What Faith Can Do - Kutless

Listen to the song "What Faith Can Do" by Kutless. This song will be featured in their new up-coming worship album It Is Well.

The lyrics are uplifting and powerful. It revolves around the fact that faith is incredibly powerful, but so can lack of it. The part that sticks out the most to me is: Everybody’s scared to death//When they decide to take that step//Out on the water//It’ll be alright. This automatically brought to mind that very popular scene in the book of Matthews when Jesus asks Peter to step out of the boat on the water, but begins to drown because of his fear. He is is then pulled out of the water by Jesus and tells him "You of little faith,"..."why did you doubt?" (Mat. 14:31). Fear cancels out faith. Having faith in God is knowing that all will be fine. Because it is His will, His plan, and he only wants the best for us. STEP out of the boat! Don't worry, if you happen to sink. Reach out to Him and He will pull you out.
Chorus:
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

My Walk

As an assignment for our Awakening class, Chad asked us to write "our story" of what God has done and is doing in our lives. So, here it goes:
Hi! I'm Liliana, a.k.a Lili. In the last year, my relationship with God has gotten stronger and stronger. During this time, I lost friends due to the changes God had been leading me to make in my life. In April, I was heart-broken, dumped and felt alone. On Easter Sunday I heard the Bible verse that forever changed me: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) The next day, I got on my knees and surrendered everything I had to Christ.
Mid-late April I get an email from "Chad Herold" about this thing called "Underground" (I had been to church, but never been involved in any "extra-curricular activities"). I read that this so-called "Michael Head" was going to be starting a series called "Life Interrupted: Real Answers to Real Problems". Wow! So, I have problems (check ✓), I need answers (check ✓), it's at my church (check ✓), and I got nothing better to do besides cry (check ✓). I'm in!
Thursday comes around and I walk in, knowing NO ONE and see that dude with the long hair (Chad) and he says hi, introduces me to several very friendly and inviting people. The music, the message, everything synced to be perfectly what I needed. I was hooked! From then on, I built a relationship not only with the people in church (who currently are my best friends), but also with my loving God. I absolutely love my church family!
I am thankful every day for the suffering I needed to go through to get to where I am and will be through my Lord, Jesus Christ. Since then, I have gone to beach retreat, participated in several church-wide events such as Vacation Bible School, missions, outreach, etc. I am currently teaching Bible study for the Awakening class (singles 20s-30s) on Sunday mornings (which I never in my life thought I would be able to do), I lead a Collision group (Bible study) for Taylor High School girls (which I absolutely LOVE), I am part of the leadership team for Underground, and co-lead a women small group Monday nights. How do I do it? "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Phil. 4:13)
I had to be alone, to realize that I am not alone. I had to get on my knees and surrender it all, to receive it all. God is great!

"...Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5

By the River

"He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." -Psalm 1:3

Think about a tree growing beside a river. Would it be a dry, ugly tree with brown cracking leaves? No, that tree would always be alive and full with lush, green leaves. Even in the middle of a drought, that the tree would thrive because the river would give it all the water it needed.
"He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water." The word he refers to godly men (and women). This individual doesn't listen to friends or other people who tell him to go against what God wants. He doesn't make fun of God, even if it seems like everyone else does. This man is delighted when he thinks about what God says, so the man does what pleases Him.
If you've made up your mind to follow Jesus, ask yourself if you fit that description. You are like that tree growing beside a river. God's Spirit is the river that flows by you and offers you all the life and strength you need. When you get your life from His Spirit, you're always able to succeed in God's eyes, even if everything around you seems out of control.

The Masterpiece

Remember when you were in Kindergarten and you made plaster imprints of your hands or some sort of weird sculpture with toilet paper tubes? Remember how excited you were? When you made something you were proud of, you couldn't wait to show it off. You were so careful until you got home and put it in a safe place. And every once in a while you would take a look at it and crack a smile. You loved it.
God made you and that's why He loves you. You were His idea. You have His eyes, His hands, because you were made in His likeness. Even though you may not always act like your Father, the truth is that you are His child and His love for you will never end. Just as careful as you created your Kindergarten masterpiece, God crafted each part of your being just exactly the way He wanted it. He made you a certain way so that you could be everything wonderful that He wants you to be. You're a part of His heart because He thought of you and then gave those thoughts life and created you. He's in love with YOU. He thinks you're awesome. And you are, because you are HIS.

"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him." 1 John 3:1