Not Alone

This a touching song by Jamie Grace called Not Alone. The message is amazing. I myself feel as if God has left me out in the cold. But that's when I realize God's arms are around me, holding me close to His heart. No matter what you do, Jesus will never leave you.

Royal Tailor: Hold Me Together Devotion

Here is a video that Tauren Wells, put together. As many of you know he is the lead singer of Royal Tailor, who made the hit "Hold Me Together". In this video he talks about that particular song, and the story behind it. But he also incorporates a devotion and scripture in this video. I thought it was a pretty cool, and it encouraged me. I pray it also will encourage you on your daily walk with Christ. Enjoy!

Please Hear What I'm Not Saying

Don't be fooled by me.
Don't be fooled by the face I wear.
For I wear a mask, a thousand masks,
masks that I'm afraid to take off,
and none of them is me.
Pretending is an art that's second nature to me,
but don't be fooled.
I give you the impression that I'm secure,
that confidence in my name and coolness is my game,
that the water's calm and I'm in command,
and that I need (no) one.
But don't believe me.
My surface my seem smooth but my surface
is my mask, ever-varying and ever-concealing.
Beneath lies no complacence.
Beneath lies confusion and fear and aloneness.
But I hide this, I don't wnat anybody to know it.

I panic at the thought of my weakness and fear being exposed.
That's why I frantically create a mask to hide behind,
a nonchalant sophisticated facade, to help me pretend,
to shield me from a glance that knows.
But such a glance is precisely my salvation.
My only hope, and I know it.
That is, if it's followed by acceptance,
if it's followed by love.
It's the only thing that can liberate me from myself,
from my own self-built prison walls,
from the barriers I so painstakingly erect.
It's the only thing that will assure me
of what I can't assure myself,
that I'm really worth something.
I don't like to hide.
I don't like to play superficial phony games.
I want to be genuine and spontaneous and me,that I'm really worth something.
 but you've got to help me.
You've got to hold out your hand
even when that's the last thing I seem to want.
Only you can wipe away from my eyes
the bland stare of the breathing dead.
Only you can call me into aliveness.

Each time you're kind and gentle and encouraging,
each time you try to understand because you really care,
my heart begins to grow wings, very small wings,
very feeble wings,
but wings!
With your pwer to touch me into feeling
you can breathe life into me.
I want you to know that.

Who am I, you may wonder.
I am someone you know very well.
For I am every man you meet,
and I am every woman you meet.
                                           -Unknown Author

This is a poem I read in "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul". It really touched me. Everyday we walk by people who are hurting and crying out for help, but we turn away convinced that we can do nothing. We look at them and on the outside they look cool and confident, little do we know they are breaking inside.

We are different from them though, we have God living inside of us, yet we push them aside. God might be telling us to talk to a certain person, but instead we tell ourselves that the person looks too weird, or too cool. But instead of brushing them off let's reach out to the hurting and give them a listening ear. We can show Jesus to the lost. Then maybe God might be able to change their hurt, to love.