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

Send us Fan Mail Hearing the stories of others can give us hope and encouragement in our own struggles. This week's song, "Worn" by Tenth Avenue North, describes what many of us feel in our wearying circumstances. This week, we meet up with Jacob in the book of Genesis. I start to feel worn just recapping his life's journey! Let's see what we can learn from Jacob's en...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever arrived at a familiar destination only to discover you don't remember experiencing the journey? Tim Timmons's "Awake Our Souls" is a cry for us to wake up and experience the Kingdom of God all around us! It inspires me to pick up God's Word and consider what it teaches about the Kingdom. God asks for our efforts to be focused on His agenda an...

Send us Fan Mail When the storms of life come out of nowhere and send us titling out of control, do we hang tight or let go? Casting Crowns encourages us to let go and "Just Be Held." This act of surrender and trust in God truly means we abandon our control, but it does not mean we will be out of control. God Himself can carry us through in His capable hands if we will let him. In Acts 2...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever gazed at a soaring eagle? The eagle flies high above the world with a peace and perspective that we "land dwellers" do not share. This week's song, "Soar" by Meredith Andrews, encourages us with the very words of Scripture. Let's swoop in to take a closer look at what else we can glean from Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40 begins the Book of Comfort...

Send us Fan Mail It is the time of year when the crystal ball drops and the calendar changes. This is definitely a season when we stop and reflect and consider what the new year will bring. JJ Heller's song "This Year (Happy New Year)" is a terrific song to help us leap into the new year while we internalize a cry from Hosea and a dramatic ending of a season in David's life in...

Send us Fan Mail When you drive up to a traffic circle and encounter a red triangular sign, it triggers a behavior to yield to traffic in the circle. If you're married and gaze upon your wedding band, it may trigger memories of your wedding day or perhaps just bring your spouse's face to mind. Signs and symbols everywhere prick our memories or guide our behaviors, especially at Christmas...

Send us Fan Mail Reviewing the Christmas story can warm our hearts with the familiar, but examining the characters in new ways can enrich the story you may never have considered. Sidewalk Prophet's song, "What a Glorious Night," puts the shepherds (and their experience in the Christmas story) front and center. It gives us a unique opportunity to consider this repeated story in a fre...

Send us Fan Mail How often have we missed the miracle because there was "no room" for the inconvenience? The birth of Jesus was messy, loud, and inconvenient, and yet some embraced it, and some, like the innkeeper sung about in Brandon Heath's song, "Just a Girl," missed out on welcoming the Savior of the World. How many miracles have we missed because we said "no&quo...

Send us Fan Mail The message of this week's song, "Be One," by Natalie Grant, challenges us to be miracles in the lives of others. Instead of pointing our fingers at others and saying, "I need," we should raise our hands and say, "I will!" Deborah, in the Book of Judges, was this type of person. What can we learn from her story? Also, Deborah's story ends in...

Send us Fan Mail Community. It's a place where we share interests and goals with other people. Once we are joined with other believers in Christ, we share the same Spirit and heritage. These truths are the foundation of the Scripture we will explore this week and are also found in the song "No Man Is An Island" by Tenth Avenue North. This week, we learn that we are not an island unt...

Send us Fan Mail Music and lyrics have always played an important role in helping us to remember. Sometimes, I remember where I was in 1980-something, just by hearing a tune waft through the air in the grocery store. That's powerful! The Israelites used a song in Exodus 15 declaring their Deliverer's wondrous acts and mighty power to help them remember the details of that experience. We...

Send us Fan Mail Think about the person you love the deepest. Are you picturing that person in your mind? Now, think of the top three qualities you love about that person. What a great exercise to put into words why our feelings are so strong. A better exercise is to turn around and tell that person the top three qualities you thought of! This week's song, "Good Good Father," by Chr...

Send us Fan Mail Are you setting yourself up to experience God regularly with other believers? I got this from exploring a brief story in Acts 16 this week, inspired by the song "The River" by Jordan Feliz. Like Lydia, down by the river in Acts 16, I pray that you will have an open heart to the life-changing truth of God's Word. In this episode, I discuss: Some of the places in Scri...

Send us Fan Mail Our stories mirror the stories of old, so the words that brought comfort and direction to their lives can help us as we take each step of our own. "The Words I Would Say" by Sidewalk Prophets renders a tremendous amount of truth just in the chorus—some of the very words spoken by God Himself to Joshua. Join me as we consider Joshua's experiences and how they may mir...

Send us Fan Mail Have you been abandoned? Rejected? Falsely accused? Let me encourage your heart...that's not God's style. In fact, His Word is filled with promises that He will never do any of those things...even if those closest to you do. Rend Collective's song, "You Will Never Run," reminds us of this promise and drove me to Psalm 27 this week to see how David responde...

Send us Fan Mail Flashy sells. I get that. But consider a flash...it is a bright light that lasts for a moment. This week's song, "Glow in the Dark" by Jason Gray, sings about shining right where we are. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul gives us some practical ways to do that over time...not just in bursts. Use this week's song to inspire you to read Philippians. I know t...

Send us Fan Mail Right or wrong, I look at the world around me as if everyone sees it just as I do. I assume people know what I know. I expect people to react like I react...even God. This week's song, "Grace Wins," by Matthew West, directly touches on how we assign character to God that does not belong to Him. The song also points us back to Scripture, where we can see for ourselve...

Send us Fan Mail If you want a wonderful worship song full of Scripture and God's names, "To the Only God" by Aaron Shust is the song for you! If you want to learn three new ways to approach God's Word to inspire you to look at it in new ways, this podcast episode is for you! The Book of Jude is rich in application to our lives today. I can't wait for you to jump in with b...

Send us Fan Mail  There are many days when the moment my head hits my pillow, the prayer that rises is, "You can come back any time now, Lord." This is John's sentiment found in Revelation 22:20 and the song's message, "Even So Come" by Kristian Stanfill. This week, we will explore a small part of what God's Word says about Christ's return.  Although this is...

Send us Fan Mail There is an eternal hope that we can look forward to. Our salvation begins when we become followers of Christ, but it is a forever kind of salvation. "From the Day" by I Am They is a song that celebrates this salvation but also leads us to exciting descriptions of what our forever salvation will look like. I can't wait to share with you what I found in Scripture thi...

Send us Fan Mail  With all the distractions around us, it is important to get really clear on what God wants to be the center of our attention. Like a fancy camera lens, let's focus clearly and allow the troubles of this world to blur in the background. "Cast My Cares" by Finding Favour leads us straight to 1 Peter and what God's Word teaches us about accomplishing this clarity...

Send us Fan Mail "I have it all under control." That's where I like to be...or at least feel. But my Father wants me to trust HIM; He wants me to trust that HE has it all under control. That is why He allows so much of my life to be "beyond me." TobyMac's song, "Beyond Me," leads us to Jeremiah 33 this week, where we explore a group of people in desperate ci...

Send us Fan Mail What does your life breathe out? What is your exhale? Plumb's song, "Exhale," inspires me to breathe in as much truth, love, and grace as I can hold so that truth, love, and grace are what I breathe out. This week, we explore the story of Rahab and discover what her life's "exhale" was. Rahab's confession was a declaration of her faith in God. Wh...

Send us Fan Mail Relationships. Can't live with them, can't live without them. This week's song, "Brother" by NeedToBreathe, leads us to discover some of the brother relationships in the Bible. Just like in the band, these relationships are not always smooth sailing. There is, however, a wonderful example of two "spiritual brothers" that is worth looking into. I...

Send us Fan Mail There are many more mundane moments in our lives than magnificent. This week, we will take Steven Curtis Chapman's song, "Do Everything," to point us to the book of Colossians and ponder what it may look like to "do everything as unto the Lord." How do you relate to my personal ponderings this week? In this episode, I discuss: The story behind the song &qu...