Revelation Song — Kari Jobe

Worthy is the, Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to him who sits on
Heaven’s mercy seat

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be
to You the only wise King

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
At the mention of your name
Jesus your name is power
Breath, and living water
Such a marvelous mystery
Yeah…

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Thoughts on Proverbs 24:17

“If your enemy falls, do not rejoice over him, And do not exalt yourself at his stumbling;” Proverbs 24:17

We can do nothing against our faults without the help of God…And we ought not be puffed up by victories over them…lest He see your arrogant heart…and you begin to be forsaken by Him, and troubled once more by that passion, which by God’s grace you had previously overcome.” John Cassian

Saint Basil’s Cathedral Red Square

The most famous tourist attraction in Moscow is officially called “The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat.”

Christmas 2009

Nativity Sermon
By Saint John Chrysostom

I behold a new and wondrous mystery!
My ears resound to the shepherd’s song, piping no
soft melody, but loudly chanting a heavenly hymn!
The angels sing!
The archangels blend their voices in harmony!
The cherubim resound their joyful praise!
The seraphim exalt His glory!

All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead herein…on earth and man in heaven. He who is above now, for our salvation, dwells here below; and we, who were lowly, are exalted by divine mercy!
Today Bethlehem resembles heaven, hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices and, in place of the sun, witnessing the rising of the Sun of Justice!

Ask not how this is accomplished, for where God wills, the order of nature is overturned. For He willed. He had the powers.  He descended. He saved. All things move in obedience to God.
Today He Who Is, is born!  And He Who Is becomes what He was not!  For when He was God, He became man – while not relinquishing the Godhead that is His…

And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him angels, nor archangels, nor thrones, nor dominions, nor powers, nor principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.
Yet He has not forsaken His angels, nor left them deprived of His care, nor because of His incarnation has He ceased being God.  And behold,

Kings have come, that they might serve the Leader of the Hosts of Heaven;
Women, that they might adore Him Who was born of a woman so that He might change the pains of childbirth into joy;
Virgins, to the Son of the Virgin…
Infants, that they may adore Him who became a little child, so that out of the mouths of infants He might perfect praise;
Children, to the Child who raised up martyrs through the rage of   Herod;
Men, to Him who became man that He might heal the miseries of His servants;
Shepherds, to the Good Shepherd who has laid down His life for His sheep;
Priests, to Him who has become a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek;
Servants, to Him who took upon Himself the form of a servant, that He might bless our stewardship with the reward of freedom (Philippians 2:7);
Fishermen, to the Fisher of humanity;
Publicans, to Him who from among them named a chosen evangelist;
Sinful women, to Him who exposed His feet to the tears of the repentant woman;
And that I may embrace them all together, all sinners have come, that they may look upon the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!

Since, therefore, all rejoice, I too desire to rejoice!
I too wish to share the choral dance, to celebrate the festival! But I take my part, not plucking the harp nor with the music of pipes nor holding a torch, but holding in my arms the cradle of Christ!
For this is all my hope!
This is my life!
This is my salvation!
This is my pipe, my harp!

And bearing it I come, and having from its power received the gift of speech, I too, with the angels and shepherds sing:
“Glory to God in the Highest! And on earth peace to men of good will!”

Road Trip

It’s been nearly impossible to blog these past few weeks, as I’ve been preparing for a motorcycle trip to California. My son and I are about ready to head west, and you can follow the adventure at this link: http://10fingergrip.wordpress.com/

Peace and blessings to all of you this Fourth of July weekend!

BTW, we’ll also be updating the trip via Twitter at http://twitter.com/Gottesfurcht

What’s Important? An Invitation

What’s really important?

God? Family? Harley-Davidson Motorcycles?

If you’re an Evangelical, then perhaps Obama’s election, potential Supreme Court nominee, the hard left turn the country is taking, the state’s and federal government’s lax approach to illegal immigration, and “internationalization” of our government portends the end times. If you’re a die hard Republican, then perhaps it’s rebuilding a party in disarray. If you’re a bum ninja or pillow biter, maybe it’s the gay marriage issue. If you’re a libertarian or fed-up and over-taxed Republican, then maybe Tea Parties are your answer. If you’re a “perpetual victim minority,” then perhaps Obama is your cup of tea.

Whatever is important to you, there can be no denying that our children and our children’s children’s respective futures are what’s truly important. Not a minority dictating who is politically correct enough to represent the USA in the Miss Universe pageant. Not the greed of Wall Street and Corporate America. Not the entitlement mentality of the non-taxpayer. And certainly not the opinion of an envious world that wants to drag America down to its pathetic level of hate, poverty, racism, and socialistic mistakes.

Personally, as Washington continues its policy of enslaving future generations of Americans (by bailing-out the very people the Washington elite aided in wrecking the economy in the first place), I’m going to take my son half-way across the country on a motorcycle ride. Although there are multiple reasons for doing so, the overarching reasons are to (1) forge a deeper bond with my son, (2) teach him about our country along the way, and (3) inculcate an attitude of self-reliance.

While taking this trip, we are planning to blog “live” from the road (thank you Starbucks), upload pictures, and perhaps even post some video from a helmet camera.

And we’re going to do so on a yet-to-be-named blog, which is where y’all come in. Since we’re not departing until July, we’d like your input. Although not quite an electronic version of the famous father-son motorcycle trip written of in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, there will be philosophical components found in the writing. However, this will not be the overarching thematic element, which is why we’re asking “What would you like to read about” and“What do you think the blog title should be”? 

For those interested in responding, feel free to post a comment on this blog for the time being. In the near future we will establish an email account dedicated to the ride that you may also use to contact us. For those who wish to respond, please limit your comments, suggestions, etc. to the three overarching reasons for the trip and suggestions for the blog title.

Nothing Left

Although definitely part of the metalcore genre, As I Lay Dying speaks to a host of contemporary issues facing today’s spiritually-rudderless world. 

The song Nothing Left video below is described by the writer, Timothy Lambesis, as taking “place in a broken down future world where the journey of the main character mimics many themes in the song’s lyrics. I originally wrote the lyrics describing the certain decay of the world around us. While more and more people pursue meaningless relationships and desire for material things, I’ve realized that we have “nothing left” in common. We are seperated by our intentions and the visual concept through the video makes an obvious point that we cannot hide these differences.“

Tim also states in the band’s FAQ (in response to a question concerning the member’s faith) “I’m not sure what the difference is between five Christians playing in a band and a Christian band. If you truly believe something, then it should affect every area of your life. All five of us are Christians. I believe that change should start with me first, and as a result, our lyrics do not come across very ‘preachy.’ Many of our songs are about life, struggles, mistakes, relationships and other issues that don’t fit entirely in the spiritual category. However, all of these topics are written about through my perspective as a Christian.“

For those that cannot accept that “Christians” can perform metal, it is probably best to consider the message before shooting the messenger.

Christos Voskrese

 

For a translation and explanation of this beautiful song.

Healing the Children

And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. Luke 8:46-48

Traveling around the country always provides opportunities for sharing the Gospel and learning. Last Friday was no different.

While boarding my flight in Saint Louis, I found my seat occupied by a very young boy. Before I could say anything, a stewardess asked me if I would mind sitting in the aisle seat on the opposite side. Preferring the aisle to the window seat anyway, this was not a big decision for me.

During the course of the ninety-minute flight, I learned the stew was a volunteer with Healing the Children, and that she was escorting the young boy in my seat and his sister to Dallas for their return flight to Belize. As I began asking the standard who, what, when questions, she related how the organization was strictly voluntary, that the children sitting next to her had been in the United States for two months, and that two families had opened their homes to the children during that timeframe.

It was a most informative time, and it certainly provided some warmth after a cold week in Missouri.

For those of you who are looking for a new charity, this is a worthy one to donate time, frequent flyer miles, one’s home, medical skills, etc., because “[s]ince its inception, Healing the Children has provided first class medical care to more than 174,879 children in 100 plus countries, including the United States.“

And Justice for All?

No where in the Scripture are we told, “God is justice.” He is, indeed, a just God, but the meaning of that statement is still a deeply hidden mystery. Worth the Time to Think it Through

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Colossians 3:10-13

Justice. How many of us have wanted to see justice done, whether it be seeing an enemy getting his or her “just deserts” or a co-worker being found out for petty thievery or a brother or sister in Christ who inflicted pain upon us?

In Western society, the Greco-Roman influence of law and logic oft times conflict with the Gospel. Of course, I am referring to the pre-Christian Greek and Roman societies that were marked by paganism and pre-Christian thought. This influence is often reverse engineered back into the Protestant systems of theology. Who hasn’t been taught that the state bears the sword for a reason or that an unrepentant individual would be held accountable by God?

Contrarily, how many Protestants are taught to pray unceasingly for their enemies? For the true repentance of those who’ve harmed us? To pray without expectation of apology? And if one is taught to do these things, how many actually do them? As for me, I readily confess that I have failed to pray enough for my enemies because I often wanted justice more than I wanted inner peace. The key word here is “I” and such thinking is rooted in failing to focus on Him who is the source of peace.

It is easy to rationalize our behavior in this area. Many have heard someone quip that they are not Jesus. Although very true, we are called to be little Christs. Thus, we look to the cross for an example of how we are to respond to the issue of justice.

As Christ suffered on the cross, He did not ask Father God for justice; He asked, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.“

This is our example of how to respond to injustice. It isn’t about us, it’s always about the perpetrator of an injustice needing God’s love. And the Holy Scriptures are replete with forgiveness, mercy, praying for one’s enemies, and extending love to all of God’s creation in His image. Therefore, let us move from just being made in His image to purposing this day to conform to His likeness, by forgiving those who wrong us and loving as God loves us.