Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Easter Song for All Year Around


Here we are, ending the year by ending our review of the album "For Him Who Has Ears to Hear" by Keith Green.

The final song is Annie Herring's "Easter Song", to which Keith added an extra verse.

It's bright, upbeat, and celebratory...and considering its subject matter, that's exactly what it should be.




Hear the bells ringing
They're singing, that you can be born again
Hear the bells ringing
They're singing, "Christ is risen from the dead!"

The angel upon the tombstone
Said "He has risen, just as He said
Quickly now, go tell His disciples
That Jesus Christ is no longer dead!"

Joy to the world, He has risen, Hallelujah
He's risen, Hallelujah
He's risen, Hallelujah

Hear the bells ringing
They're singing, that you can be healed right now
Hear the bells ringing
They're singing, "Christ, He will reveal it now."

The angels, they all surround us
And they are ministering Jesus's power
Quickly now, reach out and receive it
For this could be your glorious hour

Joy to the world, He has risen, Hallelujah
He's risen, Hallelujah
He's risen, Hallelujah
©1973 Latter Rain Music



Truth is...this is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. "If Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life." (I Corinthians 15:17-22 NLT)


Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Christmas Steve


Not everyone greets Christmas with a sparkling smile and open arms.

I have no reason to believe the character Randy Stonehill created in his song, "Christmas at Denny's," is named Steve, but it makes for a semi-clever title for this post.


And the song makes for an empathetic look at a certain demographic not having a holly, jolly Christmas this year.

They got Christmas Muzak
Piped in through the ceiling
And the refills of coffee
Are always for free
And the waitress on graveyard
And the surly night manager
They're wishing that all of us losers would leave
There's a star on the sign
At the Texaco Station
Like the star long ago
On that midnight clear
As I look all around
At these cold, empty faces
I doubt that you'd find many wise men here

And I'm dreaming about
A silent night
Holy night
When things were all right
And I'm dreaming about
How my life could have been
If only, if only, if only...
But somewhere down the road
I gave up that fight
Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

Once I had a home
And a wife and a daughter
Had a company job
Earning middle-class pay
Then Lisa got killed
By a car near the schoolyard
And my wife started drinking
Just to get through each day
I will never forget that little red wagon
Turning to rust all alone in the rain
One morning I flagged down
A truck on the highway
I just couldn't bear to go back there again

And I'm dreaming about
A silent night
Holy night
When things were all right
And I'm dreaming about
How my life could have been
If only, if only, if only...
Well, it's not just the blind man
Who loses his sight
Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight

And they say
Life's made of cruel circumstance
Fate plays the tune and we dance
Dance till we drop
In the dust and we're gone
And the world just goes on

The cop at the counter
He's the guardian angel
He watches these orphans
Through dark, mirrored shades
And the register rings
Like a bell sadly tolling
For the fools we've become
And the price that we paid
Oh when I was a boy
I believed in Christmas
Miracle season to make a new start
I don't need no miracle, sweet baby Jesus
Just help me find
Some kind of hope in my heart

And I'm dreaming about
A silent night
Holy night
When things were all right
And I'm dreaming about
How my life could have been
If only, if only, if only...
But I'll still be here
At the morning's first light
Merry Christmas
It's Christmas at Denny's tonight
©1982 King of Hearts Music


Truth is...if you're feeling like Steve this year, maybe all you really need right now is the knowledge that you are not alone in your pain. There are people who understand. Maybe that's a good enough first step toward finding some kind of hope in your heart.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Calvin & Hobbes & Santa & God


This Calvin & Hobbes strip should help us cultivate some empathy and understanding for those among us who have trouble believing.

It begins with Calvin wanting some physical proof to back up all he's been told about Santa Claus.



Calvin then reveals why it's important to him.



And then, with the help of Hobbes, we realize that the desire for proof goes even deeper.



Truth is...I recognize the struggle is real. I know a few atheists who truly wish they could believe, but just can't wrap their heads around the mystery of it all. They want everything to be crystal clear and unquestionable...they worship at the altar of human intelligence, which is a faulty, feeble god.

I know these things about them, and I wish them a Merry Christmas.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Fork in the Road: Top 25 Jesus Quotes: #20


You wouldn't expect a Jewish novelist, essayist, and dramatist from Poland to have a lot of positive things to say about Jesus, and yet, here's the 20th-most-popular quote about Jesus from azquotes.com...attributed to just such a person, Sholem Asch.

Sholem Asch


"Jesus Christ is to me the outstanding personality of all time, all history, both as Son of God and as Son of Man. Everything he ever said or did has value for us today and that is something you can say of no other man, dead or alive. There is no easy middle ground to stroll upon. You either accept Jesus or reject him."

I am particularly fond of the phrase, "There is no easy middle ground to stroll upon."

That's exactly where most folks want to wander around: "Well, I really respect the teachings of Jesus. 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you' and all that kind of stuff. His love and acceptance of everyone is really inspiring, as long as I still get to indulge in my favorite vices."


*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is...Jesus also said "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26 ESV)


Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Trials Turned to Gold


Has anyone ever considered the similarities between Yahweh and Rumplestiltskin?



Let's not take the comparison TOO far, considering Rumplestiltskin's wickedly impish nature and self-destructive temper, but there is one particular skill of Rumplestiltskin's that directly relates to something Keith Green praises God about in his song, "Trials Turned to Gold".

Just as Mr. R. could take a roomful of straw and turn it into a precious metal, so Yahweh specializes in using the negative circumstances of our lives, no matter how trivial or traumatic, to transform us into kids of the Kingdom..."heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ." (Romans 8:17 NIV)

He's brought me here, where things are clear
And trials turn to gold
He shared with me, His victory
He won in days of old

Oh Lord, I don't deserve
The riches of Your word
But You've changed my filthy rags
To linen white as snow

The view from here is nothing near
To what it is for You
I tried to see Your plan for me
But I only acted like I knew

Oh Lord forgive the times
I tried to read your mind
Cause you said if I'd be still
Then I would hear your voice

My Lord, my King, my urge to sing
And praise the things above
No words can say the glorious way
You changed me with your love

He's brought me low, so I could know
The way to reach the heights
To forsake my dreams, my self-esteem
And give up all my rights

With each one that I lay down
A jewel's placed in my crown
Cause His love, the things above
Is all we'll ever need

He's brought me here, where things are clear
And trials turn to gold
©1977 April Music



Truth is...we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NIV)