Song for Sarah / Ditty for Debbie

"Song for Sarah" holds a special place in my heart. It's the third song on the second side of Randy Stonehill's classic "Jesus Music" album, Welcome to Paradise, but it was also part of my wedding vows (with "Sarah" replaced by "Debbie").

It's a practically perfect invitation to a love commitment, along with a gospel message of the greatest love of all.

Sarah, can I love you?
Will you open up the door?

I know you've heard that misused word
a lot of times before

But I think that you need someone
who can firmly take your hand

And love you in a way
that you can really understand

Sarah, will you love me?
You've got so much there to give

We've waited for so long
to change the lonely way we live

And I see the fragile lady
that you hide behind your eyes

And I want so much to reach you
when I hear those distant cries

Sarah, Someone loves you
in a way I never could

He laid His life before you
on a cross made out of wood

Oh and in His hour of anguish
our dreams were given birth

I hope you finally realize
how much your love is worth

© 1976 King of Hearts Publishing

https://youtu.be/_9N6Cze4yAo

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Truth is...while this is a quiet, sweet song, it is also personally the source of laughter. You see, our wedding day was particularly hot and humid and the church building in which we were wed had no air conditioning. While I was singing this song to my bride, a drop of sweat trickled down my nose and Debbie tenderly reached up and wiped it away. The near-sighted ladies in the crowd thought she was wiping away a tear I had shed and totally lost it!

Measuring Up

I'm one of the elders at my church. We are primarily pastors, dedicated to caring and praying for the members of the congregation and overseeing the spiritual direction of what is taught within our walls.

We are currently in the midst of bringing a couple new people on board, and part of their apprenticeship is filling out a questionnaire so we can get a better idea about each person's spiritual background and outlook.

As I read through the set of answers from our most-recent apprentice, and look at the partial list of qualifications Paul documented in First Timothy 3, I am practically forced into some self-evaluation...and a renewed doubt as to my fitness for the role.

According to Paul (I Timothy 3:2-7), someone who serves as an elder should be:

• above reproach
• faithful to his wife
• temperate
• self-controlled
• respectable
• hospitable
• able to teach
• not given to drunkenness
• not violent but gentle
• not quarrelsome
• not a lover of money

Moreover, he must:

• manage his own family well
• see that his children obey him
• do so in a manner worthy of full respect
• not be a recent convert
• have a good reputation with outsiders

I'm certainly stronger in some of these things than in others, but I'm glad this is a list of guidelines as to the type of person who should be in church leadership, and not necessarily a strict checklist.

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Truth is...this isn't such a bad list of personal goals for anyone to do some self-evaluation against.

Giving Up

Here we sit in the middle-ish of Lent, wondering if we are approaching Good Friday and Easter with the proper level of thought and intent.

Some folks choose to give up something "for Lent". A lot of the time, it's something fairly innocuous (like chocolate, or caffeine) and is meant as only a temporary fast from whatever substance or activity is chosen.

I've known people who have absented themselves from social media as a way to test their commitment to Christ or to help themselves focus on spiritual matters in preparation for Holy Week.

They'll even pull out some Scriptures they feel relate to the role Twitter and Facebook play in their social interactions:

• Titus 3:9  -  Avoid foolish controversies ... and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.
• 1 Timothy 1:3-4  -  Command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths.... Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work.

Truth is...If something is good to give up "for Lent", maybe it would be good to give it up entirely. I'm not necessarily saying to renounce all social media; maybe just stop using them to engage in foolish controversies, eh? 

News for You

Have you ever looked around and felt like everyone is just going through the motions? Like maybe The Matrix wasn't too far off?

I'm thinking Randy Stonehill felt that way when he wrote "News for You".

Everybody's goin' to the movies

Everybody's leavin' for the show

It seems as though we've lost the nerves for feeling

and no one's in the mood to want to know

I got news for you, this is not a game

I got news for you, are you listenin'

I got news for you, we are all the same

And when that is understood

We can start to live again

Can you look inside yourself and tell me

That your emptiness is just a state of mind

And you'll feel better if you just keep busy

If you leave your feelings all behind

I got news for you, this is not a game

I got news for you, are you listenin'

I got news for you, we are all to blame

And when that is understood

We can start to live again

Oh start to live again

People people tell me where have we been

Ever feel as if your heart was whispering

Like a special Voice you never heard before

And something deep inside your soul was tickin'

As if Someone was pounding on the door

I got news for you, this is not a game

I got news for you, are you listenin'

I got news for you, we are all the same

I got news for you, this is not a game

I got news for you, we are all to blame

And when that is understood

we can start to live again

Yes when that is understood

We can start to live again

©1976 King of Hearts Publishing

https://youtu.be/4u18HXA-5cQ

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Truth is...getting in touch with one's feelings AND realizing that "we are all to blame"  -  that the world is the way it is because "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)  -  are both important steps on the road to a real, thriving relationship with the creator of the universe.

Neil Anderson's "Who I Am in Christ"

I AM ACCEPTED...
John 1:12   I am God's child.
John 15:15   As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1   I have been justified (declared righteous).
1 Corinthians 6:17   I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20   I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.
1 Corinthians 12:27   I am a member of Christ's body.
Ephesians 1:3-8   I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
Colossians 1:13-14   I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
Colossians 2:9-10   I am complete in Christ.
Hebrews 4:14-16   I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

I AM SECURE...
Romans 8:1-2   I am free from condemnation.
Romans 8:28   I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.
Romans 8:31-39   I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22   I have been established, anointed and sealed by God.
Colossians 3:1-4   I am hidden with Christ in God.
Philippians 1:6   I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.
Philippians 3:20   I am a citizen of heaven.
2 Timothy 1:7   I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
1 John 5:18   I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

I AM SIGNIFICANT...
John 15:5   I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
John 15:16   I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
1 Corinthians 3:16   I am God's temple.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21   I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
Ephesians 2:6   I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
Ephesians 2:10   I am God's workmanship.
Ephesians 3:12   I may approach God with freedom and confidence.

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Truth is...truth. Promises are promises.

https://youtu.be/t-GTifuqpec

Deadly Debate Corroborates Corruption

Is the current political rancor the worst our country has ever experienced?

Not by a long shot.

Antebellum America had plenty of violence in the political theater. The following is an excerpt from Joanne B. Freeman's book, The Field of Blood.

On one memorable occasion in Washington in 1857, three nativist gangs -- the Plug Uglies, the Chunkers, and the Rip-Raps -- joined forces to terrorize immigrants casting votes, causing a riot. When the panicked mayor called in the Marines, the three gangs hauled a cannon into play, though they never fired it. By the time the brawl subsided, several people had been killed. State legislatures also erupted into uproars from time to time. In 1857, there was an all­ out row in the Illinois legislature featuring "considerable wrestling, knocking over chairs, desks, inkstands, men, and things generally." In 1858, state assemblies in both New York and Massachusetts dissolved into fisticuffs. "[T]here was a most heavenly time in the House for an hour or two," gushed a New York Times reporter about the Boston out­break. It "would have made a sensation even in Congress." The Arkan­sas House deserves special mention. In 1837, when a representative insulted the Speaker during debate, the Speaker stepped down from his platform, bowie knife in hand, and killed him. Expelled and tried for murder, he was acquitted for excusable homicide and reelected, only to pull his knife on another legislator during debate, though this time the sound of colleagues cocking pistols stopped him cold.

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Truth is...The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be. (Jeremiah 17:9-10 The Message)

First Prayer

How do you pray if you've never prayed before? How do you figure out what to say?

Well...a person could do worse than singing the first song on side two of Randy Stonehill's Welcome to Paradise.

FIRST PRAYER

I've been waiting for a long long time

Hopin' You're a friend of mine

If there's one thing that I need to do

Well that's to find out more about You

I have been wondering all of my days

So if You're there show me the way

I see people in a world of lies

Staring out through lonely eyes

Watching as the years go by

Knowing they're living only to die

There must be something missing somewhere

So if You're listening answer this prayer

I will follow if You'll lead me

Help me make a stand

If You'll breathe new breath inside me

I'll believe You can

I'll believe You can

Well I never really learned to pray

But You know what I'm trying to say

I don't want my life to end 

Not ever knowing why it began

So if You'll trust me I'll do my best

And I'll be trusting You for the rest

©1976 King of Hearts Publishing

https://youtu.be/fzy71cVsMKM

Truth is...(From Randy's liner notes for the 25th Anniversary CD) I wanted to explain that God isn't waiting for us to be good enough to come to Him. We don't need to be great orators and He doesn't require some exotic incantation to be recited. He just wants us to trust and obey  -  like a child would rely on a father. It dawned on me later in the recording studio that I had been subconsciously paraphrasing the very prayer I had prayed in Larry's kitchen on that special day back in June of 1970. At that crossroads moment, I remember saying to God, "I don't really believe in You but I believe in You enough that I'm talking to You. So, if You are real then come be real to me in a way I'll understand. I don't know why You'd care, but if You truly want me, I'm Yours."