Sinking Deep // Hillsong Y&F

In the summer I attended Momentum 2014 (an annual Christian festival here in the UK) and we sung this song there almost every day. I adore the lyrics; they are just so full of awe and love for God that I can't help but smile when I sing them. I could write a long devotional about what each line means to me, but I encourage you to read them for yourself or listen to the song. It's so beautiful - just like Him.

"God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords"

Because our 'secular' society often portrays God as an angry, old man who demands them to abide by a list of never-ending rules, we as Christians often shy away from admitting that God indeed is an authority figure. Yes, there is an amazingly loving, caring and wonderful nature to Him but, like with any Father, He too should be feared.

The word 'feared' instantly has negative connotations - but in my opinion when it comes to God, it indicates that we should be in reverence of Him. We should be aware of His power, and rather than experience an unhealthy amount of dread about doing things 'right', we should feel respect, as His ways are higher than ours.

"Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart, be all else but naught to me, save that thou art; be thou my best thought in the day and the night, both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light."

Isn't this hymn beautiful? I used to despise them when I was a little younger, mostly because I saw the 'old' words and didn't even bother to decipher their meaning.

But really, the hymn is saying something profound - it's pointing to the idea that we should think of God day and night. Not only glorifying Him in our thought but also being in constant conversation with Him, continually 'praying'. To put this more simply, me and my friends have a saying that 'Prayer in our thoughts whilst we're out and about is like talking to God on a mobile phone, but sitting down for a devotional time is like talking to God on a house phone'. God should have say in our everyday actions and we should make sure that we are available to Him; but there is also a more calm, more reflective time that we should set apart with Him - almost like friends meeting up after a long day to catch-up.

Hope this helps you all and please ask me questions if you have any!

You see the depth of my heart God, and You still love me the same

I am so comforted by the idea that Jesus is our First Love. He is so, because He loved us first - before our parents ever knew us, whilst we were being formed in the womb He adored us and delighted in us more than anyone ever could or will. And because of His love we should also love Him first and put Him at the centre of all we do and think.

But I think there’s another connotation of the words ‘First Love’. In our world we so easily give our hearts away (and I’m talking to both genders here) to anyone who will give us a glimmer of attention. What does giving your heart away mean? Several things such as getting our self worth from that person or trusting in that person.

But if we give our ‘hearts’ to Jesus, meaning that we make Him our provider, that it is only Him that we divulge our all to, He will not disappoint us (unlike the world). Finding our security and self-worth in Jesus means that we are not forced to depend on the unreliable nature of humans and our self-worth will not come from other things like clothes, money and intelligence.

For God never fails and He never gives up in loving us.

You Have Called Me Higher // All Sons & Daughters

If you have any free time this week, listen to this song. Its a powerful statement about stepping out in faith rather than holding onto our comfort zones.

Something I found out quite early in my walk with God is that getting to know Jesus will always mean 'moving forward'. If you're not moving forward in your relationship, you are only moving backwards. And moving forward with God means letting go of control. And don't let anyone tell you that's easy: it's often uncomfortable and challenging. Sometimes you will be embarrassed, awkward and it won't always please people.

But, having said all of the above, it's also immeasurably rewarding and comforting. So don't let the idea of stepping put deter you from putting all else on the line for God!

A lovely translation of this verse in the King James Version. Sometimes going back to the raw basics helps you to see the meaning in God's Word.

The verse just says it all. God's love is vast and never-ending; it does not run out on us and it never judges. What a relief! Because we all mess up, without any exceptions.

Our pride in how we do things often gets in between our view of God and influences the way we approach Him. We seem to think, that once we do wrong we deserve to 'feel bad' for a while before asking for forgiveness. For a long time, I thought that guilt was a necessary and ever-present companion of Christianity.

But God did not intend for us to live with the constant guilt of our sins -that's why His forgiveness is quick and why He harbours no record of past wrongs. And with this, He sets the perfect example of how we too, amongst ourselves, should forgive each other.

How amazing would it be for others to see a community (in school, at work or as a church) where its members are quick to forgive and hold no bitterness in their hearts?