Praise ME...

"I'm not inspired by a lot of the contemporary worship songs that keep going back to 'God, I'll do this for you, I'll say this, I'll speak this, I'll act this.' What I need is not to hear more about what I'm going to do, but about what God has done and who God is and who I am in light of that. What I do is secondary, if lowly, to what God has done and where God is reaching into my life."

—Jars of Clay lead singer Dan Haseltine on why the band chose to rework ancient hymns on their upcoming new release, Redemption Songs

there is definitely a connection with music and emotion. saying that it is really what gets your emotion to kick in. is it an instrument? a set of chords? an arrangement of notes? key?

others it is the words. now to the text of today's songs...
it is no question that the writing of songs ESPECIALLY praise songs is getting a little sloppy. using the above (music etc) to pull at heart strings and using sappy love songs...but slipping in God. Our relationship to God is definitely deeper than that! our love just has to have more of a connection what he is...what he did for us...with a proper respect to the greatness of who God is! the only reason he puts up with us is that we are covered in Christ's blood.

so I have to agree with haseltine's statement... the praise songs do have a lot of what I do instead of what God is! but is that a praise song thing or a common thing in the Church in general? I would say it is sadly the latter. in essence God just wants us to LET GO...let him take over!

100% man, 100% God

My Utmost for His Highest
His Agony And Our Fellowship
"Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, tarry ye here, and watch with Me."
Matthew 26:36,38
We can never fathom the agony in Gethsemane, but at least we need not misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and Man in one, face to face with sin. We know nothing about Gethsemane in personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary stand for something unique; they are the gateway into Life for us.
It was not the death on the cross that Jesus feared in Gethsemane; He stated most emphatically that He came on purpose to die. In Gethsemane He feared lest He might not get through as Son of Man. He would get through as Son of God - Satan could not touch Him there; but Satan's onslaught was that He would get through as an isolated Figure only; and that would mean that He could be no Saviour. Read the record of the agony in the light of the temptation: "Then the devil leaveth Him for a season." In Gethsemane Satan came back and was again overthrown. Satan's final onslaught against our Lord as Son of Man is in Gethsemane.
The agony in Gethsemane is the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Saviour of the world. The veil is drawn aside to reveal all it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony is the basis of the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ is a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that Our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Every human being can get through into the presence of God now because of what the Son of Man went through.

insignificance?!?

My quest for insignificance-
This is my new motto. It is derived from a bible study that my small group is studying. Experiencing God .

In architecture, it is the goal to build the monument--that idol to me…to matter in this world. As we are seeing what is happening to Libeskinds Design at Ground Zero, his monument is being taken over. I can’t help but notice the silliness of my internal desire to impact the world. God calls us to reflect HIS impact on this world. We are very specifically temporal; our memories are not meant to last forever. Looking back, when we look for significance, we do not see individuals and their monuments but ideas woven into society. Above all you see God.

In my own effort to separate from the ugliness of this world, I plead for insignificance; I plead for God’s significance to be here. We need His truth, grace, love and hope. I have none of this to offer!