More Than a Song - Discovering the Truth of Scripture Hidden in Today's Popular Christian Music

Send us Fan Mail Sometimes God equips us for the fight and sometimes He asks us to take our positions and watch Him fight for us. In the song "Battles" by The Afters, we see God fighting our battles and can celebrate it through music. We can learn a great deal from examining how King Jehoshaphat responded to a vast army and a seemingly impossible battle ahead. Join me in 2 Chronicles as...

Send us Fan Mail Sometimes we gain a new perspective and it changes everything. This happened for me in a Bible study in college. This happened for Tim Timmons as his daughter prayed a prayer for him and he wrote a song about it. "Everywhere I Go" leads us to Scripture where we learn some important truths that may not only change the way we pray, but the way we live. May we long to join...

Send us Fan Mail Family...it's beautiful, and frustrating, and glorious, and embarrassing, and diverse -- even Christ's family line carries some characters and heroes. Christy Nockels' song, "Amaryllis," inspired me to explore a few of the people in the lineage of Christ. How appropriate during this time of year when many of us have just made another year of memories with...

Send us Fan Mail We know that Jesus came to be WITH us, but to understand that He also came FOR us is cause for celebration! Meredith Andrews wrote a unique chorus to the traditional Christmas song, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," and has entitled it, "He Has Come For Us." I was inspired by the chorus to explore Scriptures describing WHY Jesus came for us. I barely scratch the s...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever read something in Scripture you have read before, but suddenly something new jumps out at you? This happened for me this week when a word from a familiar Christmas hymn sent me on a scavenger hunt through the Christmas story. This week, I use Lauren Daigle's version of "O Come All Ye Faithful" to inspire to discover what the word "behold" cal...

Send us Fan Mail "What's in a name?" Shakespeare's Juliet certainly thought that a name was an artificial and meaningless convention. However, we see significance in Scripture when it comes to names -- especially the names of God. We Are Messengers, in their song "God With Us," point us to the name "Emmanuel" spoken of in the Old Testament, but revealed in t...

Send us Fan Mail Christmastime is here! I love this season! I love the music, I love the traditions, I love the decorations, I love the food, and I love taking extra time examining the reason we celebrate this Holy Day. This week I am excited to use Matthew West's new song, "Join the Angels," to inspire us to pore over the Christmas story. The angels had a pretty important role in t...

Send us Fan Mail Everyone expresses joy a little differently, but in my house everyone of the female variety tends to express it by singing at the top of their lungs! Jonny Diaz' song "Joy" is the perfect song to belt it out and get inspired to read through (and pray through) a song in Scripture! Let's get energized and try something new as we head over to Psalm 47! On this epi...

Send us Fan Mail If you knew that the next prayer you prayed aloud over a loved would be one of your last, would you pray for blessings and safety? Or would you fill your prayer with substance? Not for God's benefit, but for the benefit of the loved one listening to your prayer on their behalf? Steven Curtis Chapman's song, "One True God" points directly at God, and so does the...

Send us Fan Mail What do you think about when you think of home? For some it conjures up happy memories, warm feelings, and/or thoughts of family...for others, not so much. Some of you live in a state or town where your heart considers "home" and others are "far from home." As Christians we know we are not yet "home" in the eternal sense. Chris Tomlin's song &quo...

Send us Fan Mail I wish I would take God at His Word. You know, REALLY take Him at His Word. When Jesus stood in the synagogue and unfurled the scroll and read about Himself out of Isaiah 61, He declared, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." The audience present didn't get it then and I don't think we FULLY understand it now. Zach William's song &quot...

Send us Fan Mail I really, really, really don't want my faith to be academic -- I want it to be real and applied and life changing. The wonderful things God has given me to share with all of you have been just that for me -- life changing. However, there is a time when what you have learned must be put to the test. That happened for me this week. In preparation for each week's episode I...

Send us Fan Mail A lyric lodged itself in my mind a few weeks ago that I couldn't shake. It worked out okay, because it wasn't one of those cheesy advertising jingles, it was directly from Scripture. I used the song, "Son of David" by Ghost Ship to guide me to Mark 10 and a great story with more tucked in it than you would imagine. Come with me to the gates of Jericho and meet...

Send us Fan Mail I have a daughter who lacks focus. The more I think about it, the more I think she gets it from me. I read multiple books at once, stop my project at work to read the email that just came in, and get distracted by social media with the rest of them. But what if I slowed down and really unpacked ONE thought from Scripture? This is what happened for me this week as I used "Grea...

Send us Fan Mail What is your agenda? If you enter a conversation with an agenda, you have a plan for the direction of the discussion. When you receive an agenda for a meeting, it is the leader's plan for the direction of the meeting. What is your agenda -- your plan -- for your life? Does it match God's agenda? Tenth Avenue North's song, "What You Want" leads us to search...

Send us Fan Mail There is something that happens when you begin to understand that you are fully loved by God. But it is an entirely different process to start LIVING loved. Hawk Nelson's song, "Live Like You're Loved," sent me on a journey through a good portion of Genesis to examine the life of a man who gives us an example of living loved. Get lost in the story of Joseph wit...

Send us Fan Mail "You're making this into a bigger deal than it needs to be." How many times have I either been on the giving OR receiving end of this statement? That's what it means to magnify a situation. We make something appear larger than it is. The thing is, we will NEVER be able to "over-magnify" God. There is never a time where we will fully understand how &qu...

Send us Fan Mail I don't know about you, but I tend to overload myself with distractions and messages. So much so, that I find it difficult to slow down enough to meditate on a thought, on Scripture, or on what God is saying to me. Singing Scripture is a way to meditate on it; and what better way than to use "To Live Is Christ" by Sidewalk Prophets? After all, the lyrics in the chor...

Send us Fan Mail We can hide from God about as well as a toddler hiding under the dining room table in plain sight with eyes tightly shut. Just as He doesn't abandon us when we are trying to hide from Him, God doesn't abandon us when we stray from Him either. Jordan Feliz' song "Never Too Far Gone" leads us to consider the "before Christ" and "after Christ&q...

Send us Fan Mail We all need a good anthem to sing at the top of our lungs as we open the sun roof and crank the radio! Oh, wait -- maybe that's just me. "Every Giant Will Fall" by Rend Collective definitely fits the "great anthem" bill, all the while leading us to consider God's ways and our response when faced with giants. Let's consider how the Israelite peopl...

Send us Fan Mail The characters in God's Word are so rich with lives we can relate to and experiences we can learn from. Matthew West's song, "Mended," caused me to look into the life of Mary Magdalene. Mary was broken, but Jesus mended her and changed her life and eternity. Join me as we follow some practical steps to study the life of Mary Magdalene. On this episode I discuss...

Send us Fan Mail If we fully understood the scope of God's forgiveness, we would be more grateful and more gracious. That has been my personal challenge this week as I used Shane & Shane's song, "That's How You Forgive," to explore just HOW God forgives. Join me on this very powerful journey to explore the depths of God's forgiveness and what it means to and for u...

Send us Fan Mail In this season of the Olympics it is only appropriate to explore an athletic topic as a metaphor to our faith. I heard a returning Olympic athlete say that the medal he received four years ago, while wonderful, was the "wrong color." For this athlete, gold is his standard. Jeremy Camp sings about another high standard in his song, "Christ In Me." Join me in exp...

Send us Fan Mail The most compelling music in our lives often speaks to the deepest riddles of our soul. "Eye of the Storm" by Ryan Stevenson speaks of various storms that have impacted all of us at some point or another. However, I believe the song's greatest impact lies in the comfort it brings to those of us in the middle of our own storms of life. The lyrics bring comfort by pro...

Send us Fan Mail We all have hidden places in us that seem "too dirty" to bring into the light. God's Word washes us to make us holy in His sight. Unfortunately, we avoid the very solution that can bring cleansing and healing, oftentimes because we expected a different solution. Naaman was like this, and we read about him in 2 Kings 5. Head with me over there this week! On this epis...