#thelighttrain

Yesterday for the very first time, I heard the name “Chester Bennington” when my dear friend Seun Akappo rang me up. I got to learn that Chester died by committing suicide. Very tragic. Although I did not know his name, I was once addicted to the music Linkin Park produced. All it takes is a trip down memory lane to remember how I had songs like ‘Somewhere I belong’, ‘It’s Easier To Run’, ‘Breaking The Habit’, ‘In The End’, ‘Crawling’, ‘From The Inside’ and ‘What I’ve Done’ on repeat. Reflecting on the death of Chester, I can’t help but hear the words he once sang: “I tried so hard And got so far But in the end It doesn't even matter I had to fall To lose it all But in the end It doesn't even matter”. Heart wrenching. Regardless of what he meant when he sang those words, I can’t help but see them within the context of his death now. I think the saddest thing about Chester’s death is the question: where will he spend eternity? Chester was a beautifully gifted musical creature. He enjoyed a great deal of success and popularity and got to live ‘his dream’. But the important question now is where he will live his reality. The sad death of Chester gives us all, Christians and non-Christians alike, another sad but necessary pause to reflect on what really matters ‘in the end’. I can only imagine how many times Chester braved the storm and overcame the urge to end his life. All the things which had previously helped him overcome, failed in this particular instance. In Jesus there is an assurance of a certain kind of peace; the peace of God which transcends all understanding. It can only be found in Jesus Christ and its purpose is to guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7). I would go as far as saying that what Chester needed above anything else to avoid this tragedy, was the peace of God at that very moment. God’s peace would have transcended his despair and decision to end his life. Stop at nothing to be used by God, to reach the Christians and non-Christians you know. It could be through your prayers, persistent preaching of the gospel or living an exemplary life. They need to know what a friend we have in Jesus. How I wish that all humanity would yearn for Jesus. That we would all embrace the words of this song: “And when I am alone Oh, and when I am alone And when I am alone, Give me Jesus. And when I come to die, Oh, and when I come to die And when I come to die Give me Jesus. You can have all this world But give me Jesus”. ------------- Post written by: Sonsare Zabadi Image source: rollingstone.com Original writer of 'Give Me Jesus' unknown, but was African-American who was most likely a slave. Here’s a nice article about the song: https://hymnsinmyheart.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/give-me-jesus/

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭3:12-14‬ ‭ESV‬‬ Do you have original confidence in Jesus Christ? Are you holding it firmly? We will only continue to share in Christ to the extent that we firmly hold our original confidence in Him. The Message Bible puts it this way: If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul. Hebrews 3:14 MSG Think about this. It is also important to ask yourself if the things you are feeding your mind (such as music, videos, books, interactions), will loosen or sustain the grip on your original confidence in Christ. In his book 'Mere Christianity', C.S. Lewis advises us to "...make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers and religious readings and churchgoing are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?" Page 122. Hold firm Sister! Hold Firm Brother! We are all in this together, with Christ.

#songswelove Sparrows by Jason Gray "Lean in and it’s hard to miss, Everything can change, When you make it His; Oh, He wants to carry it. Carefree in the care of God, When you let it go, You’ll find that He’s enough; Oh, you never leave His love."

#songswelove Sparrows by Jason Gray "There’s not a single star that’s out of place There’s nothing broken He can’t remake If you long for hope when you’re afraid Oh look at the sparrow Look at the sparrow."

Are you currently worried about something? Let this song remind you that the arms of Jesus are open to comfort you, give you peace and help you bear your burden(s).

We are Sponge-beings//Part Two Our hearts should constantly desire Jesus. This won't occur naturally sometimes and in those times, we need to deliberately steward our choices towards Him. This will involve constant wrestling with our flesh as we subject our structured appetites to spiritual restructuring. If Jesus is truly our Lord, one would expect that anything which speaks of Him, expresses Him, points to Him and glorifies Him is what we would love. We need to be immersed in His fullness; we need to be soaked in His truth to remain free. Many christians are victims of the perception that secular content satisfies more than gospel-inspired content. We've also held on to the excuse that the production quality of Christian movies, music etc. is no where near the standard of secular entertainment. Although this was mostly true over a decade ago, it is not true today. The music and visual content produced by Christians today are very high in quality and satisfy the soul in a way secular content cannot. However, as a result of both misconceptions (satisfaction and quality), many Christians don't know about some of the wonderful content available for us to be built up in Jesus. I reached this conclusion on the basis of many interactions I have had with other Christians. Our Lord knew we would have this struggle and has inspired millions of hearts to write books, make movies/videos, preach sermons, make music, blogs & many more content for His glory and our hearts to be built up in Him! Seek and you shall find. Also, try to support christian artists and establishments by purchasing their products or donating. Let's empower them to produce more for the Kingdom.

Writer: Sonsare Zabadi

His Word shall not fail you—He promised; Believe Him, and all will be well: Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell!