Tag Archives: message mondays

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MESSAGE MONDAYS & THROWBACK TUESDAYS – The Light Meets The Dark

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Yes, as you can see from the title, I am a very much avid fan of CCM band Tenth Avenue North. Or rather, a fan of Mike Donehey’s devotional youtube messages about his songs that he has released on the internet throughout the years. In fact, Tenth Avenue North has to be one of the best bands that CCM offers to us at the moment- starting their career way back in 2008 when they signed to Reunion Records, the band delivered chart topping albums like Over and Underneath, The Light Meets the Dark, The Struggle, Cathedrals and more recently Followers. To say that Mike the lead singer has a way with words in how he imparts heartfelt and poignant truths to listeners is very much an understatement. And while I know that their latest album Followers can arguably be the quintet’s most emotive and encouraging yet, I can’t ignore where it all started. It was in 2009/10 when I started listening to the band and their music on a regular basis- safe to say that The Light Meets the Dark is a momentous album for me- with songs like “Healing Begins”, “You Are More”, “Strong Enough to Save”…it was then when I realised that Tenth Avenue North and their music was something special.

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Message Mondays – Comfortableness: The Enemy of Conversation

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be of service to someone else’s needs. To look beyond what I believe to be what I need at that certain moment, and to see what the other person is longing and yearning for. To lay what I want to happen in my own life down, and to ask the question- so what is going on with you? To earnestly ask, and see what we can do in someone else’s life, without any expectation that they will return the favour, because 99% of the time, we know they probably won’t. Because honestly, if we want to be real, no one really, really likes to ask the other person what is going on with them. Because once that happens, all bets are off. Everything we have planned for the entire day, well kiss that goodbye, because the person you are talking to may just pour their heart out to you, and you will have to listen, whether or not you even want to hear it. You have to genuinely care enough to say, ‘yes, I know what I want in my life today, but I am willing to shelve all that to one side for the sake of the person I am in conversation with’. Are we indeed willing enough to offer a shed of encouragement, from the deepest parts of our hearts (yes, indeed we may have to delve there, but I’m sure it’ll be very much worth it), as we service the needs of whomever we are in connection with, at that moment of the day?

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MESSAGE MONDAYS – FOLLOWERS

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Quite arguably one of the best bands that CCM has to offer, Tenth Avenue North started their career on Reunion Records way back in 2008 with their chart topping album Over and Underneath. Now 8 years and another 4 albums later, we see the quintet release one of their most emotive and encouraging albums to date, Followers. One of the most underrated and heartfelt bands over the last 5 years, Mike Donehey, lead singer, has always had something great to communicate across to us all through video devotionals about the band’s songs over the years. And while their most recent 2014 album Cathedrals only spawned 2 devotional videos (of their singles “No Man is an Island” and “Stars in the Night”), as opposed to the 5 from The Struggle (“Losing”, “Where Life Would Never Die”, “The Struggle”, “You Do All Things Well” and “Worn”), we are nevertheless blessed with what the band have to say for these two tracks. “No Man Is an Island” was a reminder to always live in community with one another, as we remember that we were never meant to live our lives outside of fellowship and relationship with our fellow man- we were meant for community just as God Himself is a community (of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit); while “Stars in the Night” was also a comfort- that as we focus our eyes on Jesus and remind ourselves that in the darkest of nights; it is the stars, or rather, the One who created the stars, that will lead us on, from despair into hope, from uncertainty into moments of clarity, from indecisiveness to direction and focus.

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Message Mondays: The Advent of Social Media

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Yes, I know this is a topic that will surely unite of divide us, regardless of where we all sit in the spectrum of the issue, but nevertheless, the issue needs to be discussed. Now more than ever, social media and the consumption of it by the generation of tomorrow is more prevalent than ever. I see toddlers even now being inserted an iPad as a babysitter, I see young people with headphones on listening to music on their phone 24/7, I’ve even heard the effects of what Pokemon GO can do and how it stops traffic around the world, even leading people to undertake tasks that are dangerous, all in the name of receiving a few more Pokemon.

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Message Mondays (Are We All Wanting to Do the Next Thing, or Are We Believing that The Pastors, Evangelists and Missionaries are the Only Ones that Can?)

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‘…I think we all believe the gospel. We all want it, we’re just not sure what we’re supposed to do next. We’ve got this idea of an awesome walk with Jesus out there somewhere, and we’re looking for the bridge to get over to it. Serving God isn’t this giant dream a year from now. It’s not this thing He’s going to have you do in a month. It’s right now. Following God is the next word of love that I need to speak to somebody, the very next heart that needs to be encouraged. Ministry isn’t on Sunday; it’s not on a stage. It’s you, where you are, doing the next thing God tells you to do…’ Casting Crowns, call it what you like or not, are arguably one of the most talked about CCM artists, maybe even of all time. Shooting to fame with their hit song “Who Am I?”, they have had hit after hit, with songs like “Does Anybody Hear Her”, “Lifesong”, “Praise You in the Storm”, “Voice of Truth”, “Courageous”, “Thrive”, “Until the Whole World Hears” and “Slow Fade” some of the songs that have impacted listeners around the world. Now they have a new album releasing this month, titled The Very Next Thing. While this is not an album review per se, this is nevertheless an expose, a space where I jot down thoughts about what I reckon is one of the most under-discussed themes that I believe this album tackles as a whole.

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Message Mondays (Are We Really Undergoing the Change, or Are We Just Gasbags and Don’t Even Know It?)

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We always need an applause. Either affirmation that we’ve done a good job, from our parents, or from our peers. But nevertheless, we need someone to tell us that we’ve done a great job, to ‘keep up the good work’. As soon as we don’t hear that, we suddenly feel as if we’ve laboured in vain, our morale decreases and we hide in our shell. We labour all night to fix an essay for uni, and all we get in return, is a suggestion that the essay was too long, and for next time, it should be cut down. But then you think, Hang on, wasn’t that the same person that wanted me to increase the length of my essays? And now they’re saying that it’s too long? Sometimes we don’t get the praise and exaltation that we as humans want. We don’t get the credit that we feel as if we need to deserve. I did it, yet this guy who hasn’t lifted a finger gets the new car, gets the new house, all because he’s a smooth talker and what did he contribute- his name! That was it. And then he gets the fame, he gets the opportunity to be on radio, he gets the new house, and what do I get?…though it’s not normally like that, and I doubt that any friend would do it; there is that hint of ‘if I don’t get my fair share of credit, then I’m stuffed, literally’. Well, maybe not literally, but at the end of the day, humans are a selfish bunch. We all want to matter in our own way. We all want to have a piece of the action. We all want the spotlight to be shone on us. But then when push comes to shove, it’s natural to think that if we do have that ‘fame’ that goes with living a life for Christ, to naturally think, ‘Gee, I can truly live like this,’ but then forget that we didn’t have anything to do with us getting to that place at the start anyway.

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Message Mondays (Tenth Avenue North’s ‘What You Want’)

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Tenth Avenue North have been one of my favourite Christian CCM bands of late. In fact, with songs like “Healing Begins”, “By Your Side”, “For Those Who Can’t Speak”, “Strong Enough to Save” and “Worn” to name a few, this quintet from Florida whose debut album on Provident Label Group was in 2008, have quickly become one of the most underrated and heartfelt bands over the last 5 years. Mike Donehey, lead singer, has always had something great to communicate across to us all through video devotionals about the band’s songs over the years. And while their most recent 2014 album Cathedrals only spawned 2 devotional videos (of their singles “No Man is an Island” and “Stars in the Night”), as opposed to the 5 from The Struggle (“Losing”, “Where Life Would Never Die”, “The Struggle”, “You Do All Things Well” and “Worn”), we are nevertheless blessed with what the band have to say for these two tracks. “No Man Is an Island” is a reminder to always live in community with one another, as we remember that we were never meant to live our lives outside of fellowship and relationship with our fellow man- we were meant for community just as God Himself is a community (of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit). “Stars in the Night” is also a comfort, as we focus our eyes on Jesus and remind ourselves that in the darkest of nights, it is the stars, or rather, who created the stars, that will lead us on, from despair into hope, from uncertainty into moments of clarity, from indecisiveness to direction and focus. Now as the band ready for their new album Followers releasing October 14th, they have released a new radio single- “What You Want”.

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Sentimental Saturdays and Message Mondays (Control, and How The Story of Relinquishing Control is the Best One to Ever Tell and Be a Part Of)

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Every time when you hit the hay, you think about control. How the next day is going to pan out, how you want it to go, how you want events to proceed. Call it what you want, I see it as trying to control the next day as much as possible, trying to make the day go ‘as according to your plan’ as much as possible. And I don’t think that it is that terrible, I mean, God did make us as wanting to make sure that we’re concerned about our future. Thinking about our future can be beneficial in some senses, as it puts our present life into perspective and makes us realise that our everyday worries shouldn’t be that strenuous. God set on our hearts worries about starting up a family, buying a house, paying a deposit for a car or a business, raising your kids, taking care of your spouse, and looking after your parents during retirement so that we know that present day worries such as whether we receive a distinction, a credit or a pass in a certain subject is immaterial and regardless of whether we are successful in the long run, or whether we are going to be successful at all. Think about it, do you think that the people who live in the largest houses in the richest suburbs are well and truly happy? We’d like to think so, that the more money we have or the more control we have, or the more power we have, or the more friends you have, or the more wealth and degrees you have, the happier and more successful you will become.

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Message Mondays, Throwback Tuesdays – How Can I Lose My Follow Through, Between the Altar And The Door?

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Losing our follow through between what we say before God at the altar, and when we walk out that door on after listening to the Sunday morning sermon, and into the real world of another working week, can seem very unlikely, yet at times, Christians do just that. Not that I’m calling anyone out on that (I know I can sometimes be guilty of this as well), but let’s just all be honest and frank about this topic- what does it mean for us to lose our follow-through, to promise something and for us to travel a 180° and act completely opposite to what people see us on Sundays? What does it look like, for us and for the people observing our behaviours, to know that our behaviour on our best days isn’t what we portray on an almost daily basis? What does it need to take for God to shake us and wake us, for Him to remind us that we don’t need to place on a brave face, that our follow-through and our word to Him is based on really, whether we believe that God is who He says He is, and whether we believe in His promises or not. Because to put things bluntly- for us to say one thing yet act out another is nothing short of us not really believing in God’s promises in the first place. Because if we’d truly believe what He calls us to be and become, the positive change we’d experience and people would see would be more 24/7 rather than 1 day a week.

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