{"id":30002,"date":"2022-03-25T13:12:39","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T17:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=30002"},"modified":"2022-03-25T13:27:27","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T17:27:27","slug":"worship-wednesday-what-if-matthew-west-with-lathan-warlick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=30002","title":{"rendered":"Worship Wednesday – What If – Matthew West with Lathan Warlick"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Heartlight, Jeremy Taylor<\/a><\/p>\n

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.<\/em> – Psalm 90:12<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Come now, you who say, \u201cToday or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.<\/em> – James 4:14<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.<\/em> – Deuteronomy 6:6-7<\/a><\/p>\n

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.<\/em> – 2 Peter 1:3<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The older we get the less surprised we are by the brevity of life.<\/p>\n

Heaven keeps getting sweeter as more and more of our loves exit this crazy world. However, as much as we look forward to seeing Jesus, we want to stretch our days out with the joys of this life. Family, friends, our work and art, the every day splendors of life.<\/p>\n

As we turn our thoughts to the day-to-day, we can shrink our view of forever. We soak up the sweet moments with our grandchildren and the beauty that surrounds us…even in a world scorched by war. Most of us live outside of the hard of that reality and can turn our thoughts to tending our yards and finding deals for family vacations.<\/p>\n

Those are good things.<\/p>\n

The dilemma is when good overrules what God is up to in our lives. God is about revealing Himself through us to a world that desperately needs Him…and we receive back the joy of being part of that loving, comforting, healing work.<\/p>\n

The thing we face each day is whether we are willing to be part of that. God’s ways are higher than ours<\/a> but are also scarier as well. But oh so satisfying!<\/p>\n

I’ve lost four days this week to a cold. Just no energy added to complete brain fog. The keeping company with the couch was about the best I could do. Then hearing the song “What If”<\/em> <\/a>coincided with my day of starting to feel better. Joy!! That I have today to follow God.<\/p>\n

It’s all we ever have, for sure. Today.<\/p>\n

The official video of “What If”<\/em><\/a> shows a series of family events around singer, songwriter’s Matthew West<\/a>‘s birthday (with a little surprise ending). Fun times. Making memories. Going after experiences over material gifts. All the sorts of things that are large in our culture right now.<\/p>\n

Larger still is the deeper meaning of West’ song. He is definitely communicating to be intentional about life, being that it is but a vapor<\/em><\/a>. As video spells out, we squeeze all the good we can out of life, but that “good” is far more than just trips of a lifetime or every fun memory we can give our children.<\/p>\n

If we’re hoping to orchestrate the “best version of our lives<\/em>“, we have all we need…today…for that to happen.<\/em>…as God defines it. His idea of that is so much larger than we imagine for ourselves. To bear witness to Him, to reflect the love of Jesus, to display joy, to give hope, to make a difference, to stand in the gap, to repair the breach<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Matthew West has given us many empowering songs including “Do Something”<\/em><\/a>, “Forgiveness”<\/em><\/a>, “Look What You’ve Done”<\/em><\/a>, and “I’m Not Strong Enough”<\/em> <\/a>– all of which I’ve written about and taken hope from.<\/p>\n

West talks about the story behind the song<\/a> “What If”<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should do one thing a day that scares you\u2026What if is a life-defining question. What if I made a change that I know I need to make, what if I sought help for an area of my life where I\u2019m struggling, what if I stepped out and lived boldly for Christ, what if I stepped into the fullness of God\u2019s plan for my life? \u00a0Or you can wait until the story is all but written, then you\u2019re answering the question in the past tense. I want to answer that question now. While I still have a chance to change the things that can change. I don\u2019t want to be answering the \u2018what if\u201d question when it\u2019s all too late. Then it\u2019s just about regret. I want to look back and know that I have no regrets. John 10:10 \u2013Jesus said \u201cI\u2019ve come that they may have life and have it to the full\u201d. The time is now. Live like today is the only day you\u2019ve got. For the best version of your life, answer that \u201cwhat if\u201d question now.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Matthew West<\/a><\/p>\n

What scary thing might God be calling you to endeavor today? He is with you. He is always with you. West reminds us to live today like it’s our last. A good word.<\/p>\n

I’ve had a few regrets in my life…not so many because Mom taught us to keep short accounts<\/em><\/a> with God and people. Asking for forgiveness and forgiving others are two parts of that. As much as it is possible, live at peace with all men (women)<\/em><\/a>. No grudges. No regrets. It is a daily battle, but one filled with God’s purposes and promises, as we keep our minds on Him.<\/p>\n

Keeping Short Accounts with God<\/em> – Jonathan Kirby<\/a><\/p>\n

Worship<\/a> with me to West’s song “What If”<\/em> featuring artist Lathan Warlick<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I’ve heard ’em say before to live just like you’re dying, yeah
\nWish I could say that’s how I am but I been lying, yeah
\nLying in my bed at night, and one too many times I’m thinking
\nWhat if, what if
\nMy biggest fear is waking up to find what matters
\nIs miles away from what I spent my life chasing after
\nIs my story gonna have the same two words in every chapter?
\nWhat if, what if<\/p>\n

But last I checked this heart<\/strong>
\nInside my chest is still beating<\/strong>
\nWell, I guess it’s not too late<\/strong><\/p>\n

What if today’s the only day I got?<\/strong>
\nI don’t wanna waste it if it’s my last shot<\/strong>
\nNo regrets in the end<\/strong>
\nI wanna know I got no what ifs<\/strong>
\nI’m running till the road runs out
\nI’m lighting it up right here right now
\nNo regrets in the end
\nI wanna know I got no what ifs, yeah<\/p>\n

See, I refuse to be a shoulda woulda coulda been
\nI can’t go back in time, I don’t have a DeLorean
\nWhat I’m trying to say is I don’t wanna say these words again
\nWhat if, what if<\/p>\n

But last I checked this heart
\nInside my chest is still beating
\nWell, I guess it’s not too late, no no<\/p>\n

What if today’s the only day I got?
\nI don’t wanna waste it if it’s my last shot
\nNo regrets in the end
\nI wanna know I got no what ifs
\nI’m running till the road runs out
\nI’m lighting it up right here right now
\nNo regrets in the end (yeah)
\nI wanna know I got no what ifs (no what ifs)<\/p>\n

I can see the clock is ticking and I’m tired of wasting my time
\nI’ma do it for today, so if tomorrow come, then I’m fine
\nYeah, I’m far from perfect, I’ll be asking God to keep me in mind
\nAnd this life is shorter than we think, it’s really passing us by
\nI can’t be taking what’s going on for granted and when it get hard you won’t see me panic
\nWent through the storm and came out with scars but you don’t see me with no permanent damage
\nYeah, this life is like a vapor, so go ahead and take advantage
\nOf what’s going on now, while you still got time to manage, yeah<\/p>\n

‘Cause what if today’s the only day I got? (I’ve got it, got it)
\nI don’t wanna waste it (haha) if it’s my last shot (let’s go)
\nNo regrets (no) in the end (in the end)
\nI wanna know I got no what ifs (I got no what ifs)
\nI’m running till the road runs out (whoa)
\nI’m lighting it up right (ah) here right now (yeah)
\nNo regrets (no regrets) in the end (in the end)
\nI wanna know I got no what ifs (no what ifs, let’s go)<\/p>\n

I wanna know I got no what ifs (no what ifs)
\nI wanna know I got no what ifs (no what ifs)*<\/p>\n

*Lyrics to What If<\/em> (Songwriters: AJ Pruis, Matthew West, Ran Jackson)<\/a><\/p>\n

What If<\/em> Bible Reading Plan – Matthew West<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Pinterest<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Heartlight, Jeremy Taylor Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. – Psalm 90:12 Come now, you who say, \u201cToday or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” You do not even know … Continue reading Worship Wednesday – What If – Matthew West with Lathan Warlick<\/span> →<\/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":[2763,5628,926,1705,1618,7027,3208,5253,1454,50,903,1435,599,33,18,317,263,795,2611,1301,31,3752,761,789,32,47,203,946],"tags":[9188,446,405,9960,9959,9954,9958,448,9956,9957,1064,9955,49,360],"class_list":["post-30002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aging","category-anxiety","category-attending-or-focus","category-conversations","category-courage","category-decision-making","category-finishing-strong","category-forgiveness","category-fresh-start","category-god","category-grace","category-growing-up","category-heaven","category-inspired","category-jesus","category-lessons-learned","category-lives-full-of-god","category-love-2","category-love-your-neighbor","category-mom","category-parenting","category-purpose-in-life","category-redeeming-restoring","category-relationships","category-walk-with-god","category-wednesday-worship","category-word-of-god","category-worship","tag-aj-pruis","tag-do-something","tag-eternity","tag-jeremy-taylor","tag-keeping-short-accounts","tag-lathan-warlick","tag-life-is-short","tag-matthew-west","tag-no-regrets","tag-ran-jackson","tag-time","tag-what-if","tag-worship","tag-worship-wednesday"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pauPAB-7NU","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30002","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=30002"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30017,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30002\/revisions\/30017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}