Much Ado About Nothing

If, in fact, we suffer with Him

2010-07-19T22:12:00.002-05:00

And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ - if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with Him. ~ Romans 8:17

There you hear the high praise, honour and glory of Christians. Who can adequately praise and express it? No words can express it, nor can reason grasp it.

But here is found that deep human weakness within us, for if we could believe this and not doubt it, what is there to fear, and who is there to harm us? For whoever can say to God from the bottom of the heart, "You are my beloved Father and I am Your child," will obviously defy all the devils from hell, and with a joyful heart despise all the world's threatening and boasting. For in this Father we have a Lord before whom all creatures must tremble, and without His will they can do nothing. Thus they possess such an inheritance and dominion that no creature can harm or hurt them. But he adds this little word, "if, in fact, we suffer with him," that we may know that we must live in such a way on earth that we give proof that we are devout and obedient children who do not follow the lust of the flesh but suffer for the kingdom's sake whatever may befall us, and what hurts the flesh. If we do that, we should and shall find glorious comfort in the words and shall rejoice in the truth of them, "[F]or all who are led by the Spirit of God [that they follow not the flesh] are children of God" (Romans 8:14).

~ Martin Luther; Sermon on Romans 8:17

When peace, like a river, attends all my way;
when sorrows, like sea billows, roll;
whatever my lot, you have taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul. Amen
(Horatio G. Spafford, 1828-1888, alt.)

Fairest Lord Jesus

2010-06-19T13:00:00.000-05:00

Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honour,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown.

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine,
Fairer still the moonlight,
And all the twinkling starry host;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heaven can boast.

All fairest beauty, heavenly and earthly,
Wondrously, Jesus, is found in Thee;
None can be nearer, fairer or dearer,
Than Thou, my Savior, art to me.

Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honour, praise, adoration,
Now and forever more be Thine.

Before the Throne of God Above

2010-04-02T14:18:00.000-05:00

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea. (Heb 4:15-16)
A great High Priest whose Name is Love (Heb 4:14)
Who ever lives and pleads for me. (Heb 7:25)
My name is graven on His hands, (Isa 49:16)
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart. (Rom 8:34)

When Satan tempts me to despair (Luke 22:31-32)
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there (Acts 7:55-56)
Who made an end of all my sin. (Col 2:13-14)
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me. (Rom 3:24-26)

Behold Him there the risen Lamb, (Rev 5:6)
My perfect spotless righteousness, (1 Cor 1:30; 1 Peter 1:18-19)
The great unchangeable I AM, (Heb 13:8; John 8:58)
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood, (Acts 20:28)
My life is hid with Christ on high, (Col 3:3)
With Christ my Savior and my God! (Tit 2:13)

~Lyrics by Charitie Bancroft

“Before the Throne of God Above” draws heavily from Scripture for its pictures and language. It is a hymn which finds its theme in the perfect security which believers find in Christ, Who intercedes for them “before the throne of God above.” The following Scriptures find echoes in the song, whether Charitie Bancroft was drawing conceptually from them or merely using their language.

Hebrews 4:14-16: “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (“a great High Priest”, st. 1, and general conceptual background)

Hebrews 7:25: “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” (“Who ever lives and pleads for me,” st. 1)

Isaiah 49:16a: “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;” (“My name is written on His hands,” st. 1)

Romans 8:34: “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (“I know that while in Heaven He stands, no tongue can bid me thence depart,” st. 1)

In verse 2, Charitie may have had the following texts in mind:

Luke 22:31-32a: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” (“When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within,” st. 2)

Acts 7:55-56: “But [Stephen], full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’” (“Upward I look and see Him there,” st. 2)

Col. 2:13-14: “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (“Who made an end to all my sin,” st. 2)

Roman 3:24-26: “. . . and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (“God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me,” v. 2)

Likewise, verse 3:

Rev. 5:6: “And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” (“Behold Him there, the risen Lamb,” st. 2)

1 Cor. 1:30: “[God] is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” (“My perfect spotless righteousness,” st. 2)

1 Peter 1:18-19: “. . . knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (“spotless,” st. 2)

Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (“unchangeable,” st. 2)

John 8:58: “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’” (“I AM,” st. 2)

Acts 20:28: “. . . the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” (“my soul is purchased by His blood,” st. 2)

Col. 3:3: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (“My life is hid with Christ on high,” st. 3)

Titus 2:13: “. . . waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,” (“Christ my Savior and my God,” st. 3)

His Eye Is on the Sparrow

2010-03-14T13:40:00.000-05:00

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Lyrics by: Civilla D. Martin

Dark I Am Yet Lovely

2010-03-06T23:16:00.002-06:00

Dark I am yet lovely as tents of Kedar
As the pavilions of Solomon either
Don't hate me because the sun has darkened me
All my mother's sons were so angry with me
They made me watch the vineyards
My own things I did not guard

On my bed at night I sought whom my soul loves
Oh I sought, I sought but I found Him not
So I ask you, daughters of Jerusalem
Where is my love? Oh tell me have you seen Him?

Majestic as Lebanon stately as cedars
His mouth so delicious, His fragrance so pleases
Such is my beloved, such is my darling
And if you see Him say my heart is pining
For the kisses of His mouth and His flavours
Oh the King had brought me into His chambers
Say I delight in His love
Say He's the one my soul wants

Vast floods can't quench love no matter what love did
Rivers can't drown love, no matter where love's hid
So when you do find Him out
Bring Him to my mother's house
And into the chamber of her who conceived me
Then will He know me and then will He see me
Tell Him that love isn't done
Tell Him don't leave me alone

Sinead O'Connor

Ali In The Jungle

2010-02-21T13:57:00.002-06:00

It's not how you start, it's how you finish,
And it's not where you're from, it's where you're at,

Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna' get up?
How quick are you gonna' get up?
Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna' get up?
Just how are you gonna' get up?

Like Ali in the jungle,
Like Nelson in jail,
Like Simpson on the mountain,
With odds like that, they were bound to fail
Like Keller in the darkness,
Like Adam's in the dock,
Like Ludwig Van, how I loved that man, well the guy went deaf and didn't give a damn, no...

No, no, no

It's not where you are, it's where you're going,
Where are you going?
And it's not about the things you've done, it's what you're doing now,
What are you doing, now?

Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna' get up?
How quick are you gonna' get up, now?
Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna' get up?
Just how are you gonna' get up?

Like Ali in the jungle,
Like Nelson in jail,
Like Simpson on the mountain,
Well with odds like that, they were bound to fail
Like Keller in the darkness,
Like Adam's in the dock,
Like Ludwig Van, how I loved that man, well the guy went deaf and didn't give a damn, no...

Oooh, ooh, ooh
No, no, no
Oooh, ooh, ooh
No, no, no
Oooh, ooh, ooh

It's the greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback since Lazarus,
It's the greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback since Lazarus,
It's the greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback...
It's the greatest comeback...

(Radio Commentator) This, is the most joyous scene, ever seen in the history of boxing, this is an incredible scene, the place is going wild, Muhammed Ali has won, Muhammed Ali has won, by a knockdown! By a knockdown! The thing they said was impossible, he's done!

By: The Hours

Revelation

2010-02-07T19:19:00.002-06:00

I'm feeling very lost, but none of it matters.

Revelation
My life,
Has led me down the road that's so uncertain
And now I am left alone and I am broken,
Tryin' to find my way, tryin' to find the faith that's gone

This time,
I know that you are holding all the answers
I'm tired of losing hope and taking chances,
On roads that never seem,
To be the ones that bring me home

Give me a revelation,
Show me what to do
Cause I've been tryin' to find my way,
I haven't got a clue
Tell me should I stay here,
Or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I've got nothing without You
I've got nothing without You

My life,
Has led me down this path that's ever winding
Through every twist and turn I'm always finding,
That I am lost again (I am lost again)
Tell me when this road will ever end

Give me a revelation,
Show me what to do
Cause I've been tryin' to find my way,
I haven't got a clue
Tell me should I stay here,
Or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I've got nothing without You
I've got nothing without...

I don't know where I can turn
Tell me when will I learn
Won't You show me where I need to go
Oh oh
Let me follow Your lead,
I know that it's the only way that I can get back home

Give me a revelation,
Show me what to do
Cause I've been trying to find my way,
I haven't got a clue
Tell me should I stay here,
Or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I've got nothing without You
I've got nothing without You

Oh, give me a revelation

I've got nothing without You
I've got nothing without You

By: Third Day

Listening for Earthquakes

2010-01-31T20:05:00.002-06:00

Grass prickled into my back. Stars shone stark and bright above. The air smelled of wood fire, and it skittered chill across my arms. That fall night, my chest ached with a hollow the size of the unfriendly universe, made all the worse because it couldn't evidence itself externally, except for the tears on my cheeks.

"God." Just the one word, so futile. I tried again. "God. Please. Where are you? Speak to me. Why can't I see you? Why can't I hear you?"

He spoke to His servants in the Bible, certainly. Why not to me, if He was real?

But I heard nothing. No audible words. Only a quiet thought, a Bible verse I had often meditated on in recent months:

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (Col. 1:16-17)

My eyes caught sight of a branch extending from a nearby tree. Why should there be a tree branch? Why anything at all instead of scattered particles and chaos? There He was, my Lord Jesus, right there — holding that branch together — literally, making it "consist." Holding me together. I couldn't see God because He is a spirit, but I could see the result of His existence.

Later, as I was recording that moment in my journal, I realized something else. God had spoken to me. I would not have remembered that verse or understood its meaning if not for the Holy Spirit living in me. God was telling me, "You don't need me to thunder from Heaven. I wrote down all the words you will need long before you were born, in my Scripture."

Not only had God shown me Himself and spoken to me personally, He had answered my prayer the instant I had finished speaking. Expecting one manifestation of God, I had received another, gaining just the slightest flavor of my Lord as He truly is.

God Exists

Ever since this moment when God touched me, I haven't doubted His existence. And so I learned something about power in prayer: "for he that cometh to God must believe that he [exists], and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Heb. 11:6)

That second half of this verse is often a little harder to believe, however. I, for one, have grown weary in prayer on several occasions. How diligently must I seek God, and what kind of reward is He promising, anyway? I think the answer to the second half of that verse links into the first. It isn't enough to know some kind of God exists. As a distinct personality, He wants me to know Him as He is, not as I imagine Him to be.

In one of my favorite Bible stories, shortly after a great victory over the priests of Baal, the prophet Elijah flees from Jezebel and hides fearfully in a cave. The Lord asks him what he is doing there, and Elijah relates his woes. How does Yahweh reply?

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. (I Kings 19:11-12)

God exists, and He manifests Himself as He chooses. If I am listening for an earthquake when I pray, I might mistake His voice. I need to seek His face in the written Word and learn who He is and how He wants me to come to Him.

God Rewards

I've noticed that small children put out a particular whiny, obnoxious noise when they want something, but they don't wish to ask for it. In my house growing up, we often heard it when one of us wanted something down from a high shelf. My father never let us get away with that. In his wisdom, he would simply wait. And then he would say, "You're not using all your height." When at last we asked, he would fetch what we wanted.

Similarly, God waits for us to "diligently seek Him" before he rewards us. He wants us to come to Him like children, recognizing our proper place of humility. As Catherine Marshall, author of Christy, writes in her devotional book Adventures in Prayer, "Admittance to the School of Prayer is by an entrance test with only two questions. The first one is: Are you in real need? The second is: Do you admit that you are helpless to handle that need?"

Also, when asking, it is easy to forget that God is a Person and not a vending machine. He is not obligated to give us what we want, and He is certainly not obligated to give it to us now. In fact, the more furiously we demand our right to a petition now, the more we demonstrate our incapacity to appreciate God and His judgment. As James writes, "Ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3-4).

After I took some university courses and wasn't getting any closer to doing what I wanted, for example, I really, really wanted a career in law. I looked in to it, pursued it with relish and decided I needed to start taking the course NOW. I don't remember now what was so urgent; perhaps it was because I was working a minimum wage job. At any rate, I had no money for the course, and I made myself miserable.

God taught me many lessons that year, and by the end of the year I had grown reconciled to my lack of funds. Incidentally, at the very time I grew more content, I found that I could actually afford to take out a loan and pay it off after the course was done. I took out the loan and registered for the course!

God is a Rewarder

I could stop there, with the immediate answer to prayer, except the form the answer took is illustrative. I had the loan, I could pay for the course. Once I started the course I still had to pay my bills and other regular living expenses. Since I was working part time, any money that I made was spent on day to day life and I therefore couldn't save any of it up to help pay off the debt once I was done school. Moreover, after the course was done and I started my job in a law firm, the pay was actually terrible!

Every day, then, became an adventure in prayer. If I paid my regular bills and the high amount that I had set to pay off my debt, I had nothing left. I often wondered if I would be able to pay my bills each month, but as soon as I remembered to pray, my money submitted innocently. Eventually, I learned. I started with prayer, rather than resorting to it. And my account behaved like a lamb, albeit a lame one with a few hiccups.

To bring this illustration home, like many other singles, I frequently pray for a spouse. As I pray for this spouse, I remember my desire to work in a law firm. I loved my job, as I expect to love my spouse (obviously on a different level!), but boy oh boy was that course and job flawed! Oddly enough, I loved my course and job even more for the flaws. Nobody else had taken that course with that group of people or had that job with those co-workers.

Most importantly, taking that course and getting that job did not end my prayers, but increased them. God wanted His presence known in both the asking and the receiving. He gave me a job just when I needed one, but much more than that, He called me to grow closer to Him. Just like the tree branch I had seen in the park, that course and job deepened my understanding of God's power and presence.

I notice, then, that the verse from Hebrews does not focus on the reward itself, but on the One who gives it, the "Rewarder." God doesn't give me a gift so that I can play with it apart from Him, but so that I can bask in His presence ever more. He wants us all to share in the very essence of His soul — His love, peace, patience, faith, hope, and righteousness. And so through a lifetime, we begin to grasp that a relationship with the Rewarder is, in fact, the greatest present of all.

Happy Robbie Burns Day!

2010-01-25T18:44:00.002-06:00

Address To A Haggis
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn,
they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve,
Are bent lyke drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
"Bethankit!" 'hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thrissle.

Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!

The Translation
Fair is your honest happy face
Great chieftain of the pudding race
Above them all you take your place
Stomach, tripe or guts
Well are you worthy of a grace
As long as my arm

The groaning platter there you fill
Your buttocks like a distant hill
Your skewer would help to repair a mill
In time of need
While through your pores the juices emerge
Like amber beads

His knife having seen hard labour wipes
And cuts you up with great skill
Digging into your gushing insides bright
Like any ditch
And then oh what a glorious sight
Warm steaming, rich

Then spoon for spoon
They stretch and strive
Devil take the last man, on they drive
Until all their well swollen bellies
Are bent like drums
Then, the old gent most likely to rift (burp)
Be thanked, mumbles

Is there that over his French Ragout
Or olio that would sicken a pig
Or fricassee would make her vomit
With perfect disgust
Looks down with a sneering scornful opinion
On such a dinner

Poor devil, see him over his trash
As week as a withered rush (reed)
His spindle-shank a good whiplash
His clenched fist.the size of a nut.
Through a bloody flood and battle field to dash
Oh how unfit

But take note of the strong haggis fed Scot
The trembling earth resounds his tread
Clasped in his large fist a blade
He'll make it whistle
And legs and arms and heads he will cut off
Like the tops of thistles

You powers who make mankind your care
And dish them out their meals
Old Scotland wants no watery food
That splashes in dishes
But if you wish her grateful prayer
Give her a haggis!

Let It Go

2010-01-13T23:09:00.001-06:00

I've been holding on so tight
Look at these knuckles
They've gone white
I'm fighting for who I wanna be
I'm just trying to find security

But You say let it go, You say let it go
You say life is waiting for the one to lose control
You say you will be, everything I need
You said if I lose my life it's then I'll find my soul
You say let it go.

Well it's hard enough to hear
Harder still, to move beyond this fear
We know there's nothing I can bring,
So tell me what do you want from me?

But You say let it go, You say let it go
You say life is waiting for the one to lose control
You say You will be, everything I need
You said if I lose my life it's then I'll find my soul

You say let it go, You say let it go

What do I love?
What do I hate?
What will I lose?
What will I gain?
How do I save my soul?
What if I bend?
What if I break?
What will it cost?
What will it take?
For you to save my soul.

You say let it go, You say let it go
You say life is waiting for the one to lose control
You say You will be, everything I need
You said if I lose my life it's then I'll find my soul

You say let it go, You say let it go
You say life is waiting for the one to lose control
You say you will be, everything I need
You said if I lose my life it's then I'll find my soul
You say let it go, You say let it go

By: Tenth Avenue North

Lift Us Up To Fall

2009-12-07T22:07:00.002-06:00

You move the earth
You hold the stars
Come move in us
Come hold our hearts
You send the rain
And life begins
So rain on us and reign within our lives again

We're waiting here
Waiting for You God
With our hopes and fears
We come, empty hands held out
Lord draw us near
Heal these broken hearts
And lift us up to fall, before everything You are
Before everything You are

You lift the sun into the sky
You lift us up
Open our eyes
To see Your face
And what You've done
You took the nails to give us love
And we stand in awe before Your throne
There's no where else that we can go

We’re waiting here
Waiting for you God
With our hopes and fears
We come, empty hands held out
Lord draw us near
Heal these broken hearts
And lift us up to fall, before everything You are

Come, O Come, Immanuel
Come Lord Here to dwell
Let all Your children lift one voice

Hear us sing now,
We're waiting here
Waiting for You God
With our hopes and fears
We come, empty hands held out
Lord draw us near
Heal these broken hearts
And lift us up to fall, before everything You are

We're waiting here
Waiting for You God
With our hopes and fears
We come, empty hands held out
Lord draw us near
Heal these broken hearts
And lift us up to fall, before everything You are
Before everything You are

By: Tenth Avenue North

Inside

2009-12-03T21:35:00.000-06:00

Inside the doors are sealed to love
Inside my heart is sleeping
Inside the fingers of my glove
Inside the bones of my right hand
Inside it's colder than the stars
Inside the dogs are weeping
Inside the circus of the wind
Inside the clocks are filled with sand
Inside she'll never hurt me
Inside the winter's creeping
Inside the compass of the night
Inside the folding of the land

Outside the stars are turning
Outside the world's still burning

Inside my head's a box of stars I never dared to open
Inside the wounded hide their scars, inside this lonesome sparrow's fall
Inside the songs of our defeat, they sing of treaties broken
Inside this army's in retreat, we hide beneath the thunder's call

Outside the rain keeps falling
Outside the drums are calling
Outside the flood won't wait
Outside they're hammering down the gate

Love is the child of an endless war
Love is an open wound still raw
Love is a shameless banner unfurled
Love's an explosion,
Love is the fire of the world
Love is a violent star
A tide of destruction
Love is an angry scar
A violation, a mutilation, capitulation, love is annihilation.

Inside the failures of the light, the night is wrapped around me
Inside my eyes deny their sight, you'd never find me in this place
Inside we're hidden from the moonlight, we shift between the shadows
Inside the compass of the night, inside the memory of your face

Outside the walls are shaking
Inside the dogs are waking
Outside the hurricane won't wait
Inside they're howling down the gate

Love is the child of an endless war
Love is an open wound still raw
Love is a shameless banner unfurled
Love's an explosion,
Love is the fire at the end of the world
Love is a violent star
A tide of destruction
Love is an angry scar
The pain of instruction
Love is a violation, a mutilation, capitulation,
Love is annihilation.

I climb this tower inside my head
A spiral stair above my bed
I dream the stairs don't ask me why,
I throw myself into the sky

Love me like a baby, love me like an only child
Love me like an ocean; love me like a mother mild
Love me like a father, love me like a prodigal son
Love me like a sister, love me like the world has just begun
Love me like a prodigy, love me like an idiot boy,
Love me like an innocent, love me like your favorite toy
Love me like a virgin, love me like a courtesan,
Love me like a sinner, love me like a dying man.

Annihilate me, infiltrate me, incinerate me, accelerate me,
mutilate me, inundate me, violate me, implicate me,
vindicate me, devastate me

Love me like a parasite, love me like a dying sun
Love me like a criminal, love me like a man on the run

Radiate me, subjugate me, incubate me, recreate me,
demarcate me, educate me, punctuate me, evaluate me,
conjugate me, impregnate me, designate me, humiliate me,
segregate me, opiate me, calibrate me, replicate me

By: Sting

All Around Me

2009-11-12T21:14:00.001-06:00

My hands are searching for You
My arms are outstretched t'wards You
I feel You on my fingertips
My tongue dances behind my lips for You

This fire rising through my being
Burning, I'm not used to seeing You

I'm alive,
I'm alive

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing

My hands float up above me
And You whisper You love me
And I begin to fade
Into our secret place

The music makes me sway
The angels singing say we are alone with You
I am alone, and they are too, with You

I'm alive,
I'm alive

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing

And so I cry
The light is white
And I see You

I'm alive,
I'm alive,
I'm alive

I can feel you all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healing

Take my hand, I give it to You
Now You own me, all I am
You said You would never leave me
I believe You, I believe

I can feel You all around me
Thickening the air I'm breathing
Holding on to what I'm feeling
Savoring this heart that's healed

By: David Crowder Band
From the album: Church Music

How He Loves

2009-11-03T05:53:00.002-06:00

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us, oh,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh! How He loves us,
Oh! How He loves us,
Oh! How He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
And Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don't have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way that...

He loves us,
Oh! How He loves us,
Oh! How He loves us,
Oh! How He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh! How He loves us,
Oh! How He loves us,
Oh! How He loves.

He loves us,
Oh! How He loves us,
Oh! How He loves us,
Oh! How He loves.

By: David Crowder Band
From the album: Church Music

You can find an interesting article about this song here.

Serenade In Blue

2009-10-26T06:05:00.001-05:00

When I hear that Serenade in Blue
I'm somewhere in another world, alone with you
Sharing all the joys we used to know
Many moons ago

Once again your face comes back to me
Just like the theme of some forgotten melody
In the album of my memory
Serenade in Blue

It seems like only yesterday
The small cafe, a crowded floor
And as we danced the night away
I hear you say forever more
And then the song became a sigh
Forever more became goodbye
Cause you remained in my heart, but

Tell me darling is there still a spark?
Or only lonely ashes of the flame we knew
Should I go on whistling in the dark,
Serenade in Blue

By: Glenn Miller

I Caught Myself

2009-09-30T15:14:00.002-05:00

Down to you,
You're pushing and pulling me down to you.
But I don't know what I,
Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself.
I'm saying something that I should have never thought.
Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself.
From saying something that I should have never thought of you, of you.

You're pushing and pulling me down to you,
But I don't know what I want,
No I don't know what I want.

You got it, you got it,
Some kind of magic.
Hypnotic, hypnotic,
You're leaving me breathless.
I hate this, I hate this,
You're not the one I believe in.
With God as my witness.

Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself,
I'm saying something that I should have never thought.
Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself,
From saying something that I should have never thought of you, of you.

You're pushing and pulling me down to you.
But I don't know what I want.
No I don't know what I want.

Don't know what I want.
But I know it's not you.
Keep pushing and pulling me down,
But I know in my heart it's not you.

Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself,
From saying something that I should have never thought.
Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself,
From saying something that I should have never thought of you.
I knew, I know in my heart it's not you.
I know but now I know what I want, I want, I want,
Oh no, I should have never thought.

By: Paramore

I Surrender All

2009-08-16T19:38:00.002-05:00

All to Jesus, I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live

That hymn, written in 1896 by Judson Van DeVenter, is one of the most evocative I know. Perhaps it's the way I've heard it sung in so many churches — at the end of the service, while the Word of God is still resounding in our hearts. The music is hushed, voices lifted, eyes closed. I've sung "I Surrender All" in Baptist, Reformed and Evangelical congregations, with Charismatics on the mission field, in Sunday school. No matter where or with whom it's sung, it always seems to inspire the same powerful atmosphere of worship.

Why is that, I wonder? What about those words, that melody, the sentiment of surrender is so unerringly affecting?

I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee, my blessed Savior
I surrender all

There was a time when I believed, as many do, that full surrender was necessary if I was to be saved. We're often told this. "What shall I do to be saved?" we ask, and somehow just "Believe" doesn't seem strong enough, so it's phrased differently: "Surrender your life to God." But belief and surrender are not the same thing, and Jesus asks only the first to save us. "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:30).

Surrender is different. It can't save us, for the quality of our own surrender is constantly changing. I've said it myself: "I have to give everything to God every single day, because otherwise I keep taking it back." But while surrender cannot save us, it can deepen our relationship with God, and it will give us the strength to get through life's hardest trials. Sometimes it's the only thing that will.

This is a struggle for me, because I don't like to surrender anything. I'm not a person who just lets go. I eagerly respond to Jesus' command in Matthew 7:7: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

That command makes sense to me. I want to know and understand what God is doing in every circumstance. But to surrender is to let go, to cease striving, to trust — not because I can see what God is doing and it makes sense, but just because I trust Him. Let me repeat that. Surrender is trusting God in a situation not because we can see with our eyes that He is working all things to our good. It is trusting Him simply because He is who He is.

I can follow and trust God when I can tell what He's doing. When I can see the good working out. When His character makes sense to me. But when I find myself in a situation where I'm blind, where I can't figure out the good, where everything is beyond me — then I'm in a position to surrender. At the same time, I'm in a position to deepen my relationship with God, as a child does who believes in his father, as a woman does who risks her whole heart to love a man.

Surrender, I am learning, is not possible without love. Galatians 5:6 uses the phrase, "Faith which worketh by love" (KJV). It's that sort of faith that alone allows us to surrender to God. Faith for surrender comes through love as we draw nearer to Jesus and choose to trust Him for who He is.

To me, the most striking example of surrender is the Old Testament king and archetypal lover of God, David. The king who drew close to God as a boy tending sheep, who wrote over 70 psalms expressing every shade of struggle, devotion, and passion for God, who is known for all time as "a man after God's own heart," certainly made mistakes. But when his life twisted and turned, when consequences came after him or tragedies struck, he displayed a love for God Himself that far transcended his own interests.

Most striking to me is the story in 2 Samuel when David was on the run for his life, pursued by his own son, Absalom. David loved Absalom intensely; his son's betrayal not only threatened David's life and stole his kingdom, it also broke his heart.

Why, I have to wonder, would God allow something like that to happen? David was old when Absalom rebelled; he had served God faithfully for many years. He had sinned with Bathsheba, yes, but God had already administered consequences for that sin. So what was this all about? If David had felt betrayed by God, I wouldn't have blamed him. And perhaps, to some degree, he did.

But David's surrender was greater than any feeling of betrayal. His love and ultimate trust in God were so great that he never remonstrated with God for allowing this to happen to him. He was bent on accepting whatever God gave him. When a man came out to curse David, David defended the man's life and said, "If he is cursing because the LORD has said to him, 'Curse David,' who then shall say, 'Why have you done so?'" (2 Sam. 16:10). The words remind me of Job's famous response to his own suffering: "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21).

David didn't have Romans 8:28 to lean on. He didn't have God's promise to "work all things together for good to those who love God." He had no reason to believe that God was going to make this situation work for him — in fact, he fully believed that God might be cursing him. Yet, he surrendered fully to God's will in this situation. David's love and trust in God transcended his love for his own life; his instinct to defend himself; his human understanding.

David's trust was vindicated back then, and it was ultimately vindicated in the same place mine is — in the cross, where God displayed just how deeply He loves mankind — just how far He's willing to go to prove that we can trust Him. Surrender isn't foolish. It's casting ourselves on the one who loves us more than we love ourselves.

All to Jesus I surrender ...

The longer I live, the more I realize that suffering is a mystery we can't just explain. The Bible refuses to give us pat answers about it. Job was never told why he suffered. David was returned to his throne, but he still lost a beloved son, and the scars of Absalom's betrayal were never negated. I think over the last few years of my own life and wonder why so many things happened. Why have my friends gone through torment? Why have young women I know been used so badly, body and soul? Why was I used, body and soul, and lied to, with all its scars and trauma and nightmarish twists? Why do we suffer? Why does life hurt?

I am learning that rather than letting my questions drive me to distrust and distraction, rather than driving myself half-mad trying to delve the pain of life here, I am better off to surrender. To turn my eyes upon Jesus, lift my hands, and declare with David, with Job, and with Jesus Himself that "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (Job 13:15, KJV).

All to Jesus I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

With my natural tendency to study, to seek, and to wrestle, I've long possessed the faith that works by knowledge, by awareness of the past, by dogged determination. But as I close my eyes and sing, it's the faith that works by love that I desire most. To know Him. To love Him. And to surrender all.

Advance To The Rear

2009-08-12T10:10:00.003-05:00

A famous general was once asked the secret of his phenomenal success in battle. He replied, "I never retreated." After a pause, his interviewer commented that this was difficult to believe. "Oh, I sometimes had to 'advance to the rear,' but I never ordered a retreat," the general explained. Then his point became clear: Victory frequently depends upon refusing to accept the possibility of defeat. It matters what you say—and even what you think—about your life. Hopelessness, fed by negative attitudes and ideas, often becomes a self-fulfilling condition.

Let Me Love You More

2009-07-22T20:11:00.002-05:00

I'm in love with a Man
I'm love with a Stranger
I'm in love with my Maker,
Whom I have never seen
I'm in love with the Lamb
I'm in love with the Lion
I'm in love with my Savior,
Whom I have yet to know

Oh won't You let me love You more,
This is all that I desire
Won't You let me love You more,
This is all that I require
Won't You let me love you more,
This is my deepest heart's desire
Won't You let me love You more,
Still more, and more

For You could give to me
The gift of walking on water
And maybe, maybe I will raise the dead
But I have one life to live,
All I have to give to You, is love
I have one life to live,
All I have to give to You, is love

So won't You let me love You more,
This is all that I desire
Won't you let me love you more,
This is all that I require
Won't you let me love you more,
This is my deepest hearts desire
Won't You let me love You more,
Still more, and more

And if I never walk on water
If I never see the miracles
If I never hear Your voice aloud
Just knowing that You love me
Is enough to keep me here
Just hearing those words
Is enough, is enough to satisfy
You do, You do, You satisfy
I couldn't leave even if I tried
I must have You,
I must have You

Oh won't You let me love You more,
This is all that I desire
Won't You let me love You more,
This is all that I require
Won't You let me love You more,
This is my deepest heart's desire
Won't You let me love You more,
Still more, and more

Cause when it's all been said
And when it's all been done
When the race is run
It comes down to love
Love,
Love

By: Misty Edwards

So Help Me, God

2009-07-13T22:50:00.000-05:00

You sit beside me
And I love you
But I hate you
I don't want to feel this way
But I can't stop
You reach for my hand
But I move it
Before you can
I won't let you have the
Power once again

So help me, God
To let this go
To let this go
So help me, God
(Become what I believe)
To break this hold
(I'm afraid to leave)
To find myself
(I just need to breathe)

You think you know me
But you changed me
Into somebody
That I don't ever want to be again
I'm letting go now
Of this burden
I've been holding
I've been hurting myself now for way too long

So help me, God
To let this go
To let this go
So help me, God
(Become what I believe)
To break this hold
(I'm afraid to leave)
To find myself
(I just need to breathe)

It's not too late
It's not too late
To leave it all behind
It's not too late
It's not too late

So help me, God
To let this go
To let this go
So help me, God
(Become what I believe)
To break this hold
(I'm afraid to leave)
To find myself
(I just need to breathe)

So help me, God
To let this go
To let this go
So help me, God
(Become what I believe)
To break this hold
(I'm afraid to leave)
To find myself
(I just need to breathe)

By: Fireflight

How do you go on?

2009-07-11T23:09:00.003-05:00

Teal'c: Nothing I have done since turning against the goa'uld will make up for the atrocities I once committed in their name. Somewhere deep inside you, you knew it was wrong, a voice you did not recognize screamed for you to stop. You saw no way out, it was the way things were, they could not be changed. You're trying to convince yourself the people you're hurting deserved it. You became numb to their pain and suffering, you learned to shut out the voice speaking against it.

Tomin: There's always a choice.

Teal'c: Indeed there is.

Tomin: I chose to ignore it.

Teal'c: Yet you sit here now.

Tomin: I sit here, and I cannot imagine the day when I will forgive myself.

Teal'c: Because it will never come. One day others may try to convince you they have forgiven you, that is more about them than you. For them, imparting forgiveness is a blessing.

Tomin: How do you go on?

Teal'c: It is simple. You will never forgive yourself. Accept it. You hurt others, many others, that cannot be undone. You will never find personal retribution, but your life does not have to end. That which is right, just and true can still prevail. If you do not fight for what you believe in all may be lost for everyone else. But do not fight for yourself, fight for others, others that may be saved through your effort. That is the least you can do.

From the movie Stargate: The Ark of Truth

Know Thyself

2009-07-08T18:24:00.002-05:00

Matthew 11:25 "I praise You, Father... because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."

The 16th century theologian and reformer John Calvin began his monumental Institutes of the Christian Religion with an assertion that sounds startlingly modern, even psychological: "Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God... Without knowledge of God there is no knowledge of self." This certainly makes sense on a human level: A man cannot be a husband unless he has some idea of what a husband is, as well as an idea of what a wife is. Knowledge of the two goes together – of the self and the other. It is no different with God because our relationship with God is just that – a relationship between an I and a Thou, a self and an Other.

In order to pray, what do you need to know about yourself and God? Jesus tells you about both. Of Himself, Jesus says that He is gentle and humble in heart, and that He offers rest for your soul. Notice what He is not: He is not a dictator or a slave driver, a project manager trying to get the most out of you. He doesn't want to burn you out. He won't add to the burdens you bring Him in prayer. "A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out" (Matthew 12:20). That's very good news about Jesus. It gives you confidence to go to Him, doesn’t it?

What do you need to know about yourself? In a word, Jesus says you need to know you are like a little child. In this context, being a child is the opposite of proud. The proud are those Jesus calls "wise and learned," whose confidence is in themselves, not in God or anybody else. The proud cannot really pray, because, as C.S. Lewis said, "A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you." God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (see 1 Peter 5:5) – the grace to know yourself and to know God.

That's good news about you too, very good news. You don't have to be anyone important or super-spiritual to come to Jesus. All you need to be is yourself – His child, in need of love and mercy. Doesn't that give you confidence to pray?

Matthew 11:25-30

Anyway

2009-07-07T15:12:00.001-05:00

You can spend your whole life building something from nothing
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway
You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach and you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great, but sometimes life ain't good
And when I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway, I do it anyway

This world's gone crazy and it's hard to believe that tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all your heart, for all the right reasons, and in a moment they can choose to walk away
Love 'em anyway

God is great, but sometimes life ain't good
And when I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway, I do it anyway

You can pour your soul out singing a song you believe in that tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway, yeah sing it anyway

I sing,
I dream,
I love,
Anyway

By: Martina McBride

Bad

2009-06-24T08:43:00.001-05:00

If you twist and turn away
If you tear yourself in two again
If I could, yes I would
If I could, I would
Let it go
Surrender
Dislocate

If I could throw this
Lifeless lifeline to the wind
Leave this heart of clay
See you walk, walk away
Into the night
And through the rain
Into the half-light
And through the flame

If I could through myself
Set your spirit free
I'd lead your heart away
See you break, break away
Into the light
And to the day

To let it go
And so to fade away
To let it go
And so fade away

I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
Wide awake
I'm not sleeping
Oh, no, no, no

If you should ask then maybe they'd
Tell you what I would say
True colours fly in blue and black
Bruised silken sky and burning flag
Colours crash, collide in blood shot eyes

If I could, you know I would
If I could, I would
Let it go...

This desperation
Dislocation
Separation
Condemnation
Revelation
In temptation
Isolation
Desolation
Let it go

And so fade away
To let it go
And so fade away
To let it go
And so to fade away

I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
Wide awake
I'm not sleeping
Oh, no, no, no

By: U2

Yes

2009-06-21T20:52:00.001-05:00

When it started we had high hopes;
now my back's on the line, my back's on the ropes...
When it started we were alright,
but night makes a fool of us in daylight.

There we were dying of frustration,
saying, "Lord lead me not into temptation."
But it's not easy when she turns you on...
since they've gone.

If you'd only, if you'd only say yes.
Whether you will is anybody's guess.
God only, God knows I'm trying my best,
but I'm just so tired of this loneliness.

So up they picked me by the big toe;
I was held from the rooftop, then they let it go.
If there's any screaming let the windows down,
as I crawl to the ground.

If you'd only, if you'd only say yes.
Whether you will is anybody's guess.
God only, God knows she won't let me rest,
but I'm just so tired of this loneliness.
I've become so tired of this loneliness.

By: Coldplay

Interview

2009-06-14T21:08:00.000-05:00

This is a short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California.

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, 'What is the purpose of life?'

And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body -- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe
that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of
like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems: If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain. But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her - It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with
before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

Gotta Be Somebody

2009-06-10T23:10:00.001-05:00

This time I wonder what it feels like
To find the one in this life
The one we all dream of
But dreams just aren't enough
So I'll be waiting for the real thing.
I'll know it by the feeling.
The moment when we're meeting
will play out like a scene straight off the silver screen
So I'll be holdin’ my own breath
Right up to the end
Until that moment when
I find the one that I'll spend forever with

'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there.
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares.
Someone to love with my life in their hands.
There's gotta be somebody for me like that.

'Cause nobody wants to do it on their own
And everyone wants to know they're not alone.
There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere.
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.

Tonight, out on the street out in the moonlight
And dammit this feels too right
It's just like Déjà Vu
Me standin' here with you
So I'll be holdin 'my own breath
Could this be the end?
Is it that moment when
I find the one that I'll spend forever with?

'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares.
Someone to love with my life in their hands.
There's gotta be somebody for me like that.

'Cause nobody wants to do it on their own
And everyone wants to know they're not alone.
There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.

You can't give up!
Lookin' for that diamond in the rough
You never know but when it shows up
Make sure you're holdin' on
'Cause it could be the one, the one you're waiting on

‘Cause nobody wants to be the last one there.
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares.
Someone to love with my life in their hands.
There has gotta be somebody for me
Ohhhhhh.

Nobody wants to do it on their own
And everyone wants to know they're not alone.
Is there somebody else that feels the same somewhere?
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.

Nobody wants to be the last one there
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares.
Is there somebody else that feels the same somewhere?
There has gotta be somebody for me out there.

By: Nickelback

By Your Side

2009-06-07T16:25:00.002-05:00

Why are you striving these days?
Why are you trying to earn grace?
Why are you crying?
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love?
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?
To where will you go child?
Tell Me, where will you run,
To where will you run?

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and My side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

By: Tenth Avenue North

Scars

2009-05-20T17:26:00.001-05:00

Though it bothers me that I am apparently the one who inherited all the scars, each one of them has taught me something I needed to learn. Though part of me feels that recent events may have set me back in terms of recovery, the other part of me is grateful that he continues to prove that he was never the right one for me.

Now I'm done.

Full of Grace

2009-05-18T21:07:00.001-05:00

The winter here is cold & bitter
It's chilled us to the bone,
I haven’t seen the sun for weeks,
Too long, too far from home.
I feel just like I’m sinking,
And I claw for solid ground,
I’m pulled down by the undertow,
I never thought I could feel so low,
And oh darkness I feel like letting go.

If all of the strength and all of the courage,
Come and lift me from this place,
I know I can love you much better than this,
Full of grace,
Full of grace,
My love.

It's better this way, I say,
Having seen this place before,
Where everything we say and do,
Hurts us all the more.
It’s just that we stayed, too long,
In the same old sickly skin,
I’m pulled down by the undertow,
I never thought I could feel so low,
And oh darkness I just feel like letting go.
If all of the strength and all of the courage,
Come and lift me from this place,
I know I could love you much better than this,
Full of grace.

I know I can love you much better than this,
It’s better this way.

By: Sarah McLachlan

Chasing Shadows At Midnight

2009-05-14T11:40:00.002-05:00

Next time I try
To cross your mind
Remind me to look both ways
So I don't get hit by your lies

You lacerate me with all of
These memories
And now I wear these scars out on my sleeve

These broken hearts
Are left with scars
Because of your lies
And all this time
It feels like I'm
Chasing shadows at midnight

The days fade
And stars come out at night
And when the sun goes down
I know exactly what I'll find
Some things in this life
Will never change
We both have apologies to exchange

These broken hearts
Are left with scars
Because of your lies
And all this time
It feels like I'm
Chasing shadows at midnight

How could I let myself
Fall into your lies
I only trusted you
With all of my life
Now I am stuck here
I'm trapped under ice
The only way out
Is for me not to ask why

By: Pillar

It Was Spring...

2009-05-05T16:35:00.002-05:00

It was spring, but it was summer I wanted,
The warm days, and the great outdoors.

It was summer, but it was fall I wanted,
The colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air.

It was fall, but it was winter I wanted,
The beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season.

It was winter, but it was spring I wanted,
The warmth and the blossoming of nature.

I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted,
The freedom and respect.

I was 20, but it was 30 I wanted,
To be mature, and sophisticated.

I was middle-aged, but it was 20 I wanted,
The youth and the free spirit.

I was retired, but it was middle age I wanted,
The presence of mind without limitations.

My life was over,
and I never got what I wanted.

~Jason Lehman

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you. ~ 1 Thess 5.18

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee..... ~ Heb 13:5

I'm Just Not Attracted To Her

2009-04-21T11:33:00.003-05:00

I read these articles and found them very interesting and thought others would be interested in reading them as well. I hope that you can either say, "I'm already like that," or, "I'm going to start being like that."

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001523.cfm

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001528.cfm

I've found a lot of really helpful and interesting articles on this site and appreciate the words, and the sentiment behind the words, of the people that write for this site. You may think that it's a site that doesn't apply to you, but even if it doesn't apply directly, you can still learn things to pass that knowledge along to others.

While I'm Waiting

2009-04-19T15:41:00.001-05:00

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy, no
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
I'll be taking every step in obedience, yeah
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint

I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will serve you
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting on You, Lord

By: John Waller

Sweetly Broken - Video

2009-04-11T12:46:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZUNodVSmAg

Life

2009-04-07T10:52:00.001-05:00

Better than the riches of this world
Better than the sound of my friend's voices
Better than the biggest dreams of my heart
And that's just the start

Better than getting what I say I need
Better than living the life that I want to
Better than the love anyone could give
Your love is

You hold me now in Your arms
And never let me go

You, oh Lord, make the sun shine
And the moon light in the night sky
You give me breath and all Your love
I give my heart to You because

I can't stop falling in love with You
I'll never stop falling in love with You
I can't stop falling in love with You
I'll never stop falling in love with You

By: Hillsong
CD: Songs For Communion

Proverbs 31

2009-04-02T11:03:00.006-05:00

Sayings of King Lemuel

1 The sayings of King Lemuel—an oracle his mother taught him:

2 "O my son, O son of my womb,
O son of my vows,

3 do not spend your strength on women,
your vigor on those who ruin kings.

4 "It is not for kings, O Lemuel—
not for kings to drink wine,
not for rulers to crave beer,

5 lest they drink and forget what the law decrees,
and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

6 Give beer to those who are perishing,
wine to those who are in anguish;

7 let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.

8 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.

9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy."
Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.

14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.

15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.

16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.

18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.

19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.

21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

29 "Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

The 4 March 1966 Blizzard

2009-03-27T11:04:00.002-05:00

The Day Winnipeg was Paralysed

The winter of early 1966 was the third coldest year of the century, with 1950 and 1917 even colder. January 1966 tied January 1875 for the coldest month since records were kept at Red River. In February 1966 Winnipeg reached -49 the lowest February temperature ever recorded and the second coldest day ever. Winnipeg did not see the temperature go above zero for 90 days. But the year till then was without much snow.

Snow started to fall after midnight on Thursday and despite the heavy snow, on Friday morning March 4, people still went to work. But by mid morning the streets were impassable. The buses were called in by 11:00 am. and would not return to the streets till the next Saturday morning. Schools closed for the Friday and the following Monday as did stores, restaurants and theatres. The big storm piled up 14.6 inches and was driven by winds gusting up to 70 miles an hour. This was the worst winter storm since March 1902. Eight foot high drifts were reported in the new suburb of Westwood. After the cleanup the plows created 12 foot high walls of snow along Ness Ave. Hundreds of cars were reported stranded on the Transcanada Highway. The Grain Exchange did not open for the first time in its 61 year history.

WINNIPEG COPES
Mayor Juba was awakened by a CJOB reporter and told of the blizzard. He was able to make his way to City Hall in his big Cadillac where he set up an emergency headquarters. By afternoon city hall itself had become a shelter for people that could not make their way home. Chief George Blow urged people to stay off the streets Snowmobiles were given to the police. Volunteers operated snowmobiles to take people to hospital and to deliver drugs to patients. CB radios were used for the first time to create an emergency communications network. Ken Dunston was CBC radio's man that morning and the station became part of the emergency civil defense network. Unable to get home, CBC staff stayed at the Mall hotel for the night.

STRANDED
The buses were pulled off the streets. Soon those that could not walk home were stuck wherever they were. Thousands of people were stranded at City Hall and at Stores like Eatons and the Bay. And 1600 people were reported stranded at Eatons and the Bay. Eatons looked after 700 of its own staff and 400 customers. The women slept on the 9th floor and the men on the 7th. Fifty hockey players from Winnipeg neighbourhoods were stuck in Lorrette.

POLICE DELIVER NORTH END BABY
Two policemen delivered a baby in the North End. How did they get there? With their own front end loader leading the path. Constables Mills and Const Martin both described as "family men" took instruction from a doctor over the phone and helped mother Mrs. Herbstreit with the delivery of her baby boy. An emergency call found a doctor located four streets away who went over finding mother and child to be just fine.

THE AFTERMATH
Only two deaths were attributed to the blizzard. However, 14 had died in Minnesota and the Dakotas. Police Chief George Blow said that he was happy that the crooks had stayed home. Of course there was the $1 million cleanup and finding help to pay for it.

WAS THERE A FLOOD?
Fortunately flooding was minor but the trees were two weeks later to leaf out and Winnipeg experienced a later spring. The snow was gone by early April, but there was another big snow, (8.7 "), in April and the snow did not melt till May 5th. For many that spring, it seemed summer would never come.

THE WORST IN WINNIPEG HISTORY?
Actually the 1997 blizzard saw more snow fall 43.2 cm Vs 38.1 cm. Other big snowfalls occurred in 1874 with 16.1 inches and 1893 with 14.8.

by George Siamandas

~ And we thought our winter was bad!

The Winner Takes It All

2009-03-18T22:27:00.000-05:00

I don't wanna talk
About the things we've gone through
Though it's hurting me
Now it's history
I've played all my cards
And that's what you've done too
Nothing more to say
No more ace to play

The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That's her destiny

I was in your arms
Thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense
Building me a fence
Building me a home
Thinking I'd be strong there
But I was a fool
Playing by the rules

The gods may throw a dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear
The winner takes it all
The loser has to fall
It's simple and it's plain
Why should I complain.

But tell me does she kiss
Like I used to kiss you?
Does it feel the same
When she calls your name?
Somewhere deep inside
You must know I miss you
But what can I say
Rules must be obeyed

The judges will decide
The likes of me abide
Spectators of the show
Always staying low
The game is on again
A lover or a friend
A big thing or a small
The winner takes it all

I don't wanna talk
If it makes you feel sad
And I understand
You've come to shake my hand
I apologize
If it makes you feel bad
Seeing me so tense
No self-confidence
But you see
The winner takes it all
The winner takes it all...

By: ABBA

I Wish I Was The Moon

2009-03-13T13:06:00.000-05:00

Chimney falls and lovers blaze
Thought that I was young
Now I've freezing hands and bloodless veins
As numb as I've become

I'm so tired
I wish I was the moon tonight

Last night I dreamt I had forgotten my name
'Cause I had sold my soul but awoke just the same
I'm so lonely
I wish I was the moon tonight

God blessed me, I'm a free man
With no place free to go
I'm paralyzed and collared-tight
No pills for what I fear

This is crazy
I wish I was the moon tonight

Chimney falls and lovers blaze
Thought that I was young
Now I've freezing hands & bloodless veins
As numb as I've become

I'm so tired,
I wish I was the moon tonight

How will you know if you found me at least
'Cause I'll be the one, be the one, be the one
With my heart in my lap
I'm so tired, I'm so tired
I wish I was the moon tonight

By: Neko Case

Jesus’ Rivals

2009-03-06T12:29:00.001-06:00

"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." ~ Matthew 10:37-38 KJV

These are startling words from Jesus. And in a sense we can dismiss them with a disclaimer: "None of us is worthy of Him anyway; that's why we call it grace." Acknowledging our universal unworthiness, we can move on without dealing with this radical call. But we must linger at these words longer if we really want to know the mind of Christ.

When we consider these verses in the context of the whole Bible, we know that Jesus does not oppose love for family. Rather, He opposes disproportionate love – that which deprecates His desire to have us love Him wholeheartedly. He can have no rivals in our hearts, not even good ones.

Jesus only asks us to be realists. In reality, He is more valuable than any other person or thing in all of existence. In fact, all existence – other than the self-existing Godhead – came through Him (Colossians 1:16). He is where true worth lies. When we value others more, we are not living in truth. Instead, we deny truth, attributing greatest importance to someone or something less important than Him. This is the unworthiness of disproportionate love. We deny the reality of who Jesus is.

Try this: Make a list in one column of all of your relationships, possessions, and plans. Then in another column write “Jesus”. Look at your columns like an accounting sheet. Which weighs more to you? On which column do you place the most value? The answer will tell you how much you value the gospel's worthiness.

"Whatever a man seeks, honours, or exalts more than God, this is the god of idolatry." ~ William Ullathorne

Our Deepest Love

2009-03-04T21:21:00.000-06:00

“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” ~ Matthew 10:37-38 KJV

We might be tempted to think these verses are only about us and our obligations. But they tell us more about God. God’s desire is for us to know Him in Christ, but how can we if our love is focused elsewhere?

We pursue knowledge of that which we love. Those who love literature get academic degrees in it. Those who love gardening read up on techniques. Those who love photography study the art. If we do not love these things, we will not get to know them well. We do not zealously invest in that which does not interest us. Our greatest love shapes all our affections and determines our path.

Isn’t it the same in our relationship with God? Can we really know Him if other loves are greater rivals? His desire is for our single-hearted devotion. This is not the voice of an egocentric god who demands worship. It is the voice of a loving God who knows we will only be fulfilled if He blesses us with Himself.

Consider a God who would ask us to love Him more than our deepest human relationships. He is the same God who commanded us to love others. But He knows that our most subtle idolatries are in making the command of God greater than God Himself. They are subtle because they begin with righteousness and obedience to the law of love, but end in disproportionate affections that dishonour Him. Let us be mindful that if He tests us in these loves, it is only because we were created to know Him intimately.

“To cherish true love for God is to be constrained by love to yield one’s ego with all that it is and has, and to let God be God again.” ~ Abraham Kuyper

Job's Wife

2009-02-28T23:53:00.003-06:00

"And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. Then said his wife unto him, 'Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die.'" ~ Job 2:8-9 KJV

Many people think that believing in God protects them from trouble; so when calamity comes, they question God's goodness and justice, or even His existence. This seems to be the path that Job's wife took as trouble came down on her family. She and her husband were reeling from numerous losses, but her tendency was to abandon faith that God was good or able to help. She even suggested that Job "curse God and die".

But the message of Job is this: We should not give up on God when He allows us to have hard experiences. Faith in God does not guarantee personal prosperity, and lack of faith doesn't guarantee troubles in this life. If they did, we would believe in God simply to get rich or happy.

God is capable of rescuing us from suffering, but He may also allow suffering for reasons we cannot understand. Satan’s strategy is to get us to doubt God at exactly this moment. Job's wife fell into this trap. She seemed to assume that if she lived a righteous life, she was entitled to a life of personal comfort.

Our age of instant everything has caused us to lose the ability to wait patiently through such times. We even expect to learn patience instantly, and in our hurry, we fail to see the contradiction. Of all that we want now, relief from pain and trouble is often at the top of the list. But if we always knew why we were suffering and when it would end, our faith would have no room to grow.

Why yes, I am a spy!!

2009-01-27T13:15:00.000-06:00

Your International Spy Name is Princess Deathbird

Your Code Name: Sunburn

You Reside in: Venice

Why You're a Good Spy: You're agile

What's Your International Spy Name?

Putting On The Ritz

2009-01-20T22:50:00.000-06:00

If you're blue and you don't know
Where to go to why don't you go
Where fashion sits
Puttin' on the Ritz
Different types who wear a day
Coat pants with stripes and cutaway
Coat perfect fits
Puttin' on the Ritz
Dressed up like a million-dollar trooper
Tryin' hard to look like Gary Cooper (super duper)
Come let's mix where Rockefellers
Walk with sticks or um-ber-ellas
In their mitts
Puttin' on the Ritz

Have you seen the well-to-do
Up and down Park Avenue
On that famous thoroughfare
With their Noses in the air
High hats, and arrow collars
White spats, and lots of dollars
Spending every dime
For a wonderful time

If you're blue and you don't know
Where to go to why don't you go
Where fashion sits
Puttin' on the Ritz
Different types who wear a day
Coat pants with stripes and cutaway
Coat perfect fits
Puttin' on the Ritz
Dressed up like a million-dollar trooper
Tryin' hard to look like Gary Cooper (super duper)
Come let's mix where Rockefellers
Walk with sticks or um-ber-ellas
In their mitts
Puttin' on the Ritz

(tap dance break)

Dressed up like a million-dollar trooper
Tryin' hard to look like Gary Cooper (super duper)
If you're blue and you don't know
Where to go to why don't you go
Where fashion sits
Puttin' on the Ritz
Puttin' on the Ritz
Puttin' on the Ritz
Puttin' on the Ritz

Move...
Move...

Gotta dance
Gotta dance...

If you're blue and you don't know
Where to go to why don't you go
Where fashion sits
Puttin' on the Ritz...
Puttin' on the Ritz...
Puttin' on the Ritz...

By: Taco

All Creatures #2

2009-01-16T23:39:00.002-06:00

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing
O praise Him, alleluia
Thou burning sun with golden beam
Thou silver moon with softer gleam
O praise Him, O praise Him
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in heav'n along
O praise Him, alleluia
Thou rising moon in praise rejoice
Ye lights of evening find a voice
O praise Him, O praise Him
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Let all things their Creator bless
And worship Him in humbleness
O praise Him, alleluia
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son
And praise the Spirit, Three in One
O praise Him, O praise Him
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son
And praise the Spirit, Three in One
O praise Him, O praise Him
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

O, alleluia, alleluia

Praise, Praise the Father, praise the Son
And praise the spirit Three in one
O praise Him, O praise Him
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

By: David Crowder* Band
CD: Illuminate

God's Unfailing Love

2008-12-16T14:26:00.001-06:00

What kind of behaviour do you expect from your King? If you find yourself avoiding God, fearing His punishment, approaching Him only for directions, and unable to ask for what you need emotionally, is it possible that you are mixing and matching faces and character expectations with those of important people in your life, in either past or present relationships? Is your god the distant king who knows you only by a number? Does he walk about arrogantly spouting orders and expecting you to carry them out perfectly? Or is He the King who stoops to help you up when you fall, who can neither hide His goodness nor hold His heart back from loving you?

Jesus is the King who rejoices over you, quieting you with His love. He is the King whose kind face looks lovingly into your eyes every time you come to Him, whether you perceive this to be true or not. He sees all the way to the bottom of your soul. He knows all of those sins for which you've begged forgiveness a thousand times and yet they remain ever before you...

Your experience won't be the same as mine. It won't be the same as your friend's or even your siblings raised by the same parents. We all have different temperaments, body chemistries, and levels of sensitivity, and all of that is by God's design. But none of the details about your history can make you unlovable when God has already said He loves you.

~Brenda Waggoner
Fairy Tale Faith
(Carol Stream, Ill.: Tyndale, 2003), 31-32

Opposite Way

2008-11-27T20:59:00.000-06:00

Living in the same town
For all these years
Doing the same old things
Hanging with the same crowd
And it’s starting to get crippling
You’ve never felt in place
And you tell yourself it’s all okay
But something’s different today
You want to run the opposite way

And it seems like you’re locked in a cage
And you need to find a way of escape
When everyone is setting the pace
It’s okay to run the opposite way

The Father sent His Son down
The light of men
The cross He bore was crippling
Rejected in His own town
They couldn’t see the sun shining
He knelt in the garden and prayed
Father, let this cup pass from Me
It’s not Your will for Me to stay
Your will for Me is the opposite way

And it seemed like He was locked in a cage
And He couldn’t find a way of escape
But through the cross He conquered the grave
My Jesus ran the opposite way

Oh, and through the cross He conquered the grave
Oh, He ran the opposite way
Yeah, through the cross He conquered the grave
So you could run the opposite way

By: Leeland

Yet Will I Sing

2008-10-27T22:29:00.001-05:00

Let this be the only love song I write
Will You be the only love in my life
I asked You to draw me
I said I would run
So though I walk through the valley
Yet will I trust
I asked You to call me
I said I would go
So though I go up the mountain
Yet will I run

And though my song be taken from me
Yet will I sing, yet will I praise You
Though the joy be taken from me
Yet will I laugh, yet will I shout unto You
Though the light be hidden from me
Yet will I walk, yet will I run after You
Though my heart be slain within me
Yet will I trust, yet will I follow You

Cause I know whatever You do, You do through the eyes of mercy
Oh, and nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken away
There is a time for every purpose under the heavens
So though my weeping may last for the night
O, how Your joy, it comes with the light

Though my song be taken from me
Yet will I sing, yet will I praise You
Though my heart be slain within me
Yet will I trust, yet will I follow after You

By: Audra Lynn
CD: Fading

Above Our Worries

2008-10-07T05:13:00.002-05:00

"Do not worry about your life... Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:25, 33

We most often read the instructions of Jesus as messages about us. But there is another meaning to them all. They are all messages about God as well. We know what this statement says about us - that we are worriers by nature. But what does it say about God? That if Jesus is in a position to tell us not to worry, it must mean that His Father is aware of our needs and our future, and able to do something about them both.

We often get such advice from friends, "Don't worry. It will be okay." But this is just advice, encouraging words meant to help us keep a positive outlook. Our friends can really do nothing to change a stressful situation other than be with us as we walk through it. Jesus can do more than this. His encouragement comes from His intimate knowledge of the Father. His words are more than gentle advice. He knows something we don't know.

What Jesus knows is this: God feeds and clothes His children. No one who trusts Him is abandoned by Him. They may go through hardship; they may even die. But never before He specifically allows it in His own timing. Never is their provision beyond His purview. While the pagan world takes provision as each individual's responsibility, Jesus says the initiative is God's.

Above our worries is an active Provider with a perfect sense of timing. He is in control, even when we aren't sure how tomorrow's needs will be met. When we run after provision, we are running after the wrong thing, something that God has claimed as His domain. We are to run after His kingdom and righteousness. That's what we were made for.

"If you would voyage Godward, you must see to it that the rudder of thought is right." ~W. J. Dawson

Supernatural Unity

2008-09-21T21:25:00.001-05:00

"I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved me." John 17:23

What does Jesus look for in His bride? A thorough reading of His priestly prayer in John 17 reveals His desire for believers' protection, sanctity, and joy. But above all, the overriding theme of His prayer is their unity. Complete unity. The kind of unity that He has with His Father.

Isn't He a little unrealistic here? A united front is attainable, perhaps, but the same kind of unity He has with with His Father? Perfect oneness from within the Trinity? Look at our churches; there is division between them and within them. How could the Son of God, One with the Father, have such unanswered prayer?

Jesus is no fool. He knows well what He is doing when He lays before His Father and before us this humanly impossible ideal. The unity of sinful human beings is utterly unattainable but for one thing: His presence. His aim - aside from his Father's supernatural intervention in our fellowship - is for believers to hear or read these words and know beyond any doubt that we must depend on Him. There is no other way.

Examine the characteristics of the disciples: antagonistic political opinions, different levels of education, diverse professions, varying temperaments. They had plenty of reason to argue with one another, and sometimes did (Matthew 20:24; Mark 9:34). After three years with Jesus and an outpouring of His Spirit they were "one in heart and mind" (Acts 4:32). What pulled them together? A common background? Not even close. A common goal? Not entirely. Just Him. His very, very real presence. This impossible standard of unity has only one solution: absolute dependence on Him.

"Unity in Christ is not something to be achieved; it is something to be recognized." ~ A.W. Tozer

O, For A Thousand Tongues To Sing

2008-09-13T00:49:00.000-05:00

O, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise!
The glories of my God and King
The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad,
The honours of Thy name!

So come on and sing out
Let our anthem grow loud
There is one great love; Jesus

Jesus, the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease,
‘Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
‘Tis life and health and peace!

He breaks the power of cancelled sin!
He sets the prisoners free!
His blood can make the foulest clean!
His blood availed for me!

So come on and sing out,
Let our anthem grow loud,
There is one great love,
There is one great love; Jesus

He speaks and listening to His voice
New life the dead receive,
The mournful broken hearts rejoice,
The humble poor believe!

Glory to God and praise and love
Be ever, ever giv’n
By saints below and saints above,
The church in earth and Heav’n!

So come on and sing out,
Let our anthem grow loud,
There is one great love,
There is one great love; Jesus!
Jesus!

There are so few words
That never grow old,
There are so few words
That never grow old;
Jesus!

Artist: David Crowder Band
Album: Remedy

God's New Alphabet

2008-09-08T16:37:00.001-05:00

Over the past several months, I've had the privilege of studying the insights of some of the brightest minds in theology. An author with extraordinary insights whose thoughts I'd like to quote today is none other than Dr. Seuss. So sit back, relax, and enjoy just a part of this children's literary masterpiece, On Beyond Zebra, which is surprisingly theologically correct.

Said Conrad Cornelius O'Donnell O'Dell,
My very young friend who was learning to spell,
"The A is for Ape, the B is for Bear,
The C is for Camel, the H is for Hare,
The M is for Mouse, the R is for Rat...
I know all 26 letters like that.
Through to Z is for Zebra,
I know them all well.
Now I know everything anyone knows -
From beginning to end - from the start to the close -
Because Z is as far as the alphabet goes."

Then he almost fell flat on his face on the floor
When I picked up the chalk and drew one letter more.
A letter he had never dreamed of before.
And I said, "You can stop if you want with the Z,
And most people stop with the Z, but not me.
In the places I go, there are things that I see
That I never could spell if I stopped with a Z.
I'm telling you this 'cause you're one of my friends,
My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends.
So on beyond Z, it's high time you were shown
That you really don't know all there is to be known."

And there, the ever popular children's author, Dr. Seuss, sets the stage perfectly for the divine revelation of God's new alphabet.

The book of John in the Bible has been called the "Genesis" of the New Testament; God speaking "life" to humankind through the Person of Jesus. And it is in this book that John beautifully reveals the depth of God's love through the incarnation of the Son. Reading verse 18 of chapter 1, we find out how John explains this mystery.

"No one has ever seen God. But His only Son,
Who is Himself God, is near to the Father's
heart; He has told us about Him."

Jesus, the Holy Son of God, physically revealed the Father for the first time in history. And with this incredible revelation came God's new covenant for humankind. John said it himself in verse 17.

"For the law was given through Moses;
God's unfailing love and faithfulness came
through Jesus Christ."

Jesus was the revelation to us of God's unfailing love and faithfulness. With the incarnation of Jesus, God added a new word to our dictionary; a new letter to our alphabet. Because God came to dwell with us,we now know the meaning of grace. Why did He do this? Why did God come to earth in human form and enlarge the "alphabet" of our vision with a personal visitation? Maybe because He knew, without that revelation, we could never spell redemption, justification, and forgiveness.

So the next time you think you've got life all figured out but eternal hope is not part of the equation, let me leave you with my own adaptation of the immortal words of Dr. Seuss: I'm telling you this 'cause you're one of my friends, GOD'S alphabet starts where your alphabet ends. So on beyond Z, it's high time you were shown that you really don't know all there is to be known.

Unattached to Things

2008-08-16T21:09:00.002-05:00

"If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well."
Matthew 5:40

In Jesus' code of ethics, there is no room for a desperate attachment to possessions. He never says we can't have them, but by example and by His teaching we learn that they are never to get in the way of our discipleship. Just as a demonstration of the kingdom of God is more important than a defense of our reputation in the opinions that don't really matter, so is it more important than the things we own. No material possession is worth sacrificing the display of God's kind of grace. When given the opportunity to show what is really important to us, we must take it.

What is it about our possessions that makes us so attached to them? Is it the way they make us feel? We have complete validation and security before God in our relationship with Jesus. What piece of property can add to that? But we hang on to our things as though they define us. What a misappropriation of God's mercies! He has defined us already, and our position in Him is high above the things of this world. Yet we cling to them with misplaced passions. What must God think when the heart He gave us is so earthly directed, even when offered such heavenly joys?

Things are temporary. We can be unattached to them because they offer us nothing we don't already have. We can't take them with us when we go, and we wouldn't want to. They will pale in comparison to the treasures that have already been laid up for us in Christ. Our hold on them - or their hold on us - reveals how much or how little we believe that.

When a situation compels you to choose between demonstrating grace to another or maintaining your grip on your things, which do you choose? We must decide which is more important to us: a defense of our physical possessions on earth, or a demonstration of the kingdom of God.

"God made man to be somebody, not just to have things." ~ Anonymus

Unattached to Dignity

2008-08-09T20:28:00.002-05:00

"If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."
Matthew 5:39

In Jesus' code of ethics, there is no room for an inflated sense of dignity. That isn't to say that we have no dignity; created in the image of God, we could have no less. What Jesus prohibits is our instinct to defend our "approval rating" in others' eyes. We are not to guard our image as though our self-esteem depends on people. We are children of God, a kingdom of priests, and one with Christ. Why would we be zealous for the opinions of a sinfully compettitive culture? We can be content with what's truly valuable.

Why are we so concerned about the impression we make on others? And why are we so convinced that a vigorous defence of our rights makes a better impression than our humility? Jesus articulates what ought to be clear to us: Honor comes to those who do not strive for it. The most admired are the most humble. The kingdom of God is well represented not by the strident and the overassertive, but by those who know their heavenly citizenship and are entirely content with it. That's how we can become unattached to our reputation; we already know who we are.

Jesus doesn't tell His people to be doormats. He tells us to be reasonable. We don't need to assert ourselves to be valued. We don't need to respond to evil with evil. The best resistance against aggression is to give it no ground for continuing. We are to defy it by showing its holy alternative. Evil is exposed in the face of humility. It does not know how to disturb a truly peaceful heart.

How do you respond when people offend you? Even when the offense is real, the response should be a display of the character of God rather than the impulses of men. The world expects eye for eye and tooth for tooth but no one who plays by those rules stands out from the crowd. There is no witness to the kingdom of God - this kingdom of grace - when we miss occasions to show it. We must decide which is more important to us: a defense of our dignity before others, or a demonstration of the holy kingdom.

"Revenge is the most worthless weapon in the world." ~ David Augsburger

Unattached to Self

2008-08-06T22:52:00.000-05:00

"Do not resist an evil person."
Matthew 5:39

There is perhaps no more difficult point for the flesh to wrestle with than this one. Nonresistance is not our natural inclination when we're confronted with evil. And, in fact, there are surely qualifications that need to be applied to this verse. Are despots to be given passive permission to pillage and destroy? Are serious moral issues to be forfeited to a secular culture? Are we to express no opinion at all?

Surely Jesus means for us to resist evil. We are encouraged - even commanded - at several points in scripture to stand firm against the evil one. So what does He mean by this? He means that when people confront us, we are to counter evil with good (Romans 12:21). Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13). Evil aggression is never defeated by an evil response.

Watchman Nee tells a story of a Chinese Christian who used to go to great pains to pump water from an irrigation stream into his rice field. Every night, his neighbour, whose fields were lower, would make a breach in the dividing wall and drain the Christian's water into his own fields. The theft was repeated frequently. The Christian asked his friends for advice about the right thing to do. A fellow believer advised that Christians ought to do something more than what is right. The next few days, the Christian filled the neighbour's fields first before filling his own. The neighbour knew his acts were evil, but he was amazed at the Christian's nonresistance. Good won out over evil. The neighbour soon became a Christian. He had observed a higher way.*

What is your reaction to evil and offensive people? No, God does not tell you to be a doormat. He does, however, tell you to demonstrate a goodness that surpasses anything this world has known. Give evil people a glimpse of heaven. Do not fall to their level; we were born from a much higher source. Let them see it and be amazed.

"True charity means returning good for evil - always." ~ Mary Mazzarello

*Watchman Nee, Sit, Walk, Stand (Carol Stream, III.: Tyndale / Christian Literature Crusade, 1977), 32-33.

Pirate Bones

2008-07-14T22:40:00.000-05:00

What if I squeeze myself into any shape
And I still don't fit?
What if I bend myself so much that I break
And I can't mend it?
What if I burn so bright that the fire goes out
And I can't stay lit?
What's the point in it?
I could get good at crying crocodile tears
Just to get along
I could carry on telling you what'cha wanna hear
'til my voice is gone
But if I finally get to the place that I think is home
And I don't belong
What's the point in it?
Where's the benefit?
When I'm gaining all but I'm losing it

It's not worth having
If it's too much to hold
You can dig so deep
That you're left with a hole
Thirsty in a desert with a bag full of gold
Don't wanna end up like pirate bones
What I thought was precious just a pile o' stones
I might have the treasure but I'd be lying alone
Just a pile of pirate bones
If I forfeit my soul it ain't worth having
If it's something I stole it ain't worth having

What if I stake everything I am on a dream
And it's counterfeit?
If I reach the end that justifies the means
Could I live with it?
And if it's true that having too much of any good thing
Could only make me sick
What's the point in it
Where's the benefit
When I'm gaining all but I'm losing it
Oh, oh

It's not worth having
If it's too much to hold
You can dig so deep
That you're left with a hole
Thirsty in a desert with a bag full of gold
Don't wanna end up like pirate bones
What I thought was precious just a pile o' stones
I might have the treasure but I'd be lying alone
Pirate bones
If I forfeit my soul it ain't worth having
If it's something I stole it ain't worth having

It's not wroth that much to me
If losing out is what it means
To swim in shallow victory
Is empty, empty
It's just not worth the price
It's only a fools paradise
If it's draining every drop of life 'til I'm dry like pirate bones

It's not worth having
If it's too much to hold
You can dig so deep
That you're left with a hole
Thirsty in a desert with a bag full of gold
Don't wanna end up like pirate bones
What I thought was precious just a pile o' stones
I might have the treasure but I'd be lying alone
Just a pile of pirate bones
If I forfeit my soul it ain't worth having
Pirate bones

By: Natasha Bedingfield

What Disappointments Reveal

2008-07-03T22:38:00.001-05:00

Psalm 62:5-8 (NIV)

5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from Him.

6 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

7 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
He is my mighty rock, my refuge.

8 Trust in Him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to Him,
for God is our refuge.
Selah

Anger is an emotion that destroys many things, including trust. Trust cannot be present when the heart is furious. I've lately been feeling like my heart is a dark and angry place. I wonder where the woman went who loved her Lord, who loved people, and whose joy was considered contagious. I feel like a complete failure, and one night recently I poured myself out in the dark before the Lord. "Why am I so angry? Where did I go? I feel like I am losing me, Father. Please speak to my heart."

Out of the light, the Holy Spirit answered, "You are angry because you do not trust Me. You had your own expectations, and those unmet expectations turned into disappointments, and disappointments into frustrations, and frustrations into anger."

I thought hard about what the Spirit had said, and I reflected on all the things I could identify as a source of frustration or anger. And you know what? He was right. I could track every single thing back to an unmet expectation - how I thought things should have gone, how a relationship was supposed to be, what my career should look like, you get the picture. All the while, I was telling myself I wanted God's will, but in reality, I wanted God's will to fulfill my own hopes and expectations. God's asking me to loosen my fearful grip on my unmet expectations - all of them. I'm trying to allow God to fill me with the hopes, dreams, and expectations He has for my life.

Maybe this was overshare. If it was, I apologise.

Maranatha!

2008-07-01T22:04:00.001-05:00

Revelation 22:7-21

22:17 Whoever is thirsty, let him come.

The first and the last words of the Bible are of grace. At the end of the Bible, the words come in the form of a benediction: "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen" (22:21). In the beginning of the Bible, the words weren't actual words; they were an awesome act of grace. Freely and sovereignly, entirely on his own initiative, God spoke the universe into existence. No one made Him do it; no one asked Him to do it; He did it simply because it was His gracious pleasure. It pleased Him to create in the same way it later pleased Him to save - freely, by grace.

The first and last words of the Bible are of blessing; "Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life" (verse 17). In the beginning, God was delighting in everything He made, pronouncing it all very good and blessing humankind with the command to be fruitful (see Genesis 1:28, 31). Why did God bless? Why does He bless? Not because He must, for He is free, but because it is who He is. It pleases Him.

Between the first and last words of the Bible is the story of the Bible. On one hand there is the human debacle: our irrational and inexplicable refusal to be graced and blessed. But on the other hand there remains the divine freedom to grace and bless: God's dogged determination to say "Nevertheless" to our sin. So the Bible ends with another promise and appeal: Three times Jesus says, "I am coming soon" (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20). In between, an open invitation is given to the world: "Whoever is thirsty, let him come" (verse 17). The message is, "I am coming. Will you come, too? Everything depends on it - life of death, heaven or hell."

What is there left for us to do but pray, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (verse 20)? The early church made this prayer a standard call to worship with an Aramaic word that has found its way into our vocabulary: "Maranatha!" When it was prayed, the church sincerely believed the prayer would be answered and Jesus would come, if not physically, then spiritually. Will you pray it now - with the church throughout the ages, one more time or for the first time? "Amen. Maranatha!" He will come because he is coming.

Holy Jealousy

2008-06-22T14:53:00.000-05:00

Nahum 1:1-8

1:2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God.

The "avenging" part of this verse is more palatable to our religious sensibilities than the "jealous" part. However, jealousy has gotten a bad name because it's been used indiscriminately. In fact, jealousy is more than a morally legitimate word in love's vocabulary - it is necessity. If promises were made to be faithful and loyal forever, no matter what, not being jealous if those promises are broken is morally reprehensible. Picture this scenario between a married couple: "You say you're having an affair? All right; just let me know if you'll be in late tonight. I'll leave the porch light on for you." It doesn't work that way. In the same way, God's jealousy is His holy passion for His bride.

In the context of Nahum 1, God's passion for His people will show itself by avenging the evil the Assyrians (represented by Nineveh, the capital city) have wrought on Israel. There is an important principle at work here. Sometimes, when God's people are unfaithful to Him, His jealousy for them stirs Him to anger. When this happens, He will sometimes use other nations as His instruments of justice. Unwittingly, Assyria was one of these nations. God used their evil imperial schemes to conquer other nations to punish His people for their unfaithfulness. But Assyria's plans were still evil, so once God used them to punish the Israelites, He then punished the Assyrians themselves. In both cases it was His jealousy at work: in one case against His people with Assyria; in the other case against Assyria - for His people!

The point of this passage is that God is supremely good (see verse 7). He will accept no rivals and will leave no sin unpunished. He will love His chosen ones with a vengeance, and He will wound those He uses to do the wounding. God knows what He is doing! "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13).

Sometimes it is good to pause and consider this God to whom we often speak so glibly in prayer and to be moved to greater wonder and reverence for His holy love. "He is terribly tender and terribly demanding, terribly loving and terribly stern, terribly soft and terribly hard." In other words, God loves us the way we all want and need to be loved.

Breathe on Them, Breath of God

2008-06-19T20:00:00.001-05:00

2 Kings 4:8-37

4:33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord.

No one knows for sure why Elisha stretched his body over the dead boy's body, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands (see 4:34-35). It certainly wasn't ancient CPR! Depending upon one's sensibilities, the action can seem sweet or strange. But it was what the prophet did - after he prayed to the Lord for the boy to be raised (see verse 33). Elijah did the same thing, with the same result (see 1 Kings 17:21).

Maybe what this story of prayer and healing shows us is not so much a teaching on a particular kind of prayer, but a picture of prayer of a particular kind. Perhaps its intent is to move our compassion more than to add to our prayer repertoire. Sometimes prayer for others is a laying down of our lives for them. All intercessory prayer is an act of love, but there are times when we wrestle with God for the life of another, pouring out our hearts in tears and loud cries (see Lamentations 2:19; Hebrews 5:7). When Jesus went about healing the sick and those tormented by demons, Matthew says it was fulfillment of Isaiah 53:4. "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases" (Matthew 8:17). A close look at Isaiah 53 shows that this bearing of pain was intimately connected with Jesus' ministry of intercession: "For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53). In His prayers for the deliverance of others, He took their pain upon Himself. His prayers were more than mere words; they were a further incarnation of God's redeeming love.

Poet George Herbert described prayer as "God's breath in man returning to his birth." Like the story of Elisha, that line isn't about the mechanics of prayer, but the heart of prayer. When God breathed His breath into Adam, Adam became a "living being" (Genesis 2:7). When we pray to the one who gave us breath, in a sense, goes back to the one who gave it. Does something like that happen in prayer - not mechanically and literally, but spiritually? God breathes his life in us. "Come, Holy Spirit," we breathe back in the prayer of faith; and something of his breath is breathed on others. Intercessory prayer is a miraculous kind of CPR.

Cord of Scarlet - Part 2 of 2

2008-06-14T00:24:00.001-05:00

O so beautiful
So lovely
You are to Me

You see, the world may look on the outside
And they see something not worth it
But I will look on the inside
There I see something beautiful to Me

O pure and spotless
Blameless one you are

There I see something beautiful to Me
Altogether lovely

Wait for the day
When I will come
And make you Mine

So whatever the cost
Surely I will pay it
Whatever the price
Surely I will pay it
And I will gladly give up My life

I will gladly come
I will become like one of you
I will go through the struggle like one of you
I will show you My love by suffering
I will show you My love, the deep part of Me
I will show you My love by suffering as one of you

And then surely you will know My heart
O and surely you will know the depth of Me
And surely you will know eternity
In Me

So I will go
I will go
I will buy you back
O I will go
I will go
I will buy you back
And you will be Mine

Gotta show you
In whatever way I can
Gotta show you
The depths of My heart

O listen, O daughter
O consider, incline your ear
Don't you see, see how the King
He desires your beauty

Far above all other loves
You are the favoured one
Listen, O daughter
Consider this
See how the King
Desires, He desires you
See how the King
Desires, He desires you

O from the depths of My soul
Far above all other loves
You've won My heart

There's this groaning
And there's this longing
Coming from the heart of God
Crying out, crying out
To a bride

Such a groaning
Such a churning
And a yearing
For you...

Cord of Scarlet - Part 1 of 2

2008-06-14T00:20:00.001-05:00

You've dropped your line of hope
Your beacon in the window
You have played the harlot
And now you've loosed your cord of scarlet

Daughter of iniquity
What have I to do with thee
O bride that was to be
You have gone away from Me

You've dropped your line of hope
Your beacon in the window
You have played the harlot
And now you've loosed your cord of scarlet

O daughter dark, yet lovely
A price is set before Me
O bride that's yet to be
This I will pay for thee

O daughter dark, yet lovely
A price is set before Me
O bride that's yet to be
O this I will gladly pay, I will gladly pay
I will gladly pay for thee

Whatever the price, whatever the cost
Whatever it may be
Surely you must know
You are worth it, you are worth it to Me
You are worth it to Me, O my bride
So I will go, I will go, I will buy you back
I will go, I will go, I will buy you back
I will go, I will go, I will buy you back
O I will go, I will go, I will buy you back

By: Audra Lynn
CD: Fading

Me Too

2008-06-08T12:11:00.001-05:00

http://camillialayne.blogspot.com/2008/06/dark-butdark.html

Revelation 5

2008-06-07T21:56:00.000-05:00

The Scroll and the Lamb

1Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" 3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

6Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they sang a new song:

"You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth."

11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"

13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!" 14The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.

(NIV)

Isaiah 58

2008-06-01T13:39:00.001-05:00

True Fasting

1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.

2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.

3 'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.

5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?

6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

My Official Theme Song

2008-05-29T12:24:00.001-05:00

I Need A Hero
by Bonnie Tyler

Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life

Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's someone reaching back for me

Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat
It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life

Up Where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I would swear that there's someone somewhere
Watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach
Like a fire in my blood

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life...

If I can't find this man then I don't want anyone!

Through It All

2008-05-27T14:13:00.003-05:00

By Andrae Crouch

I've had many tears and sorrows,
I've had questions for tomorrow,
There've been times I didn't know right from wrong
But in every situation,
God gave me blessed consulation,
That my trials only come to make me strong

I've been a lot of places,
And I've seen so many faces,
But there've been times I've felt so all alone
But in that lonely hour
In that precious, lonely hour
Jesus let me know I was His own

Through it all,
Through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God
Through it all,
Through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His Word

So I thank God for the mountains,
And I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms He's brought me through
Cause if I never had a problem,
I wouldn't know that He could solve them,
I wouldn't know what faith in His Word could do

Through it all,
Through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God
Through it all,
Through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His Word
Yes, I've learned to depend upon His Word
I've learned to depend upon His Word

Stupid Boy

2008-05-20T13:15:00.001-05:00

By Keith Urban

Well she was precious like a flower
She grew wild, wild but innocent
A perfect prayer in a desperate hour
She was everything beautiful and different
Stupid boy...you can't fence that in
Stupid boy...it's like holdin' back the wind

She laid her heart and soul right in your hands
And you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans
She never even knew she had a choice
And that's what happens when the only voice she hears is telling her she can't
Stupid boy
Stupid boy

So what made you think you could take a life
And just push it, push it around
I guess to build yourself up so high
You had to take her and break her down
Oh...

She laid her heart and soul right in your hands
And you stole her every dream and crushed her plans
She never even knew she had a choice
And that's what happens when the only voice she hears is telling her she can't
You stupid boy

Oh you always had to be right
And now you've lost the only thing that ever made you feel alive

She laid her heart and soul right in your hands
And you stole her every dream and crushed her plans
She never even knew she had a choice
And that's what happens when the only voice she hears is telling her she can't
You stupid boy
Oh, I'm the same old, same old stupid boy

It took a while for her to figure out she could run
But when she did she was long gone, Long gone

Oh she's gone
She's long gone
Yeah she is
Yeah, ohhh

Oh, nobody's ever gonna love me like she Loved me
And she loved me, she loved me
God please just let her know I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry baby
Yeah, it dawned on me
She's never comin' back to me

At The Foot Of The Cross (Ashes To Beauty)

2008-05-19T16:19:00.000-05:00

By Kathryn Scott

At the foot of the cross
Where grace and suffering meet
You have shown me Your love
Through the judgment You received
And You've won my heart
Yes You've won my heart

Now I can trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

At the foot of the cross
Where I am made complete
You have given me life
Through the death You bore for me
And You've won my heart
Yes You've won my heart

Now I can trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

I trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross...

And You've won my heart
Yes You've won my heart

Now I can trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

I trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
I lay every burden down
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

I'm laying every burden down
I'm laying every burden down

Astonishing

2008-05-01T18:18:00.000-05:00

"Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, and his will confounds me. Between him and whoever else in the world, there is no possible term of comparison. He is truly a being by himself... I search in vain in history to find the similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history, nor humanity, nor the ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary."

~Napoleon

Second Touch

2008-04-21T19:57:00.002-05:00

excerpt from the prolouge

Adonai spoke to her softly as He formed her.

I AM sending you.

Adonai loved her, created her as a reflection of His great love. He swam beside her as she emerged from the warmth of the womb into the cold, far country called life.

She hesitated. Tried to turn back.

He compelled her to go on. Breathe! Don't be afraid! You are sent by ME beyond what you imagine are the boundaries of your world.

At His urging she gasped, taking in her first breath of this new and foreign place. She wailed and longed for the steady beat of her mother's heart against her back.

But He stood by her cradle and touched her face in the night and comforted her. Don't be afraid of anything! You are a tree. Let beauty and light and terror rage around you like a storm! It will not harm you!

She longed for the safety of His presence. Her spirit begged to turn back.

He commanded her to go forward on the journey. I AM your ship, your sail, your captain. I AM the wind, the water, the lighthouse guiding you to your destination.

Together we will sail a great distance, face many sorrows, overcome great trials. Do not fear the journey. Trust Me! We travel together, you and I. Together! Together we carry priceless treasure to those who wait on the desolate shore.

Go on then! Live! Fearless!
Yes! That's My girl!

You will find the lost ones, like driftwood twisted and forsaken, strewn along the path of your own suffering. Find them. Embrace them. Feed them. Carry them. I AM at your side every step of the journey! And when we return home again together? Together those who were lost before you came will travel back with us!

pgs. ix, x

Isaiah 12

2008-04-17T22:13:00.001-05:00

Songs of Praise

1 In that day you will say:
"I will praise You, O LORD.
Although You were angry with me,
Your anger has turned away
and You have comforted me.

2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation."

3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.

4 In that day you will say:
"Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name;
make known among the nations what He has done,
and proclaim that His name is exalted.

5 Sing to the LORD, for He has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.

6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

NIV

I Would Love To Give Up

2008-04-12T22:43:00.001-05:00

I open my mouth
And words just fly out
And I cannot stop them
I try, you know I try

I am only so much
I would love to give up
You have picked me to the bone
You kick the leg you stand on
I am only so much
And nothing much is left of me
You take more, more, more
Till I'm gone
Till I'm good to no one

I open my heart
You tear me apart
And I cannot stop you

You love to point out
Some stupid thing that I forgot to do
Like I should strive to be you

I am only so much
I'm about to give up
You have picked me to the bone
You kick the leg you stand on
I am only so much
Less and less is left of me
'Cause you take more, more, more,
Till I'm gone
Till I'm good to no one
I am only so much
Only I protect me
Will that ever be enough?

I open my eyes

By: Halou

Prologue

2008-04-06T15:21:00.000-05:00

You will find the right words
just you wait and see
they'll be falling from the rooftops
on a blossom covered breeze
and the song you need to hear
will be singing through the trees
are you listening?
don't you see?

you are on the right path
you will realize
that the tears will always leave you
with a brighter pair of eyes
and the pain that you've been fighting
is an angel in disguise
it is love and love,
love is wise

There's still time to notice
still time to believe
that a door at last will open
where the darkness used to be
and the paradise you long for
is underneath your feet
what are you running for?
where've you been?

throw your heart into the ocean
throw your heart into the sea
you will find that all the right words
will come out naturally

By: Sarah Slean

Take Off My Shoes

2008-03-26T21:38:00.001-05:00

I'll take off my shoes, I'm coming in,
Untie this rope, I'm staying with Him,
Love of my life, I'll live and die,
Just for the moments for my King and I.

Why did You call, why did You wait,
For someone so guilty, someone so fake?
There are no words for my beautiful song,
Now I'm in the arms of my Beautiful One.

Hold me, blow all the pride from my bones,
With Your fire.
Hold me, breathe on this heart made of stone,
Keep it pure.

I'll take off this crown and fall at Your feet,
The secret of joy are the moments we meet.
How could a man with all of Your fame,
Pull me from darkness and call me by name.

So hold me today, as I carry Your cross,
Into the desert to find who is lost.
Look at my hands, they’re still full of faith,
God, keep them clean till we finish the race.

Hold me, blow all the pride from my bones,
With Your fire.
Hold me, breathe on this heart made of stone,
Keep it pure.
Hold me, saviour of heaven and earth,
King forever.
Hold me, love of my life lead me on,
Through the fire, lead me on...
lead me on...
lead me on...
lead me on...

I love You.
I love You.

by: delirious?

Look Eastward - Last chapter of Sylvie & Bruno by Lewis Carroll

2008-03-21T13:47:00.000-05:00

"Oh, never star Was lost here, but it rose afar Look East, where whole new thousands are! In Vishnu-land what Avatar?"

"Aye, look Eastward!" Arthur eagerly replied, pausing at the stair-case window, which commanded a fine view of the sea and the eastward horizon. "The West is the fitting tomb for all the sorrow and the sighing, all the errors and the follies of the Past: for all its withered Hopes and all its buried Loves! From the East comes new strength, new ambition, new Hope, new Life, new Love! Look Eastward! Aye, look Eastward!"

His last words were still ringing in my ears as I entered my room, and undrew the window-curtains, just in time to see the sun burst in glory from his ocean-prison, and clothe the world in the light of a new day.

"So may it be for him, and me, and all of us!" I mused. "All that is evil, and dead, and hopeless, fading with the Night that is past! All that is good, and living, and hopeful, rising with the dawn of Day!

"Fading, with the Night, the chilly mists, and the noxious vapours, and the heavy shadows, and the wailing gusts, and the owl's melancholy hootings: rising, with the Day, the darting shafts of light, and the wholesome morning breeze, and the warmth of a dawning life, and the mad music of the lark! Look Eastward!

"Fading, with the Night, the clouds of ignorance, and the deadly blight of sin, and the silent tears of sorrow: and ever rising, higher, higher, with the Day, the radiant dawn of knowledge, and the sweet breath of purity, and the throb of a world's ecstasy! Look Eastward!

"Fading, with the Night, the memory of a dead love, and the withered leaves of a blighted hope, and the sickly repinings and moody regrets that numb the best energies of the soul: and rising, broadening, rolling upward like a living flood, the manly resolve, and the dauntless will, and the heavenward gaze of faith--the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen!

"Look Eastward! Aye, look Eastward!"

His Eye Is On The Sparrow

2008-02-21T21:41:00.002-06:00

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I'm happy,
I sing because I'm free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I'm happy,
I sing because I'm free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I'm happy,
I sing because I'm free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Lyrics by: Civilla D. Martin
Music by: Charles H. Gabriel

Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle - true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle's reply was simple: "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me." The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" was the outcome of that experience.

Civilla Martin

The next day she mailed the poem to Charles Gabriel, who supplied the music.

Matthew 10:29-31

Psalm 27

2008-02-18T16:49:00.001-06:00

Of David.
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek Him in His temple.

5 For in the day of trouble
He will keep me safe in His dwelling;
He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at His tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

8 My heart says of You, "Seek His face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

9 Do not hide Your face from me,
do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

11 Teach me Your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.

12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Unending

2008-02-14T23:28:00.003-06:00

A dialogue between Daniel and Vala from Stargate SG-1 in the episode Unending

Daniel: I guess at the end, life is too short.

Vala: I agree.

Daniel: What are you doing?

Vala: Something we should have done a long time ago.

Daniel: Don't do that.

Vala: We've been here for three months, Daniel, three months... You do like girls?

Daniel: YES!

Vala: Oh, well... I don't see many other options here, do you? Unless, you really don't find me attractive...

Daniel: Do you really want an honest answer?

Vala: No...

Daniel: No, you started this. Do you want an honest answer?

Vala: No, don't worry about it.

Daniel: Do you believe I could have any kind of serious feelings for you?

Vala: I wasn't suggesting you have serious feelings.

Daniel: Oh, oh! So, what? We sleep together once and then what? We work together! And you know, even saying that part out loud sounds unbelievable. Come on! I can't even imagine what a relationship with you would be like. Yes, you've proven yourself to be trustworthy on a professional level. And for that I'm very proud of you, but on a personal level? Vala! Come on, give me a break! At best you're an emotional, unstable wreck. And I'm not saying I'm much better. I'm not saying I'm much better! There was a time that I thought I would never get over my wife. I mean the idea... of being hurt that way again... But I've finally gotten to a place, finally gotten to a place, where for the first time in a long time I thought I could be close to somebody again. But not in a million years — a million-million years, would I ever possibly consider that person to be you. I mean, we are so completely wrong for each other that its not even funny. And the worst part is, you know that! And this whole flirty, sexual thing you do, that's your way of having a laugh at my expense. So I'm so sorry that I'm not more appreciative. I'm so sorry that you're bored! But don't you pretend it's anything else.

(In her room she'll cry again, and hate him for tonight. She'll be mad at him. They'll be awkward, but eventually they'll go back to being Daniel and Vala. Friends. And she won't let her heart be hurt anymore, but first, she needs to leave.)

Daniel: Don't act like you're hurt.

Vala: Give me a minute.

Daniel: Look at me... You better not be messing with me.

Sounds About Right To Me

2008-02-13T19:21:00.000-06:00

Hahahaha!!

Your Superpower Should Be Mind Reading

You are brilliant, insightful, and intuitive.
You understand people better than they would like to be understood.
Highly sensitive, you are good at putting together seemingly irrelevant details.
You figure out what's going on before anyone knows that anything is going on!

Why you would be a good superhero: You don't care what people think, and you'd do whatever needed to be done

Your biggest problem as a superhero: Feeling even more isolated than you do now

What Should Your Superpower Be?

Pursuit

2008-02-11T21:18:00.000-06:00

I just started reading 'The Pursuit of God' by A. W. Tozer. I read the first two chapters today during my lunch and I would have read more if I hadn't been interrupted! I read those same two chapters once I got home from work. That's not to say that I didn't understand or get anything out of them, but rather because there was just so much that I did get out of them that I wanted more, and more I got! At the end of each chapter he wrote a prayer. I want to share those prayers with you because they are now the prayers of my heart. This book is great, if you haven't read it, go read it! If you have read, go read it again!!

O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' name. Amen. (The Pursuit of God, chapter 1: Following Hard After God, pg. 20)

Father, I want to know Thee, but my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there. In Jesus' name. Amen. (The Pursuit of God, chapter 2: The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing, pg. 30)

I Will Waste My Life

2008-02-02T22:32:00.000-06:00

I will waste my life
I'll be tested and tried
With no regrets inside of me
Just to find I'm at Your feet
Let me find I'm at Your feet

I'll leave my father's house
And I'll leave my mother's
I'll leave all I have known
And I'll have no other

I am in love with You;
There is no cost,
I am in love with You;
There is no loss,
I am in love with You;
I want to take Your name,
I am in love with You;
I want to cling to You, Jesus
Just let me cling to You, Jesus

Say goodbye to my father, my mother
I'll turn my back on every other lover
And I'll press on,
Yes I'll press on

I'll say goodbye to my father, my mother
I'll turn my back on every other lover
And I'll press on,
Yes I'll press on,
And I'll press on,
Yes I'll press on

For I am in love with You;
And there is no cost,
I am in love with You;
And there is no loss,
I am in love with You;
I want to take your name,
I am in love with You;
I want to cling to You, Jesus
Just let me cling to You, Jesus
I want to cling to You

By Misty Edwards

Getting The Most Out Of Forgiveness

2008-01-25T12:29:00.000-06:00

Forgiveness is a choice. It's choosing to absorb the hurt. It's paying the debt ourselves. It's extending grace to someone who deserves the opposite.

Forgiveness is also a door to peace and joy. But it's a small door, and it can't be entered without stooping- or kneeling. Sometimes, the door of forgiveness is very hard to find.

The truth is we all need to be forgiven. The Bible makes it painfully clear that every one of us has built up an enormous debt of sin to God. The payment of that debt required nothing less than the sacrifice of God's own Son, Jesus. The Father is now free to forgive us. Someone else has paid the penalty we deserve.

Christians rejoice in the forgiveness we receive from God, but the rub comes from other people. When we hurt the people we love, how do we go about restoring the relationship? When we suffer the pain of betrayal or injury or rejection from someone else, how do we deal with the anger and resentment we feel?

The answers we discover won't be easy answers. Living out God's truth will require a great deal of courage and humility. But if we will follow Jesus in learning to extend grace, if we will cultivate a forgiving spirit, we will find a greater sense of peace and freedom than we have ever known before.

There are many different themes to forgiveness but there are two in particular that I want to mention right now - God's forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others. Begin at the place where you sense the greatest need in your own life, then move to the others. As you understand more about God's gracious forgiveness of you, your own capacity to forgive will be expanded and strengthened.

So bring your broken heart, your shattered dreams, your desires for revenge, your guilt and shame. Let God transform life's worst experiences and your deepest failures into a powerful witness of his grace and love.

Forgiving can be hard, and allowing yourself to be forgiven is even harder. My struggle isn't in thinking that I can be forgiven for things that I've done in my life, but that I don't feel I should be forgiven - I know that God has forgiven me because I am repentent for what I've done and because I've asked for forgiveness, but I can't seem to forgive myself.

Some will ask, "Are you 'better' than God that you can't forgive yourself for what you've done? Are you a better 'judge' than He is?" I'm not, but I still have a really hard time being able to forgive myself. I can't seem to extend grace to myself though I'm able to extend it to others. I don't like that I can't seem to do it, it's weighing heavy on me, draining me, and this is all on top of dealing with the reason that I need to be forgiven in the first place.

I'm sad. I'm hurting. I'm tired.

Grief and Joy

2007-12-30T00:05:00.000-06:00

John 16:19-24

Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

The disciples had come with Jesus into Jerusalem with great expectations. The Messiah's moment of victory had come. But how painful the moment and obscure the victory! They had no idea. They would later recall these words of Jesus - while the world rejoiced at the downfall of a "troublemaker," the disciples grieved the death of a dream. Later, He tells them, the moods will be reversed; their grief will be turned to joy (v. 22) when they realise the dream was greater than they had imagined.

Jesus could just as easily say these words to us. We know His victory came through the Cross; it's not His death we grieve today. But His Cross also belongs to us as His disciples; we're called to take it upon ourselves. Meanwhile, the world rejoices. It pities those who have fallen "victim" to the constraints of the Christian faith. It can't imagine that we find fulfillment without following their unbridled pursuit of physical and emotional pleasure.

But in our grief, there is joy. And in our joy, there is grief. We know both simultaneously. The Cross is paiful, and the world's rejection hurts. We live in a broken world, partly of our own doing, and we suffer because of it. But we rejoice that the suffering does not compare to the glory to be revealed (Romans 8:18). We look forward to a coming celebration, and we can begin celebrating even now.

Many Christians have not found the balance between grief and joy. We can either wallow in the former, forgetting the joy of knowing Jesus and the promises He gives us, or dwell on the latter as escapists, unmindful of the needs of our generation. Our joy is to be a sober-minded joy, and our grief is to be a hopeful grief. Heartfelt ministry and joyful expectation - both are the inheritance of Jesus' disciples.

"Griefs exalt us, and troubles lift us." ~ Charles Spurgeon

Only Love

2007-12-22T23:10:00.000-06:00

I saw Your face again today
Reflected in the world around me
I held Your eyes with my own gaze
And how they burned with love
Desire that can be quenched by none but me

I felt You looking down at me
Your smile it shined the brightness of Your heart
Your pleasure in me how it shames me
Who am I that You should love someone like me

How I love You
How I love You
How I love You
You are my only love
O, You are my only love

I see dark but You see lovely
I see ashes You see beauty within me
You give me gladness for my mourning
You are my only love
You are my only love

How I love You
How I love You
How I love You
You are my only love
O, You are my only love

Where can I flee from Your presence
Where can I run from You
For You are there beside me
No matter how far I may run to

Even in my weakness yet You have loved me
Even in my struggle still You are there beside me
What a wonder this is that You could love someone like me
What a wonder that You would stay there beside me
No matter, whatever I did
O, you are with me, Jesus

If I take the wings of the morning
And I dwell in the outermost parts of the sea
Behold You are there
You are there beside me
O, You are there
You are there
You are there beside me

And if I ascend into heaven
Or if I make my bed in hell
Behold you are with me
No matter how far
No matter how far
No matter how far I may run to
O, you are there beside me
O, You are there beside me
I can never run away
I can never run away from Your love

There is no other beside You Jesus
O, there is no other beside You Jesus
O, there is no other beside You Jesus

By Audra Hartke

Hinds' Feet on High Places

2007-12-13T22:43:00.000-06:00

pages 223-233

This is the last part I wanted to include.

Hinds' Feet

On the third day, while it was still almost dark, she woke suddenly, and sprang to her feet with a shock of joy tingling through her. She had not heard her name called, had not even been conscious of a voice, yet she knew that she had been called. Some mysterious, poignantly sweet summons had reached her, a summons which she knew instictively she had been awaiting ever since she woke up for the first time in the cave. She stepped outside into the fragrant summer night. The morning star hung low in the sky, and in the east the first glimmer of dawn appeared. From somewhere close at hand a solitary bird uttered one clear, sweet note and a light breeze stirred over the grasses. Otherwise there was no sounds save the voice of the great waterfall.

Then it came again - tingling through her - a call ringing down from some high place above. Standing there in the pale dawn, she looked eagerly around. Every nerve in her body surged with desire to respond to the call, and she felt her feet and legs tingling with an almost irresistible urge to go bounding up the mountains, but where was the way out of the canyon? The walls seemed to rise smooth and almost perpendicular on all sides, except at the end which was blocked by the waterfall.

Then, as she stood straining every nerve to find a possible means of exit, up from a nearby mossy bank sprang a mountain hart with the hind close behind him, just as she had seen them at the foot of the great Precipice of Injury. As she watched, the hart sprang onto the altar of rock, and from there with a great leap he reached a projecting ledge on the wall on the farther side of the ravine. Then, closely followed by the hind, he began springing up the great wall of the canyon.

Much-Afraid did not hesitate one instant. In a moment she was on the rock altar herself, the next, with a flying leap, she, too, reached the ledge on the wall. Then, usng the same footholds as the hart and the hind, leaping and springing in a perfect ecstasy of delight, she followed them up the cliff, the hoovees of the deer ringing on the rocks before her like little silver hammers.

In a moment or two all three were at the top of the canyon, and she was leaping up the mountainside toward the peak above, from which the summons had come. The rosy light in the east bightened, the snow on the summits of the mountains caught the glow and flushed like fire, and as she skipped and jumped from rock to rock excitedly the first sunbeams streamed over the mountaintop. He was there - standing on the peak - just as she had known he would be, strong and grand and glorious in the beauty of the sunrise, holding out both hands and calling to her with a great laugh, 'You - with the hinds' feet - jump over here.'

She gave one last flying spring, caught his hands and landed beside him on the top most peak of the mountain. Around them in every direction towered other and greater ranges of snow mountains, whose summits soared into the sky higher than her sight could follow them. He was crowned, and dressed in royal robes, just as she had seen him once before when he had carried her up to the High Places, and had touched her with the live coal from off the golden Altar of Love. Then his face had been stern in its majesty and gravity, now it was alight with glory of joy which ecelled anything which she had ever imagined.

'At last,' he said, as she knelt speechless at his feet, 'at last you are here and the "night of weeping is over and joy comes to you in the morning" (Psa. 30:5).' Then, lifting her up, he continued, 'This is the time when you are to receive the fulfillment of the promises. Never am I to call you Much-Afraid again.' At that he laughed again and said, 'I will write upon her a new name, the name of her God. The Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly' (Psa. 84:11). 'This is your new name,' he declared. 'From henceforth you are Grace and Glory.'

Still she could not speak, but stood silent with joy and thanksgiving and awe and wonder.

Then he went on, 'Now for the flower of Love and for the promise that when it blooms you will be loved in return.'

Grace and Glory spoke for the first time. 'My Lord and King,' she said softly, 'there is no flower of Love to bloom in my heart. It was burned to ashes on the altar at they command.'

'No flower of Love?' he repeated, and laughed again so gently and joyfully that she could hardly bear it. 'That is strange, Grace and Glory. How, then, did you get here? You are right on the High Places, in the Kingdom of Love itself. Open your heart and let us see what is there.'

At his word she laid bare her heart, and out came the sweetest perfume she had ever breathed and filled the air around them with its fragrance. There in her heart was a plant whose shape and form could not be seen because it was covered all over with pure white, almost transparent blooms, from which the fragrance poured forth.

Grace and Glory gave a little gasp of wonder and thankfulness. 'How did it get there, my Lord and King?' she exclaimed.

'Why, I planted it there myself,' was hi laughing answer. 'Surely you remember, down there by the sheep pool in the Valley of Humiliation, on the day that you promised to go with me to the High Places. It is the flower from the thorn-shaped seed.'

'Then, my Lord, what was the plant which the priest tore out of my heart when I was bound on the altar?'

'Do you remember, Grace and Glory, when you looked into your heart beside the pool, you found that my kind of love was not there at all - only the plant of Longing-to-be-loved?'

She nodded wonderingly.

'That was the natural human love which I tore out from your heart when the time was ripe and it was loose enough to be uprooted altogether so that the real Love could grow there alone and fill your whole heart.'

'You tore it out!' she repeated slowly and wonderingly, and then, 'O my Lord and King, were you the priest? Were you there all the time, when I thought you had forsaken me?'

He bowed his head and she took his hand in hers, the scarred hands which had sown the thorn-shaped seed in her heart, and the hands with the grasp of steel which had torn out that love which had been the cause of all her pain, and kissed them while tears of joy fell on them.

'And now for the promise,' said he, 'that when Love flowers in your heart you shall be loved again.' Taking her hand in his, he said, 'Behold I have set my love upon tee and thou art mine... yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee' (Jer. 31:3). After that he said, 'Give me the bag of stones of remembrance that you have gathered on your journey, Grace and Glory.'

She took it out and passed it to him and then he bade her hold out her hands. On doing so, he opened the little purse and emptied the contents into her hands. Then she gasped again with bewilderment and delight, for instead of the common, ugly stones she had gathered from the altars along the way, there fell into her hands a heap of glorious, sparkling jewels, very precious and very beautiful. As she stood there, half-dazzled by the glory of the flashing gems, she saw in his hand a circlet of pure gold.

"O thou who wast afflicted, tossed with tempest and not comforted," he said, "behold I lay thy stones with fair colours."

First he picked out of her hand one of the biggest and most beautiful stones - a sapphire, shinng like the pavement of heaven, and set it in the center of the golden circlet. Then, taking a fiery, blood-red ruby, he set it on one side of the sapphire and an emerald on the other. After that he took the other stones - twelve in all - and arranged them on the circlet, then set it upon her head.

At that moment Grace and Glory remembered the cave in which she had sheltered from the floods, and how nearly she had succumbed to the temptation to discard as worthless those stones which now shone with glory and splendor in the crown upon her head. She remembered, too, the words which had sounded in her ears and had restrained her, "Hold fast that thous hast, that no man take they crown." Supposing she had thrown them away, had discarded her trust in his promises, had gone back on her surrenders to his will? There could have been no jewels now to his praise and glory, and no crown for her to wear.

She marveled at the grace and love and tenderness and patience which had led and trained and guarded and kept poor faltering Much-Afraid, which had not allowed her to turn back, and which now changed her trials into his glory. Then she heard him speaking again and this time the smile on his face was more joyful than before.

"Harken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him... The King's daughter is all glorious within. She shall be brought unto the King in clothing of wrought gold, in raiment of needlework. The virgins, her companions that follow her, shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the King's palace" (Psa. 45:10-15). Then he added, "Now that you are to live with me here on the High Places, to go where I go, and to share my work in the valley below, it is fitting, Grace and Glory, that you should have companions and handmaidens, and I will bring them to you now."

At that Grace and Glory regarded him earnestly, and there were almost tears in her eyes, for she remembered Suffereing and Sorrow, the faithful companions whom he had giver her before. It had been through their help and gentleness and patience she had been able to ascend the mountains to the High Places. All the time she had been with her Lord and King, receiving her new name, and being crowned with joy and glory, she had been thinking of them and wishing - yes, actually wishing and longing that they were there too, for why should she receive everything? They had endured the same journey, had supported and helped her, had been through the same trials and attacks of the enemy.

Now she was here and they were not. She opened her mouth to make her first request, to beg her Lord to let her keep the companions he had chosen in the beginning and who had brought her to the glory of the High Places. Before she could speak, however, he said with the same specially lovely smile, "Here are the handmaidens, Grace and Glory, whom I have chosen to be with you henceforth and forever."

Two radiant, shining figures stepped forward, the morning sunshine glittering on their snowy garments, making them dazzling to look at. They were taller and stronger than Grace and Glory, but it was the beauty of their faces and the love shining in their eyes which caught at her heart and made her almost tremble with joy and admiration. They came toward her, their faces shining with mirth and gladness, but they said no word.

"Who are you?" asked Grace and Glory softly. "Will you tell me your names?"

Instead of answering they looked at one another and smiled, then held out their hands as though to take hers in their own. At that familiar gesture, Grace and Glory knew them and cried out with a joy which was almost more than she could bear.

"Why! You are Suffering and Sorry. Oh, welcome, welcome! I was longing to find you again."

They shook their heads. "Oh, no!" they laughed, "we are no more Suffering and Sorrow than you are Much-Afraid. Don't you know that everything that comes to the High Places is transformed? Since you brought us here with you, we are turned into Joy and Peace."

"Brought you here!" gasped Grace and Glory. "What an extraordinary way to express it! Why, from the first to last you dragged me here."

Again they shook their heads and smiled as they answered. "No, we could never have come here alone, Grace and Glory. Suffering and Sorrow may not enter the Kingdom of Love, but each time you accepted us and put your hands in ours we began to change. Had you turned back or rejected us, we never could have come here."

Looking at one another again, they laughed softly and said, "When first we saw you at the foot of he mountains, we felt a little depressed and despairing. You seemed so Much-Afraid of us, and shrank away and would not accept out help, and it looked so unlikely that any of us would ever get to the High Places. We told ourselves that we would have to remain Sorrow and Suffering always, but you see how graciously our Lord and King arranged for all of us, and you did bring us here. Now we are to be your companions and friends forever."

With that they came up to her, put their arms around her, and all three embraced and kissed one another with a love and thankfulness and joy beyond words to express. So with a new name, and united to the King and crowned in glory, Grace and Glory, accompanied by her companions and friends, came to the High Places and was led into the Kingdom of Love.

Hinds' Feet on High Places

2007-12-09T13:08:00.000-06:00

Part Two; pages 217-222

Healing Streams

When at last Much-Afraid awoke, the sun was high in the sky, and she looked out through the mouth of the cave in which she found herself lying. Everything was shimmering in a blaze of radiant sunshine which burnished every object with glory. She lay still a little longer, collecting her thoughts and trying to understand where she was.

The rocky cave into which the sunbeams were pouring was warm and quiet and drenched with the sweet perfume of spikenard, frankincense, and myrrh. This perfume she gradually realised was emanating from the wrappings which covered her. She gently pushed back the folds, sat up, and looked about her. Then the memory of all that had happened returned to her.

She and her two companions had come to a cloud-filled canyon high up on the mountains and to an altar of sacrifice, and the priest had wrenched out of her heart her flower of human love and burned iton the altar. On remembering that, she glanced down at her breast and saw it covered with a cloth soaked in the spices whose perfume stole out and filled the cave with sweetness. She pushed the cloth aside a little curiously and was astonished to find no trace of a wound - not even a scar, nor was there any hint of pain or aching or stiffness anywhere in her body.

Rising quietly, she went outside, then stood still and looked about her. The canyon, which had been so shrouded in mist that nothing had been distinguichable, now shimmered in the golden sunlight. Soft, verdant grass grew everywhere, starred with gentians and other little jewel-like flowers of every variety. There were banks of sweet-smelling thyme, moss, and myrtle along the sides of the rocky walls, and everything sparkled with dew.

In the center of the canyon, at a little distance from the cave, was the long stone altar to which she had been bound, but in the sunlight she saw that the flowers and mosses grew all about it and clothed its sides with verdure. Little birds hopped about here and there, scattering the dewdrops off the grasses and chirping merrily as they preened their plumage.

One was perched on the altar itself, its little throat throbbing as it trilled forth a song of joy, but the most beautiful and wonderful thing of all was that out from under the rock altar there gushed a great "river of water, clear as crystal." It then flowed in a series of cascades and through rock pools right through the canyon till it came to a broad lip of rock, over which it poured with a noise of shouting and tumultuous gladness. She was at the very source of the great fall and knew now that it flowed from under the altar to which the priest had bound her.

For some time she stood looking about her, her heart leaping and thrilling with a growing joy which was beyond her understanding and a peace indescribably sweet which seemed to enfold her. She was quite alone in the canyon. There were no signs of her companions Sorrow and Suffering nor of the priest of the altar. The only things which breathed and moved in the canyon beside herself were the cheerful little chirping birds and the insects and butterflies flitting among the flowers. High overhead was a cloudless sky, against which the peaks of the High Places shone dazzlingly white.

The first things she did, after she had taker in her surroundings, was to step toward the river which gushed out from under the altar. It drew her irresistibly. She stooped down when she got to the bank and dabbledher fingers in the crystal water. It was icy cold, but it sent a shock of ecstasy tingling through her body, and without further delay she put off the white linen robe she was wearing and stepped into one of the rocky pools. Never had she experienced anything so delicious and exhilarating. It was like immersing herself in a stream of bubbling life. When at last she again stepped out of the pool she was immediately dry and tingling from head to foot with a sense of perfect well-being.

As she stood on the mossy bank by the pool she happened to glance down and noticed for the first time that her feet were no longer crooked, ugly things which they had been, but were "straight feet," perfectly formed, shining which against the soft green grass.

Then she remembered the healing streams of which the Shepherd had spoken, which gushed out of the ground on the High Places. Stepping straight back into the pool with a shock of sweetest pleasure and putting her head beneath the clear waters, she splashed them about her face. Then she found a little pool among the rocks, still and clear as a mirror. Kneeling dow, she looked into its unruffled surface and saw her face quite clearly. It was true, the ugly, twisted mouth had vanished and the face she saw reflected back by water was as relaxed and perfect as the face of a child.

After she began to wander about the canyon and noticed wild strawberries and blueberries and other small berries growing on the banks. She found a handful of these as refreshing and sustaining a meal as ever she had eaten.

Then she came to the lip of the rock cliff over which the river cast itself, and stood a long time watching the water as it leaped over the edge with the noise of its tumultuous joy drowning every other sound. she saw how the sun glorified the crystal waters as they went swirling downward and far below she saw the green alps where the Shpeherd had led her and where they had stood at the foot of this same fall. She felt completely encompassed by peace, and a great inner quietness and contentment drowned every feeling of curiousity, loneliness and anticipation.

She did not think about the future at all. It was enough to be there in that quiet canyon, hidden away high up in the mountains with the river of life flowing beside her, and to rest and recover herself after the long journey. After a little she lay downon a mossy bank and slept, and when she woke again, bathed herself in the river. So the long, quiet day passed like a sweet dream while she rested and bathed and refreshed herself at intervals with the berries and then slept again.

When at last the shadows lengthened and the sun sank in the west and the snow peaks glowed glorious in rose and flame colour she went back into the cave, laid herself down among the spice-perfumed coverings and slept as deeply and dreamlessly as she had the first night when the priest laid her there to rest.

One more post after this.

Hinds' Feet on High Places

2007-12-08T01:50:00.000-06:00

I've been reading this book called Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard, I'm sure some of you have heard about it if you haven't already read it yourself. It's a really good book and a really good allegory. I'm going to share some of it here tonight and then some more tomorrow evening when I get home from work if I have time to do so. This first part is an excerpt from pages 212-214 in a chapter called:

Grave on the Mountains

The first time she felts something akin to fear and panic. She was not able to do this thing which he had asked of her. Having reached the altar at last, she was powerless to obey. Turning to those who had been her guides and helpers all the way up the mountains, she asked for their help, and for them to do what she could not for herself, to tear the plant out of her heart. For the first time Suffering and Sorrow shook their heads.

"We have done all that we can for you," they answered, "but this we cannot do."

At that the indistinct figure behind the altar stepped forward and said quietly, "I am the priest of this altar - I will take it out of your heart if you wish."

Much-Afraid turned toward him instantly. "Oh, thank you," she said. "I beg you to do so."

He came and stood beside her, his form indistinct and blurred by the mist, and then she continued entreatingly, "I am a very great coward. I am afraid that the pain may cause me to try to resist you. Will you bind me to the altar in some way so that I cannot move? I would not like to be found struggling while the will of my Lord is done."

There was complete silence in the cloud filled canyon for a moment or two, then the priest answered, "It is well said. I will bind you to the altar." Then he bound her hand and foot.

When he had finished, Much-Afraid lifted her face toward the High Places which were quite invisible and spoke quietly through the mist. "My Lord, behold me - here I am, in the place thou didst send me to - doing the thing thou didst tell me to do, for where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me" (Ruth 1:17).

Still there was silence, a silence as of the grave, for indeed she was in the grave of her own hopes and still without the promised hinds' feet, still outside the High Places with even the promise to be laid down on the altar.

This was the place to which the long, heartbreaking journey had led her. Yet just once more before she laid it down on the altar, Much-Afraid repeated the glorious promise which had been the cause of her starting for the High Places.

"The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet and He will make me to walk upon mine High Places. To the Chief Singer on my stringed instruments" (Hab 3:19).

The priest put forth a hand of steel, right into her heart. There was a sound of rending and tearing, and the human love, with all its myriad rootlets and fibers, came forth. He held it for a moment and then said, "Yes, it was ripe for removal, the time had come. There is not a rootlet torn or missing."

When he had said this he cast it down on the altar and spread his hands above it. There came a flash of fire which seemed to rend the altar; after that, nothing but ashes remained, either of the love itself, which had been so deeply planted into her heart, or of the suffering and sorrow which had been her companions on that long, strange journey.

A sense of utter, overwhelming rest and peace engulfed Much-Afraid. At last, the offering had been made and there was nothing left to be done. When the priest had unbound her she leaned forward over the ashes on the altar and said with complete thanksgiving, "It is finished."

Then, utterly exhausted, she fell asleep.

Wonderful grace of Jesus

2007-11-09T13:23:00.000-06:00

Wonderful grace of Jesus,
Greater than all my sin;
How shall my tongue describe it,
Where shall its praise begin?
Taking away my burden,
Setting my spirit free;
For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

Refrain

Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus,
Deeper than the mighty rolling sea;
Wonderful grace, all sufficient for me, for even me.
Broader than the scope of my transgressions,
Greater far than all my sin and shame,
O magnify the precious Name of Jesus.
Praise His Name!

Wonderful grace of Jesus,
Reaching to all the lost,
By it I have been pardoned,
Saved to the uttermost,
Chains have been torn asunder,
Giving me liberty;
For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

Refrain

Wonderful grace of Jesus,
Reaching the most defiled,
By its transforming power,
Making him God’s dear child,
Purchasing peace and heaven,
For all eternity;
And the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

Refrain

Haldor Lillenas (1885-1959)

In 1917, young Pastor Haldor Lillenas and his wife were settling into a ministry at the Nazarene Church of Auburn, Illinois. After buying a house in nearby Olivet, they had little money left to furnish it. Though they were both hymnwriters, they had no money for a piano. Then Haldor found a "wheezy little organ" in the home of a neighbour and paid five dollars for it. Lillenas wrote a number of songs on that instrument, including this one.

This song, with its rolling melody and climbing chorus, became very popluar at evangelistic crusades, and others, such as the famous songleader Charles Alexander, used it often.

The message of Scripture comes through clearly here - you cannot outsin God's grace. No matter how great your sin, God's forgiveness is greater. Praise His name.

God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all He has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
-Ephesians 2:7

Psalm 25

2007-11-07T19:50:00.001-06:00

Of David.

1[a] To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
2 in You I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.

3 No one whose hope is in You
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.

4 Show me Your ways, O LORD,
teach me Your paths;

5 guide me in Your truth and teach me,
for You are God my Savior,
and my hope is in You all day long.

6 Remember, O LORD, Your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.

7 Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to Your love remember me,
for You are good, O LORD.

8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore He instructs sinners in His ways.

9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them His way.

10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of His covenant.

11 For the sake of Your name, O LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

12 Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ?
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

13 He will spend his days in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.

14 The LORD confides in those who fear Him;
He makes His covenant known to them.

15 My eyes are ever on the LORD,
for only He will release my feet from the snare.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.

17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish.

18 Look upon my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.

19 See how my enemies have increased
and how fiercely they hate me!

20 Guard my life and rescue me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in You.

21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope is in You.

22 Redeem Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!

Jesus Loves Me

2007-10-14T14:23:00.000-05:00

Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.

Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! This I know,
As He loved so long ago,
Taking children on His knee,
Saying, "Let them come to Me."

Refrain

Jesus loves me still today,
Walking with me on my way,
Wanting as a friend to give
Light and love to all who live.

Refrain

Jesus loves me! He who died
Heaven's gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Refrain

Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
Thou hast bled and died for me,
I will henceforth live for Thee.

Refrain
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This stanza from the original is commonly omitted in hymnals:

Jesus loves me! Loves me still,
Though I'm very weak and ill,
That I might from sin be free
Bled and died upon the tree.

Getting Personal

2007-10-01T23:24:00.000-05:00

"Follow Me." ~ Mathew 9:9

One of the greatest temptations Christians face is to avert our eyes from the person of Jesus and place them on the things of Jesus – His doctrine, His people, His Word, His mission. This is a great temptation because there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these things. In fact, without serious attention to them we could not be His disciples. They are essential.

The fallacy that trips us up is our focus on these things as objective entities apart from living in fellowship with the person of Jesus. When we focus on the things of Jesus, such as His teaching, it can turn into a sterile, academic pursuit or a legalistic enterprise, sort of like following the law of Moses. It's an objective standard outside of ourselves, but from the mouth of Jesus rather than another lawgiver. Or, if we focus on the mission of Jesus, it can become a personal venture with our own strategic planning. We end up with zeal for a cause, but no fellowship with the Spirit behind the cause.

This is why Jesus doesn't call His disciples by saying "Follow My teachings," or "Follow My example," or "Follow My reasoning." It is always personal. "Follow Me." Too many believers have a sterile faith that emphasizes the impersonal aspects of Jesus. But He will not let us be content with that. He confronts us with Himself, and we do not progress far in our discipleship unless we're focused on a relationship rather than religious pursuits.

As good and instructive as theology and doctrine can be, we must not turn to them as the substance of our faith. They are descriptions of the relationship we have with the living Lord. Jesus is not a system of belief. Daily study and application are not enough. These must be built on daily communication – two-way communication between the disciple and Jesus Himself. If this were not essential, Jesus would not have given us His Spirit to live with us and in us. I’ve learned that no matter where I am in my discipleship I make sure it remains intensely personal.

Everything Glorious

2007-09-27T12:36:00.000-05:00

David Crowder Band

The day is brighter here with You
The night is lighter than it's hue
Would lead me to believe
Which leads me to believe

You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours
What does that make me?

My eyes are small but they have seen
the beauty of enormous things
Which leads me to believe
there's light enough to see that

You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours

From glory to glory
You are glorious
You are glorious
From glory to glory
You are glorious
You are glorious
Which leads me to believe
why I can believe that

You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours

From glory to glory
From glory to glory
You are glorious
You are glorious
You are glorious
You are glorious

You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours

New David Crowder Band

2007-09-25T16:00:00.001-05:00

The new David Crowder Band CD entitled Remedy was released today and I for sure have my copy!!! The whole CD is really good and I recomend that you all go and get it. I have a few songs that I really like and I'll post the lyrics here. I'll just post the lyrics to one song for now because anymore than that would just be crazy!

Oh the Glory of it All
David Crowder Band

At the start
He was there
He was there
In the end,
He’ll be there
He’ll be there
And After all our hands have wrought
He forgives

Oh the Glory of it all
Is He came here
For the rescue of us all
That we may live
For the glory of it all
For the glory of it all

All is lost
Find Him there
Find Him there
After night
Dawn is there
Dawn is there
After all falls apart
He repairs
He repairs

Oh the Glory of it all is
He came here
For the rescue of us all
That we may live
For the glory of it all

Oh, He is here
For redemption from the fall
That we may live
For the glory of it all
Oh the glory of it all
The glory of it all
Oh the glory of it all

After night
Comes a light
Dawn is here
Dawn is here
It’s a new day, a new day
Everything will change
Things will never be the same
We will never be the same
We will never be the same
We will never be the same
We will never be the same

Oh the glory of it all is
You are here
For the rescue of us all
That we may live
For the glory of it all
Oh You are here
With redemption for us all
That we may live
For the glory of it all
For the glory of it all
Oh the glory of it all

Oh, everything will change
Things will never be the same
We will never be the same
We will never be the same
We will never be the same
We will never be the same
We will never be the same
We will never be the same

Close, but Not Quite

2007-09-15T00:31:00.000-05:00

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."
"Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but Him. To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask any more questions. ~ Mark 12:28-34

The teacher of the law, having come to probe Jesus' theology, is probed himself. He commends Jesus' insight into true devotion, and thinks the matter is settled with his endorsement. Jesus steps over the endorsement with authority and commends the teacher's belief that the love of God and neighbour are the substance of God's heart more than burnt offerings.
We are satisfied with the teacher's position, too, and are glad that, at least for once, a legal expert got it right. But Jesus stops short of declaring him right with God. He's got the right idea, but he isn't there yet. To be "not far from the kingdom of God" is still outside of it. Something more is needed.
This should alarm us. Don't we know many who profess love of God and neighbour and consider it salvation? Don't many of us describe that as the essence of our faith as well? Why isn't this enough for Jesus? What's the problem?
We need to learn two lessons from the teacher of the law. 1) Knowing doctrine is not the the same as knowing God. Plenty of people know the right words and agree with the right things. That's not enough. We cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless we're born of God's Spirit. We cannot get there without knowing Him. 2) Knowing God is not possible without knowing Him through Jesus. The exact representation of God on earth, the body in whom God met a sinful race, cannot be bypassed without rejecting the One who sent Him. Though many try to identify other ways, it just isn't possible.

Jesus' semi compliment to the teacher is a slap in the face of our culture. Modern religionists have so watered down God that He is alleged to be known on their own terms. Jesus would tell all who believe in a generic god and do good works in His name: "You aren't far from the kingdom. But you are not yet there."

"Christ came to save all through His own person." ~ Irenaeus

(and if you don't know anything about Irenaeus you can check him out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irenaeus)

"Not About Love"

2007-09-04T14:23:00.000-05:00

By: Fiona Apple

The early cars
Already are
Drawing deep breaths past my door
And last night's phrases
Sick with lack of basis
Are still writhing on my floor

And it doesn't seem fair
That your wicked words should work
In holding me down
No, it doesn't seem right
To take information
Given at close range
For the gag
And the bind
And the ammunition round

Conversation once coloured by esteem
Became dialogue as a diagram of a play for blood
Took a vacation, my palate got clean
Now I could taste your agenda
While you're spitting your cud

And it doesn't make sense
I should fall for the kingcraft of a merit-less crown
No, it doesn't seem right
To take information
Given at close range
For the gag
And the bind
And the ammunition round

This is not about love
'Cause I am not in love
In fact I can't stop falling out

This is not about love
'Cause I am not in love
In fact I can't stop falling out
I miss that stupid ache

What is this posture
I have to stare at
That's what he said when I'm sittin' up straight
Change the name of the game 'cause he lost
And he knew he was wrong but he knew it too late
But I'm not being fair
'Cause I chose to listen to that filthy mouth
But I'd like to choose right
Take all the things that I've said that he stole
Put 'em in a sack
Swing 'em over my shoulder
Turn on my heels
Step out of his sight
Try to live in a lovelier light

This is not about love
'Cause I am not in love
In fact I cant stop falling out

This is not about love
'Cause I am not in love
In fact I cant stop falling out
I miss that stupid ache

Persistence Rewarded

2007-08-27T22:13:00.000-05:00

This is the third of three posts.

As much as we hate to admit it, we are never more attuned to God's voice than when we are in desperate need. We search our hearts for obstructive sins; we examine our relationships for hindrances of conflict or bitterness; we diligently dig into God's Word for His promises and assurances; and we hang on to any little word of His faithful and unfailing character. We grow during these times more than any other. Most people looking back on their lives will readily admit that the times of need were the times of flourishing in their relationship with God. And God built us exclusively for relationship.

Given this, why would God possibly want to rush us through the process? Why would He hasten to answer our prayers and subvert the purpose of this experience? We often think his delay is due to some divine indifference, a lack of caring on His part for those He says He loves. But it is just the opposite. His delays are granted us precisely because He cares so much. Immediate answers to fleeting prayers would never bring us this close to Him, no matter how much we try to assure Him that they would. He knows how we work. He knows we can learn him and be conformed to His image in no other way.

We see our need as a desperate situation. God designs it for an opportunity to know Him more intimately. When we are truly needy, we learn of Him as Provider. When we are really sick, we learn of Him either as Healer or as Comforter - whichever role He wants to reveal to us. We might think we are being punished by His silence. We are not. We are being rewarded. He is drawing us closer to Him, saying, "Come nearer, learn from Me, know Me as your Strength, your Defender, your Refuge." Keep praying. This is a far greater blessing than an immediate answer.

"It is when the answer to prayer does not come... that the trial of faith, more precious than gold, takes place." ~Andrew Murray

At His Feet ~ Tiegreen

Persistence Refined

2007-08-27T22:11:00.000-05:00

This is the second of three posts.

Imagine a parent who responds positively to every request that a child gives, no matter how fleeting. Before long, the child would have far too much to be able to enjoy, and certainly more than his level of responsibility could handle. A parent's solution to this unwise asking might be to answer only those requests that were appropriate for the child. But if the child asked everything that entered his mind and knew no rationale for the answers, he would learn little about himself and little about his parent. There's a more instructive way. He could first learn which type of request the parent is inclined to answer; and he could learn more about himself as to which desires were genuine and lasting, and which were frivolous and temporary. His understanding of the relationship between him and his parent would blossom, and he would mature.

Imagine, then, the perspective of our heavenly Father who hears constant requests from His children. Should He just grant the ones He knows to be the best, even if we never discern a pattern in the answers? Perhaps so, but there is a better way. Delaying the answers will cause us to reflect more on Him and His will; and it will allow us to determine which desires were abiding and which were transient. A relationship will develop where we once sought a mail-order service.

The frustration we feel when we ask God for something and His answer tarries is definitely not the product of an unwilling God. And it is not necessarily the product of improper requests on our part. It is the product of our own frivolity. We toss up petitions casually, hoping He will answer one of the many we present. His preference is for us to learn which ones He will favor, and then to offer them up persistently and faithfully, learning about Him in the process. God designed us for a deep relationship with Him. Let your delays cultivate it.

"The Lord seems constantly to use waiting as a tool for bringing us the very best of His gifts." ~Catherine Marshall

At His Feet ~Tiegreen

Persistence Remembered

2007-08-27T22:07:00.001-05:00

Matthew 7:7-11

"Everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." ~Matthew 7:8

The verb tense of the asking, seeking, and knocking in this verse (and v. 7) imply continuous, persistent action. Jesus could have told His disciples to ask once, seek briefly, and give a single knock when they pray to their Father. But the fact that He didn't leads us to one of the most perplexing set of questions about prayer tht confronts believers regularly: Why is there a delay? Isn't God willing to answer us? If so, why is persistence important?

Since God already has provision for all of our needs and every aspect of His mission even before we ask, He could give His answer immediately. But He usually does not. He has far greater purposes in our prayers than just the asking and receiving. He wants us to learn more about who He is.

A lot happens between the time we present a request to God and the time He provides the answer. If we grow more intense in our request, we create a situation that will stick in our memories - and that of others, if we've drawn them into our petition - long after God has resolved it for us. When His answer finally comes, we have a memorable testimony of His goodness to us. but if we forget about the request soon after asking it, we were not very serious about it and never would have turned the answer into a testimony about Him anyway. An unfortunate side of human nature is that we are forgetful recipients of good things. Immediate answers to casual requests would reinforce our forgetfulness. It would not establish God's name in our lives.

How many prayers have you dropped because God seemed not to be hearing? If He did not give a definite "no," He may have wanted the delay to draw you closer to Him and establish a better sense of His provision in your need. Don't just ask, seek, knock; keep asking, seeking, and knocking. Such times of persistence lead to a greater, more memorable experience of His goodness.

"Importunate praying never faints of grows weary. It declines to rise from its knees till an answer is received." ~E.M. Bounds

At His Feet ~Tiegreen