More Thoughts on the Cross

Double Cure

yeah today i'm sick of all i am
today is my setback
first i swear i love you
then i stab you in the back

i wanna drink out of that fountain
on a hill called double cure
i wanna show you my allegiance Lord
yes i wanna be a son of Yours

so tired of all my toys
they never last for long
they keep beaming dreams and wishes
to a big dish on my front lawn

bet you all have got a story
you're just aching to tell
haven't we thrown our coinage
down the wishing well

so go and call your neighbor
proceed with all due haste
go grab your wife and sweet family
see there is no time to waste

we're gonna drink out of that fountain
on a hill called double cure
i wanna show you my allegiance Lord
yes i wanna be a son of Yours

ask me why i love Him
He gave riches to this poor
yes and i will one day see that face
over yonder shore



By Vigilantes of Love

The Hideous and the Beautiful

Gal. 6:14: May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[1] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Oh how i need the Cross. And fortunately God took care of that long before i ever realized i needed it . . . and He is the One who had to reveal to me that i needed it, because on my own i would never come to it. And on that tree, the hideousness of the world and its torture and its crowns of many thorns which it thrusts on our heads was conquered by the beauty of the Living God . . . Eternity stepping into time to take the penalty for those who were so unaware.

i am desperate for the Cross. i make no defense. Were it not for the Cross _ i shudder to think. How precious was the blood that flowed there, all the while mingled with Grace and Mercy. The only freedom, the only beauty that lasts is to be crucified to the world and it to me. Then and only then can i truly appreciate Real Love, Real Beauty and Real Meaning in life.

On that Cross, the most unlikely of places, Christ gave his coronation speech _ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who set it all aside to come and lead the insurgency as a man without a home _ a thief who came to steal us back from our folly.

All is from Grace, and it abounds at the Cross.

While i enjoy Valerie's site kyriosity and often find her comments insightful, i quite disagree with her conclusions regarding "special music" in church and the issue of applause. i appreciate her desire to offer music to God which is not "tainted" with an air of self-adulation and draws attention to herself rather than to God. However, i think the conclusion that "special music" is _ essentially, patently inappropriate _ as well as to declare applause verboten is more restrictive than we need to be.

There are times when i believe applause is an appropriate response if your heart is being stirred in such a direction. And in regard to one of the comments that we don't applaud for sermons, therefore it is improper in relation to music, i say: There are sermons which should be applauded.

Granted, there are plenty of musical offerings and sermons which do not deserve applause, but it is not _ as one commented _ a "canard." Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty, and if i sense God's presence and let out a full-throated "Amen" or applause, there should be room for that in the Body.

Gordon Matthew Sumner a/k/a Sting was born in Newcastle, England on this date in 1951. He has come quite a long way from his early years as an English teacher at a private school, and this coming spring is very likely to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his former mates Andy Summers and Steward Copeland, who made up The Police.

Sting has always infused his music with numerous influences. In the early days of The Police it was jazz, reggae and punk which formed the basis of his songs. Later, the jazz influence remained, and rock and even country styles emerged.

It will be interesting to see, should the band be inducted, how the three musicians will get along with each other given their stormy relationship in years past.

Recently i was visiting The Storehouse Church and heard Bruce Marchiano speak. Bruce is an actor who says his life was transformed when he was asked to portray Jesus in a film based on the Gospel of Matthew.

His story was interesting . . . his invitation to Come to Jesus was powerful. Over and over, Bruce stressed how Jesus came and gave us Real Life _ Life to the full John 10:10.

i have been giving a great deal of thought to this quote:

You've got to have the possibility of danger if you want real life _ John Eldredge.