In the last few months I have realized a few things I never want to do as a representative of the female body of Christ. I pray these over myself and all women as I realize the extreme power of the spoken word.
1. May I never spit in the face of God and complain unceasingly about the painful curse of childbirth and lose sight of the miracle of being allowed to bring forth life into this world.
2. May I never discourage a woman from her desire to keep God's command to be fruitful and multiply by constantly being negative about the gift of parenting.
3. May I never discourage a woman from doing what she feels is the healthiest thing for her baby.
My prayer is to love, encourage, pray over and see my sisters through the beautiful journey of motherhood. I am thankful for and encouraged by all the women who encourage me in godliness and simple love of family. Thank you.
My prayer for you today is that you speak blessing and refrain from cursing with negative speech.
Read This Review On Christian Music Suite
Denbigh Cherry: Worth Repeating
Review
© Kevan Breitinger
"A lot of indie albums cross my desk in the course of a year, but not many that I like more than Denbigh Cherry's "Worth Repeating."
His just released “Worth Repeating” contains 14 tracks, eleven of which are originals, and each track reveals a drive for the deep things of God. These songs aren’t just your standard “Oh God, we love you” verses; Cherry goes deeper than that, peering into the dark recesses of the soul, where resistance to sacrifice hides, along with unspoken doubts and fears. That’s just the kind of dark muck that Cherry seems to enjoy unearthing, and his writing is driven by that kind of raw authenticity.
The jazz-flaired “Trinity” kicks things off nicely, raw power simmering in the thick B3 chords and Cherry’s gritty vocals. I love the slow blues burn of “Law of the Lord,” the electric guitar accenting all the right spots, often coinciding with the Scriptural strong points as well. Denbigh Cherry’s music is saturated with Scripture, a trend that I appreciate. As he says in his liner notes, “What more can we possibly say than what He’s already said? The answer: nothing. He’s already said it all. All we can do is merely repeat what His Word tells us…. over and over again until He returns.” Like the title says, “Worth Repeating.”
The jazz bounce returns with “I’ve Never Seen,” another edgy track with a very sinuous groove, the strings burning out a weirdly Mid-eastern vibe and the B3 jamming madly beneath it all. Denbigh Cherry and his tight band rock with a simmering fierceness, but when things slow down, they’re just as strong. Piano ballad “Your Promise & Your Price” is a tender and moving recognition of Christ’s sacrifices, its lyrics staring unabashedly into the deep truths of the cross. The honest questions of “If You Asked” continue in that vein of daring self-examination over a quiet acoustic guitar. Denbigh’s wife Stephanie penned the lyrics of "Raah," and she has all the eloquence of her husband and then some: “Deep in liquid darkness, where sound won’t resonate/ Your Word is not clear to me and I just can’t feel Your grace/ But You have lovingly protected all I willfully rejected/ Now I’m proud to be afflicted with this pain.”
It is to her that the stunning "Stephanie's Song" was written as a wedding gift. I don’t know when I’ve heard a love song that contained the same astonishing mix of Scriptural and romantic truth, nor one delivered with more fierce passion. Denbigh Cherry brings several skill sets to “Worth Repeating,” every one of them highly developed. “Worth Repeating” will provoke and move you both spiritually and musically."
The last few months of our lives we have felt like the sheep led to slaughter. It has been a time of such intense testing that we have often collapsed (me in tears) at the end of each day. Everywhere we would go God would remind us that there is reward for our suffering and to simply keep asking for what we need. That we did.
Every December and January are lean for itenerant ministry and we usually scrape by. As we have cried out to God with our hurts and our needs, He has been faithful to answer us and continued to minister to us. I would see it everywhere. Last night, I saw it looking at our calendar. Every weekend in our calendar for the month of January is full. 3 retreats, a night of worship, and the opportunity to lead worship at a conference for people who run camps. Bills get paid. God gets glory.
Yesterday, I was at my wits end. I broke down in tears several times just from the weight of ministry. I cried out to God and told Him my feelings. Today, I got up and went to get a car battery since mine is done for and I then went to Dairy Queen to grab some food. Listen to this . . . they got my order right. This has never happened to me. I looked up toward Heaven and said, "what are you up to?" I know when DQ gets your order right that it is something only God can do... Somehow, when they put in the battery it made my radio go off and my cd player come on. "You are God alone and Indescribable" played as I drove on home expectantly and opened my mail box..to a present, a card that says,"You are called to pray," and a check for a $1,000 (yes,dollars). These things were all from different people.
I called Denbigh and I said repeat after me. (You join in)
Lord, You are good and your mercies endureth forever.
On Monday, God told me a miracle was coming in the mailbox.
I just read this article on Justin Childer's Blog. Here is part of it:
Preachers have resorted to preaching on current events, funny stories, self-esteem, morality, and a host of other things. When was the last time you heard a sermon on the depravity of man, the perfect righteousness of Christ credited to us through faith, or the necessity of repentance for salvation? You are probably more likely to hear what’s going on in the news, how to have a better life, or a challenge to “try harder” this year. If the gospel is “of first importance,” it should at least take that place in preaching.
No matter how many years we have been a Christian or how long our church has been in existence, we still need the gospel. Without it we are nothing more than a social club, patting each other on the back for what a great job we are doing. I agree with Mark Dever, who wrote, “Our power is not in having small groups, or meeting the felt needs of our target audience, or using the right evangelism program, or having funny skits, or providing plenteous parking…Our power is in our unique message—the Gospel—not in our innovations. As such, our primary method must be to clearly communicate that message as widely as possible.”
To read the whole article visit Justin's Blog
As we embark into the new realm of 2007, I have begun to ask myself some questions. I thought it might be an interesting thing to list them here. If the Holy Spirit gives you an answer to any and you would like a partner in prayer, please let me know.
1. If I could change (remove or add) one thing about my life, what would it be?
2. If God called me to leave my family and/or friends to start a new ministry, would I say yes?
3. How will I fulfill Isaiah 58:10 in my life this year?
4. What is one miracle I would love to see God accomplish in my personal life this year?
5. What goals or vision would I like to see brought to fulfillment this year?
Here are my answers: If I could change one thing, I would pray in such a fervent way as to give Andrew Murray and E.M. Bounds a run for their money. I have learned that prayer brings the tenderness of Christ to our hearts toward His people. I believe I could walk out of my house today if He asked me to. Isaiah 58:10 says that we should pour out what we have to sustain ourselves to meet the needs of the afflicted. I will continue to give all proceeds from my book to ministry as well as any personal item or length of time I can give to anyone who is in need of it. I would love to see God do a powerful work in my family and Denbigh's family restoring them all from complacency to fervor for Jesus Christ. I would also love to see our house paid off to open the door for more ministry. My visions fulfilled would be for God to allow and provide for Denbigh to do a live album, me to write and publish a second book that will please the heart of God, and for God to open the door for us to start a retreat center. My biggest prayer this year is for a healthy baby and complete confidence in God as we train her up to love her heavenly father. What can I pray for you?
