Flipping Quarters at HIM

Probably some of you have read or heard about the experiment that Washington Post conducted on January 12, 2007. While I was reading the article, I cried. They had a world renowned violinist, Joshua Bell - who earns $1,000 per minute of playing, play several classical pieces. He played six classical pieces for 43 minutes, among them are; "Chaconne" from Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita No. 2 in D Minor and "Ave Maria" from Franz Schubert. The violin that he used was a Stradivari from 1710s which roughly costs more than $3.5 million dollars. "It was 7:51 a.m. on Friday, January 12, the middle of the morning rush hour. In the next 43 minutes, as the violinist performed six classical pieces, 1,097 people passed by. Almost all of them were on the way to work, which meant, for almost all of them, a government job. L'Enfant Plaza is at the nucleus of federal Washington, and these were mostly mid-level bureaucrats with those indeterminate, oddly fungible titles: policy analyst, project manager, budget officer, specialist, facilitator, consultant." People with all kinds of titles and roles, in their busyness, did not even hear the beauty. The first person to actually stop to listen had 3 minutes spare time before he had to get to work. About what he heard he said, "Whatever it was, it made me feel at peace." Then he went back to work forgetting every thing about the peace. Another person who notices is a 3 year old child.

"I had a time crunch," recalls Sheron Parker, an IT director for a federal agency. "I had an 8:30 training class, and first I had to rush Evvie off to his teacher, then rush back to work, then to the training facility in the basement."

Evvie is her son, Evan. Evan is 3.

You can see Evan clearly on the video. He's the cute black kid in the parka who keeps twisting around to look at Joshua Bell, as he is being propelled toward the door.

This is what the mother said, "There was a musician, and my son was intrigued. He wanted to pull over and listen, but I was rushed for time."

Jesus had something to say about this, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Picarello who heard the music that morning had a different reason for not stopping and admiring the beauty. He said "I walked a distance away, to hear him. I didn't want to be intrusive on his space." Picarello knew classical music but was too "modest" to meet the musician. This is what he said, "This was a superb violinist. I've never heard anyone of that caliber. He was technically proficient, with very good phrasing. He had a good fiddle, too, with a big, lush sound. I walked a distance away, to hear him. I didn't want to be intrusive on his space." Of all the people that morning only one person recognized Joshua Bell. Three week's earlier she had seen Bell at a free concert at the Library of Congress. She listened to him standing 10 feet away from him and after he finished his piece, she introduced her self to him, thanked him, and tossed a $20 bill and walked away. This is what she had to say, "It was the most astonishing thing I've ever seen in Washington, Joshua Bell was standing there playing at rush hour, and people were not stopping, and not even looking, and some were flipping quarters at him! Quarters! I wouldn't do that to anybody. I was thinking, Omigosh, what kind of a city do I live in that this could happen?" When it was over, she introduced herself to Bell, and tossed in a twenty. Not counting that -- it was tainted by recognition. This story reminded me of myself. God the creator of EVERYTHING is singing and making melodies all over us. The most beautiful thing in the entire universe, Jesus Christ, is dancing all around us.

1. Are we listening to HIM in our spare time? Even though it brings peace in us we don't have time to be with HIM. He wants us to dance with HIM.
2. Do we in our rush for time ignore the pleas of little children who does admire beauty? And, block them from listening.
3. Are we too modest? And, stand at a distance not to be "intrusive on HIS space". Even though we know HIM and all the technicalities about HIM...
4. Or, do we flip quarters at HIM or in our good day if we do recognize HIM shove a $20 bill? Just to say we recognize you and blame it on the city, others, for not recognizing.

I saw myself as the fourth person. I saw HIM at a free concert, when I do see HIM in my everyday life I will stop and listen, admire HIM and introduce myself, thank HIM and toss a $20 bill and walk away. That I'll do it in my good day, usually I'm content at tossing pennies at HIM. Pennies...!!! Most of the thousand people would have probably listened to Bell if he was playing at some very important gathering, or would have paid $150 to go to Carnegie Hall. At those places they would look very important and its a alloted time in their schedule to listen to Bell. They would even critic the pieces with their friends and really listen to what others had to say about the music. But, the same people saw Bell wearing street clothes and playing the same pieces that he would normally play. And, since the situation did not focus on them, and was not a part of their schedule, and hadn't paid money to be there, they hardly noticed him. At church, we pay money to be there "tithe", its a alloted time in our schedule - once or twice a week, we will listen to the "music" being played, we will talk with our friends about it; But, as soon as we leave the building we'll forget it and even if we hear the same "music", played by the same artist, outside in our normal life we will not notice it!!!!! You can read the whole article here. If you don't have time to read the whole article watch the video clips posted in the article.

Peek-a-Boo Blouse Fantasy

A Passion for Purity vs. Passive Prayers "I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." (Matthew 5:28-29) When you are enticed sexually, do you fight with your mind to say no to the image and then mightily labor to fill your mind with counter-images that kill off the seductive image? "If you put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, you will live" (Romans 8:13). Too many people think they have struggled with temptation when they have prayed for deliverance, and hoped the desire would go away. That is too passive. Yes, God works in us to will and to do his good pleasure! But the effect is that we "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12-13). Gouging out your eye may be a metaphor, but it means something very violent. The brain is a "muscle" to be flexed for purity, and in the Christian it is supercharged with the Spirit of Christ. What this means is that we must not give a sexual image or impulse more than five seconds before we mount a violent counterattack with the mind. I mean that! Five seconds. In the first two seconds we shout, "NO! Get out of my head!" In the next two seconds we cry out: "O God, in the name of Jesus, help me. Save me now. I am yours." Good beginning. But then the real battle begins. This is a mind war. The absolute necessity is to get the image and the impulse out of our mind. How? Get a counter-image into the mind. Fight. Push. Strike. Don't ease up. It must be an image that is so powerful that the other image cannot survive. There are lust-destroying images and thoughts. For example, have you ever in the first five seconds of temptation, demanded of your mind that it look steadfastly at the crucified form of Jesus Christ? Picture this. You have just seen a peek-a-boo blouse inviting further fantasy. You have five seconds. "No! Get out of my mind! God help me!" Now, immediately, demand of your mind - you can do this by the Spirit (Romans 8:13). Demand of your mind to fix its gaze on Christ on the cross. Use all your fantasizing power to see his lacerated back. Thirty-nine lashes left little flesh intact. He heaves with his breath up and down against the rough vertical beam of the cross. Each breath puts splinters into the lacerations. The Lord gasps. From time to time he screams out with intolerable pain. He tries to pull away from the wood and the massive spokes through his wrist rip into the nerve endings and he screams again with agony and pushes up with his feet to give some relief to his wrists. But the bones and nerves in his pierced feet crush against each other with anguish and he screams again. There is no relief. His throat is raw from screaming and thirst. He loses his breath and thinks he is suffocating, and suddenly his body involuntarily gasps for air and all the injuries unite in pain. In torment, he forgets about the crown of two-inch thorns and throws his head back in desperation, only to hit one of the thorns perpendicular against the cross beam and drive it half an inch into his skull. His voice reaches a soprano pitch of pain and sobs break over his pain-wracked body as every cry brings more and more pain. Now, I am not thinking about the blouse any more. I am at Calvary. These two images are not compatible. If you will use the muscle of your brain to pursue - violently pursue with the muscle of your mind - images of Christ crucified with the same creative energy that you use to pursue sexual fantasies, you will kill them. But it must start in the first five seconds - and not give up. So my question is: Do you fight, rather than only praying and waiting and trying to avoid? It is image against image. It is ruthless, vicious mental warfare, not just prayer and waiting. Join me in this bloody warfare to keep my mind and body pure for my Lord and my wife and my church. Jesus suffered beyond imagination to "purify for Himself a people for His own possession" (Titus 2:14). Every scream and spasm was to kill my lust - "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). Pursuing purity of heart at any cost.., Pastor John November 10, 1999 © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.

Christian Virtues - Humility

Today, in this post modern - western world, I feel like almost every Christian virtue has been perverted to fit its way of thinking. To the Christians in this western world the fog of doubt and forgetting, omission of beliefs and immersion to the culture is getting denser and denser day by day. We will be lost in this world if we do not learn and use the only tool we have to navigate, specially when we loose our bearings, when its hard to see two feet in front of us, when we can barely make out the sun and feel its warmth and see its light thorough the fog. The tool to navigate is the compass that alway and always points to Christ, the LORD, our Saviour. The compass is the Bible that is accessible, for free, in all kinds of versions and decor and styles, to all, in this modern day English speaking world. Concerning the compass, Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." John 5: 39,40 Humility: The following is written by G. K. Chesterton, in 1908, while the modern-day post modern world was still in its infancy. "What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert - himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt - the Divine Reason. . . . The new skeptic is so humble that he doubts if he can even learn. . . . There is a real humility typical of our time; but it so happens that it's practically a more poisonous humility than the wildest prostrations of the ascetic. . . . The old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which makes him stop working altogether. . . . We are on the road to producing a race of man too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table.: -Orthodoxy, (You can read this book here.) In 1999 Pastor John Piper wrote something about this. (You can read it here)

Directions how to conduct yourself in your Christian course

A letter by Jonathan Edwards, addressed to a young lady in the year 1741: 8. Remember that pride is the worst viper that is in the heart, the greatest disturber of the souls peace, and of sweet communion with Christ: it was the first sin committed, and lies lowest in the foundation of Satan's whole building, and is with the greatest difficulty rooted out, and is the most hidden, secret, and deceitful of all lusts, and often creeps insensibly into the midst of religion, even, sometimes, under the disguise of humility itself. "To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech." (Proverbs 8:13) You can read the rest here.

Does our "western" society really value womanhood?

. . .Why the West has seen it necessary to diminish motherhood so that women can pretend to be men remains a mystery to sane adults. It should be unnecessary to say that the military is not a proper vehicle for social experimentation but is a machine dedicated to fighting and, if necessary, killing. Kathleen Parker said in The Washington Post:

"On any given day, one isn't likely to find common cause with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He's a dangerous, lying, Holocaust- denying, Jew-hating cutthroat thug -- not to put too fine a point on it.

But he was dead-on when he wondered why a once-great power such as Britain sends mothers of toddlers to fight its battles."

You can read the commentary on this by Albert Mohler here.

He put a new song in my mouth

Psalms 86, 92, 99 Chorus: We worship You Oh! LORD We cry out to You We worship You Oh! LORD We cry out to You Verse 1: Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at His holy mountain; For the LORD our God is Holy! For the LORD our God is merciful! For the LORD our God is gracious! Slow to anger (And) abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Verse 2: It is good to give thanks to the LORD To sing praises to Your name; For the LORD our God is Holy! For the LORD our God is merciful! For the LORD our God is gracious! Slow to anger (And) abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Bridge: How great are Your works, O LORD! How deep are Your thoughts. How just are Your ways, O LORD! How gracious are You to us.

Give glory to our Father who is in heaven

Right after the people asked Jesus for a sign from heaven to prove that He is from heaven, Jesus replied, "Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness." The people seeking a sign did not need more light, but better receptiveness to the light they already had. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." What God was doing in Jesus was plain enough. By following Jesus we will have the light of life. Jesus also told His followers, "You are the light of the world... let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." We His followers are the light, (not like light or not even in a process to become like light) but we are the light. But still people around us will see the good works that we do and yet will give glory to our Father in heaven as they see we are made light by our Father. For it is written, "For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness." Ps 18:28 Now going back to what we started with, we do not need signs from God. Jesus is all we need. To have our body full of light our eyes need to be healthy. Our eyes must be fixed upon Jesus who is the source and the light of the world.

Rejoice, be glad, take great delight and enjoy God

The Reading of the Law Nehemiah 8 “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly (with interpretation, paragraph by paragraph), and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. After this, the very next day, heads of the houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. In the law they found that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and tell everyone about God, our LORD.” [Neh 8: 5, 8, 13,14] From this we learn,

• that the people had utter respect for the law
• the people were eager or hungry to be taught.
• the people took initiative to learn from their teachers, by asking the teachers to teach.
• the teachers were very patient in teaching and taught the law by explaining paragraph by paragraph by interpretation.

Probably they read the book of Deuteronomy. In it we find that; “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.” [31:9-13 ] The law is read in front of everybody; “they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” In the same book it is commanded by God “you shall rejoice before the Lord your God.” [Deut 27:7]. To rejoice before the LORD is a commandment from God. Its not something that we do when we feel like it. When the people in the days of Nehemiah heard the words of the law they wept and mourned as they realized who they are in front of God, knowing how great their sins and miseries are. But, very interesting thing happens. The people are encouraged by the leaders to rejoice, be glad, take great delight, enjoy. The people understood the words that the teachers taught, and to make great rejoicing because they had understood the law. They ate and drank, basically had a party and invited people who couldn’t afford to party with them. The story says that they understood the law and that “the joy of the LORD is their strength”. When we read the book of Deuteronomy, we find pages after pages of horrible curses from God, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things” Here, again, we find that God takes the matters of the heart very seriously. It says that this happened because there was abundance of other things and the heart was divided to these things. But, we can not make our hearts joyful and glad. In the same book, it is written that the people will fall back, be stubborn, and whore after things other than the LORD our God because the LORD hadn’t given a heart to understand or eyes to see or ear to hear [29:4]. But, in the same book, God also promises restoration and renewal because of His sovereign work in the hearts of His people. “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments" [30:6-8] Now in Christ Jesus’ blood this covenant was renewed. The night before His death Jesus told His disciples, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” [Luke 22:20] Jesus did the work for us. And, He is still doing it in us. Our LORD is the one who changes our hearts and our childrens so that we will love the LORD our God with all our heart and with all our soul and we will have life. That same night Jesus also taught something very important concept to His disciples in order that they can rejoice, be glad, take great delight and enjoy God to the fullest.

Resolutions from Psalm 78

• I do not want to test God in my heart by demanding the food I crave. (vs 18)
• I do not want to rebel against my God in the wilderness and grieve Him. (vs 40)
• I do not want to test God again and again and provoke the Holy One of Israel. (vs 41)
• I want to remember His power or the day when He redeemed me from the foe. (vs 42)
• I want to keep His testimonies. (vs 56)
• I do not want to provoke Him to anger with my high places; nor move Him to jealousy with my idols. (vs 58)

With upright heart OH! LORD shepherd me and guide me with Your skillful hand. (vs72) "Can we do it if God helps us? Yes, but what do we mean when we talk of God helping us? We mean God putting into us a bit of Himself, so to speak. He lends us a little of His reasoning powers and that is how we think: He puts a little of His love into us and that is how we love one another. When you teach a child writing, you hold its hand while it forms the letters: that is, it forms the letters because you are forming them. We love and reason because God loves and reasons and holds our hand while we do it." - C. S. Lewis "Mere Christianity"

1 Corinthians 4:7 (Pride)

"For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn't everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what's the point of all this comparing and competing?" "What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?" Suppose I got a nice Digital-SLR camera as a gift. After using it some, one day, somebody asks me about it. How would I talk about the camera since its a free gift to me? My attitude and response would be drastically different from, if I had worked hard and earned the money to buy the camera. No matter what the situation is, should not my attitude be the same as my first one?

Reflections on "Mere Christianity" By C. S. Lewis

I've been dealing with the issues of Sin, Temptation, Chastity and Pride. So, my thoughts and reflections on "Mere Christianity" revolves around these issues. More over, rather than me babbling I'll arrange Lewis' words in a pattern that was helpful to me. "The right direction (in our "walk") leads not only to peace but to knowledge. When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right. This is common sense, really. You understand sleep when you are awake, not while you are sleeping... You can understand the nature of drunkenness when you are sober, not when you are drunk. Good people know about both good and evil: bad people do not know about either. Perfect Chastity: We may, indeed, be sure that perfect chastity... will not be attained by any merely human efforts. You must ask for God's help. Even when you have done so, it may seem to you for a long time that no help, or less help than you need, is being given. Never mind. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again. For however important chastity (or courage, or truthfulness, or any other virtue) may be, this process trains us in habits of the soul which are more important still. It cures our illusions about ourselves and teaches us to depend on God. We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and, on the other, that we need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection. The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual: the pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronising and spoiling sport, and back-biting; the pleasures of power, of hatred. The essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind. Many a man has overcome cowardice, or lust, or ill-temper by learning to think that they are beneath his dignity-that is, by Pride. The devil laughs. He is perfectly content to see you becoming chaste and brave and self-controlled provided, all the time, he is setting up in you the Dictatorship of Pride - just as he would be quite content to see your chilblains (swelling or sore) cured if he was allowed, in return, to give you cancer. For Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense. Pride (if you want to find out how proud you are..): The more pride one had, the more one disliked pride in others. In fact, if you want to find out how proud you are the easiest way is to ask yourself, "How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronise me, or show off?" The point it that each person's pride is in competition with every one else's pride. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone. That is why I say that Pride is essentially competitive in a way the other vices are not. The sexual impulse may drive two men into competition if they both want the same girl But that is only by accident; they might just as likely have wanted two different girls. But a proud man will take your girl from you, not because he wants her, but just to prove to himself that he is a better man than you. Pride is competitive by its very nature: that is why it goes on and on. The Christians are right: it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began. Other vices may sometimes bring people together: you may find good fellowship and jokes and friendliness among drunken people or unchaste people. But Pride always means enmity-it is enmity. And not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God. Presence of God and humility: The real test of being in the presence of God is that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether. Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call "humble" nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all. If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed."

God Of Creation

It's the way your stars shine Sometimes so bright I swear I could hear And it's the way your moonlight Falls on your mountain lake so clear And it's the way your sunshine Paints your evening sky And it's the way your rain falls To sing me to sleep at night and… I fall into you God of creation take my breath away God of the heavens in this very space It's the way you lead me The way we walk by your water's still It's the way you hold me The way you've felt all that I feel And it's the way you touch me The way you know when it's needed most It's the way you form your words On my heart while I rest in you… Carry me away God of creation take my breath away God of the heavens in this very space And you enter suddenly And I am lost again Inside the mystery I am lost again And you come suddenly And I am lost again Inside the majesty I am lost again… - David Crowder* Band (Can You Hear Us) Psalm 104:1-2 Colossians 1:26-28 Hebrews 4:12-14 1 Chronicles 16:26-28 1 Chronicles 29:10-12 Isaiah 2:10 Ephesians 3:3-5 Ephesians 6:19 Colossians 1:26-28

Jake Shimabukuro

American National Anthem -Jake Shimabukuro (Ukulele) While My Guitar Gently Weeps Lets Dance

Please LORD, Help me

"I was astonished that although I now loved you . . . I did not persist in enjoyment of my God. Your beauty drew me to you, but soon I was dragged away from you by my own weight and in dismay I plunged again into the things of this world . . . as though I had sensed the fragrance of the fare but was not yet able to eat it." Aurelius Augustine, Confessions, trans. R. S. Pine-Coffin (New York: Penguin, 1961), 152 (VII.17).

Reflections on Micah 7 & Habakkuk 3

(I’m guilty…) Though I sit in darkness Though I fall Though the fig tree should not blossom nor the flowers spring up in spring But as for me, I will look to the LORD I will wait for God The God of my salvation My GOD will hear me The LORD will be a light to me I shall rise I’ll bear the punishment of the LORD ‘Cause I’ve sinned against Him O my enemy, Rejoice not over me He pleads my cause Executes judgment for me I shall look upon His Salvation Yes, I will rejoice I will take joy In the God of my salvation O my LORD!!! You are my strength

Micah 7 (I'm Guilty, But...)

But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication. Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will look upon her; now she will be trampled down like the mire of the streets.

Micah 7:7-10 (from The Message) But me, I'm not giving up. I'm sticking around to see what GOD will do. I'm waiting for God to make things right. I'm counting on God to listen to me. Spreading Your Wings Don't, enemy, crow over me. I'm down, but I'm not out. I'm sitting in the dark right now, but GOD is my light. I can take GOD's punishing rage. I deserve it--I sinned. But it's not forever. He's on my side and is going to get me out of this. He'll turn on the lights and show me his ways. I'll see the whole picture and how right he is. And my enemy will see it, too, and be discredited--yes, disgraced! This enemy who kept taunting, "So where is this GOD of yours?" I'm going to see it with these, my own eyes-- my enemy disgraced, trash in the gutter.

Songs from the Voice, Volume 1: Please Don’t Make Us Sing This Song

Friends from all over the country flew to Kansas City, and in four days, we recorded an album of worship songs. There were no overdubs; we did it all live together in the studio, playing everything from acoustic guitars to organs to auto harps to synthesizers and DJ rigs. The songs are written pretty much verbatim from the texts of Psalms in a new translation of the Bible that’s being put out by World Publishing (under Thomas Nelson). It should be available in stores any day now. If you don’t buy it here, go to your local Christian bookstore, and ask them about it. You may need to tell them that Thomas Nelson is selling it (they’re a bookseller, not a music seller). -waterdeep It's a great album. I've been enjoying listening to it. I recommend buying this album and support Christian artists like these. You can hear it on this website http://www.hearthevoice.com./ To buy the album click on the above album cover picture or the "waterdeep" link. Track List

1. Call Him Good (Psalm 104) - Sandra McCracken | by Sandra McCracke, Derek Webb and Don Chaffer
2. As If That Were Not Enough (Psalm 40) - Sara Groves | by Lori Chaffer
3. Let The Name Of God Be High (Psalm 113) - Derek Webb | by Don chaffer
4. Go Outside (Psalm 149 & 150) - Robbie Seay Band | by robbie Seay, Chase Jenkins, Ryan Owens & Seth Woods
5. Sing With Great Affection (Psalm 108) - Don Chaffer | by Don Chaffer
6. Remarkable Things (Psalm 126) - Jami Smith | by Matthew Perryman Jones and Don Chaffer
7. So Much You Have Made (Psalm 104) - Jill Phillips | by Phil Keaggy and Don Chaffer
8. He Will Not Rest (Psalm 121) - Christena Graves | by Christena Graves
9. Those Who Walk The Fields To Sow (Psalm 126) - Various Artists | by Lori Chaffer
10. Please Don't Make Us Sing This Song (Psalm 137) - Lori Chaffer | by Lori Chaffer
11. O The Death We Would Have Known If You Had Not Been With Us (Psalm 124) - Seth Woods | by Seth Woods
12. Oh, That You Would Be (Psalm 108) - DonChaffer | by Andrew Osenga and Don Chaffer
13. OverWrought (Psalm 42) - Don Chaffer and Derek Webb | by Sandra McCracken, Derek Webb and Don Chaffer

Those Who Walk The Fields To Sow (Psalm 126) by Lori Chaffer Across the hills Over the oceans wide Your goodness would not hide We shook our heads All of us were stunned To see what You had done Those who walk the fields to sow Casting their seed in tears Will one day tread those same long rows Amazed by what's appeared And still, Lord, some Are held captive and poor Release them, and restore Like river beds- If dry, let them taste rain- And spring to life again Let The Name Of God Be High (Psalm 113) by Don Chaffer All of you who call yourselves the children of God Lift His name to the high place in your hearts From the moment the sun rises From the place it crests the earth To the moment the sun sets, and To the place it slips into the sea Let the name of God be high Let the name of God be high In the hearts of His people Let the name of God be high Let the name of God be high In the hearts of His people Morning to evening Midnight to noon At this moment And for all the moments that are yet to come Let His name ascend in the hearts of His people

I Will Praise Him, Still

When the morning falls on the farthest hill I will sing his name, I will praise him, still. When dark trials come and my heart is filled with the weight of doubt, I will praise him, still. For the Lord, our God, he is strong to save from the arms of death, from the deepest grave, and he gave us life in his perfect will, and by his good grace I will praise him, still.

What Good Am I?

What good am I if I'm like all the rest, If I just turned away, when I see how you're dressed, If I shut myself off so I can't hear you cry, What good am I? What good am I if I know and don't do, If I see and don't say, if I look right through you, If I turn a deaf ear to the thunderin' sky, What good am I? What good am I while you softly weep And I hear in my head what you say in your sleep, And I freeze in the moment like the rest who don't try, What good am I? What good am I then to others and me If I've had every chance and yet still fail to see If my hands tied must I not wonder within Who tied them and why and where must I have been What good am I if I say foolish things And I laugh in the face of what sorrow brings And I just turn my back while you silently die, What good am I? -Bob Dylan Oh Mercy (It's for you...)

Fear-Of-The-LORD

For couple of months, now, I have been thinking about things that have shaped my life and things that continue to transform me, daily. I have been thinking about my upbringing by my parents – the things that they did and taught has truly impacted my life and right now I can see the fruits of their labour, prayer, dedication, love and discipline.

I remember this very clearly and vividly; every morning we (my brother and I) use to go to our parent’s bedroom and sit by the foot of their bed. My parents would be drinking their morning tea and reading their Bible and praying. There, by the foot of their bed, they taught us many things but primarily both of them taught us strongly about “Fear-Of-The-LORD”.

My father, through proverbs, taught us that Fear-Of-The-LORD is the beginning of all knowledge and all wisdom.

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 2:5

…then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

And, my mother, through the Psalms, taught us how to practically live out the Fear-Of-The-LORD.

Psalm 34 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Psalm 22:23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

See the rest of the Psalms by clicking here.

Fear-Of-The-LORD is not something that we are afraid of, scared of or hide from. It is not something that we our self can do. We can not make it happen on our own. It comes from God, by the Grace of God, by His Holy Spirit, through faith that He has allotted to us; Because, because of our righteousness, who is in heaven and is always constant and never changes, we are righteous. Because of his steadfast love and abundant mercy. Because, in all, it brings glory and honour to Him and we can enjoy Him forever.

(While I am writing this I can see my mother humming the song, a loose translation from Nepali, “Be quite and be still and know that I am your God”)

On the foot of my parents bed, in prayer and cooperate family worship, I learned the first steps of the walk in being immersed in the “Fear-Of-The-LORD” - I learned to be in awe of our awesome God, I learned to love and to cry and sacrifice, I learned to pray and to be in worship of our LORD and saviour Jesus Christ…

We primarily sang three songs as our family worship songs; almost every morning we sang these songs. The first one is a translation from a Nepali song and the other two we sang it in English. (The first one, I can see so vividly my dad singing the song along steady beat of his claps - with his eyes closed softly; And the third one, I can see so clearly my mother singing it out loud with tears rolling down her cheeks).

Psalm 40

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Steadfast Love Of The Lord

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases His mercies never come to an end They are new every morning New every morning

Great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord Great is Thy faithfulness

Make me a servant

Make me a servant, humble and meek, Lord, let me lift up those who are weak. And may the prayer of my heart always be, Make me a servant, make me a servant, Make me a servant today.

These songs have continued to ring through my mind and my heart almost every day. Oh!!!! How blessed I am and how thankful I am that God had me be born to such a faithful and obedient servants.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” Proverbs 22:6

Also see this article (Click Here)

"...But when we let the biblical contexts provide the conditions for understanding the word we find that it means something more like a way of life in which human feelings and behavior are fused with God’s being and revelation. There are upward of 138 occurrences of the term in a wide range of Old Testament books but most prominently in Proverbs, Psalms, Isaiah, Chronicles, and Deuteronomy. God is active in the term; the human is active in the term. “Fear-of-the-Lord” designates a way of living that cannot be dissected into two parts, any more than a baby can be dissected into what comes from sperm and what comes from egg. “Fear-of-the-Lord” is a new word in our vocabularies; it marks the way of life appropriate to our creation and salvation and blessing by God. ..."