Everything Must Go | Now Playing

Everything Must Go is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Andy Mineo's debut album: Heroes For

Sale. I found it on YouTube a couple days ago and thought it was a pretty great watch. For one, Andy produced a majority of his album while he was on the road--meaning while he touring with the rest of the 116 crew (Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashii, etc). You get to see what life is like for them on the road: what they do while touring; what goes on during, before and after shows; the good, the bad, and even the ugly of the road life at moments. You also get to see that these guys are just like us. As fans, we sometimes get the idea the people who make the music we love are superhuman. But in reality, they're just human. And this behind-the-scenes glance shows that truth, not just for Andy, but for all artists who live for Someone greater.
So, even if hip-hop/rap isn't your music, I encourage you to check out this mini-documentary. Even if the style of music Andy makes isn't your favorite; his goofy, fun-loving, and humble personality will more than make up for that (not to mention guest appearances by Lecrae and friends).

Who knows? If you don't already, maybe you'll end up liking Christian rap by the time the video ends. I've seen it happen. :P

God bless!

 

[if video no work-y or you're reading via email, click here or above on the title of the video]

I've also included two of Andy Mineo's singles from his new album: Bitter and You Will. They both have great sound quality (for all you audiophiles like me xD) and even greater lyrics. Check them out too!

Pray for Oklahoma

Photo credit @lecrae

Yesterday, Oklahoma was struck with possibly the worst tornado in the history of the state. The city Moore, Oklahoma--just outside Oklahoma City--was hit the hardest. Entire blocks of the city are decimated, nearly the entire city leveled with the carnage of debris. At least 51 people were killed by the tornado; 20 of them were children. Countless families and lives have been devastated by this disaster, and they need our prayers--now more than ever. Why prayers? Prayer opens doors and overturns stones. Prayer communicates with the Spirit and prompts Him to move. Prayer breaks down boundaries and rips open strongholds. Prayer works into the unseen--the root of the problem--and manifests into what is seen--the result. Prayer gives power and strength, conviction and guidance, love and mercy.
Don't get me wrong: Physical needs are crazy important, and if you have the opportunity to supply any of these victims with any of the resources they need physically, I would personally encourage you to do so. But if for whatever reason, physical aid is not an option for you, then spiritual help if just as powerful, if not more. I urge you guys to pray for these people when you can. They need it. Even if people think you're wasting time, call you stupid or ignorant or whatever, I think the well-being of one person who has lost everything is worth much more than what a few people of negatively biased opinion think. Life and death is in the power of the tongue. Let's use it to lift up our hurting and grieving neighbors in Oklahoma.


Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. - {Matthew 5:4}

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He saves those who are crushed in spirit. - {Psalm 34:18}

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. . . . - {Revelation 21:4}


For more information on the tornado and Moore, check out here, here and here.

God bless!

Let Your Love Be Strong | Now Playing

Switchfoot is one of my favorite bands--both for their sound and their creative songwriting. Their sound is energetic and fun, but can just as easily go to slow and melodic when the song calls for it. However, what really captures me with them and their music are the lyrics. Unlike a lot of mainstream bands, Switchfoot puts a lot of work into their verses and words: the underlying foundation of each and every lyrical song. Let Your Love Be Strong is a breathtaking example of this. The poetic metaphors, powerful yet fluid lyrics and the soft but undeniable accompaniment of the drums, bass and acoustic guitar make this song ring in your mind long after it's done playing. It's one of my favorite songs on their sixth album Oh! Gravity. and one of my favorites by the band in general.

So anyway, here it is! Have a great day and God bless. I hope this song can encourage you as it did me.

 

[if the video doesn't come up or you're reading via email, click here]

In this world of news, I've found nothing new
I've found nothing pure
Maybe I'm just idealistic to assume that truth
Could be fact and form
That love could be a verb
Maybe I'm just a little misinformed

As the dead moon rises, and the freeways sigh
Let the trains watch over the tides and the mist
Spinning circles in our skies tonight
Let the trucks roll in from Los Angeles
Maybe our stars are unanimously tired

Let your love be strong, and I don't care what goes down
Let your love be strong enough to weather through the thunder cloud
Fury and thunder clap like stealing the fire from your eyes
All of my world hanging on your love

Let the wars begin, let my strength wear thin
Let my fingers crack, let my world fall apart
Train the monkeys on my back to fight
Let it start tonight
When my world explodes, when my stars touch the ground
Falling down like broken satellites

Let your love be strong, and I don't care what goes down
Let your love be strong enough to weather through the thunder cloud
Fury and thunder clap like stealing the fire from your skies
All of that I am hanging on
All of my world resting on your love

You can find Switchfoot on Twitter, FB, Youtube, and on their site switchfoot.com.
God bless! :]

The Secret to Christian Living

I can't tell you how many times I've heard amazing preachers, whom I do love and respect, say the following at the end of a prayer: "We're not perfect Lord Jesus, but we're trying to be more like You."

To me, this sounds like starting a drive on a dead-end road. Jesus doesn't want us to "try to be more like Him." Because, then, we would get the credit when we finally reach our impossible goal of thinking and acting just like Jesus. The goal of being a Christian, is not to try to be more like Jesus. It's simply to stay weak and dependent, watching the mighty, powerful, loving, gracious, indestructible God work in your life. You might say that isn't much of a goal because we're not doing anything! Exactly. We cannot boast and we can't get the credit when we let God work in us. It's all Him. It's so beautiful to see God use weakness!

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says: "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him."

God loves to use weak people (or I should say people who admit they're weak), because there's room for Him to demonstrate His power and strength. He gets to show off! I've found that God often calls us based on our weaknesses, not our strengths. When we stay weak, there's room for God to be strong. God has personally called me based on my inability rather than on my ability so that He can display His ability...if that makes sense :) When we finally give up and just let God work out His will within us (Philippians 2:13), we can finally experience deep joy in Christ! Giving up our foolish pursuit of trying to be like Perfection, will expose our weakness and God will rejoice because we have opened the door of our hearts to Him! Bottom line, God wants the credit. If trying to be like Jesus is done in our own effort, God doesn't really have anything to do with it. The Lord wants to be involved in our lives! He wants to convict us, grow us, teach us, love us, forgive us, and live through us. We just need to be willing to let Him change us. He will.


Sometimes God allows us to fail when we depend on our own strength. He wants us to learn to depend on Him for everything. Sometimes we'll only realize that letting God work in us is the key to Christian living, when God continues to allow us to fail. Apart from Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5)! I love the way Corrie ten Boom puts it:

"Perhaps only when human effort had done its best and failed, would God's power alone be free to work."

Now, does letting God work in us mean we'll never sin again? Of course not. But God is more patient with us than we are with ourselves. He's so faithful and He'll never give up on us. We've already been made perfect, holy, and righteous because of what Jesus did on the cross (Hebrews 10:12-14). He took our shame, guilt, and sin upon Himself. And after we've accepted Christ as Savior and Lord and we continue to live in shame, guilt, and condemnation, it's like telling Jesus the cross wasn't enough. Jesus came to set us free from shame and guilt (Romans 8:2). Because we, as Christians, are free from shame and guilt, that doesn't mean we keep on sinning and living how we want. However, God's grace and this freedom gives us the confidence to live for God, knowing that when we fail, we'll fall right into the arms of unfailing love. "Trying to be like Jesus," is actually wasting God's time. When He could be working in us, transforming us into His likeness, we're trying to be like Him! He wants the credit and the glory so lets give Him our weakness and watch Him work. When you let God work in you, you effortlessly become more godly, wise, joyful, loving, and zealous for the Lord! You become more like your Creator when you let your Creator work in your life. This is not because you have tried to be like your Creator. By just simply resting in the work of Jesus and letting our loving Savior work in us we actually become like our Savior!

Here's a quote from one of my favorite Christian writers, Watchman Nee, about living the Christian lifestyle:


"We labor all our lives to be Christ-like, only to find that such a goal was impossible from our first effort. While we struggle to be more Christ-like and grow more discouraged daily when it doesn't happen, He simply wants to live out His life within us. For to me, to live is Christ (Philippians 1:21). It is Christ Himself living through us; speaking, witnessing, fathering, befriending, writing, and singing through us! I don't want to be more like Jesus; I want Jesus Himself living within me. Once I saw this truth, it was the beginning of a new life for me. From here on, your daily life can be summed up in one phrase, 'Walk in His love.'"


 That's the secret to Christian living! Letting your loving Savior work in you and live through you. He can't wait to hear you say, "I give up." Because the Lord is a Gentleman, He won't push His way in and work in you if you don't want Him to. If you want to try to be more like Jesus, He'll let you do that. He will allow you to fail. He wants so desperately to work out His will within you! I pray you will turn away from working to earn God's favor, and get started on the amazing path of learning to live in His grace!

  "The Christian life is lived when we receive the life of Christ within us as a gift." -Watchman Nee


Have an amazing day!

Living Champion | Now Playing

Co Campell is a new artist in Christian music, and I stumbled over his first unofficial release and free mixtape Conqueror on this free legal music site called Noisetrade. The album art looked cool, and it said recommended for listeners of Lecrae (as well as Andy Mineo, Justin Timberlake, Paramore, and MuteMath), so I was curious and decided to give Co a try.

It came pretty close to blowing my mind!

They're only six tracks in the mixtape (hence, it being called a mixtape, not a full album), but his music is like a fusion between hip-hop and alt rock. The vocals and lyrics are more hip-hop/rap-ish (with a rocky edge) while the distortion guitar power chords and riffs and solos during the songs make you think of a rock concert. Not to mention the drums and the bass.

Long story short, the dude's music is pretty amazing. His lyrics are very honest and uplifting, from thanking God for all He's done, to letting everyone know he's gonna live different, to singing about who he belongs and just worshiping God. But don't just read about it; listen to Co's music yourself!

Below are two of his songs. The first is Champion, which is I think is a better introduction song to Co and his style of music. It's also the mixtape opener, which proves my point. :P

 

[If the video doesn't come up or you're reading via email, click here to see the video] ]

The second song is probably my favorite on his mixtape: Alive. This track features good friend and fellow Christian artist Andy Mineo; the two basically kill it on this track. (They've done a lot of songs together, so this shouldn't come as a surprise.) Not to mention whoever's playing guitar. I just love the rock/rap fusion throughout the song and the entire mixtape at whole. The lyrics are empowering, inspiring, encouraging and easy to understand--and along with the awesome sound--I just find it amazing.

 [Click here if you can't this video either]

You can find Co Campell on Facebook and Twitter here and here. He's just starting out as an artist, so if you like his music, support him!

Have a great day and God bless! :]

So as long I'm alive

Imma live the best way

Imma live the best days

I don't care what people say

So as long as I'm alive

Imma live the right life

With God at my side

Everything gon' be alright!
- Co Campell, "Alive"