
We're resting in the shadow of the cross


(LECRAE)
With every breath I take, every heartbeat
Sunrise, and the moonlight in the dark street
Every glance, every dance, every note of a song
All a gift undeserved that I shouldn't have known

Every moment I lie, every moment I covet
I'm deserving to die; I'm earning Your judgment
Without the cross there's only condemnation
If Jesus wasn't executed there's no celebration

So, in times that are good, in times that are bad
For any time I've had at all, I will be glad
And I will boast in the cross, I'll boast in His name
I will boast in the sunshine, boast in His reign

What's my life if it's not praising You?
Another dollar in my bank account of vain pursuit
I do not count my life as any value, precious at all
Let me finish my race, let me answer Your call

There are 31 verses that go with this song.  I copied the references off of a YouTube video.  You know how I try to back everything up with Scripture?  Here we go:

• "Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His presence continually!"  (Psalm 105:4 ESV)
• "The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land."  (Proverbs 10:30 ESV)
• "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone."  (Isaiah 9:2 ESV)
• "He was despised and rejected by men; a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.  Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted."  (Isaiah 53:3-4 ESV; Isaiah 53 is about Jesus...several centuries before He even lived.)
• "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."  (Psalm 23:4 ESV; This verse is one of the reasons my blog is titled "Sticks and Stones".)
• "Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious, merciful, and righteous."  (Psalm 112:4 ESV)
• "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother."  (Proverbs 18:24 ESV)
• "Ah, you who hide deep from the LORD your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”"  (Isaiah 29:15 ESV)
• "...and rend your hearts and not your garments.”  Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster."  (Joel 2:13 ESV)
• "If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet."  (Proverbs 3:24 ESV)
• [Those were just from the Old Testament, kids!  The Old Testament points to Jesus and tells us why we need Him.]
• "Then He [Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”"  (Luke 9:20 ESV)
• "The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light."  (Romans 13:12 ESV)
• "I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day."  (2 Timothy 1:3 ESV)
• "And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”"  (Luke 23:34 ESV)
• "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."  (John 1:5 ESV)
• "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."  (Romans 8:1-2 ESV; I still have Romans 8 memorized.)
• "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."  (Galatians 6:14 ESV)
• "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 3:14 ESV)
• "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”"  (John 3:20-21 ESV)
• "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  (1 Corinthians 15:57 ESV)
• "the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”  (Matthew 4:16 ESV; also, Isaiah 9:2 above.  I love how it all fits!)
• "He [John the Baptist] was not the light, but came to bear witness about the Light [Jesus]."  (John 1:8 ESV)
• "I in them and You [God the Father] in Me [Jesus, God the Son], that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me."  (John 17:23 ESV)
• "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."  (Colossians 1:13-14 ESV)
• "And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."  (1 John 2:17 ESV)
• "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  (1 John 4:10 ESV)
• "And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life."  (1 John 5:11-12 ESV; also, John 3:36)

[I put my comments in italics.]  I believe this, people.  I pray that you come to believe it as well.  He is real.  He loves us.  Do we love Him in return?  He promises us so much.  The tomb is empty; the throne is occupied!

For the Kingdom,
Stuart