God Of This City

If you've heard of Chris Tomlin, the you've heard of the song "God Of This City". And if you've heard of this song, lately you've heard of Bluetree, the band that actually wrote this song that Chris Tomlin made so famous. Now Bluetree has come out with their version of the song.

My brother-in-law used this song in his church's worship service Sunday and told us the story of how it was written at lunch. He told us about a video in which the lead singer of Bluetree tells the story of this song's inception in his own words.

So much goodness, I needed share.

And because I love Kris (with a K) Allen, I wanted to show you this video that I found of the American Idol singing this song, giving God all the glory and honor and praise with the talent that He gifted him with.

We've been singing this at my church for a while now and every time I sing it, it hits a different part of my heart.

Of course whenever we sing it, it is my prayer over Birmingham. Although we in the heart of the "Bible Belt", I know there are so many souls here in Birmingham that crave the unfailing love of Jesus Christ. Souls that I come in contact with everyday but I'm not tuned in enough to what God is doing around me to be aware of it. It's my prayer everyday that God makes me aware of those people and those opportunities to be his hands and feet and his voice to those around me in a way that only He gets the glory.

Lately when I hear this song though, I think of New York City. I've got the opportunity to with my parents' church/choir to the Big Apple in mid-July for a concert tour/mission trip.

As most people know, I love all things New York City. It's such a big place with a small world feel. I love Broadway. I love the sights. I love the sounds. I even love the subway. It's' just such a neat place.

I've had to check myself several times, though, since I committed to going on this trip. I find myself getting caught up in the touristy distractions of this trip, wondering what shows we will go to and if I'll have time to find the Cash Cab.

But God whispers gently in my ear with a reminder that I'm not going for me. I'm going for His people. For His glory. Not for me.

In the next month and a half, my prayer is that God will show NYC through every person on that trip that they are His children too. I may be cursing myself when I say this, but I'm just going to go ahead and put it out there. Even if everything else fades away, even if all of my plans get flushed down the preverbial toilet, my prayer is that God is glorified in it all and my reminder is that God has a purpose in everything.

And his purpose for me is to love his people.