Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202124S
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00:43 >> Welcome to It Is Written 00:44 Canada. 00:46 Thank you for joining us here 00:47 in beautiful Langley, British 00:49 Columbia at the Church in 00:50 the Valley. 00:51 Our special guest is 00:53 Craig Cleveland. 00:55 >> Whenever we think of Craig, 00:56 we think of music. 00:58 God has blessed Craig with the 01:00 gift of being able to play, 01:02 write, orchestrate, and 01:05 conduct music. 01:07 Craig, we are really looking 01:08 forward to spending time with 01:10 you today. 01:11 Welcome to It Is Written 01:12 Canada. 01:13 >> It's my pleasure to be here. 01:15 >> So, Craig, tell us about 01:17 yourself and how you became 01:18 interested in music. 01:21 >> Well, it's kinda like, 01:23 where do you begin, but I 01:25 guess my first recollections 01:26 of music are just my dad 01:28 playing lots of music and 01:30 every Sabbath morning or 01:31 whenever he had the stereo 01:33 going it was music, music, and 01:35 usually violin music which was 01:36 interesting to me because in 01:38 high school he'd played the 01:39 trumpet, or kinda played 01:40 the trumpet. 01:41 So, yeah, then I think Dad got 01:44 pretty intentional about it, 01:45 started taking me to concerts 01:47 and I always liked the ones 01:49 with the violins and so I have 01:51 my parents to thank for that. 01:52 My mother plays the piano 01:54 beautifully and she would sing 01:56 and Dad's a pastor so she 01:57 would sing in church and 01:59 that's kinda where it began. 02:01 >> So what did your parents do? 02:03 >> My dad's a pastor, my mom's 02:05 a nurse and she always dreamed 02:07 of being a missionary nurse 02:10 and going off far, far away 02:12 and marrying a pastor. 02:14 So she married the pastor and 02:15 then we were pastoring in 02:18 North America and then finally 02:20 Dad got a call Brazil and that 02:23 didn't work out and then we 02:24 got a call to Africa and to 02:26 Africa we went. 02:27 So it was pretty exciting. 02:29 And at that point I had a 02:31 violin and it went with me, 02:33 but that's a different story. 02:34 >> Tell us about the violin. 02:35 Where did that come from? 02:36 [CRAIG] OK, so, yeah we were 02:38 living in New Hampshire for a 02:40 few years of my life and Dad 02:42 was taking me to these 02:43 concerts and one time we went 02:45 to a string quartet concert 02:47 and I just remember we had a 02:48 really close seat right up at 02:50 the front and I just loved it, 02:52 you know, it was so awesome, 02:54 just great music, and we're 02:56 driving home and I said to my 02:57 dad, I said, "You know what?" 02:58 "I really think I'd like to" 02:59 "play the violin." 03:00 Dad's like, "OK, I'll buy" 03:01 "you one." 03:02 And I remember that kind of 03:03 shocked me 'cause it was like, 03:05 you know, we didn't have a lot 03:06 of money and buying me a 03:07 violin, that was a big deal. 03:09 So Dad was pretty resourceful 03:11 and got looking around and 03:12 calling around and he actually 03:14 called a music guild rummage 03:17 sale and they said, 03:18 "We really don't sell" 03:20 "instruments, but oh, there" 03:21 "is one violin here and it'll" 03:22 "be up in the auction." 03:23 So he's like, "OK, I'm gonna" 03:24 "come see it." 03:25 So he grabbed a friend that 03:26 was musical, played violin, 03:28 and took me and this friend 03:29 and we went down and looked at 03:30 it and the friend's like, 03:31 "Yeah, it seems like a pretty" 03:32 "good violin." 03:33 You know, I mean... 03:35 So Dad put-- Dad couldn't be 03:36 at the auction so I put in a 03:37 sealed bid for $101 in an 03:39 envelope and I asked them if 03:41 they'd bid for him and they 03:42 said, "Well, we really don't," 03:44 "but sure, I could do that." 03:45 "Why not?" 03:46 And they called us the night 03:50 after the auction and said, 03:51 "Hey, come and get" 03:52 "your violin." 03:53 >> Hundred and one dollars. 03:54 [CRAIG] Hundred and one 03:55 dollars. 03:56 >> So tell us about 03:57 that violin. 03:58 >> Well, I played it for many, 03:59 many, many years and it's a 04:02 German-made copy of an Italian 04:05 and, ultimately, when my wife 04:10 and I had four children and 04:12 they started playing violin, 04:13 too, you know, it's a long way 04:15 down the story, but my oldest 04:17 son needed a great violin and 04:19 he became concert master of an 04:21 orchestra and so I let him use 04:24 that violin and at some point 04:25 it was appraised at around 04:27 five to ten thousand dollars. 04:29 And the bow, the bow that came 04:31 with it is appraised for two 04:33 or three thousand dollars. 04:34 So it was a very 04:35 well-spent $101. 04:37 >> Wow, that's amazing. 04:39 So, Craig, tell us how you 04:41 passed this passion for music 04:43 on to your children. 04:45 >> Well, yeah, I mean, I was 04:50 leading an orchestra and music 04:51 was my whole life and teaching 04:53 singers and all that kind of 04:55 thing so in one way it was 04:57 just by osmosis, I mean, you 04:59 know, the kids went on tour 05:02 everywhere we went, my wife 05:03 came along and she plays 05:05 cello, I play violin, my wife 05:08 plays piano, too, and so, I 05:09 mean, how could you avoid it, 05:11 but we did really want them to 05:13 get into it and I started 05:16 violin when I was 11 and I 05:18 know scientifically that if 05:19 you start violin when you're 05:21 three or four or five, you can 05:22 go so much farther with it. 05:25 So we started all of our kids 05:26 at the age of four on violin. 05:28 Our third kid was supposed to 05:29 play cello, that was kind of 05:30 our family arrangement, being 05:32 in a string quartet, right, or 05:33 close to it, but the contract 05:36 cello teacher we had working 05:38 with the orchestra at that 05:39 time said, "I don't do" 05:40 "children, I'm really sorry." 05:42 "I have struggled to do teens." 05:44 So we're driving home and our 05:45 third son said, "Oh, don't" 05:47 "worry, I wanna play violin" 05:48 "like my brothers anyway," 05:49 "so I'll play violin." 05:51 So we have four violinists. 05:53 >> So James, when did he get 05:54 his first violin? 05:56 Like, how did that happen? 05:57 He was four years old. 05:58 >> Yeah, James was four years 05:59 old so, you know, it's kinda 06:01 like that oldest kid syndrome, 06:02 Mom and Dad are thinking, 06:03 "OK, how do we make this work" 06:05 "and how do you get the kid" 06:06 "to practice and what's this" 06:07 "all gonna be like," so we 06:08 said, "Look, you see the" 06:09 "orchestra every night," 06:10 "you come down to practice," 06:12 "you go on tours with us," 06:13 "you know all about this," 06:14 "but if you wanna be a part" 06:16 "of all that fun and games," 06:19 "then you should really make" 06:21 "some money and buy a violin." 06:23 And I kinda laugh now because 06:24 I'm thinking, you know, we 06:25 never even thought of doing 06:27 that for our second son or our 06:28 third son or our daughter, and 06:29 of course we didn't have to 06:30 because James' violin was 06:31 already paid for, it was just 06:33 sitting in the closet, but 06:34 anyway, he did it at four 06:35 years old, he started making 06:36 bread and selling it to the 06:38 neighbours and making muffins 06:39 and selling in the dormitory 06:40 and, you know, pretty soon 06:41 he had $60 and we bought 06:42 him an eBay violin. 06:44 And, great little violin, 06:46 it made four violinists. 06:49 [MIKE] Wow, so he earned it at 06:50 the age of four. 06:51 So I know that you use your 06:53 passion for music to draw 06:55 people to Christ, to the 06:57 gospel, to God, but you also 07:00 now use it to produce songs 07:03 that are scripture songs to 07:05 help people to memorize the 07:07 scriptures. 07:08 Tell us about that. 07:09 >> Well, to me, everything to 07:11 do with the gospel is about 07:13 God's word. 07:14 God's word is, we'll read John 07:18 1:1, 1-3, you know... 07:27 And I believe it's not, and I 07:29 know this is true, we all can 07:31 see this in scripture, not 07:33 only is God-- does God have 07:35 the power to make the world 07:36 that we're riding on right 07:38 now, but to recreate a new 07:41 heart inside you and me and 07:43 that's the biggest thing 07:45 because life is not about the 07:47 here and now, life is about 07:48 eternity, life's about 07:49 eternity with Jesus and that's 07:51 the most exciting thing and 07:52 that experience can begin now 07:54 if we invite Jesus into our 07:55 hearts and this is all simple 07:57 Christian fundamentals, but 07:59 what better way to have that 08:01 re-creative, life-giving power, 08:05 the same power that made the 08:06 world out of nothing is what 08:08 makes a new heart in me every 08:10 day if I simply invite Jesus 08:12 into my heart. 08:13 And so all that power is in 08:15 His word and so if you can 08:17 combine your passion for music 08:19 with the Word, it's, to me 08:21 it's the most exciting thing 08:23 there is. 08:23 >> Mm-hmm. 08:25 So, Craig, you have a lot of 08:26 people that have helped you to 08:27 make this project a reality. 08:30 [CRAIG] Mm-hmm. 08:32 One of them that jumps out at 08:34 me is Jodi Eulene Patterson 08:37 and when I got the violin, 08:38 I was living in New Hampshire, 08:40 we lived there for five years, 08:42 and during that period of 08:43 time, we had a neighbour who 08:46 was this older lady who loved 08:49 to write scripture songs. 08:51 And I remember once she was 08:52 visiting in Alabama and she's 08:53 out on a walk and it was 08:54 raining and she gets this 08:56 great inspiration of a melody 08:57 and so she grabbed a stick and 08:59 she wrote in the Georgia-- in 09:00 the Alabama clay, you know, 09:03 wrote out the notes and then 09:04 came back later when it was 09:06 done raining with a notebook 09:07 and copied it all down. 09:09 So Jodi and I go way back to 09:10 when I was six years old, 09:12 she's still alive, she's still 09:16 just passionate about music 09:18 and so over the years she 09:20 wrote hundreds and hundreds 09:21 and hundreds and hundreds of 09:22 songs and about five years ago 09:24 I approached her and said, 09:26 "We have a youth congress" 09:27 "coming up and they want the" 09:29 "book of James set to music." 09:31 "Could you do it?" 09:32 >> The whole book of James? 09:33 [CRAIG] The whole book of 09:33 James. 09:34 [MIKE] Wow! 09:35 [CRAIG] And we never thought 09:36 about it, I mean, she had 09:37 written all of 1 Corinthians 09:38 13 to music and some large, 09:42 you know, Psalms 91 and some 09:43 of the larger portions, but a 09:45 whole book, that was 09:46 a big deal. 09:47 But she said, "Well, I'll" 09:48 "pray about it." 09:49 And she called me back a few 09:50 days later, she said, "I think" 09:51 "God wants me to do that." 09:53 So, and that has been on our 09:56 Scripture Singer app for a 09:57 long time, it's still there, I 09:59 love it, it takes about 25 10:00 minutes to sing the whole book. 10:02 And I say that so you 10:04 understand when I came back to 10:05 her a few years later and 10:06 said-- I always call her 10:08 Eulene because that's the name 10:09 I use, her name is Jodi Eulene 10:10 Patterson, but she went by 10:11 Eulene when I was younger, so 10:13 I said, "Eulene..." 10:16 "I know that James is a big" 10:18 "project, but I love history" 10:20 "and when we read history," 10:22 "we learn that the Waldensian" 10:24 "children could recite the" 10:25 "entire gospel of Matthew," 10:27 "every one of them, by the" 10:28 "age of four, and if they" 10:29 "needed it in the dark ages," 10:31 "we certainly need it at the" 10:33 "end of time, so would you" 10:34 "write the entire book of" 10:35 "Matthew to music?" 10:37 And she says, "Oh, I needed a" 10:38 "few days to pray about" 10:39 "writing James, let me have" 10:40 "a few weeks to think about" 10:41 "this one," so... 10:43 So she finally got back to me, 10:44 she says, "Well, I don't--" 10:45 "I won't say 'yes,' but I'll" 10:47 "say, 'I'll try.'" 10:48 And you have to understand 10:51 that, like, chapter 26, we've 10:54 just got the audio track for 10:56 it done and it's like 45 10:58 minutes long, one chapter. 11:00 So one chapter from the gospel 11:02 of Matthew is almost twice as 11:04 long as the entire book of 11:06 James, anyway, and there's 28 11:07 chapters in Matthew. 11:08 So, anyway, it's a work in 11:10 progress, but praise God, she 11:11 wrote the entire thing, I 11:13 believe it's just phenomenal 11:14 music, the first seven 11:16 chapters are on the app, the 11:18 next five are soon to be on 11:19 the app and we have a team 11:22 this summer recording more and 11:23 more of the audio for it and 11:25 we hope in a year or two to 11:26 have it done. 11:28 And I say a year or two and 11:29 that may sound like a long 11:30 time, but it's a massive 11:31 project. 11:32 >> Craig, you already referred 11:34 to John chapter 1, very 11:35 important chapter, "In the" 11:37 "beginning was the word..." 11:38 And so why don't we just 11:40 listen to that right now, one 11:41 that you produced and listen 11:44 to the guys singing that song. 11:45 >> That'd be great. 11:50 >> In the beginning... 11:54 In the beginning... 11:57 ♪In the beginning was the Word 12:02 ♪and the Word was with God 12:07 ♪and the Word was God 12:11 ♪the Word was God 12:18 ♪The same was in the 12:20 ♪beginning with God 12:24 ♪All things were made by Him 12:32 ♪And without Him 12:38 ♪was not anything made 12:44 ♪not anything 12:47 ♪In Him was life 12:50 ♪and the life was the 12:51 ♪light of men 12:53 ♪in Him was life 12:56 ♪and the life was the 12:57 ♪light of men 12:59 ♪and the light shineth in 13:02 ♪darkness and the darkness 13:06 ♪comprehended it not 13:13 ♪In the beginning was the Word 13:18 ♪and the Word was with God 13:22 ♪the Word was God 13:41 ♪Amen 13:58 >> Craig, that was such a 14:00 powerful song and such an easy 14:02 way to learn and to memorize 14:04 scripture. 14:05 >> Yeah, well, that's why our 14:06 tagline is "All you've got" 14:07 "to do is listen." 14:09 And it's true, I mean, if 14:10 people will just open the app 14:12 and listen to it while they 14:14 drive to work or while they're 14:15 jogging or while they're doing 14:16 laundry or while you're eating 14:18 dinner or any time you got 14:20 down time, just turn it on and 14:22 there's easy playlists so you 14:24 can set it up to learn 14:25 whatever you wanna learn, 14:27 "Oh, here's all the ones I" 14:28 "wanna learn," or there's 14:29 different topics, "I wanna" 14:30 "learn this topic or that" 14:31 "topic or this interests me" 14:32 "or that interests me," 14:33 it's set up so you can just 14:34 get it to play that to you 14:35 all the time. 14:36 All you've gotta do is listen 14:37 and pretty soon you've got 14:39 God's word memorized. 14:40 It really is that simple. 14:41 You can sing along, too, 14:42 that's great, too. 14:43 You can read along, too, that 14:44 doesn't hurt and we're not 14:45 against that, but I'm just 14:47 saying that we've realized 14:48 that a lot of people have busy 14:49 lives like I do and, I mean, I 14:51 don't have time to sit on the 14:52 couch and watch it. 14:53 Oh, maybe in worship we'll 14:55 sing with our kids or 14:56 whatever, but most of my time 14:58 for Scripture Singers is when 15:00 I'm driving and so I can't 15:01 look at it or do anything but 15:02 hear it and yet, it's easy. 15:04 [MIKE] It does go in, yes, and 15:06 it works very much for myself, 15:08 René and I would go downstairs 15:10 and, you know, where we have a 15:12 place where we can exercise 15:13 and we do that in the morning, 15:14 first thing, and we just play 15:16 Scripture Singer and... 15:17 >> Wow. 15:18 >> That's the thing for me and 15:19 it just, you know, I hear 15:20 God's word. 15:21 [CRAIG] Amen. 15:22 >> So what is the mission of 15:23 Scripture Singer? 15:25 >> Our mission is to take 15:26 God's word and just make it 15:27 personal, really personal. 15:29 I mean, why did the 15:30 Waldensians teach their 15:31 children by the age of four to 15:34 have in memory the entire 15:35 gospel of Matthew? 15:37 It's because they knew 15:38 they would need it and we 15:39 need it, too. 15:40 And when I think of your 15:42 ministry, It Is Written, where 15:43 does that come from? 15:44 Those are the words of Jesus 15:45 to Satan in the temptation 15:47 and what was He quoting? 15:48 "It is written," the Bible. 15:49 And so the Bible, I mean, 15:51 we're told that God's word is 15:53 so powerful, it's God speaking 15:55 to us as if we could listen to 15:57 His voice. 15:58 And so when we believe that 16:00 and we know that, then why not 16:02 take Bible study as far as we 16:03 can, let's put it right in our 16:05 minds so that we don't even 16:06 have to open the pages, we 16:07 have it there. 16:08 And that's because every 16:10 single verse in every chapter 16:11 of the Bible is a revelation 16:13 of Jesus and Jesus is our 16:15 saviour and Jesus is our 16:17 inspiration and Jesus gives us 16:19 that life power, I mean, the 16:21 Bible says that we're washed 16:23 by the Word, you know, we're-- 16:25 doctrine comes from the Word, 16:27 all good things come from the 16:28 Word, the creative power to 16:29 make me new, on and on. 16:30 We keep-- I don't wanna re-say 16:32 everything I've already said, 16:33 but if the word of God is that 16:35 good, and it is, then why not 16:37 get it as close to us as 16:38 possible so it's always there, 16:40 always available, no one can 16:41 ever take it away. 16:43 They could put you in prison or 16:44 they could do anything to you, 16:46 as history tells us, but if 16:48 you have God's word stored in 16:49 your mind, you have that 16:51 life-giving power right there. 16:53 Why not? 16:54 >> And it's almost like you're 16:57 having a two-way conversation 16:58 with God, not just you 17:00 speaking to Him, but He's 17:01 actually speaking to you 17:03 through His word and so it 17:05 makes it so personal. 17:06 >> Absolutely, yeah. 17:07 And all scripture is 17:09 profitable, right, for 17:11 doctrine, for reproof, yeah, 17:12 for correction, for teaching 17:14 in righteousness, 17:15 all scripture. 17:16 >> Yeah, yep. 17:18 It's interesting, that one 17:19 scripture you just mentioned, 17:21 I was at work one time, and I 17:25 do all kinds of things for 17:26 work these days and I was 17:27 actually doing dry wall and I 17:29 was thinking, "This is just," 17:30 "like, really boring." 17:33 And I was working all alone 17:35 and if you know me, I hate to 17:36 be alone, but anyway, and I 17:38 actually just said, "Lord," 17:39 "what am I doing this for?" 17:41 And immediately God 17:42 impressed me, "Well..." 17:45 "what about scripture?" 17:47 I'm like, "Oh, yes, I need a" 17:48 "melody for this." 17:49 So I'm like, "Lord, if You can 17:51 "do something for me today, I" 17:52 "really need it," and I'm 17:53 drywall-sanding away, you 17:54 know, "Give me a melody for" 17:56 "that 'All scripture is given" 17:57 "by inspiration,'" and He did. 17:59 And so God is good and that's 18:01 the thing, when you talk about 18:02 scripture singing, you have to 18:03 recognize there's miracle 18:05 after miracle after miracle 18:06 and it's not just me, there 18:07 are volunteers all over that 18:08 make this thing happen and 18:10 miracle after miracle, whether 18:11 it's giving money so we can 18:13 film it or inspiring, you 18:14 know, giving money so we can 18:15 pay somebody to sing it or 18:17 whatever it is, God has opened 18:18 many, many, many doors and 18:20 it's just really exciting. 18:22 >> So, Craig, can you tell us 18:24 where this idea of singing 18:26 scripture came from? 18:29 >> Well, for me, I mean, I-- 18:31 the first recollections I ever 18:33 have of it was Jodi Eulene 18:34 Patterson, she was our 18:36 neighbour, I'm six years old 18:37 and she's writing scripture 18:39 songs all the time and she'd 18:40 come to church or to vespers 18:42 and always teaching new songs 18:43 so that's where the idea there 18:45 came in. 18:46 When I was in my early 30's, 18:49 that's when I got the idea 18:50 that, "Wait a minute, with" 18:52 "the advance of technology," 18:54 "cassettes are outdated," 18:57 "forget that," that's the only 18:58 place that her music was, 19:00 "we need it on an app." 19:01 Forget CD's, let's go right to 19:03 the app, you have the app then 19:04 it's free to everybody and so 19:06 that was-- and I took that 19:07 idea to the youth orchestra in 19:09 Canada where I was working at 19:10 that point and said to the 19:12 kids, "Hey, I know you guys" 19:14 "are all talented and if" 19:15 "there's anybody that can do" 19:16 "media stuff it's gonna be" 19:17 "you guys in your generation." 19:19 "Is there anybody that could" 19:20 "make an app?" 19:21 And I said, "If you think so," 19:23 "come and see me." 19:25 And afterwards, a young fellow 19:27 by the name of Matthew Dietel 19:28 came forward and said, 19:29 "You know, I've never done" 19:30 "anything like this before," 19:31 "but I do like computers so" 19:33 "I'd like to give it a try." 19:35 And I'll tell you something, 19:36 we have paid a lot of money to 19:38 a lot of developers in the 19:39 years that have followed since 19:41 that very early beginning, but 19:44 Matthew Dietel's app went to 19:46 Apple and was never ever 19:48 rejected and Matthew Dietel's 19:50 app worked really, really well. 19:51 So God blessed a 16-year-old 19:54 with the gifts he'd never had 19:55 before to do it. 19:56 So it's exciting to partner 19:58 with God and do something like 19:59 this because you have to, you 20:01 can't do it by yourself, only 20:03 God can inspire people to give 20:05 and do all these things or 20:06 give the melodies or whatever 20:07 it is or to give the ability 20:08 to write the app, but that's 20:10 part of the exciting part is 20:12 that you see God leading. 20:13 >> And it's not just you, it 20:16 is much bigger, there's so 20:17 many people involved. 20:19 [CRAIG] That's right. 20:20 >> And so let's listen to 20:22 another song where we can see 20:23 some young people singing again 20:24 a scripture song. 20:27 [gentle guitar music] 20:33 ♪The Lord is my light 20:35 ♪and my salvation 20:39 ♪Whom shall I fear 20:44 ♪The Lord is the strength 20:46 ♪of my life 20:50 ♪Of whom shall I be afraid 20:56 ♪When the wicked 20:59 ♪even mine enemies and my foes 21:02 ♪came upon me 21:04 ♪they stumbled and fell 21:07 ♪Though an host should 21:08 ♪encamp against me 21:12 ♪my heart shall not fear 21:18 ♪Though war should rise 21:19 ♪against me 21:21 ♪in this will I be confident 21:23 ♪One thing have I 21:25 ♪desired of the Lord 21:31 ♪that will I seek after 21:35 ♪That I may dwell 21:37 ♪in the house of the Lord 21:40 ♪all the days of my life 21:46 ♪To behold the beauty 21:50 ♪of the Lord 21:51 ♪and to enquire in His temple 21:57 ♪For in the time of trouble 22:00 ♪He shall hide me 22:04 ♪in His pavilion 22:08 ♪In the secret of His 22:10 ♪tabernacle shall He hide me 22:14 ♪He shall set me up 22:16 ♪upon a rock 22:19 ♪He shall hide me 22:35 >> I just love listening to 22:37 scripture and it really does 22:38 speak to my heart. 22:40 So how has it spoken to you 22:43 personally, Craig? 22:44 When you listen to these 22:45 songs, I mean, you produced 22:47 them, but I know you also 22:48 listen to them. 22:50 How have they benefited you? 22:51 >> Well, it really is a 22:53 blessing to be involved 22:55 because, you know, every 22:58 single song that's come 22:59 through I've had the privilege 23:00 of editing it or listening to 23:02 it or proofing it or, you 23:03 know, and-- but honestly, it 23:05 is such a blessing. 23:07 I just went through Matthew 8, 23:09 so many truths are just 23:12 leaping out at you and I know 23:13 even the young people involved, 23:15 they're singing it or playing 23:16 the piano for it or filming it 23:17 and they say, you know, we-- 23:20 it's changing, which is 23:21 powerful. 23:22 And I know for me, personally, 23:25 if I ever get discouraged... 23:28 I've just always found that if 23:30 I just go and turn on the app 23:31 and let it start playing, 23:33 there's power and it's God 23:36 speaking and God always speaks 23:38 peace and He speaks hope and 23:41 He speaks joy and it's 23:43 that simple. 23:45 So I just praise God for 23:47 Scripture Singer and I know 23:49 for me, personally, too, when 23:50 it comes to, you know, if 23:52 you're talking with people and 23:53 I work with people of all 23:54 walks of life, many 23:56 non-Christians, and yet you 23:59 get talking about things that 24:00 are spiritual or they ask you, 24:02 why you're a Christian or 24:03 whatever, I find, personally, 24:05 it's the verses that I've 24:06 memorized that come to mind 24:07 and again, that's just 24:09 logical, that's why Scripture 24:11 Singer exists, to put in our 24:12 minds so it's right there. 24:14 If someone asks you a 24:15 question, you say, "Oh, I got" 24:16 "a book in my car, just a" 24:17 "minute," and you run get your 24:18 Bible, no, you're gonna say, 24:20 "Hey, didn't you know that it" 24:21 "says this in the Bible," or 24:23 this or that. 24:24 And for me, personally, it's 24:25 been the book of James. 24:26 I really love the book of 24:27 James, having memorized all of 24:29 that as a family together and, 24:32 you know, it's-- the book of 24:33 James is just the succinct 24:34 picture of the whole gospel 24:35 and so just about everything 24:37 you need can be found in the 24:38 book of James and since we, as 24:40 a family, memorized the whole 24:41 thing, that was a real 24:42 blessing. 24:43 And I know even, just a 24:44 practical tip, too, as a 24:46 family, we wanna have family 24:47 worship and we did a lot of 24:48 travelling, a lot of times we 24:50 would have worship in the 24:51 dark, driving, and we just 24:53 sing the book of James. 24:54 And so it's just so handy. 24:57 And then you stop, you get 24:58 done with the whole thing, 25 24:59 minutes later and you say, 25:00 "Alright, what did we learn?" 25:02 And the kids are talking, 25:03 "Oh, this, that or whatever," 25:05 and it's there; how to treat 25:08 other people, what to deal 25:11 with pride, giving offerings, 25:14 and where does everything 25:15 good come from? 25:17 Well, it's from God, it's all 25:18 in the book of James, but 25:19 whatever passage you want to 25:20 memorize, it's just-- once 25:22 you've got it right there in 25:23 your mind, it's such a 25:24 blessing. 25:26 I did have a friend at work 25:28 who came to me and said, 25:29 "I've left the faith of my" 25:32 "childhood and I know that's" 25:34 "not the answer, but I would" 25:36 "like to know, how can I get" 25:38 "from here to heaven and" 25:40 "avoid hell," and so I said, 25:42 "Well, the Bible's the answer." 25:45 And then, you know, we work 25:46 together every day and a few 25:47 weeks later he realized I am 25:49 involved with Scripture Singer 25:50 and it's my passion and I 25:52 spend all my free time doing 25:53 it and so he's like, 25:55 "Well, hey, I need the app!" 25:57 "You said the Bible's the" 25:58 "answer, so I should be" 25:59 "listening to Scripture Singer" 26:00 "while I drive to work!" 26:02 And I said, "Yes, you should," 26:03 "that'd be great!" 26:04 So what a blessing and-- but, 26:06 again, it's not just that it's 26:08 God's word, but music. 26:09 I mean, Jesus sang the 26:11 scriptures, David sang the 26:12 scriptures, the Israelites 26:14 sang so this is Biblical. 26:17 >> It's so much easier to 26:18 store up God's word in your 26:20 heart, right, when you're 26:21 listening to it as a song, 26:22 right? 26:23 >> Yes. 26:24 >> And so Jesus, He used it as 26:27 a weapon against temptation 26:30 in the wilderness with Satan. 26:33 And so He said, "It is" 26:34 "written, man shall not live" 26:36 "by bread alone, but by every" 26:37 "word that proceeds out of" 26:39 "the mouth of God." 26:40 >> Amen, amen. 26:41 >> Craig, this has been so 26:43 much fun, but unfortunately we 26:44 have come to the end of 26:45 our program. 26:47 I wonder if you could please 26:48 pray for us. 26:49 >> Sure. 26:51 Heavenly Father, thank You so 26:53 much for Your Holy Word and 26:55 thank You for this opportunity 26:56 to share about Scripture 26:58 Singer and, Lord, I just pray 26:59 that others can be inspired to 27:01 sing and memorize Your Holy 27:03 Word, Lord, and may it 27:04 bless them. 27:06 We thank You and we pray all 27:07 these things in Jesus' 27:08 precious name, amen. 27:10 [MIKE] Amen. 27:12 Craig, you've really blessed 27:13 us and thank you for sharing 27:15 with us about Scripture Singer 27:17 and also sharing your 27:18 own story. 27:19 >> It's been my pleasure. 27:23 >> Friends, as Craig shared 27:25 with us today, the Word of God 27:27 is the source of wisdom and 27:29 truth that we can always 27:31 count on. 27:32 So we want to help you 27:34 understand God's word, the 27:36 Bible, for yourself, 27:38 even better. 27:40 Our free offer for you today 27:42 is a set of Bible study guides. 27:45 >> Whether you want to learn 27:46 the major teachings of God's 27:48 word or Bible prophecy, these 27:50 guides can assist you in your 27:52 journey towards an intimate 27:54 connection with God. 27:57 We want you to experience the 27:59 truth that is found in the 28:00 words of Jesus when He said, 28:02 "It is written..." 28:13 ♪♪ |
Revised 2022-03-10