Search

Driving Notes

The Official Blog of WNZR's Afternoon Drive

Open Search
Tag

Praise Thursday

Fingerprints of God: Our Relationships with God

What are the obvious outward signs to others that we’re part of, and maturing into God’s family?

Mark 12:28-31 – The Greatest Commandment

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

These verses really set the tone for our discussion on the Fingerprints of God when it comes to relationships. It is made pretty clear in these verses that loving God then loving one another is of great importance. God gave us the definition of love when He sent His son to die for us.

1st John 3:16
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

Martin Luther said that “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” We also talked today about how our relationships with God are strengthened by spending time in prayer and in scripture! Once we have a strong relationship with God, then we can really begin cultivating relationships with others.

Our Word of the Day today was ‘transpontine’! adjective trans-PAHN-tyne
This means situated on the farther side of a bridge, or, in Britain, situated on the south side of the Thames. 

Check out David Crowder and his band singing ‘How He Loves’here! They really enforce God’s powerful and unceasing love for His children, and that’s how we know how to love others.

Thanks for listening and have a great night!
– Lilly

0

Even When I’m Not

Have you ever been thankful that Gods’ love, goodness, and faithfulness are not dependent on our human actions? Because I sure have been! I was reading Paul David Tripp’s devotional ‘New Morning Mercies’ a while ago and that days’ devotional was about how God is faithful even we aren’t. My High School Choir director, Heidi Zentz always talked about how awesome this devotional was, and she was my secret prayer partner my Senior year, so she bought me ‘New Morning Mercies’ and it’s full of really quality devotionals that get you thinking. If you’d like to read more about Paul David Tripp and his devotionals, click here!

Paul David Tripp begins his devotionals with ‘tweetable tidbits’ that are 140 characters or less. The ‘tweetable tidbit’ for this devotional was this…
“Yes, it is true, God will remain faithful even when you’re not because His faithfulness rests on who He is. Not on what you’re doing.”

Right when I read this, it struck me, because I don’t think about that particular quality of God very often. (Though I should).

One of my favorite parts of this devotional was when Tripp said: “Security isn’t found in your faithfulness but in His. He can be trusted even when you cannot. He will be faithful and good even when you are not. He’s going to do what is right and best even when you don’t, and He is faithful to forgive you when convicting grace reveals how unfaithful you’ve been.”

No matter what we do, God is faithful. We will often stray away from God, we will not always be good and faithful, we won’t always do what is right or best, and we won’t always be faithful to forgive. When I really think about it, I think that God’s faithfulness regardless of our actions is my favorite quality about God. God will not abandon us or stop being faithful to us when we are not faithful to Him, or when we don’t do what is good, right, or best. HE IS FAITHFUL NO MATTER WHAT.

One of my favorite verses that go along with this concept is Lamentations 3:22-23. That says: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;  His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” 
Another verse that is relevant is 2 Thessalonians 3:3. It says: “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” 

Our word of the day today was ‘fulminate’! – Verb – [fuhl-muh-neyt]
Fulminate means: to explode with a loud noise; detonate.
To read more about this word, check it out on dictonary.com! Link here!

Also, if you would like information about the WNZR Valentines Banquet, click here! And if you would like to be a part of our Big Blue Music Crew, send us an email at wnzr@mvnu.edu and we will send you back the survey! In thanking you for participating in our survey, we will also send you an exclusive Big Blue Music Crew shirt!!

Remember that God loves you and will continue to be faithful to you no matter what.
Thanks for listening and God Bless!

0

Imagining Heaven

cultivate-it-1

Have you ever thought about your ultimate vision?  In other words – what’s the point of all of this?  What’s the destination?  Where do I want to be when it’s all said and done?

This summer, by random chance, I heard an early 1980’s sermon from R.C. Sproul where he asked that very question to his audience. He talked about what some call the ‘beatific vision’ – a vision inspired by the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. He offered a compelling vision of getting to heaven; of seeing Jesus face-to-face. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

For me, that is an energizing vision.  It’s motivating.  Seriously, when we put all of the distractions aside, isn’t that the goal?  To see Jesus face-to-face?  And encourage as many others as we can to do the same thing?

When we think about that moment, can we even remotely imagine what it will be like? 1st Corinthians 2:9 tells us that heaven has things “which the eye has not seen, the ear has not heard and have not entered the heart of man.” That’s a fantastic and mysterious promise all rolled into one!

Congratulations to Deva of Fredericktown who won our Winter Jam Artist Trivia. She correctly answered that David Crowder attended Baylor University.

Our Word of the Day is whimsical, an adjective that means unusual in a playful or amusing way.

Thanks for listening!
-Joe

0

Pursue Excellence

Good afternoon! It was a rainy one here in Mt. Vernon, but we kept dry here in the studio and talked a lot today about pursuing excellence. In the world today, you can settle for being just okay and mediocre. We as Christians are called to be extraordinary!

Act 4:23-31 was a key set of verses that we talked about today. The main point that all these verses make is the power of prayer. When in stressful and hard situations, the first thing that we need to do is pray. God is listening and He cares.
Prayer is an important first step in any difficult situation.

“23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
“‘Why do the nations rage
    and the people plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.
27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

Our WinterJam trivia question today was: In what church did the band Newsong get started? The answer was Morningside Baptist Church!
Our winner was Casandra of Gambier! Congratulations! She won two passes to WinterJam Tour Spectacular 2017!

Our word of the day was willowwacks!
Willowwacks are a wooded, uninhabited areas.
This word is slang which originated in New England.

My last encouragement for you today came from 2nd Timothy.
2nd Timothy 1:7 says: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

We are called to be extraordinary and we are given power and love! We are called to be bold in our lives. Be like Peter and John when they prayed for boldness in their proclamation of Christ and His power. Pursue excellence.  Don’t be ordinary.

0

Praise for the Good Shepherd

lost-sheep

Today I shared thoughts about Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  I’m thankful for a God who continues to pursue us, despite our tendency to run away, get lost, or try to do things on our own.

Luke 15 shares the three parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.  They remind us of four very important points:

  • God loves lost people and seeks them out; EVERY person is important to God
  • God celebrates when a lost person is found
  • We may turn our backs on God, but He never turns his back on us
  • God has compassion for the lost – he understands how sometimes how hard it is for us to come home – but still welcomes us with open arms!

John 10 reminds us that Jesus has the authority to be our Shepherd because He and the father are one!

Today’s Word of the Day is maelstrom, which we shared right after the song ‘Eye of the Storm,’ – it means a powerful often violent whirlpool. In the eye of the storm, he remains in control!

Thanks for listening!
-Joe

 

0

Praise Thursday – 12/8

Today was Praise Thursday on the Afternoon Drive!

I gave you lots of information on various Food For The Hungry benefits, which you can find here and here.

I talked about Addison Road’s song What Do I Know Of Holy. You can find the verses that inspired the song, as well as an accompanying devotional over here.

The Word of the Day was vulpine (VUL-pine), an adjective meaning crafty. You can read more on that here.

Head over here to check out Team WNZR getting ready for the 14th Annual Media Shopping Cart Derby and Food For The Hungry Games that will be happening this Saturday!

Have a great evening!

-Jess

0

Drops in the Ocean…or Stars in the night

skillet-stars
Today we shared more stories behind the songs we play on WNZR. Our featured song for the 4pm hour was ‘Drops in the Ocean’ by Hawk Nelson.  Lead singer Jon Steingard told New Release Today that Romans 8 influenced the song, especially verses 31, 38 and 39:

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Read more about Jon’s story here.

The second Romans passage was also an inspiration for John and Korey Cooper as they wrote Skillet’s song ‘Stars.’  John told New Release Today that Philippians 4:6-7 also was important to the message of the song:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Read more on John’s reflections here.

Our Word of the Day is obfuscate, a verb meaning to darken or to obscure.

Thanks for listening!
-Joe

0

You Have Made Me Glad…

made-me-glad

Today we shared the stories and scriptures behind more of WNZR’s songs…

The song “Made Me Glad” was released in 2001 by Darlene Zschech and Hillsong Worship. It references Psalm 92: 1-4: It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High,proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done.

2 Samuel 22:2-3 also influenced the chorus of the song: The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent people you save me.

“Messengers” by Lecrae featuring For King and Country features these lyrics:

We’ve been given a call
Been forgiven, risen, we livin’ to give him our all
Rise up from your past it’s holding you down
This moment is all that matters the future is now
How will the people know if we don’t tell ’em if we fail ’em
They stumblin’ in the dark but the light is what we carry
Yea, don’t have to wonder your purpose or what you here for
Reflect his image and show the world what he cares for

That reminds me of Matthew 5, from the Sermon on the Mount: You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

TobyMac’s new song, “Love Broke Thru,” reminds us of the promises of Psalm 139:

SONG: I did all that I could to undo me
But You loved me enough to pursue me
Yeah, You drew me out of the shadows
Made me believe that I mattered, to You (You)

PSALM 139: Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Our Word of the Day is ellicit, a verb meaning to evoke or draw out (a response, answer, or fact) from someone in reaction to one’s own actions or questions.

Thanks for listening!

-Joe

0

More stories behind the songs…

crowder-lift

Today we shared more of the stories behind some of the songs we play at WNZR.

The first: Lift Your Head Weary Sinner by Crowder. Watch the video here.

David talked with NewReleaseTuesday.com about the story in the song:

One of the main narratives and the arc of the Gospel, even back to the Israelites, was the exit from Paradise and a longing to return to a relationship between the created and their Creator. Our stories are all of being exiled and longing to return home. It feels like one of the main themes running through Scripture is home, the ultimate home being union with the Divine. This song is right in the middle of that theme that has been woven throughout Scripture and my album. This song is a turning point. The word “if” in the song lyrics “if you’re lost and wandering” represents how the idea of sin, which necessitates this distance between us and God, is inherent in each of us. 

The idea of atonement is that we as Christians have placed our faith and hope in Jesus and His blood sacrifice on behalf of our sins. We are raised to a new life and a new reconciled existence between our Creator God and us. We get the story of the Temple veil being torn in two and the blood of Christ allowing our access to God. When you get to that word “if” in the chorus, it’s all inclusive. Everybody can answer “yes, I’m lost and wandering.”

We also shared the story of I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe.  Click here for the video. Lead singer Bart Millard shared this story with The Christian Post in 2004:

When my father died of cancer in 1991, he left me with the assurance that he was headed to a better place. He used to always tell me that I was getting the raw end of the deal because I had to stick around here. For several years following his death, I would find myself writing the phrase, I can only imagine, on anything I could find. That simple phrase would give me a peace and a hope thinking about what my dad was finally experiencing.

Years later, in 1999, MercyMe was writing songs for an independent project. I remember coming home from a show and being wide awake on our bus at 2 o’clock in the morning. I was trying to write lyrics in an old notebook of mine, when all of a sudden, I stumbled across that phrase. About ten minutes later, the song was written. Some people say it’s amazing that it was written in ten minutes, when really it had been on my heart for almost ten years.

Finally, we shared the story of Fix My Eyes by For King and Country…Video here. here’s what Joel Smallbone shared with NewReleaseTuesday.com:

We thought things were great and our lives had taken an awesome turn, but we took a step back and had a poignant moment while we were writing the song, asking ourselves who we are as people and as a band, and interjecting all of those things into a song. The chorus talks about everything from social awareness of third world countries, fighting for the weak ones, speaking up for freedom, fighting for abandon and risking it all for love. The chorus culminates in saying that we can do all of these things, but if we don’t fix our eyes, meaning repair our eyes, and fix our eyes on above, then all of these things are worthless. The bridge of the song was inspired by the hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.”

Our Word of the Day is paroxysm, a noun meaning any sudden, violent outburst; a fit of violent action or emotion.

Thanks for listening!

-Joe

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑