Take Up Thy Cross....... And Follow Me.

Luke 9:23 (New International Version, ©2011)
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.


An e-mail sent to me this week set my mind on a piece of music that, whilst I love listening to it, stirrs my heart and makes me somewhat uncomfortable.

The little cartoon illistration is excellent:



 
 
We complain about the cross we bear but don't realize it is preparing us for the dip in the road that God can see and we can't.

Whatever your cross, whatever your pain,
there will always be sunshine, after the rain....

Perhaps you may stumble, perhaps even fall;
But God's always ready, to answer your call.....

He knows every heartache, sees every tear,
a word from His lips, can calm every fear...

Your sorrows may linger, throughout the night,
But suddenly vanish, dawn's early light...

The Saviour is waiting, somewhere above,
to give you His grace, and send you His love....
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.


SASB 490.
I heard a voice so gently calling:
Take up thy cross and follow me.
A tempest on my heart was falling,
A living cross this was to be;
I struggled sore, I struggled vainly,
No other light my eyes could see.

Chorus
I’ll follow thee, of life the giver,
I’ll follow thee, suffering redeemer,
I’ll follow thee, deny thee never,
By thy grace I’ll follow thee.

I heard his voice unto me saying:
Take up thy cross and follow me.
My heart is thine, now thee obeying,
Speak all thy will, dear Lord, to me.
Make weakness strength, thy power now give me,
And from this hour I’ll follow thee.


My prayer/response:

My heart is thine, now thee obeying,
Speak all thy will, dear Lord, to me.
Make weakness strength, thy power now give me,
And from this hour I’ll follow thee.

Heavenly Anthems.

Romans 15:6 (The Message).
Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!


Today (at The Salvation Army Preston) we sang an old song to a new, contemporary tune.  I found myself scrambling for a pen to jot down some thoughts that hit me right between my eyes.

SASB 156 v.1
Crown him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon his throne;
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own;
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of him who died for thee
And hail him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity.

I wondered if I (we) was so wrapped up in my own "music" that I drown out the heavenly anthems ?  Or as the song suggests, after giving him the glory and the crown, is it His "music" that can be heard in my everyday life.

Awake my soul and sing!  I needed to hear this today.  How often do we get so caught up in the everyday "stuff" that we walk around in the daze of life and forget there are others around that need us to be fully awake and coherent to what God is wanting us to do?   It's then we can be made useful - not feeling useless!



My prayer for today:
Renew my will from day to day;
Blend it with thine, and take away
All that now makes it hard to say:
Thy will be done.

In My Life Lord - Be Glorified

I was looking through some music this afternoon, when I came across a tune that I had forgotten about.  We (Launceston) used to play it as the brass arrangement was written by one of our own.

I remembered the words to the chorus, but was stopped in my tracks by the lyrics of the first line of the first verse.

Today at Preston, we had an excellent church service with the Melbourne Staff Songsters leading us in a great time of worship.

The music was excellent and the the worship experience (for me anyway) was fantastic.

The Band played a new arrangement of Abide With Me (Creamer).  The group did an exceptional job and the comments after the meeting were very encouraging.

I suppose the issue of "what do I do it for", was raised (again) in my head.  I have Blogged before that I know that it's not all about me and that our efforts on Sunday's or in a concert setting are for His glory - NOT mine.

So whilst I believe we (Preston Brass) did an exceptional job today and many people commented - I believe that we are all on the same page and we are in it for God's glory and His alone.


Lord I long to see You glorified
In ev'rything I do.
All my heartfelt dreams I put aside
To see Your Spirit move with power in my life.

Jesus, Lord of all eternity,
Your children rise in faith.
All earth displays Your glory,
And each word You speak,
Brings life to all who hear.


Lord of all,
All of creation
Sings Your praise
In heaven and earth.
Lord we stand,
Hearts open wide.
Be exalted!


Today's Prayer:

I'm your child,
I give my life to you,
Wholly available,
Faithful and true.

And in my life,
Let your light be seen,
So that the world may know,
I am your child.

Take me, Lord,
I am your child,
Send me, Lord,
Set my heart on fire.

Tasty ?

Psalm 34:8.
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. If you have, rejoice in the hope of the resurrection that your faith in Him brings.

This was sent to me the other day.  I believe the story to be fictional, but I thought the reading from Psalm 34 was a good one for today.

Each year at the University of Chicago Divinity School they have what is called 'Baptist Day.' On this day each one is to bring a lunch to be eaten outdoors in a grassy picnic area. Every 'Baptist Day' the school would invite one of the greatest minds to lecture in the theological education center.

One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich. Dr.Tillich spoke for two and one-half hours, proving that the resurrection of Jesus was false. He quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He concluded that since there was no such thing as the historical resurrection, the religious tradition of the church was groundless, emotional mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who, in fact, never rose from the dead in any literal sense. He then asked if there were any questions.

After about 30 seconds, an old, dark-skinned preacher with a head of short-cropped, woolly, white hair stood up in the back of the auditorium. 'Docta Tillich, I got one question,' he said as all eyes turned toward him.

He reached into his sack lunch and pulled out an apple and began eating it. 'Docta Tillich. (CRUNCH, MUNCH) My question is a simple question.

(CRUNCH, MUNCH...) Now, I ain't never read them books you read (CRUNCH, MUNCH), and I can't recite the Scriptures in the original Greek. (CRUNCH, MUNCH...) I don't know nothin' about Niebuhr and Heidegger. (CRUNCH, MUNCH...)

He finished the apple. 'All I wanna know is: This apple I just ate... Was it bitter or sweet?'

Dr Tillich paused for a moment and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion: 'I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven't tasted your apple.'

The white-haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Tillich and said calmly, 'Neither have you tasted my Jesus.'

The 1,000 plus in attendance could not contain themselves. The auditorium erupted with applause and cheers.

Dr. Tillich thanked his audience and promptly left the platform.

Have you tasted Jesus?

A Heart To God And A Hand To Man

In darkest England 1865,

a dismal slum of poverty.
A band of believers rescued from the night,
played songs of hope and offered light.

If a man is hungry,
give him food to eat.
If a stranger's thirsty,
give him drink.
If a woman's battered, if a child's abandoned,
bring them in,
give them what they need.


A heart to God and a hand to man,
here begins the healing of our land.
A heart to God and a hand to man,
I can still hear the Hallelujah band.
A heart to God and a hand to man.

Like an army marching as to war,
come to set the captives free.
The bread of life for the poorest of poor,
hear their cries, bringing relief.

If a man is hungry,
give him food to eat.
If a stranger's thirsty,
give him drink.
If a woman's battered, if a child's abandoned,
bring them in,
give them what they need.


A heart to God and a hand to man,
here begins the healing of our land.
A heart to God and a hand to man,
I can still hear the Hallelujah band.
A heart to God and a hand to man.

While women weep as they do now,
while children are hungry,
while hope can be found.
While one soul remains without light,
I will fight on, fight on,
I'll fight to the very end.


A heart to God and a hand to man,
here begins the healing of our land.
A heart to God and a hand to man,
I can still hear the Hallelujah band.
A heart to God and a hand to man.


Singing a heart to God and a hand to man,
here begins the healing of our land.
A heart to God and a hand to man,
I can still hear the Hallelujah band.

Singing a heart to God and a hand to man,
here begins the healing of our land.
A heart to God and a hand to man,
I can still hear the Salvation Army band.

Geoff Moore

Conference Call

Luke 19:45-48 (The Message).
Going into the Temple he began to throw out everyone who had set up shop, selling everything and anything. He said, “It’s written in Scripture, My house is a house of prayer; You have turned it into a religious bazaar.” From then on he taught each day in the Temple. The high priests, religion scholars, and the leaders of the people were trying their best to find a way to get rid of him. But with the people hanging on every word he spoke, they couldn’t come up with anything.


Over the past two weeks I have been involved in three conferences. Two for work and one for music.

In all three conferences the message was clear:

If you don't have the passion for what you do (or what you are required to do) on a day to day basis, and are not passionate about the organisation's mission and values, why are you doing it ?

It was stated;

If you don't believe it, or your hearts not in it - Why are you doing it ?

The conferences highlighted, again, that I believe I'm in the right place at the moment, and I believe that God has his hand on my (and my families) life.

Why wouldn't a Christian (Salvationist) want to work for an organisation that he/she believes in.

Yes there are "politics", but on the whole, this organisations beliefs and values are one that I support 100%.

And guess what ? So do many people in "public land", and whilst PR is an awesome role, it comes with great responsibility.

I was reminded again by Stuart in our band devotions at Preston on Tuesday night about what we hold as a priority in our life and what is important - Certainly God, Family, Employment, "Others", Sport are - but in what order...

I think I've used this song before, but it's my prayer (again) for today.

Give me a passion for You, Lord,
I want to know You more.
Give me a heart that is true, Lord,
To seek You like never before.
Renew my mind,
Renew my spirit,
To walk in Your holiness.


Open my eyes, I want to see,
Visions of You living through me.
Open my heart, cause me to love,
For I want to follow You,
Follow You with all my heart.

Give me a passion to serve You,
I want to follow on.
Give me the power to choose You,
When all of the feelings are gone.
Renew my will,
For I am determined
To walk with You every day.