April 2006

“Men and Angels Say”

April 15, 2006

cover of Men & Angels SayAbout a week ago I downloaded Ashley Cleveland’s Men and Angels Say, a collection of hymns. Cleveland is not a well-known name in Christian music; nevertheless, she’s incredibly talented, winning the Grammy for Best Rock Gospel Album in both 1996 and 1999. More to the point for this blog, she’s one of my favorite artists, and this CD has been about the only thing I’ve listened to over the past week…

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“Keep My Heart”

April 14, 2006

This song has been on my mind for a while this morning; it’s a beautiful prayer:

Keep my heart tender before You, Lord
Able to hear Your voice and follow
Keep my heart yearning to know You more
Eager to hear Your word and obey
Keep my heart flowing in Your direction, Lord
Keep my heart, Holy Light,
So innocent and undefiled
King of Love, Lord Most High
So beautiful and bright, Morning Star
Keep my heart
(Paul Baloche, *God of Wonders*)

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the meaning of the cross

April 14, 2006

As we approach Easter, I’ve been thinking about what the cross represents. Several weeks ago, I ran across a t-shirt that said, “If your son was killed with a gun, would you wear one around your neck?” It’s a fair question: why do Christians wear crosses, hang crosses and crucifixes in their houses of worship, decorate their houses with them?…

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just a spectator?

April 9, 2006

Speaking of the Passion, Pope John Paul says, “Today we are contemporaries of the Lord, and, like the multitude in Jerusalem, like the disciples and the women, we are called to decide if we are to be with him, or flee, or just be spectators at his death.”

It’s easy to think of these choices in terms of salvation…

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do I want to be free?

April 4, 2006

In typical fashion, the Holy Spirit pointed me toward another thought on freedom, following right on the heels of what I read yesterday in L’Engle’s Bright Evening Star. The meditation for today in Lent and Easter Wisdom is titled “Freed by the Truth of Christ.” John Paul takes John 8:32 as his starting point: “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” The Pope says,…

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freedom and power

April 3, 2006

Madeleine L’Engle continues the story of her childhood in the second chapter of Bright Evening Star, writing about the differences between punishment and abuse and about painful experiences in “Beyond the Silver Hairbrush.” Born during WWI, in which her father had been injured in a gas attack, war was a constant presence in her growing up. One of the things I love about her upbringing is that she was free to ask questions, both of her parents and of God. Her parents were wise enough to know that children deserve real answers to difficult questions. When she asked why Jesus, whom she knew as loving and kind, didn’t stop war, her parents told her, “‘We are creatures with free will; God refuses to interfere with our misuse of it.’” She continues,…

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