Brandon Gilliland

Hey everyone! Hope you are in preparation for Easter. Yes, today is “Good Friday”. Today (some years ago) was the day when Jesus took on the penalty of our sin. Instead of just taking this as another day, thank God for what He did many years ago. Without Easter, we would still be praying and confessing our sins to a priest. Our sins would not have been paid for.

I’m reminded of a great verse that shows the freedom we have through Christ:

“Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split…”

-Matthew 27:51

Then…JESUS CONQUERED DEATH!

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

-1 Corinthians 15:55-57

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Every so often, I enjoy posting some of my favorite worship songs. Recently, I have been listening to “Yahweh” by Chris Tomlin. It is a worship song that was surfaced from the Passion conference. The words are so powerful!

Chorus:

Yahweh
Your name alone be exalted
Yahweh
Our hearts are Yours forever

Verse 1:
You have no rival to Your throne
In majesty You stand alone
There is no end to Your reign
Now all Your works shall praise Your name

Pre Chorus:
As far as this
From east to west
There’s no other
There’s no other

Verse 2:
The Great I am
Your breath in us
Our God, Our King
You’re glorious
For all the world Your love displayed
Now all Your works shall praise Your name

Bridge:
Holy, Holy
Your name alone is holy
Holy, Holy
Your name alone is holy
The name above all name

I love the lyrics to this song because they try to explain who God is…His name is above all names!

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I love this song! I had the chance to hear it live a few weeks ago at the Kristian Stanfill worship concert. Listen to the song and read the lyrics below. Focus on the promises that are being explained through the song…

If you can’t see the video, click here.

Oh, great God, there’s nothing You can’t do
Oh, great God, You speak and mountains move
We believe, we believe

Oh, great God, there’s none outside Your reach
Oh, great God, give us faith to see and believe
We believe

With You all things are possible
It’s true that You are unstoppable
Your light will never fade
Your promises remain unchanged
You will reign

Oh, great God, there’s power in Your name
Oh, great God, we’re rising up to say
We believe, we believe

With You all things are possible
It’s true that You are unstoppable
Your light will never fade
Your promises remain unchanged
You will reign

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I recently went to a Kristian Stanfill worship concert. It was amazing! One of the songs he sang was called “Not Ashamed”. It is a song that was written for the church to sing out to declare that they are not shamed of Jesus.

The lyrics of the song are awesome! I wanted to share this song with you all today because it is an anthem for declaring our faith in God.

If you can’t see the video, click here!

Verse 1:
The power of Your love
Running through my heart
Shame has lost it’s grip on me
The glory of Your cross
Shining on my soul
Grace has got a hold on me
From the rooftops sing

Chorus:
I’m not ashamed of the One
Who saved my soul
I’m not ashamed of the One
Who saved my soul, my soul
This fire inside of me
Is burning for Your name
I’m not ashamed (Hey! Hey!)
No I’m not ashamed (Hey! Hey!)

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This past weekend, I had the chance to go to a Kristian Stanfill concert. He was playing at a church in Jacksonville, Florida. I was really excited to go, but I was even more amazed when I got to the concert. I have been a fan of his music and how he promotes the name of Jesus for many years, but I have never had the chance to see him in concert.

The energy level and whole worship experience was awesome! It has been awhile since I was able to worship God with excitement and energy. Recently, certain aspects of worship have been on my heart and mind lately. The closer I walk with God, the more I realize that He wants us to be excited for Him. The tag at the end of one of the songs Kristian sang  talked about how we are to be a light to the world. Others will never see that light if it is not burning brightly.

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Our whole purpose on this earth is to “Amplify God’s Kingdom”. The only way people are going to see God’s love is by us living it out. I recently came across an awesome song from the Christian rock band known as Luminate called “Banner of Love”

I have been a big fan of Luminate since their band started a few years ago. I had the opportunity to meet the lead singer, Sam, one day after one of his concerts. It was a small concert near my hometown, and we were able to talk for about 30 minutes after the show. It was awesome!

The song “Banner of Love” talks about raising a banner of love. This banner is representative of Jesus and His love.

Jesus says in His Word:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

-John 13:34-35

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Heaven Fall Down has to be one of my favorite songs! It is sung by an awesome leader, Phil Wickham. The message is a cry for God to show up in our lives. It is powerful!

I just wanted to share it with you today…

Open our eyes, Lord, let us see
All that You are, all that You mean
Open our ears, Lord, let us hear
All that You are, be loud and clear
Please be near

As our praises rise
May Your presence fall

Heaven, Heaven fall down
Spirit, Spirit pour out
On us all now
Heaven fall down

Come Jesus come, come like the wind
Fill up this place, we welcome You in
Come Jesus come, come like the rain
Open the sky; show us Your face
Oh, Lord, we wait

We’re crying out in desperation
Waiting now in expectation
We’re crying out in desperation
For You

We’re crying out in desperation
Waiting now in expectation
We’re crying out in desperation
For You

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I came across an awesome song from Kari Jobe a few weeks ago called “Steady My Heart”. It was an encouragement for me because it talked about how God stabilizes our heart. No matter what trials we face, God will give us strength. It is hard to be a Christian in the world. It is great to know, however, that Jesus is bigger than all the problems in the world.

“Don’t tell God how big your problem is. Tell your problem how big your God is.”

As I listened to the song, I was encouraged because it resonated with me. God is there to stabilize our hectic lives if we allow Him. I’ve posted the song and the lyrics below…

Wish it could be easy. Why is life so messy

Why is pain a part of us. There are days I feel like Nothing ever goes right Sometimes it just hurts so much
But You’re here

You’re real. I know I can trust You

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Opposite is definied as being contrary or radically different.

Good Samaritan Story- Luke 10:30-37

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”

So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”

And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

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About a month ago, I purchased a boost pedal for my guitar rig. More specifically, I purchased the Electro-Harmonix LPB-1. This is a linear boost pedal that pushes extra volume to your amp. First things first, this pedal will not yield the right results if you do not have a tube amp or other overdrives.

The Electro-Harmonix LPB-1…

This pedal is a linear boost pedal, and it is purely meant to push volume to your amp. In essence, it is a clean boost pedal. I decided to buy this pedal when I realized the need for an extra stage of gain. I previously had 2 stages: my clean tone and then my ts9 at a little over halfway on the overdrive. It worked great, but I wanted to functionality. I now have 3 stages of gain on my pedal board, and it has worked wonders for my tone and ease-of-play.

What good is a boost pedal?

First, a boost pedal boosts your volume and gain be pushing the tubes in your amp. Other overdrives are usually necessary to make boost pedals yield positive results.

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