I only experienced Brennan Manning in person once in my life, and he was not as animated and on fire as he is in the short clip I'd like to share with you today.
But whether excited and flamboyant, or quiet and introspective, he always delivered the message that God loves us...
Have you ever heard the line, "I used to be high on drugs, but now I'm high on the Lord"? It became kind of a cliche for personal testimonies in the Sixties and Seventies...especially among the ex-hippies that made up most of the "Jesus Movement." Cliche or not, it was fitting for Randy Stonehill, who went to L.A. in search of a musical mentor in Larry Norman. Randy certainly got what he was looking for, but he also found out about Jesus and asked Him to take over...a story that Randy sings about in the song "Norman's Kitchen". Stonehill went on to become one of the foundation stones (or maybe I should say "rockers") of "Jesus Music", which has now morphed into Contemporary Christian Music, or CCM. In fact, his 1976 album, Welcome to Paradise, is considered one of the very best from the era and holds a special place in the hearts of most of us who were hip to that jive. Having introduced the readers of this blog to Larry Norman's In Another Land, I feel led to do the same with this very special album from this very special artist.
Welcome to Paradise opens with "King of Hearts," a quiet call for the listener to follow Jesus instead of wandering lost in a world full of pain and fear.
All alone drifting wild
Like a ship that's lost out in the ocean
Everyone's a homeless child
And it's not hard to understand
Why we need a Father's hand
There's a rainbow somewhere
You were born to be there
You're just running in circles
Till you reach out your hand to the King of hearts
Pockets full of pain and fear
That's a load there's just no need to carry
Let it go and leave it here
Now there's no price that's left to pay
With one more mile or one more day
There's a rainbow somewhere
You were born to be there
You're just running in circles
Till you reach out your hand to the King of hearts
You can try to catch the wind
But in the end, you're only wasting precious time
Life can really be so kind
Once you find the truth and follow
Go on follow, go on follow
(Repeat 1st Verse)
There's a rainbow somewhere
You were born to be there
You're just running in circles
Till you reach out your hand
Till you reach out your hand
Till you reach out your hand to the King of hearts
Truth is...In the words of a different old song (by Diane Ball), "[God] makes all things beautiful in His time." Beautiful...like a rainbow. If you're just running in circles, maybe it's time for YOU to reach out your hand to the King of Hearts.
Don't believe me? Check out this short video featuring Alvin Law, a person who was born armless, but not optionless. (A big thank you to Goalcast for making this available.)
Truth is...this is not the first time you've seen Alvin here. He's part of the "Yes I Can!" music video featured in a previous post that you can see if you CLICK HERE.
It takes more than waiting around for inspiration to do inspiring work. Case in point: George Gershwin, as described in Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey.
"To me George was a little sad all the time because he had this compulsion to work," Ira Gershwin said of his brother. "He never relaxed." Indeed, Gershwin typically worked for twelve hours or more a day, beginning in the late morning and going until past midnight. He started the day with a breakfast of eggs, toast, coffee, and orange juice, then immediately began composing, sitting at the piano in his pajamas, bathrobe, and slippers. He would take breaks for a mid-afternoon lunch, a late-afternoon walk, and supper at about 8:00. If Gershwin had a party to attend in the evening, it was not unusual for him to return home after midnight and plunge back into work until dawn. He was dismissive of inspiration, saying that if he waited for the muse he would compose at most three songs a year. It was better to work every day. "Like the pugilist," Gershwin said, "the songwriter must always keep in training."
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The apostle Paul would probably agree with Gershwin. "Do you remember how, on a racing-track, every competitor runs, but only one wins the prize? Well, you ought to run with your minds fixed on winning the prize! Every competitor in athletic events goes into serious training. Athletes will take tremendous pains—for a fading crown of leaves. But our contest is for an eternal crown that will never fade. I run the race then with determination. I am no shadow-boxer, I really fight! I am my body’s sternest master, for fear that when I have preached to others I should myself be disqualified." (I Corinthians 9:24-27 Phillips) Truth is...Do you want to be close to God? To hear His voice? To feel led by the Spirit? To do inspiring things for the Kingdom? Then get up out of your seat and show us your faith by your works. (James 2:18)
Go big or go home, right? Well, Larry Norman did both when he ended the album In Another Land (and his present-past-future album trilogy) with the grand-sounding-though-less-than-two-minutes-long "Hymn to the Last Generation". The title and the first half of the lyric definitely put this in the same end-times/apocalyptic vein as some other songs on the album: Might as well face it, the world as we know it is coming to an end.
And then we get the evangelistic plea and the promise of a better life to come: There's no need to fear; Jesus Christ is here.
Truth is...Whether Jesus comes back tomorrow or a million years from now, our only hope for making our lives in this world (and the next) what they were meant to be is to walk hand-in-hand with Jesus.
For faithful readers of Truth is..., it is no secret that I have a high regard for most of what came out of the mouth of singer/songwriter Rich Mullins. (Just click the "Other Posts" link that bears his name and you'll see what I mean.) The surprise today (one day before the 21st anniversary of his death) is...I've found a series of Mullins quotes that I've never heard before. They are all about worship and they are within an article by Esther O'Reilly that I strongly encourage you to read by clicking HERE. Maybe this single quote will encourage you to invest five minutes to read something that may enrich the rest of your life: "I have a feeling that maybe sound doctrine is more important than goosebumps."
Truth is...watching the "It Is Well" clip found at the end of the article may be the best thing you've done for your spirit all week.
I've been reading through my old journals to see if there were any nuggets of truth worth sharing here. While I'm not sure about the concept of worth, the following entries are certainly timely, considering today's date. [A word of explanation: At the time these were written, I was working through the night, sleeping during the day, and waking up at about the time my children came home from school in the afternoon.] September 12, 2001, Wednesday Yesterday afternoon, I was getting up just as Curtis came home from school. He came in and asked if I knew about all the stuff. "I just got up. What do you mean?" Then he said that the World Trade Center towers in NYC weren't there anymore; that some planes got hijacked and flown into them, etc. I kept saying, "No way...C'mon get real...what's the punch line?" until we went downstairs and turned on the TV.
September 14, 2001, Friday So, Lord, what do YOU think? Is this going to end up being a war? Or a prolonged crime investigation? Is this finally the beginning of the end? Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. September 15, 2001, Saturday Yahweh, silence the foolish talkers; those who would seek attention for themselves by spouting off sensational myths in response to Tuesday's attacks. Keep them from furthering the stereotype of Christians as narrow-minded, reactionary, and judgmental. Take the goose-down out of their blanket statements. I pray specifically against their sweeping generalities. Thank You for the opportunity that Franklin Graham took to preach the Gospel in his brief interview with Tom Brokaw Friday night! And may the nation's prayers turn from "strengthen and protect us" to "forgive, save, and change us."
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Truth is...It's seventeen years later, and that change in our national prayers is still needed.
