{"id":21362,"date":"2019-01-30T21:27:35","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T02:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=21362"},"modified":"2019-01-30T22:06:44","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T03:06:44","slug":"worship-wednesday-hold-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=21362","title":{"rendered":"Worship Wednesday &#8211; Hold On to Jesus &#8211; Steven Curtis Chapman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Blog-Hold-On-Daily-Verses-net-Isaiah-41-13.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21365\" src=\"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Blog-Hold-On-Daily-Verses-net-Isaiah-41-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"688\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Blog-Hold-On-Daily-Verses-net-Isaiah-41-13.jpg 688w, https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Blog-Hold-On-Daily-Verses-net-Isaiah-41-13-300x157.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px\" \/><\/a>Photo Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyverses.net\/dependence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Daily Verses<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.&#8221;<\/em><span class=\"p\">\u00a0 <\/span>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/biblehub.com\/isaiah\/41-10.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Isaiah 41:10<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;For I am the LORD your God, who holds your right hand, who says to you, &#8216;Do not fear, I will help you.&#8217;<\/em><span class=\"p\">&#8221;\u00a0 <\/span>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/biblehub.com\/isaiah\/41-13.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Isaiah 41:13<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>I follow close to You; Your right hand holds on to me. &#8211; <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/biblehub.com\/psalms\/63-8.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Psalm 63:8<\/a><span class=\"p\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>A recent <a href=\"https:\/\/abc.go.com\/shows\/the-good-doctor\/episode-guide\/season-2\/12-aftermath\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">episode<\/a> of the ABC TV show <a href=\"https:\/\/abc.go.com\/shows\/the-good-doctor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Good Doctor <\/em><\/a>was striking in the portrayal of the doctors&#8217; lives outside of work. The connect and disconnect of their relationships. In the last scene, the viewer was touched by the hopeful awkwardness of relationship, but more so the aloneness of the characters.\u00a0 The final scene of this episode is poignant, both in the images of the various characters as well as the song chosen to highlight the background. British singer-songwriter <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bishop_Briggs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bishop Briggs<\/a>&#8216; song <em>Hold On <\/em>caused me to hit rewind a few times.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"474\" height=\"267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oMEps_qVyCU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>There is a Gospel choir feel to the song itself&#8230;but no Gospel.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We hold on together&#8221; is the message. If you are unfamiliar with the TV show, then you don&#8217;t know the various story lines knitted together in that final scene. It depicted a running theme of &#8220;holding on&#8221; &#8211; through complicated relationships, harrowing work situations, diseases and disorders, and grief and loneliness.<\/p>\n<p>The question came to me: &#8220;What exactly are they holding onto&#8230; together?&#8221; Like most TV shows these days, the narrative is completely secular. The characters are beautiful and brilliant&#8230;it is just completely unclear what they are holding on&#8230;to&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Turning the TV off, my mind went to friends all over this city with their own challenging life situations&#8230;and family members in other states, the same. Much of life isn&#8217;t hard&#8230;but when it is, we pull ourselves together, and we hold on.<\/p>\n<p>To each other, for sure. What a beautiful thing it is to be a part of a community that surrounds those struggling. The church has its frailties, but when it operates as God intends, &#8220;holding on together&#8221; can be a true picture of the love Jesus called us to&#8230; &#8220;loving one another as He loves us&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/biblehub.com\/john\/13-34.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">John 13:34<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Our &#8220;holding on together&#8221; extends beyond our relationships with one another. We can&#8217;t always be there for each other, even when we wish we could&#8230;BUT we can hold onto God who holds onto us.<\/p>\n<p>He holds on to us even when our grip slips.<\/p>\n<p>Songwriter\/singer <a href=\"http:\/\/stevencurtischapman.com\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Steven Curtis Chapman<\/a> describes what I&#8217;m talking about way better:<\/p>\n<p>On God giving him songs of worship after a time of terrible loss: <em>\u201cThese songs have come out of my own journey, particularly of the last seven years of <strong>learning the life-giving power of hearing my own voice and the voice of other believers around me declare what is most true and most real,<\/strong>\u201d he says. \u201c<strong>What God says is true \u2014 even when pain, doubt, grief and confusion are very real as well. There\u2019s an incredible power in agreeing with each other, and especially with God.<\/strong>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sQaNbqIjgfs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Worship with me<\/a> to Chapman&#8217;s song &#8220;<em>Hold On to Jesus<\/em>&#8220;:<\/p>\n<p>I have come to this ocean<br \/>\nAnd the waves of fear are starting to grow<br \/>\nThe doubts and questions are rising with the tide<br \/>\nSo I&#8217;m clinging to the one sure thing I know<\/p>\n<p>I will hold on to the hand of my Savior<br \/>\nAnd I will hold on with all my might<br \/>\nI will hold loosely to things that are fleeting<br \/>\nAnd hold on to Jesus<br \/>\nI will hold on to Jesus for life<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve tried to hold many treasures<br \/>\nThey just keep slipping through my fingers like sand<br \/>\nBut there&#8217;s one treasure that means more than breath itself<br \/>\nSo I&#8217;m clinging to it with everything I am<\/p>\n<p>I will hold on to the hand of my Savior<br \/>\nAnd I will hold on with all my might<br \/>\nI will hold loosely to things that are fleeting<br \/>\nAnd hold on to Jesus<br \/>\nI will hold on to Jesus for life<\/p>\n<p>Like a child holding on to a promise<br \/>\nI will cling to His word and believe<br \/>\nAs I press on to take hold of that<br \/>\nFor which Christ Jesus took hold of me<\/p>\n<p>I will hold on to the hand of my Savior<br \/>\nAnd I will hold on with all my might<br \/>\nI will hold loosely to things that are fleeting<br \/>\nAnd hold on to Jesus<br \/>\nI will hold on to Jesus for life<\/p>\n<p>Hold on for life*<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hold On To Jesus - Steven Curtis Chapman - Worship Video with lyrics\" width=\"474\" height=\"356\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sQaNbqIjgfs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>My older brother lived with our parents for a season, after a series of losses that could have crushed him. Mom, in her wisdom, had placed a painting by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholic-collectibles.com\/algrfrpr.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alan Grant<\/a> on his bedroom wall. It was this one:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Blog-See-I-Will-Not-Forget-You-Alan-Grant-painting-of-Gods-hand-Amazon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21371\" src=\"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Blog-See-I-Will-Not-Forget-You-Alan-Grant-painting-of-Gods-hand-Amazon.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"417\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Blog-See-I-Will-Not-Forget-You-Alan-Grant-painting-of-Gods-hand-Amazon.jpg 417w, https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Blog-See-I-Will-Not-Forget-You-Alan-Grant-painting-of-Gods-hand-Amazon-250x300.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 417px) 100vw, 417px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/US-Art-Framed-RELIGIOUS-5-810-W\/dp\/B07BPX1BXD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alan Grant, Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The God of the universe extends His hand to us. All we have to do is take hold. He then will never let us go. So we hold on&#8230;we hold on together.<\/p>\n<p>*<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newreleasetoday.com\/lyricsdetail.php?lyrics_id=51783\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lyrics to <em>Hold On to Jesus<\/em> &#8211; Steven Curtis Chapman<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=W8cJQMU9Q-U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube Video &#8211; <em>Word of God Speak<\/em> &#8211; Mercy Me<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VzGAYNKDyIU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube Video &#8211; <em>Redeemed<\/em> &#8211; Big Daddy Weave<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photo Credit: Daily Verses &#8220;Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.&#8221;\u00a0 &#8211; Isaiah 41:10 &#8220;For I am the LORD your God, who holds your right hand, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=21362\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Worship Wednesday &#8211; Hold On to Jesus &#8211; Steven Curtis Chapman<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1264,2763,3346,5628,1070,799,2126,1705,1618,147,3976,808,5253,1265,5221,903,2556,33,795,2611,432,870,761,789,1517,1456,610,203,185,946],"tags":[2122,94,6863,6862,6861,1835,211,172,82,623,71,841,5293,6860,49,360],"class_list":["post-21362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-addictions","category-aging","category-anger","category-anxiety","category-cancer","category-church-2","category-community","category-conversations","category-courage","category-family-2","category-fear","category-film","category-forgiveness","category-friends","category-god-the-father","category-grace","category-grief-and-loss","category-inspired","category-love-2","category-love-your-neighbor","category-music","category-neighbors","category-redeeming-restoring","category-relationships","category-rest","category-steadfast-love","category-thanksgiving-or-gratefulness","category-word-of-god","category-workplace-or-marketplace","category-worship","tag-alan-grant","tag-big-daddy-weave","tag-bishop-briggs","tag-hold-on","tag-hold-on-to-jesus","tag-jesus","tag-love","tag-mercyme","tag-redeemed","tag-redeemer","tag-savior","tag-steven-curtis-chapman","tag-the-good-doctor","tag-word-of-god-speak","tag-worship","tag-worship-wednesday"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pauPAB-5yy","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21362"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21379,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21362\/revisions\/21379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}