One of my favorite artists is Rich Mullins. Every time I listen to his music, my soul rises up and soars. What an incredible man of God! In every one of his songs is a deep love for his savior and a faith that is beyond compare. I'd like to share with you all the lyrics to one of my favorite songs. It's entitle "Calling out Your Name", and I think it's one of his best.
Well, the moon moved past Nebraska
And spilled laughter on them cold Dakota Hills
And angels danced on Jacob's stairs
There is a silence in the Badlands
And over Kansas the whole universe is stilled
By the whisper of a prayer
And the single hawk bursts in to flight
And in the east the whole horizon is in flames
Chorus:
I feel the thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And I hear the prairies calling out your name.
I can feel the earth tremble beneath
The rumbling of the buffalo's hooves
And the fury in the pheasant's wings
It tells me the Lord is in His temple
And there is still faith that can make the mountains move
And a love that can make the heavens ring
Where the sacred rivers meet beneath
The shadow of the Keeper of the plains
Chorus
From the place where morning gathers
You can look sometimes
Forever till you see
What time may never know
That the Lord takes by its corners this old world
And shakes us forward and shakes us free
To run wild with the hope
I know that this thirst will not last long
And that it will soon drown in the song not sung in vain
I feel the thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And with the prairies I am calling out your name.
Rich Mullins fulfilled one of his dreams by living on a Navajo Indian reservation in New Mexico and teaching music to the children there. He desperately wanted to bring them the gospel through his music. This song, filled with Native American imagery, is such an amazing testament to his life-long goal.
Some called him rebellious because he didn't follow the guidelines laid out by society. Sometimes he went barefoot to church. He didn't really care for the world's opinion. But he gave everything he had. His home at the Navajo reservation was practically empty. He never had any money in his pockets because he was constantly giving it away.
"Like Thoreau, I love to suck the marrow out of the bones of life," Rich Mullins had said. "People want to know God's will for them. In one of his most explicit statements on the subject, Christ said, 'I come that you might have life and have it abundantly.' One day it won't make any difference how many albums I sold, but I will give account of my life to God. What I think He'll be most pleased with is to see that we truly lived, that we were the person He created us to be."
All I know is, I've been incredibly blessed by his music, and I will count it a great priviledge to meet him someday in heaven.
(Click on this link to watch a music video of "Calling out Your Name" on YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaNwTYJrYtA
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Low Expectations
I'd like to remind everyone reading this of the great and powerful God we serve. I'm sure He's tired of the low expectations we have of Him, and I know I am. It's time we start having faith in what he can do, and quit settling for less. God's word tells us to pray without ceasing, to seek and we shall find. God delights to give us what we want, if we will only have the faith to ask!
This is a quote from the book Set Apart Femininity by Leslie Ludy.
He will supernaturally protect us from harm.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling, for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:5-12)
He will save, heal, and rescue us from destruction and fill us with good things.
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who forgives all your iniquities? Who heals all your diseases? Who redeems your life from destruction? Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies? Who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles? (Psalm 103:1-4)
He will do even beyond what we ask or think.
Now to HIm who is able to do exceedingly abudantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
He will give us victory over sin.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death;but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Romands 8:2-6)
These are just a few. God is GOD!!!!!!!!!! Never forget it.
This is a quote from the book Set Apart Femininity by Leslie Ludy.
He will supernaturally protect us from harm.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling, for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:5-12)
He will save, heal, and rescue us from destruction and fill us with good things.
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who forgives all your iniquities? Who heals all your diseases? Who redeems your life from destruction? Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies? Who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles? (Psalm 103:1-4)
He will do even beyond what we ask or think.
Now to HIm who is able to do exceedingly abudantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
He will give us victory over sin.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death;but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Romands 8:2-6)
These are just a few. God is GOD!!!!!!!!!! Never forget it.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
More Wisdom From Narnia
"Is he a man?" asked Lucy.
"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of the Beasts? Aslan is a lion-the Lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh!" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver; "If there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking together, they're either braver than most or else just silly."
"Than he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." ~The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Over and over again throughout the Chronicles of Narnia, the children are reminded that Aslan is not safe. "He's not a tame lion, you know". Aslan comes and goes, doesn't like to be tied down, and does what he will. He is not to be pressured into anything. When he chooses to come is when he will come. He is not safe.
How much like our great Lion of Judah this is! God cannot be locked into a formula, he does not have to do what we think he must do. God is GOD. So often we try to say, "If I just pray this way, or if I just do this, God must give me what I want". God is not to be ordered about. We must learn to trust him. He delights to give good and perfect gifts to his children, if we will only let him. As Jim Elliot once said, "God gives the best gifts to those who leave the choice with Him".
God is always in control, and he knows what is best for his children. Loving God is not a safe thing. God is dangerous, and following him is even more so. In the process, you may lose your friends, your family, your belongings, and even your life. But just like in Narnia, at the end of this world, what treasures await use in the next!
"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of the Beasts? Aslan is a lion-the Lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh!" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver; "If there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking together, they're either braver than most or else just silly."
"Than he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." ~The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Over and over again throughout the Chronicles of Narnia, the children are reminded that Aslan is not safe. "He's not a tame lion, you know". Aslan comes and goes, doesn't like to be tied down, and does what he will. He is not to be pressured into anything. When he chooses to come is when he will come. He is not safe.
How much like our great Lion of Judah this is! God cannot be locked into a formula, he does not have to do what we think he must do. God is GOD. So often we try to say, "If I just pray this way, or if I just do this, God must give me what I want". God is not to be ordered about. We must learn to trust him. He delights to give good and perfect gifts to his children, if we will only let him. As Jim Elliot once said, "God gives the best gifts to those who leave the choice with Him".
God is always in control, and he knows what is best for his children. Loving God is not a safe thing. God is dangerous, and following him is even more so. In the process, you may lose your friends, your family, your belongings, and even your life. But just like in Narnia, at the end of this world, what treasures await use in the next!
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