Can I Live?

Everyday Songs of the Faith

Yesterday, I was reading the devotional for the day from Our Daily Bread after dinner. Written by Cindy Hess Kasper, it began like this:

"Several years ago, my husband helped to lead a work crew of high school students on a short-term missions trip to a Christian school in an urban community. Unfortunately, Tom had broken his foot shortly before the trip and was supervising the work from a wheelchair. He was discouraged because he wasn't able to get around as he had hoped.

"While he was working on the ground floor, a few of the girls were painting on the third floor. He could hear them singing praise choruses in harmony as their voices echoed down the wide-open staircases..."

At this point, our 7-year old son Christopher interrupted the reading. He mentioned, "They must be Christians!"

He knew they were Christians because they were singing praise to God outside a church service. It was simply a part of their lives that they did not leave behind when they exited the church building every Sunday.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16).

The Heart of Christianity

"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing (2 Timothy 4:8, NIV).

Christians can be passionate concerning many things. We love worship music. We are passionate about Bible study. We are driven to help the widows, the orphans, and the poor among us. We are passionate about pursuing justice, righteousness, and high ethical standards.

But above all, we are passionate about Jesus Christ. We love to hear about what he has done for us. We love to think about his character, his words, and his actions. We love to let other people know about him. And we look forward to his return above all other expectations.

Jesus Christ is the heart of Christianity.

My Chance by Jaime Thietten

This is one powerful video.

Andrea Bocelli tells a little story about abortion

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward" (Psalm 127:3).

The Black Keys and the Negro Spirituals

Did you know that the Negro spirituals can be played using only the black keys of the piano? In this video, Wintley Phipps explains the history behind that fact. He also explains why Amazing Grace, a song which gets its melody from West African slaves, can also be played using only the black keys of the piano. Then he sings it.

(I found this video on Thabiti Anyabwile's blog.)

"Stand By Me"--Song Around the World

I found this great video on Thabiti Anyabwile's blog.

A Christmas Song for Adoptive Fathers

Check out www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=2c05e7badd3195dc4561

The Coolest Hymn Ever

We spent a great Mother Day's weekend with my mother-in-law in Fairland, Oklahoma. During the worship service at First Christian Church, we sang the coolest hymn ever: Amazing Grace to the tune of Lynyrd Skynyrd's rock anthem Sweet Home Alabama. I would love to introduce it to the Contact Church, but I'm not sure we could pull it off without a band.

God, Cocaine, and Music

"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:19-20).

Sometimes I wonder, why does God want Christians to sing to him?

Today, I received a little insight into the answer from an unlikely source. While listening to the local classic rock radio station, I heard a man singing the praises of cocaine. Then it dawned on me: People sing about what they love. Drug addicts sing the praises of cocaine. Christians sing the praises of their Lord. God gave his people permission to express in music what is in their hearts.

The Contact Church's Girls Choir and True Womanhood

The Girls Choir of the Contact Church of Christ (above)

"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God" (Titus 2:3-5).

While reading Nancy Leigh DeMoss' True Woman Manifesto (www.truewoman.com/assets/files/TW_Manifesto.pdf), I noticed this goal:

"Live out the mandate of Titus 2--as older women, modeling godliness and training younger women to be pleasing to God in every respect; as younger women, receiving instruction with meekness and humility and aspiring to become mature women of God who in turn will train the next generation."

Then, I read the Logsdon's post about the Contact Church's girls choir, and recognized that the women of the church are fulfilling that goal. See http://urbanlogfamily.blogspot.com/2009/01/choir.html for the story.

The Little Girl

I listen to country music on the radio. For the past few months, I have been hearing The Little Girl, a beautiful song by John Michael Montgomery. Every day, the positive and negative aspects of this song are being played out in the lives of real people. These are the lyrics from www.cowboylyrics.com:

Her parents never took the young girl to church
Never spoke of His name
Never read her His word
Two non-believers walking lost in this world
Took their baby girl with them
What a sad little girl

Her daddy drank all day and mommy did drugs
Never wanted to play
Or give kisses and hugs
She'd watch the TV and sit there on the couch
While her mom fell asleep
And her daddy went out

And the drinking and the fighting
just got worse every night
Behind their couch she'd be hiding
Oh what a sad little life
And like it always does, the bad just got worse
With every slap and every curse
Until her daddy in a drunk rage one night
Used a gun on her mom and then took his life

And some people from the city took the girl far away
To a new mom and a new dad
kisses and hugs everyday
Her first day of Sunday school the teacher walked in
And a small little girl
Stared at a picture of Him

She said I know that man up there on that cross
I don't know His name
But I know He got off
Cause He was there in my old house
and held me close to His side
As I hid there behind our couch
The night that my parents died

All I Really Want

These are the lyrics of Steven Curtis Chapman's song All I Really Want:

Well I don't know if you remember me or not
I'm one of the kids they brought in from the home
I was the red-haired boy in an old green flannel shirt
You may not have seen me - I was standing off alone
I didn't come and talk to you, 'cause that's never worked before
And you'll prob'ly never see this letter anyway
But just in case there's something you can do to help me out
I'll ask you one more time

All I really want for Christmas
Is someone to tuck me in
A shoulder to cry on if I lose
Shoulders to ride on if I win
There's so much I could ask for
But there's just one thing I need
All I really want for Christmas is a family

Well I guess I should go ahead and tell you now
If it's really true about that list you have
Somehow I always seem to end up in a fight
But I'm really trying hard not to be bad
But maybe if I had a brother or a dad to wrestle with
Well, maybe they could teach me how to get along
And from everything I've heard
Sounds like the greatest gift on earth would be a mom

All I really want for Christmas
Is someone to tuck me in
A shoulder to cry on if I lose
Shoulders to ride on if I win
There's so much I could ask for
But there's just one thing I need
All I really want for Christmas

Is someone who'll be there
To sing me "Happy Birthday"
For the next 100 years
And it's OK if they're not perfect
Well, even if they're a little broken, that's alright
'Cause so am I

Well, I guess I should go
It's almost time for bed
And maybe next time I write you
I'll be at home

'Cause all I really want for Christmas
Is someone to tuck me in
Tell me I'll never be alone
Someone whose love will never end
Of all that I could ask for
Well, there's just one thing I need
All I really want for Christmas
All I really want for Christmas is a family

Just a family

That's all I really need

Parental Teaching Tips

"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 strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

Janet and I teach Christopher about God and his word in many different ways. Most of our teaching is informal. Biblical topics arise while we are playing, traveling, and watching cartoons.

However, ever since we were able to hold him in the hospital after his birth, we have tried to help our son know Christ intentionally.

After meals, we read the daily devotional from Our Daily Bread. Then we read a memory verse. (Lately we have been concentrating on Proverbs 29:25.) We try to make sure Christopher understands unfamiliar words and concepts. After he is able to repeat the verse from memory (which usually takes about 10 days), we move on to another verse. Then we pray. Most of the time, Christopher prays for the firefighters, police officers, and paramedics.

At bed time, Christoper will sit on my lap in my recliner. I will read a story from either The Beginners Bible or the Little Boys Bible Storybook for Fathers and Sons. Then I will sing I Stand in Awe and How Great Thou Art. (Sometimes Christopher sings along with me.) After I'm done, Janet takes my place and sings Jesus Loves Me, Lord Give Me Peace, and Sweet Little Baby Boy (an original song by Janet for Christopher). Then he goes to bed.

Of course, as Christopher grows up, our methods will change. Eventually, he will be reading, too.

Do you have intentional methods of teaching your children about Christ? Please share them in the comments section. I would love to read about some other ideas.

When the Saints

When the Saints by Sara Groves should win a Grammy and a Dove Award for Song of the Year. It is one of the best songs I have heard on the radio in months. Some of the references may be a little obscure, but it lauds the actions of

1. Moses, the man used by God to free the Israelite slaves of Egypt (see Exodus)
2. Paul and Silas, who endured imprisonment for taking the good news of Christ to hostile areas (see Acts)
3. American slaves, who escaped slavery with the help of the underground railroad prior to our Civil War
4. Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and their fellow missionaries, who lost their lives trying to reach a primitive and violent tribe in the rain forests of South America
5. The wives and children of those missionaries, who returned to that tribe shortly after the deaths of their husbands and fathers in order to carry on the work (please rent the movie The End of the Spear or the documentary Beyond the Gates of Splendor to learn more about their amazing story)
6. Mother Teresa, who devoted her life to helping the sick and dying in the slums of Calcutta, India
7. International Justice Mission (http://www.ijm.org), whose members work with local law enforcement officers to rescue children enslaved as prostitutes around the globe
8. Jesus Christ, who carried the load of the world to the cross on our behalf in order to pay for our sins (see Romans for the significance of his sacrifice and Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John for accurate accounts of his life, death, and resurrection).

These are the lyrics of When the Saints by Sara Groves:

Lord,
I have a heavy burden of all I've seen and know.
It's more than I can handle
But your word is burning like a fire shut up in my bones
And I can't let it go
And when I'm weary and over wrought
With so many battles left unfought
I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard.
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars.
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them.

Lord, it's all that I can't carry and cannot leave behind.
It all can overwhelm me
But when I think of all who've gone before and lived a faithful life
Their courage compels me.
And when I'm weary and over wrought
With so many battles left unfought
I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard.
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars.
I see the shepherd Moses in the Pharaoh's court.
I hear his call for freedom for the people of the Lord.
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them.
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them.

I see the long quiet walk along the underground railroad.
I see the slave awakening to the value of her soul.
I see the young missionary and the angry spears.
I see his family returning with no trace of fear.
I see the long hard shadows of Calcutta's nights.
I see the sister standing by the dying man's side.
I see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor.
I see the man with a passion come kicking down that door.
I see the Man of Sorrows and his long troubled road.
I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load.

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them.

Pray for the Fish

I enjoy Randy Travis' song "Pray for the Fish," written by Phillip Moore, Dan Murphy, and Ray Scott. These are the lyrics:

Everybody gathered where the river runs wider at the edge of town
To see if that Eddy Lee Vaughn baptism was really gonna go down.

Folks bet hard-earned money that water wouldn't change a thing.
They set the odds at a hundred to one,
his soul would never come clean.

Then the preacher said, "People take a moment or two.
There's something we need to do.
Pray for the fish.
They won't know what's comin'
When the sin starts rollin' off the likes of him.
Lord, be with 'em , they ain't done nothin'.
Please won't you leave 'em just a little bit of room to swim?
Pray for the fish."

Well, the preacher dunked him under that clear cool water. Then he did it again.
Eddy came up yelling, "Oh Lord in heaven, Hallelujah! I'm a brand new man!"

Well the water got to bubblin', the sky got to rumblin', and the thunder backed up the choir.
The fish started jumpin'. It was like they were swimmin' in a lake of fire.

Then Eddy's mamma stepped out of the crowd and started yellin' out loud,
"Pray for the fish.
They won't know what's comin'
When the sin starts rollin' off the likes of him.
Lord, be with 'em. They ain't done nothin'.
Please won't you leave 'em just a little bit of room to swim?
Pray for the fish."

He said, "Everybody cross your fingers and fold your hands.
Pray for ole Eddy, but before we say 'Amen',
Pray for the fish.
Lord, be with 'em. They ain't done nothin'.
Please won't you leave 'em just a little bit of room to swim?
Pray for the fish.
Lord, pray for the fish."

Half-Hearted Christianity

"The Lord says:
'These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is made up only of rules taught by men'" (Isaiah 29:13, NIV).

Todd Box, one of our ministers in the Contact Church of Christ, has been preaching for us for the last couple of Sundays. This past Sunday, he emphasized the need for our hearts to be totally involved in our love for the Lord.

With a personal illustration, Todd demonstrated how easy it is to let our hearts wander away from Christ while we go through the motions of serving him and worshiping him. He reminded us that when he first came to the Contact Church a few years ago, he was living in the Salvation Army shelter. At that time, he was eager to help everyone at the shelter come to know God. He volunteered to drive the church van to pick up the other homeless men at the shelter. Now a few years later, he confessed, when someone called him for a ride, his first thoughts were not gratitude for the opportunity to help someone get to the church; instead, he thought, "Can't someone else do it?"

I completely understand. Sometimes my heart is not where it should be, either. I wish that were not true, but it is.

So how do I keep my heart right? I need to follow the advise of an old hymn called "When My Love to Christ Grows Weak." These are the lyrics:

"When my love to Christ grows weak,
When for deeper faith I seek,
Then in thought I go to Thee,
Garden of Gethsemane!

There I walk amid the shades,
While the ling'ring twilight fades,
See that suffering, friendless One,
Weeping, praying there alone.

When my love for man grows weak,
When for stronger faith I seek,
Hill of Calvary I go
To thy scenes of fear and woe.

There behold His agony,
Suffered on the bitter tree;
See His anguish, see His faith
Love triumphant still in death.

Then to life I turn again,
Learning all the worth of pain,
Learning all the might that lies
In a full self-sacrifice.

Little is Much

I heard another song on the radio this week that caught my attention. These are the lyrics of Little is Much by Downhere:

What is the measure of a life well-lived
If all I can offer seems too small to give?
This is a song for the weaker, the poorer,
And so-called failures.

Little is much when God's in it
And no one can fathom the plans He holds.
Little is much when God's in it.
He changes the world with the seeds we sow.
Little is much, little is much.

Who feels tired and under-qualified?
Who feels deserted, and hung out to dry?
This is a song for the broken, the beat-up
And so called losers.

Little is much when God's in it
And no one can fathom the plans He holds.
Little is much when God's in it.
He changes the world with the seeds we sow.
Little is much, little is much.

Consider that heaven is the smallest seed.
Consider that giants fall to stones and slings.
Consider a child in a manger.
Consider the story isn't over.
What can be done with what you still have?

Little is much when God's in it
And no one can fathom the plans He holds.
Little is much when God's in it.
He changes the world with the seeds we sow.
Little is much, little is much.

Tears of the Saints

Yesterday, I heard an outstanding new song on KXOJ 100.9 FM. It's titled Tears of the Saints by Leeland. These are the lyrics:

There are many prodigal sons.
On our city streets they run
Searching for shelter.
There are homes broken down.
People's hopes have fallen to the ground
From failures.

This is an emergency!

There are tears from the saints
For the lost and unsaved.
We're crying for them, "Come back home."
We're crying for them, "Come back home."
And all your children will stretch out their hands
And pick up the crippled man.
Father, we will lead them home.
Father, we will lead them home.

There are schools full of hatred.
Even churches have forsaken
Love and mercy.
May we see this generation,
In its state of desperation,
For your glory.

This is an emergency!

Sinner, reach out your hands!
Children, in Christ you stand!
Sinner, reach out your hands!
Children, in Christ you stand!

And all your children will stretch out their hands
And pick up the crippled man.
Father, we will lead them home.
Father, we will lead them home.

A cappella Worship Music

"Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19, NIV).

In the Churches of Christ, we have maintained an ancient tradition of singing worship music without instrumental accompaniment. In many congregations, the music has been outstanding by any standard.

I was aware that a few other churches share the same musical tradition. In an interesting article in this month's Christian Chronicle, Bobby Ross reports on a gathering of those groups at Pepperdine University for a symposium of sacred a cappella music. (See the article at http://www.christianchronicle.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=742). I was intrigued by the perspectives of Eastern Orthodox Churches, Mennonite Churches, Churches of Christ, and a few Presbyterian and Baptist Churches. I did not realize that such diverse theological traditions share a common musical tradition (although each may have distinctive styles within the a cappella tradition).

In recent years, Jenks Church (our former congregation), the Richland Hills Church of Christ in Fort Worth, the Quail Springs Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, Northwest Church in Seattle, and a few other Churches of Christ have added a worship service in which instrumental music is used. However, I believe that each congregation has maintained an a cappella service, too. As unity among the Churches of Christ and Christian Churches is being re-established, I would love to hear about a few Christian Churches adopting a cappella services in their line-up of worship service options, too. It is a good tradition, and it would be nice to share it with other Christians who are not accustomed to it. (To be honest, Amazing Grace should never be sung with instrumental accompaniment.)