C.R. Mooney

This song by Keith Green, wow, it gets me. Am I asleep in the light? I hear a lot about what state the church is in, but you know, the church is made of many individuals, so any change has to start with me and my house.

And then this one. Humbling. He starts speaking at about 6 minutes into it.  If you don’t like the music, at least skip to there and listen.

I can’t get this song out of my head.  I think I’ve listened to it fifty times in the past few days.  it’s about how we as the church need to repent on behalf of the nation, and pray for mercy on our country.  It’s clear through the Bible that the prayers of the righteous can postpone judgement and the negligence of the righteous can hasten it.

OK, once in awhile politics makes it on my blog. My dad emailed me this video, and I was laughing and crying my way through the whole bit, so I thought I’d share it with you. Enjoy!

Was thinking about II Samuel 24:24 where David says, “But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.”  How many times does my faith really cost me anything, whether money, time, effort, or skill?  Is it real faith if it doesn’t?

Too many times, I think my faith is cheap.  Here are some thoughts by Damon Thompson on it.

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I had a moment today where I saw something generous that I did, and was proud that I did it, as though I could ever do anything good outside of God giving me the ability to.  As though I could give anything away unless He first gave it to me.   In that moment, I realized I was proud, taking glory for myself, and repented.

~ I thank you God for what you have given me, help me to have open hands, and an open heart so you can give through me, and that I take no glory for myself.  Take my pride away

Here is a song that came to mind, the lyrics are below:

Have you ever seen a man stumble and fallen,
all due to his pride
I don’t want to be another one
Fallen due to my pride
Woah…

Take my pride away,pride away
Take my pride away

Lord keep me only focused on You
Make me a humble man
Don’t ever let me take the credit
For all that You have done
Woah…

Take my pride away, pride away
Take my pride away

Away…..

Standing here amidst this point of definition
Pushing for position as I battle opposition
Am I on a mission or is it all in vain?
Do u notice the difference or is it all the same?
And who do I blame when my vision get blurry I
Get in a hurry frustrated and feeling fury
Faith is enduring to stand the test of time
Answers are plain we make them hard to define
But pull from divine when problems arise
But pride denies and my stand never survives
In every one of our lives in every single day
We need to lay down our pride as God takes it away

Take my pride away,pride away….

eth and I are listening Jesus culture’s tune You Won’t Relent tonight.  Wow.  Powerful.

This is a powerful audio clip by Paul Washer, about six minutes, and he tells a great story about a son who died in war. It really moved me. He also makes a great point about our motivations for following Christ. Do we follow so we can get something (eternal life) or do we follow because we love Him?

For my 30th birthday, my awesome wife Beth got us tickets to see the Yankees play their next to last game in the old Yankee Stadium.  It was an epic pitching duel which the Yanks lost to the Blue Jays in fourteen innings.  It wasn’t my first time to the Big Apple, but is was Beth’s.  We stayed at the Hyatt next to Grand Central Station.  I won’t soon forget the site as we pulled on to 42nd Street, and not because of the towering buildings and gaudy lighting on every store front.

Before we made our right turn, there was a Rolls Royce in front of us, and a homeless man sleeping on the curb, only a few feet away.  Two lives on opposite ends of the spectrum of life  There was a brief moment, where my heart broke from him, but then I had Beth take a picture of the Rolls in front of us, and we were on our way.  He was “just” another homeless man in New York.

It was easy to dismiss him, because all I saw was a man sleeping next to the road.  We took a picture of him too.

This Sunday, we attended my father in law’s church, Grace Community in Theresa, and he said something that reminded me of this man.  He talked about how sometimes we see only a snapshot of a person’s life, where they are now,  and we judge or condemn them.  You know, the types, the drunks, the addicts, the gossips, those angry at life and others, the bullies (yes adults can bully too), we classify them, then dismiss them.

Then he spoke of God, who is not bound by time, and has known them from the womb.  He knows why they are addicts, drunks, etc.  He saw the beatings they received as children, the rejection through their youth, and the release from life that came, even if for a moment when they chose their type of escape: drugs, sex, or otherwise.

Then I heard God asking me, “Chris, when you look at the world around you, do you see what I see?  Do you see the pain, the hurt, the agony that shaped their lives to this point?   Do you see why I had to send my Son, so that they could be free?”

Then he asked, “So why don’t you tell them?  Why don’t you love on them?”

And I didn’t have an answer, and that sucks.

This song is incredibly powerful to me, even more so in this live version.

~ God, take my world apart til I see you as God, and not just a good teacher, til I learn to love , til I abide in You, and You in me.