Song of the month
Graves into Gardens by Elevation Worship
Many call it a declaration song, I call it the battle song. From the album Graves into Gardens which consists of 12 tracks, this one particularly touched my heart. It spoke to me and I am sure it did the same to many others who heard the song. I like how this song reflects the nature of God so profoundly. How He takes our mourning, shame and pain and turns it into something glorious. And every time I sing this song, I declare God’s goodness to the enemy and fight every battle before me with the boldness that God is by my side.
Here’s the bridge of the song:
You turn mourning to dancing
You give beauty for ashes
You turn shame into glory
You’re the only one who can (Come on)
You turn mourning to dancing
You give beauty for ashes
You turn shame into glory (Tell ’em now)
You’re the only one who can (Let’s turn the graves).
Oh, there’s nothing better than You
There’s nothing better than You
Lord, there’s nothing
Nothing is better than You
(I know it’s true)
Book of the month
The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer
“God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.”
-Tozer
This book is a must-read for both the young and old. In The Pursuit of God, Tozer sheds light on the path to a closer walk with God. The book delves deep into the fundamentals of man’s relationship with God and, more so, that of a Christian’s relationship with God. His writing is as if he is taking notes whilst listening to sermons of God. This is not a book on the theology of the Christian faith, but it is a book of real-life application as well as a form of spiritual inspiration and conviction. Through this book, Tozer inspires Christians to live lives that exalt God. This is definitely a book to be read for those that want to explore the character of God. This book has truly spurred its readers into a genuine hunger and thirst to truly know God.
Tozer pastored several Christian and Missionary Alliance churches. Missions and the deeper life in Christ were his primary focus. He also served as editor of the Alliance Life. Tozer authored more than 40 books, (at least two of which are considered classics: The Pursuit of God and Knowledge of the Holy), a tremendous accomplishment for a man who never received a formal theological education.
Here are some excerpts from the book:
“Millions call themselves by His name, it is true, and pay some token homage to Him, but a simple test will show how little He is really honoured among them. Let the average man be put to the proof on the question of who or what is ABOVE, and his true position will be exposed. Let him be forced into making a choice between God and money, between God and men, between God and personal ambition, God and self, God and human love, and God will take second place every time. Those other things will be exalted above. However, the man may protest, the proof is in the choice he makes day after day throughout his life.”
To have found God and still to pursue Him is a paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too-easily-satisfied religious person, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux stated this holy paradox in a musical four-line poem that will be instantly understood by every worshipping soul:
We taste Thee, O Thou Living Bread,
And long to feast upon Thee still:
We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead
And thirst our souls from Thee to fill.
Come near to the holy men and women of the past and you will soon feel the heat of their desire after God.
