Give Us Rest

The first two blogs were a little more serious than I had first imagined. So, it's time to lighten up the mood and talk about music.
For the past week I have listened to a single cd. Usually its a mixture of a few, but last Tuesday The David Crowder Band release "Give Us Rest or (A Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys.])"


This is the seventh and final cd from the crowder band. To put it simple, it is awesome. I choose the word awesome because thats what it does, it leaves you in awe. The Crowder band has found a way throughout the years to put images and pictures and thoughts of God that just blow me away. Take the song "Sometimes" for example, it's currently my favorite.

The is the final chorus and the bridge (i think its called a bridge.)

It’s Your love that we adore
It’s like a sea without a shore
We’re lost in You
We’re lost in You
It’s Your love that we adore
It’s like a sea without a shore
We’re lost in You
We’re lost in You
It’s Your love that we adore
It’s like a sea without a shore
Don’t be afraid
Don’t be afraid
Just set your sail

And risk the ocean there’s only grace
Let’s risk the ocean there’s only grace


I love it because it sets the picture of God's love being like an ocean that has no end. I picture myself on a small sailboat in the middle of the Pacific. I look all around and all I see is water. I'm underwater and there is no bottom for miles. I am totally lost in the love of God.
Then the line "dont be afraid just set your sail. risk the ocean, there is only grace."


Another reason I have come to love Crowder is the crescendos and building of their songs. "Oh Great God, Give Us Rest" starts out nice and slow with a piano and before I know it im blaring the radio in my car (so I cant hear myself sing) and im stomping along with the bass drum. I bet I look ridiculous.




The final thing that is just crazy to me is how the built the album. It's 34 songs and "It's arranged to follow the theme of the traditional requiem mass." I had no idea what that meant, so i googled the definition. Wikipedia says "is a mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons."
Still didn't help much.

I just know that it is awesome. I strongly recommend it to anyone of any age.

p.s.
They covered 3 hymns at the end of the cd. Caleb Cox says they are his favorite. Check em out.

Tebow

I've been thinking about this one for a while now. Tim Tebow.

I'll start by saying this isn't going to be about sports. If you know me, you know I enjoy sports, but I know very little besides the rules. What I want to talk about is the personTim Tebow.

First, I want to ask a question about Tebowing. I didnt really understand it so I googled the definition. Turns out there is a website dedicated to Tebowing.

http://www.tebowing.com/

their definition is "to get down on one knee and start praying, even if everyone around you is doing something completely different"

So my question is this: is tebowing making fun a man praying to God and thanking God for what He's blessed him with or is it making fun of praying?

Maybe it's neither, thats just how I see it.

The main thing I wanted to talk about is who Tebow is and Christians response to him.
Personally, I think Tebow is incredible, again not talking sports. Read this article and you'll see what I mean.

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7455943/believing-tim-tebow

A guy like this just blows my mind. He is on one of the highest stages in America and he still makes it a priority to impact people personally. What stops me from making an effort like he has?

The final thing I want to talk about is the two responses I've seen from the Christian world. I've heard a lot of people think he is awesome for continuing his openness of his faith and sharing Christ as much as he does. On the other side, I've heard Christians say stuff like "yeah he gives credit to God but he does it too much" or "it's really getting old" or "he only does it for a show." I can see where you're coming from, but let's think about it for a minute. A guy has taken what God has given him, worked hard at it for years, and when he is doing incredible things he is making it known where his strength comes. I thought about Paul in the New Testament. Here is a guy that is amazing at speaking and writing. He goes around talking about God, writing about God, and singing about God. It seems to me that Tebow is doing the same thing Paul did, glorifying God with the gifts he has.
     Going back to the definition of tebowing, "to get down on one knee and start praying, even if everyone around you is doing something different." Isn't that what we are called to be? Something different. I think its easy to talk about Tebow because he is different. A lot of Christians want to blend in. We go to church on Sundays, quote songs on facebook, and tell people we're Christian but our lives dont reflect it. Our words and actions say something different. How many of us would be to embarrassed to pray in public?


Like I said before, I don't know how good he is in the NFL, but as a Christian I think he is doing exactly what God has called him to do.

Why I hate religion but love Jesus

Click here to watch the video this blog is about.

Why I hate religion but love Jesus

I post this video on my facebook along with the following quote:

“This video is the sort of thing that many younger Christians love. It sounds good, looks good, and feels good. But is it true? That’s the question we must always ask.”

Two people commented with this:

"What’s your opinion, Daniel? I’ve seen it posted several times."

"Interested to hear Your opinion.."

So heres my opinion. Its a really good poem that hits on some very important topics. I picked out a few of my favorite.

• quit puttin on a fake look, because theres a problem if people only know your a christian by your facebook
• it’s like saying you play for the Lakers because you bought a jersey
• If grace is water, the church should be an ocean
• a museum for the good people, a hospital for the broken
• God looked down and said “I want that man”

That’s some good stuff. The first two points made me think about my life. How do people know that I’m a Christian. Do my words reflect it? Do my actions to strangers show people I love Jesus?

I’ve seen a lot of people quote “Church shouldn’t be a museum for the good people, but a hospital for the broken.”

 I thought about this for a while. Even in church today I wondered how true this was. Our church gives an invitation each  Sunday for people to come down to the altar to pray, to get real with God. So today I lifted my head and looked around. Not at the people going down to pray, but to the ones in the crowd watching the people go down. I saw two people look at a man go down then lean over and whisper and point. I guess this museum is free. Im glad to say that immediately after this a woman next to me looked up and pointed at a man going down. She also whispered to the person next to her, but they did something different. They went down with the man and prayed with him. She must be a nurse on Sundays.

So those are a couple things I really like about it.

However, there are a couple things with this poem I disagree on. He talks about religion as being awful and constantly bad. So to start I looked up the definition of religion.

     1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature and purpose of the universe,

        especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or

        agencies, usually involvingdevotional and ritual observances, and often

        containing amoral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

      2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally

         agreed upon by a number of persons or sects

For me, religion is good. It’s the bad religion I have a problem with. If you look in the Old Testament, God gave us a set of rules and practices to do. He designed it in a way where we would worship Him and it would be good. Where we get off track is where we try to follow those so strictly we disregard each other.

The poet asks these question:

• if religion is so great why has it started so many wars
• why does it build huge churches but fails to feed the poor
• tell single moms God doesn’t love them if they’ve ever had a divorce

The wars started because men followed the Law and not Jesus. but Jesus said,

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.” Matthew 5:17

People get so stuck in looking at the sin they ignore the person.

So to wrap all of this up. I like religion. The second definition I gave said that religion is a set of practices. Where would I be if I didn’t grow up going to church every Sunday? Where would I be if God did not call me to pray and read His Word? Religion that God designs is good. It allows us to grow with Him.Religion designed by man is bad. It tells us we need works to get to God. If we accomplish this, this, and this we are good enough to get to God.

 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  - Ephesians 2:8-9

That’s my opinion. If i need to clarify, explain more, or you want to throw in your opinion, please do.