As a family, we strongly believe in spending time in God's Word daily. My personal testimony is that I was led to Christ by the biblical messages "behind the songs" in Christian music, for which I'm eternally grateful. This is a collection of songs based on Bible passages that my family enjoys singing together and more importantly, they all point us to our Heavenly Father and lead us to praise and worship Him "in Spirit and in Truth." Amen.
(You can view my entire list on Amazon
here.)
Psalm 25:5: Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 121:1-2: I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
I can't get enough of the Biblical truth of the song and I love when artists take Gods' Word from the Bible and turn it into a great and catchy song filled with truth. I sing this song to God with all of my heart and know that "My hope is in You, Lord, all the day long." This timeless passage, Psalm 121, has application for us today as we live in uncertain times. Know that God is your refuge and your hope comes from the Lord. Amen.
Psalm 91:11: For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
Isaiah 55:8-9: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Romans 12:15: Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
It may be truly said of our Lord Jesus Christ that His words are words of goodness and grace. He is full of compassion and His mercies are new every morning. Sing along with this song and share that joy of knowing God will pick you up when you fall and His love for us is without condition. "Angel By Your Side" is a great reminder that God's ways are higher than our ways and God's promise in Psalm 91:11: "For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
3. "Sparrow" by Audrey Assad from Heart
Matthew 10:28-30: And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
The meaning of the word happy has been changed over the years, but there are elements in the definition of the word that includes being blessed, more than "feeling good." So, those aspects of being happy can be applied no matter what state you are in as a Christian, having joy and being blessed. I find those statements to be true regardless of how I'm feeling that day. I think there's value in singing about being happy and free in Christ. Hymns of the faith like "Sparrow" have a perfectly poetic biblical description of God. When you put yourself under a microscope and examine whether you really believe all of the words of this great song, you'll find that it will challenge your faith and how closely you are walking with God.
Isaiah 43:1: But now, this is what the Lord says—He who created you, Jacob, He who formed you, Israel: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine.
Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The song is a great devotional prayer of thankfulness to God for showing us grace and forgiveness in spite of our failures. We serve a loving and merciful God who accepts us as we are, not who we pretend to be.
5. "Proof Of Your Love" by For King & Country from Crave
1 Corinthians 13:1-7: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
This song challenges us to think about how well we are loving others. 1 John 4:19 says "We love because He first loved us." In Francis Chan's book Crazy Love on page 94 he writes: "I was challenged to do a little exercise with these verses, one that was profoundly convicting. Take the phrase love is patient and substitute your name for the word love. Do it for every phrase in the passage. By the end, don't you feel like a liar? If I am meant to represent what love is, then I often fail to love people well."
Psalm 119:105: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 35: But those who want the best for me, Let them have the last word—a glad shout!—and say, over and over and over, "God is great—everything works together for good for His servant." I'll tell the world how great and good you are, I'll shout Hallelujah all day, every day.
"You Lead" is a great follow-up to "Hold Me" with the electronic pop arrangement by producer Chris Stevens, and the prayerful and sincere chorus: "You lead, I'll follow, Your hands hold my tomorrow, Your grip, Your grace, You know the way, You guide me tenderly, When You lead, I'll follow, Just light the way and I'll go, `cause I know what You got for me is more than I can see, so lead me on." She further demonstrates her commitment in the lyrics: "And I... know my God is still God and You got my back."
Philippians 2:9-11: Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
It's important to remember that it's only by believing in the Name of Jesus as our substitute and redeeming sacrifice for our sins that we are saved. What's most amazing about our Savior Jesus is that of all the ways He could have chosen to save us, He chose to come down and be the least among us and a suffering servant. The main message of the song is to hold on to the Name of Jesus, as something better is coming. The grace that God offers in the crux of the song, ultimately the incredible bridge "Redeemer, My Healer, Almighty, My Savior, Defender, You are My King" is what really moves me and guides me in my Christian walk, which is to live everyday for Heaven. This is an amazing song to sing at the top of our lungs "Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man, You are high and lifted up; that all the world will praise Your great name." Amen.
Revelation 5:11-13: Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: "To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"
No matter where you are in your walk with Jesus, this song is a salvation message that causes me to break down and remember that Jesus truly came to die and rose to set us free. There is nothing we have been given that is more valuable than our salvation. This song moves me to reflect on just how much Jesus endured for His bride to purchase us from the grave. "Worship The Lamb" is about submitting to the Lordship of Jesus over our lives and acknowledging that "All I am, At my best, I am merely a breath for You."
9. "All This Time" by Britt Nicole from Gold
1 Chronicles 28:20: And David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
As it says in the commentary about Britt's life verse: "Worship must be heartfelt and thoughtful because God knows the motives of the worshiper. God is near to people who seek Him, but He rejects those who spurn Him." Britt has the gift of encouragement and every single song on her amazing new album Gold lifts me up. "All This Time" is a wonderful song of encouragement to live as a light and know that in Christ we can do anything. God will never fail us or forsake us until the work of the Lord is finished. God has great plans for all of His children according to Jeremiah 29:11. Britt exhorts in the bridge, "I hear these people asking me, How do I know what I believe? Well I'm not the same me, And I saw the proof I need, I felt Love I felt Your grace, You stole my heart that day."
10. "At Your Name (Yahweh, Yahweh)" by Phil Wickham from Response
Psalm 66:1-3: Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, "How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
Psalm 81:1: Sing aloud to God our strength; Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.
What I really love about this song is how it is a call to shout God's Name, "Yahweh, Yahweh!!" God's Name is worthy of proclamations of joy! It is a sweet sound for God to hear us shout His Name. We should not be ashamed to sing of our dependence on God and show Him reverence. This is an amazing new worship song for the Church and I love to shout God's Name! Amen!
Colossians 1:12: Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
This song gives me a lot of joy, and my heartbeat is to please the Lord. I love songs that allow me to have fun and praise God at the same time, and this song certainly does that. I really enjoy how my love of fun, uplifting music and biblical truth is perfectly married in this song. Singing along with this song at the top of my lungs allows me to abandon myself and cry out to Him: "I want to live like there's no tomorrow, love like I'm on borrowed time, it's good to be alive!" Amen!
12. "The Altar" by Tricia Brock from The Road
The bridge is based on Psalm 46:10: Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
"The Altar" has a chorus that gets me choked up: "Come to this place, Come seek His face, find the hands of forgiveness, Look into the eyes of Grace, run to Redemption, with tears of joy and pain, let fire fall and purify our hearts, come to the altar, come to His arms." As the song prayerfully proclaims, "There is no shame in His scars." Amen.
