Elevate – Look Unto the Hills

My wife and I got the privilege last week to direct the annual “Southwest Singles Conference” and God moved in an incredible way!  So many people pitched in to make “ELEVATE” and amazing, amazing time together. I’m so thankful to AT Areneson (our guest speaker), Marco and Michelle who lead the LA singles and mentor us in many ways, the planning committee, the tech team, the admin team, the actors, musicians, worship leaders – everyone did such an amazing job.

We took as our theme this year the “Psalms of Ascent” (Ps. 120-134), which are preserved in our Bible as songs that God’s people would sing together as they journeyed from their home towns to make the long climb up to Mount Zion, to the temple at Jerusalem. They too, like our conference participants, were stepping away from every-day life, from the influence of the world around them, to elevate… to join in reunion with each other and worship to God. I like how Psalm 120 says “How terrible it is for me to live in the land of Meshech, to live among the people of Kedar.” Worldly environments stink. It’s great to be among God’s people, as Psalm 122 says, “I was happy when they said to me, ‘Let’s go to the Temple of the Lord.'” And as we come to worship God, and join his people, we see God’s power. We sense His deliverance. We are reminded that HE is our source of strength. He is who we can rely on. We say with Psalm 121:

1 I look up to the hills,
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let you be defeated.
He who guards you never sleeps.
4 He who guards Israel
never rests or sleeps.
5 The Lord guards you.
The Lord is the shade that protects you from the sun.
6 The sun cannot hurt you during the day,
and the moon cannot hurt you at night.
7 The Lord will protect you from all dangers;
he will guard your life.
8 The Lord will guard you as you come and go,
both now and forever.

There is SO MUCH good stuff that went on at the conference – incredible times of worship, amazing preaching, wonderful classes, hilarious entertainment, tear-jerking testimonies and restorations, wonderful good news sharing – too much to be able to post here. But I did want to share a song that was taken from Psalm 121, a passage that came up a lot during the conference because it captures the heart of what we were focused on: lifting our eyes, seeking God’s power, and relying on him. We sang this song together at the conference, “Look Unto the Hills”.

[I will also post some links to a few messages and videos from the conference below so you can check those out if you are interested.]

Look Unto the Hills (Psalm 121) – J. Brian Craig

Look Unto the Hills

Me, I was looking at me
and all I could see
was my iniquity.
I’d fall, couldn’t see at all
to know that I wasn’t moving.
So down, I was feeling down,
not looking around
out from inside of me
O I’ve got to lift up my eyes,
swallow my pride,
and see His glory!

I look unto the hills.
Where does my help come from?
I look unto the hills and I can
see my Maker’s love.
I look unto the hills
and then I know I’ve won,
’cause with my Daddy I can only
overcome.

Why, I’m wondering why
I sit when I
have the power to up and fly.
Not me – but when I see above me,
up into eternity.
And then I understand
creation’s hand
is what supports me,
I can see he’s watching over me.
I can be anything with Him when I…

I look unto the hills.
Where does my help come from?
I look unto the hills and I can
see my Maker’s love.
I look unto the hills
and then I know I’ve won,
’cause with my Daddy I can only
overcome.

Video:  AT Arneson, “Lift” – part one
– part two
– part three
– part four

Video: conference singing “Look Unto the Hills” (Psalm 121)

Video: conference singing “Men Who Dream” (Psalm 126)

Video: “Elevate” the play – part one
– part two
– part three

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