Sunday, December 06, 2009
"Peace on Earth, can it be?"
I thought the lyrics were lacking. The duet was great. David Bowie singing with Bing Crosby "The Crooner" was unusual for back then in the 1970's. I actually remember watching this premiere. Never really was into David Bowie though. He was quite the rock and roll star back then, but I never got into his particular style of music.
Here's a question: Why, during Christmas, when we celebrate the birth of Christ, and we sing so many hymns about Him, do people stray from the truth of why He came?
The truth that says He came as the Savior of the world, and he came to bear witness to the truth, that he is the Truth.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and there will never be genuine, and true peace on Earth without Christ's blessing and presence.
Don't get me wrong, peace would be nice. And we can have seasons of peace, and even long to live in peace, and even fight for peace. But lasting and eternal peace will never come, until Jesus returns.
We sang this beautiful hymn in church today: "O Come, O come, Emmanuel".
And the final verse really spoke to me. (I hate using that phrase, but sometimes it can work.)
"O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace."
Jesus came the first time to die, so we could have peace with God, and come out of the darkness and into His kingdom of light. And yet, He also came to bring a sword, or division, and it will be with us until His second coming, and there's no way to avoid this truth. It's not that the Lord wants to bring the sword. It's we who are the cause of strife and division, aren't we. The Gospel is good news, but we fight against it, and we want more than one Gospel. We pervert the Gospel as well. And so we cause much contentions.
BUT, the Lord is coming back a second time, and then we shall have peace on Earth like we have always wished for, -(as David Bowie prayed in this song)- but never have had. I can't wait.
So, I hope that answers the question to this song: 'Peace on earth, can it be?'.
May the Lord come back soon is my prayer. And yet so many lost souls need to hear the Gospel as well. So I also pray the Lord would raise up multitudes of laborers for His harvest.
In fact Jesus said, "“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”" Matthew 9:37-38
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Thursday, December 03, 2009
"What Child is This?"
My heart is moved very much by this hymn, but I was especially moved this evening when I heard this choir sing this magnificent hymn with such harmony.
Enjoy, and be blessed.
My favorite verse:
"Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary." -William Chatterton Dix, 1865.
"Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God." -Jesus our Lord to His disciples
The Apostle Peter.
These words must have been disturbing to the disciples for sure. Jesus never "sugar-coated" the truth.
Here's what JC Ryle sees in our Lord's words:
"He tells His disciples that they will be cast out of the Jewish Church, and persecuted even to death:--How strange that seems at first sight! Excommunication, suffering, and death, are the portion that the Prince of Peace predicts to His disciples. So far from receiving them and their message with gratitude, the world would hate them, despitefully use them, and put them to death. And, worst of all, their persecutors would actually persuade themselves that it was right to persecute, and would inflict the cruelest injuries in the sacred name of religion.
How true the prediction has turned out! Like every other prophecy of Scripture, it has been fulfilled to the very letter. The Acts of the Apostles show us how the unbelieving Jews persecuted the early Christians. The pages of history tell us what horrible crimes have been committed by the Popish Inquisition. The annals of our own country inform us how our holy Reformers were burned at the stake for their religion, by men who professed to do all they did from zeal for pure Christianity. Unlikely and incredible as it might seem at the time, the great Prophet of the Church has been found in this, as in everything else, to have predicted nothing but literal truth."
Could the Church in America, the genuine believers who love Christ and the truth of the Gospel, ever be persecuted like this? Could Christians in America ever be put to death for simply living for the Lord, and speaking the truth in love and gratitude? Something to think about for sure in our dark times.
The Lord is sovereign and His hand will never leave its hold it has upon us. The Father's hand as well has a loving firm grip upon each and every one of His beloved children, those who love Him, and have repented and trusted in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Do you love God? Do you love Jesus Christ? Would you die for Him, and His truth? I hope by His grace, if the time ever comes to, I would be able to. It's hard enough to live for Christ, but to be persecuted and killed.
The Apostle Paul prayed to the Lord to take away his persecution, and the Lord said: "My grace is sufficient for you Paul." The Lord loved Paul, and called him to suffer much, but His grace and presence was strong upon him. So much so, that Paul said: "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
These words must have been disturbing to the disciples for sure. Jesus never "sugar-coated" the truth.
Here's what JC Ryle sees in our Lord's words:
"He tells His disciples that they will be cast out of the Jewish Church, and persecuted even to death:--How strange that seems at first sight! Excommunication, suffering, and death, are the portion that the Prince of Peace predicts to His disciples. So far from receiving them and their message with gratitude, the world would hate them, despitefully use them, and put them to death. And, worst of all, their persecutors would actually persuade themselves that it was right to persecute, and would inflict the cruelest injuries in the sacred name of religion.
How true the prediction has turned out! Like every other prophecy of Scripture, it has been fulfilled to the very letter. The Acts of the Apostles show us how the unbelieving Jews persecuted the early Christians. The pages of history tell us what horrible crimes have been committed by the Popish Inquisition. The annals of our own country inform us how our holy Reformers were burned at the stake for their religion, by men who professed to do all they did from zeal for pure Christianity. Unlikely and incredible as it might seem at the time, the great Prophet of the Church has been found in this, as in everything else, to have predicted nothing but literal truth."
Could the Church in America, the genuine believers who love Christ and the truth of the Gospel, ever be persecuted like this? Could Christians in America ever be put to death for simply living for the Lord, and speaking the truth in love and gratitude? Something to think about for sure in our dark times.
The Lord is sovereign and His hand will never leave its hold it has upon us. The Father's hand as well has a loving firm grip upon each and every one of His beloved children, those who love Him, and have repented and trusted in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Do you love God? Do you love Jesus Christ? Would you die for Him, and His truth? I hope by His grace, if the time ever comes to, I would be able to. It's hard enough to live for Christ, but to be persecuted and killed.
The Apostle Paul prayed to the Lord to take away his persecution, and the Lord said: "My grace is sufficient for you Paul." The Lord loved Paul, and called him to suffer much, but His grace and presence was strong upon him. So much so, that Paul said: "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
"all my life I've been waiting for I've been praying for for the people to say that we don't wanna fight no more they'll be no more wars ..."
I have a couple verses for this excellent sentiment:
"“For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress." Isaiah 65:16-19
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”" Revelation 21:1-5
I would love to sit and talk with this artist about Christ, the Gospel, and the Lord's truth. My earnest prayer for Matisyahu is that he would see his sinful dilemma without God's forgiveness, and see the goodness of Christ's death and resurrection as his only forgiveness. Amen.
Here's a little about this fine artist:
"Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), better known by his Hebrew name Matisyahu, is an American Hasidic Jewish reggae musician.
Matisyahu was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania as Matthew Miller; his family eventually settled in White Plains, New York. He was brought up a Reconstructionist Jew, and attended Hebrew school at Bet Am Shalom, a synagogue located in White Plains. He performed for over a year under the alias MC Truth in Bend, Oregon's Soulfori band. He spent some time as a young man as a self-professed "deadhead," taking hallucinogens and following the rock band Phish on tour.[1]
In 1996, Matisyahu took part in a semester-long program that offers students first-hand exploration of Jewish heritage at the Alexander Muss High School in Hod Hasharon, Israel. His experiences there significantly affected his feelings towards Judaism eventually leading to his decision to adopt Orthodox Judaism, becoming a Baal Teshuva around 2001.
Matisyahu is an Ashkenazi Hebrew and Yiddish pronunciation of the Biblical name Matthew (מתתיהו). The same Hebrew name corresponds to the name Mattathias -- which is sometimes used as a translation of the name of the 2nd century B.C. Jewish high priest of the Maccabees.
Matisyahu Miller explained the origin of his personal use of the name in an interview in Kosher Spirit Magazine (a publication by OK Kosher Certification) as follows: His full secular name is Matthew Paul Miller, and the legal Hebrew name he received at his brit milah (circumcision ceremony) at eight days of age was forgotten. In Hebrew school it was assumed to be Matisyahu because of the connection between Matthew and Matisyahu. The original certificate from the brit was later located and he discovered that the actual name given at the brit was the Yiddish name "Feivish Hershel". He was advised by his rabbis to continue using the Hebrew name that he had grown up with." -Wikipedia
"“For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress." Isaiah 65:16-19
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”" Revelation 21:1-5
I would love to sit and talk with this artist about Christ, the Gospel, and the Lord's truth. My earnest prayer for Matisyahu is that he would see his sinful dilemma without God's forgiveness, and see the goodness of Christ's death and resurrection as his only forgiveness. Amen.
Here's a little about this fine artist:
"Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), better known by his Hebrew name Matisyahu, is an American Hasidic Jewish reggae musician.
Matisyahu was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania as Matthew Miller; his family eventually settled in White Plains, New York. He was brought up a Reconstructionist Jew, and attended Hebrew school at Bet Am Shalom, a synagogue located in White Plains. He performed for over a year under the alias MC Truth in Bend, Oregon's Soulfori band. He spent some time as a young man as a self-professed "deadhead," taking hallucinogens and following the rock band Phish on tour.[1]
In 1996, Matisyahu took part in a semester-long program that offers students first-hand exploration of Jewish heritage at the Alexander Muss High School in Hod Hasharon, Israel. His experiences there significantly affected his feelings towards Judaism eventually leading to his decision to adopt Orthodox Judaism, becoming a Baal Teshuva around 2001.
Matisyahu is an Ashkenazi Hebrew and Yiddish pronunciation of the Biblical name Matthew (מתתיהו). The same Hebrew name corresponds to the name Mattathias -- which is sometimes used as a translation of the name of the 2nd century B.C. Jewish high priest of the Maccabees.
Matisyahu Miller explained the origin of his personal use of the name in an interview in Kosher Spirit Magazine (a publication by OK Kosher Certification) as follows: His full secular name is Matthew Paul Miller, and the legal Hebrew name he received at his brit milah (circumcision ceremony) at eight days of age was forgotten. In Hebrew school it was assumed to be Matisyahu because of the connection between Matthew and Matisyahu. The original certificate from the brit was later located and he discovered that the actual name given at the brit was the Yiddish name "Feivish Hershel". He was advised by his rabbis to continue using the Hebrew name that he had grown up with." -Wikipedia
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