Great Christian Music – Awesome God

Decided to pick a “newer” song this time around.

Rich Mullins, the author of this praise song, delighted in doing the unexpected. He was raised in a Quaker church that celebrated quietness and waiting upon God in stillness. But when he went to bible college, he formed a rock band and, later, a touring group called the Ragamuffin Band. He had a zany sense of humour and at the same time a deep appreciation for St. Thomas of Assisi. Like St. Thomas, Mullins liked to work with poor children, and he spent the last two years of his life on a Navajo Indian Reservation in the Southwest of America.

Once as he was driving across country on his way to a youth conference, he began to doze off. Trying to keep himself awake, Mullins began preaching to himself. The sleepier he got, the more exuberant he got in his preaching; by the time he arrived at the youth conference, he had written a new song called “Awesome God.” He didn’t think it was a great song, but the kids at the conference loved it, and soon its popularity spread across the country.  

   

Scriptures: Psalm 48:1, Psalm 147:5, Isaiah 40:28

Themes: God the Father, God’s Power and Love

When He rolls up His sleeves

He ain't just putting on the ritz
(Our God is an awesome God)
There's thunder in His footsteps

And lightning in His fists
(Our God is an awesome God)
And the Lord wasn't joking when He kicked 'em out of Eden
It wasn't for no reason that He shed His blood
His return is very close and so you better be believing that
Our God is an awesome God

(Chorus x2)
Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

And when the sky was starless
In the void of the night
(Our God is an awesome God)
He spoke into the darkness
And created the light
(Our God is an awesome God)
Judgement and wrath He poured out on Sodom
Mercy and grace He gave us at the cross
I hope that we have not too quickly forgotten that
Our God is an awesome God

(Chorus Repeat x5)

Our God is an awesome God
Our God is an awesome God

Rich Mullins (1955 – 1997)

Information taken from; The Complete Book of Hymns by William J Petersen and Ardythe Petersen.

Mighty Men Western Cape 2011

Last weekend (18-20 March 2011) I attended a Mighty Men Conference on Elohim farm in the region of Paarl. I must be honest I was not too sure if I wanted to go on the weekend as I’m wary of para-church organizations. You know they can give you this big WOW factor and you then compare it to your home church and often you feel that you are being let down in your home church.

The theme of the weekend was Dying to Serve. It was well but humbly presented. Angus Buchan was the main speaker. Oom (Uncle) Angus’ messages were simple and direct and really struck home. He has a sincere passion to rear up and encourage Godly men. 

During Angus’ message on Saturday morning I was crying without first of all being aware of it. I had these tears streaming down my cheeks and I thought it was just sweat. Angus was talking about resting while you serve. It was just so appropriate for me.

The Saturday was blistering hot, 44 degrees Celsius. The ground on which we were camping was rock hard, man it was even hot in the shade, of which there was very little. The fellowship with my friends was amazing and such a blessing.  Once again they pulled me out of my shell and challenged me to do something which I probably would not have done without them. During the evening worship on Saturday, out in the open, we saw this incredible shooting star. It was almost as if God was saying, “I see you there worshiping me….”

There are so many stories to tell, from the open air showers, snoring, tents blowing down, serving each other, that I feel I could write a book. One thing I must mention is that I found a new appreciation in worshiping our Lord in Afrikaans. It was spine tingling to hear 15,000 men sing How Great Thou Art in Afrikaans and without backing music. 

There are some more pics on my Face Book album if you want to go check them out, here is the link; http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2106286&id=1098988065&l=c9a9e73745

 

Walter at McDonald's

Most Sunday evenings after church we go eat at the Mac’s just around the corner from the church. Yes I know junk food and all that but as a family we enjoy it and it solves the problem of having to go home at 8-8.30pm and still make something to eat

.

A few Sundays ago we were walking back to the car, after having finished our meal. I just out of courtesy thanked the security guard that was patrolling the area. Allie then got the ‘feeling’ to give him some money to buy a cup of coffee. He thanked us whole heartedly and we continued to walk to our car. As we got to the car he came up to us and just asked if this is our car. We answered  yes and then he said he had been ‘reading’ our car and he had taken all the scriptures down and was going to go and check and see in what context they were written in the bible. Wow, great stuff. We then chatted to each other about our wonderful God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. 

He introduced himself as Walter. He is from the Shona tribe in Zimbabwe. What an amazing man of God he is. We have come to know him better from our visits to Mac’s and he just shines the light of Christ  out to the world. Always helping people and going the extra mile, doing the job that he is doing it is not easy to remain positive. We are blessed to have met him. 

See below our car, Allie likes to stick scriptures on the back window.

Bible Reading by Josh Brown and Day of Fire

Isaiah 28.16

So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.

Ephesians 2:19-22

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.

Cornerstone

All other ground is sinking sand

A doubting maze of desert land

Where darkness rules the heart of man

Till the Son shines light on him

Lord of all show You’re strong

On our knees we fall

Chorus

Be a cornerstone, be a cornerstone

Be the rock, higher than I, be my fortress wall

Be a foundation for all, my cornerstone

The buildings swaying in the wind

The towers crumble down again

This certainly will be the end

Of them not built on Him

You, You are the builder of my heart

You held me together from the start

Chorus

A Tribute To My Friends

I hardly know how to put this tribute down in words ‘cause most of the time God’s grace, mercy and love shown through my friends has been indescribable….

When I accepted Jesus as my Saviour I can’t remember having any real friends. I had colleagues at work, old school acquaintances, ex-army buddies and such like ……but no friends. Oh yes and I was a ‘real friendly’ guy. Then God saw fit to bless me with friends. I soon came to realise that I did not have much of a clue of how to be a friend but God in His infinite wisdom through His Son and His Holy Spirit taught me how to be a friend. So I now have an amazing bunch of people, who accept me for who I am, support me, encourage me and teach me along this walk with our Saviour. Of course I now have the ability to do this for my friends as well. Before Christ came into my life it was just tooooooo much trouble to do any of that.

There is a small group of men who have continued to meet with each other, over a period of eight years, early on every alternative Saturday morning for fellowship and prayer. I am blessed and privileged to be part of this group. The support and encouragement that has come from this group has been incredible. We also hold each other accountable. We are not just ‘nice’ to each other but we tell each other the truth but we speak this truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

So we have celebrated together, we have wept together , we have disciplined each other, taught each other, loved each other, we have served the body of Christ together and we have been there for each other when our loved ones have died. Oh yes we have also had so much fun together as well.

Now these friends of mine in this small band of men are no soft touches. They are rough and tough and straight talking but these attributes help us all in the group to be real and we learn how to be the husbands, fathers, leaders and men of God that we are called to be.

You see some of my friends in the pic above, most of us from the Saturday group are there and some of our sons as well……that outing was a lot of fun.

Now me and my buddies are far from perfect, we fall and we fail, we do and say the wrong things. What is really incredible is that God has given us each other to be there for one another and to remind us of our incredible Saviour when we forget about the depths of His mercy, grace and love. For that I am eternally grateful beyond what I can say in words…..even if I continued to type out this post for the next fifty years. All I can say is a humble thank you.

PS. You know the friends you have in the body of Christ will be your friends for eternity!!

Friends

Words: Deborah D. Smith
Music: Michael W. Smith

Packing up the dreams God planted
In the fertile soil of you
Can't believe the hopes He's granted
Means a chapter in your life is through
But we'll keep you close as always
It won't even seem you've gone
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

Chorus:

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
'Cause the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long to live as friends.

With the faith and love God's given
Springing from the hope we know
We will pray the joy you'll live in
Is the strength that now you show

But we'll keep you close as always
It won't even seem you've gone
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

Chorus:

Candlelight

What would you have seen last night?

In the candlelight

Would our love for you have shone through our faces?

Would the love of Jesus be reflecting from us?

As we saw that love reflecting off you

Do we ever know what we truly mean in each other’s lives?

As friends, children, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives

Oh my love you have opened my heart

So that I can see Jesus my friend

I found this on a piece of paper in one of my notebooks recently. I must have written it about eight or nine years ago. I can still vividly remember the scene. For those of you who have done an Emmaus Walk, you will have some more insight regarding these few lines. De Colores!



Great Christian Music - Blessed Assurance

Fanny Crosby wrote more than eight thousand hymns and used more than two hundred pen names. Under contract to a music publisher, she wrote three new hymns each week during much of her adult life. The fact that she was blind didn’t diminish her productivity. She would formulate an entire song in her mind and then dictate it to a friend or a secretary.

One of her good friends was Phoebe Palmer Knapp, wife of the founder of Metropolitan Life Insurance  Company. One time when Knapp came to Brooklyn to see Crosby, she brought a tune with her that she had composed. “Play it for me on the organ,” Crosby requested. Knapp did and then asked , “What does this tune say?” She turned to see Crosby kneeling in prayer. Knapp played it a second time and then a third. Finally the blind woman responded, “That says, ’Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine!’”

Scriptures: Romans 8:1,16-17; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 10:18-20; 1 John 5:13

Themes: Assurance, Submission, Praise, Salvation

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

O what a foretaste of glory divine!   

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Saviour all the day long;

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Saviour all the day long;

Perfect submission, perfect delight!

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels descending bring from above

Echoes of mercy , whispers of love.

Perfect submission – all is at rest,

I in my Saviour am happy and blest;

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Frances (Fanny) Jane Crosby (1820 - 1915)

Information taken from; The Complete Book of Hymns by William J Petersen and Ardythe Petersen.

What an amazing woman of faith!! Here is a version of the song by Third Day. Hope you enjoy it!