"Thinking and understanding are regarded as akin to a form of perceiving; for in the one as well as the other the soul discriminates and is cognizant of something which is."
--De Anima, III, 3 427a 21.

The Wonderful Cross

D                 G        D
When I survey the wondrous cross
D            G         D     A
On which the Prince of glory died,
D                 G         D
My richest gain I count but loss,
D           A               D
And pour contempt on all my pride.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down:
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

      G         D             G         D
Oh the wonderful Cross, oh the wonderful Cross
       G                D               A
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live

      G         D             G         D
Oh the wonderful Cross, oh the wonderful Cross
       G              D
All who gather here by grace draw near
   A
And bless Your name

Were the whole realm of Nature mine,
That were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all! 

O Holy Night

O Holy Night - Version 1:

Oh holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angels' voices!

Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born;

Oh night divine, Oh night, Oh night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here come the wise men from Orient land.

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King, Behold your King.

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

O Holy Night - Version 2:

O! Holy night! The stars, their gleams prolonging,

Watch o'er the Eve of our dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error, longing

For His appearance, then the Spirit felt its worth.

A thrill of hope; the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!

O night divine, the night when Christ was Born;

O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts we stand by the Babe adored.

O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,

And come now, Shepherds, from your flocks unboard.

The Son of God lay thus w'thin lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our Lord.

He knows our need, our weakness never lasting,

Behold your King! By Him, let Earth accord!

Behold your King! By Him, let Earth accord!

Truly He taught us to love one another,

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Long live His truth, and may it last forever,

For in His name all discordant noise shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

With all our hearts we praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

--composed by Adolphe Adame in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau (1808-1877)

The Cry Of Man That Only God Can Respond To

Wake Me Up Inside

How can you see into my eyes
Like open doors?
Lading you down into my core,
Where I've become so numb.

Without a soul,
My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold,
Until you find it there and lead it back
Home.

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside.
(I can’t wake up)
Wake me up inside.
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark.
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run.
(I can’t wake up)
Before I come undone.
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I've become.

Now that I know what I'm without,
You can't just leave me.
Breathe into me and make me real.
Bring me to life.

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside.
(I can’t wake up)
Wake me up inside.
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark.
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run.
(I can’t wake up)
Before I come undone.
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I've become.

Bring me to life.
(I've been living a lie.
There's nothing inside)
Bring me to life.

Frozen inside without your touch,
Without your love, darling.
Only you are the life among the dead.

(All of this sight,
I can't believe I couldn't see
Kept in the dark
but you were there in front of me)
I've been sleeping a 1000 years it seems.
I've got to open my eyes to everything.
(Without a thought
Without a voice
Without a soul
Don't let me die here.
There must be something more).
Bring me to life.

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside.
(I can’t wake up)
Wake me up inside.
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark.
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run.
(I can’t wake up)
Before I come undone.
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I've become.

Bring me to life.
(I've been living a lie. There's nothing inside)
Bring me to life

--Evanescence

Exodus 15:1b-18

I will sing to the Lord, for He

is highly exalted;

The horse and its rider He has

hurled into the sea.

The Lord is my strength and

song,

And He has become my

salvation;

This is my God, and I will

praise Him;

My father's God, and I will

extol Him.

The Lord is a warrior;

The Lord is His name.

Pharoh's chariots and his

army He has cast into the

sea;

And the choicest of his officers

are drowned in the Red Sea.

The deeps cover them;

They went down into the

depths like a stone.

Your right hand, O Lord, is

majestic in power,

Your right hand, O Lord,

shatters the enemy.

And in the greatness of Your

excellence You overthrow

those who rise up against

You;

You send forth Your burning

anger, and it consumes them

as chaff.

At the blast of Your nostrils the

waters were piled up,

The flowing waters stood up

like a heap;

The deeps were congealed in

the heart of the sea.

The enemy said, "I will pursue,

I will overtake, I will divide

the spoil;

My desire shall be gratified

against them;

I will draw out my sword, my

hand will destroy them."

You blew with Your wind, the

sea covered them;

They sank like lead in the

mighty waters.

Who is like You among the

gods, O Lord?

Who is like You, majestic in

holiness,

Awesome in praises, working

wonders?

You stretched out Your right

hand,

The earth swallowed them.

In Your lovingkindness You

have led the people whom

You have redeemed;

In Your strength You have

guided them to Your holy

habitation.

The peoples have heard, they

tremble;

Anguish has gripped the

inhabitants of Philistia.

Then the chiefs of Edom were

dismayed;

The leaders of Moab, rembling

grips them;

All the inhabitants of Canaan

have melted away.

Terror and dread fall upon

them;

By the greatness of Your arm

they are motionless as stone;

Until Your people pass over,

O Lord,

Until the people pass over

whom You have purchased.

You will bring them and plant

them in the mountain of Your

inheritance,

The place, O Lord, which You

have made for Your dwelling,

The sanctuary, O Lord which

Your hands have established.

The Lord shall reign forever

and ever.

The Swindler's Story of Grace

The Swindler’s Story of Grace
By Curtis Jones

Love wasn’t easily accepted by the religious elite,
Cause it’s not so neat, it’s kinda jagged,
It dwells with our shredded hearts frayed and ragged,
Pursues us with love songs when we’re unattractive,
True Love loves the burnt out addicts,
The gangsta rap fanatics, the divorced and repackaged,
The drunks and the helpless, the lesbians and faggots,
The foolish actress with bi-sexual habits,
Consumers of explicit lyrics and pornographics,
Lives that look like hair tangled in a winding axis,
And people scarred by life like motorcycle crashes,
God loves abortionist and terrorist, the depressed and the embarrassed,
The ugly like the fairest, the well rounded like the squarest,
He writes on hearts like tablets, draws all men unto his magnet+
The tortoise and the rabbit, the simplistic and elaborate,
Death stings like yellow jackets, ‘til religion fades like plastic,
Eternal love for all’s fantastic, even though we couldn’t grasp it,
Now hearts get impacted like tennis balls to racquets,
When preachers kick excessive smoke like nicotine patches,
He said I came to love the lost, follow me employ these tactics,
If they don’t love like this, you’re pickin fruits, Ouch, from a cactus,
That’s why John the Baptist said these trees were made for axes,
They want a truth beneath the shell, and the scriptures easily crack this,
The swindlers story of grace, chapter nine, will easily back this,
Christ came to hang His hat with those cheaters, who swindle taxes,
Now the holy and the healthy said His love was malpractice,
But the Great Physician said I came to love the wrecked and ravished,
And those who you say are way below the average,
I’ll take their sins upon me with the lashes and the gashes,
With undeserving love, I will do it in my passion,
But if you keep trying to burn them with your little pack of matches,
I make the final call and I can give you what you’ve practiced,
If your life has nothing tragic, then keep moving on like traffic,
Make peace or attack it, every tongue will say it’s matchless,
You build a heaven for 3 people cause you’re having mental lapses,
But they were not in need of love, and so they called love blasphemous,
The perfect ones said, Stay away from them maggots,
Build higher walls, accept no trash, and no baggage,
They can all go to Hell, while we’re living here lavish,
But there was one outside the walls, and He’s nicknamed savage,
Knocking on the doors, and He’s knocking in His madness, saying,
Let me dine with you, and eat with you, as I do with these prostitutes,
I give the undeserving more than you, cause they receive good news as actual,
You only hear the message as factual, for the purpose of exclusion,
It was never meant for that, the proud devised that mass confusion,
For God so loved the whole world, He underwent the bruisin,
Still the arrogant rage, and plot a vain illusion,
He who sits in the heavens laughs, and finds it all amusing,
Those of your exclusion have been found in my inclusion,
You flay my flesh with the holy hatred that you’re using,
Give it up please, you’re no better than the least of these,
First and foremost they’re My children, My children,
Confidence in religious effort, is no foundation for building,
Trust the forgiveness of sins, because it’s covering you like sealant,
But don’t hoard it to yourself, because it’s for the nations healing,
So sinners flocked to Love, cause they perceived in Him the real thing,
Unconditional Love was attractive and appealing,
He accepts the wobbling and the tilting,
Mixed feelings and the guilty,
Those who think their prayers bounce back off the steel ceiling,
No, no, no, I hear you son, I hear you daughter,
Life without you is my death, and therefore I was slaughtered,
I was already on the line, before you ever thought of callin,
Prepared the best solution, before you knew there was a problem,
I loved you more than life, and that’s why I was martyred,
They were fighting me, although I never even fought ‘em,
Some imagine me a tyrant yelling, “7 times hotter,”
Some will tell ya that I came, just to drop you in the lava,
Nothing upon nothing upon nothing is stretched farther,
The truth is that I came here to show ya that I love ya,
Death wants to steal your life, but I’ll serve him up proper,
My death will eat his death, like a little peach cobbler,
He’s snappin at my heals, like a little red lobster,
But I’ll crush his head, and make it just a little bit softer,
The insults of them insulting you fell upon the Father,
The truth is that I came here to show ya, that I love ya,
I’m closer to you than your very own saliva,
The word is in your mouth, yes it’s already inside ya,
I knew your everything before you ever wore a diaper,
And you spiritually poor have a Kingdom with my Papa,
Love wins.

The Unilateral Promise

The Unilateral Promise
By Curtis Jones

The promise is unilateral, this salvation is radical,
Resting in His sacrifice is an everlasting sabbatical,

Majoring in the Majestic, emphasizing what’s emphatical,
So what’s His true anatomy? Is He God or humanity,
Cause He yields the power of YAHWEH, but what befell Him was catastrophe,
At one holy moment, yet He cleanses sin sporadically,
Resurrected supernaturally, He took that one catastrophe, and ruined death disastrously,
Oh! Mystically a mystery, incalculable statistically,
The most awful event in history, was paradoxically a masterpiece,
Don’t speak as if your bastardly, behold Him and you have the key,
Now hold to him nostalgically, if only in a memory,
And what a day that’ll be, in the ultimate reality,
Caught up in infinity, undisturbed by the enemy,
Unfettered by the sin in me, finally tranquility has swallowed up the tragedy,
And I can’t even imagine me, on that day I meet His majesty,
No systematic theology could express that moment adequately,
Will we experience the static or be moved ecstatically?
Caught up in this destiny that He gave up to invest in me?
And the worst part of God is better than the best in me,
So I’m placing all of my belief upon the Lamb of Calvary,

The promise is unilateral, this salvation is radical,
Resting in His sacrifice is an everlasting sabbatical,

To taste this land of ecstasy, I must suffer with Him next to me,
Passing through the misery, incessantly He delivers me,
From my own depravity and it’s like the weight of gravity,
Let Christ be true infallibly, but every man in fallacy,
Search it for yourself in the fourth verse of Romans 3,
The Nazarene of Galilee wants more than your salary,
He wants your heart and your life and the whole of its totality,
Every single molecule and every little calorie,
This is the cost of dowry, He paid from the trinity,
He bought us with his blood to believe in His Divinity,
To receive all His affinities, loving-kindness and serenities,
And His faithfulness is the centerpiece to feed us at His wedding feast,
We’ll eat up all His delicacies He’ll eat all our inadequacies,

The promise is unilateral, this salvation is radical,
Resting in His sacrifice is an everlasting sabbatical,


Our sins are so detestable and the proud man is not intellectual,
He’s seen God’s works and still refused and this is unacceptable,
Theories of evolution place faith in man corruptible,
But although some may not believe, God is still untouchable,
The theocratical evangelical fills his heart with the God of Israel,
And He feeds on Him like cereal though his God is immaterial,
And he knows why your skeptical, but his faith is diametrical,
Opposed to what’s perplexing you, he triumphs every obstacle, by the dialectical,
And he’s an open receptacle for the power on high to electrocute,
The old man who’s dead and time is through, to let the Christ Man reign as new,
Death does nothing to sway his views its void and empty and lacking truth,
Called freakish and sometimes fanatical, bizarre or even fantastical,
You may say it’s magical, but all that’s just dramatical,
Nothing here’s illogical and everything is factual,

The promise is unilateral, this salvation is radical,
Resting in His sacrifice is an everlasting sabbatical,

By faith it’s automatical,
Just receive Christ into you’re heart

Song of Hope (Heaven Come Down)

All things bright and beautiful You are
All things wise and wonderful You are
In my darkest night, You brighten up the skies
A song will rise

I will sing a song of hope
Sing along
God of heaven come down
Heaven come down
Just to know that You are near is enough
God of heaven come down, heaven come down

All things new
I can start again
Creator, God
Calling me Your friend
Sing praise, my soul
To the Maker of the skies
A song will rise

I will sing a song of hope
Sing along
God of heaven come down
Heaven come down
Just to know You and be loved is enough
God of heaven come down, heaven come down

--Robbie Seay Band

Sex differences

Nadeau says that the sex-specific differences in the brain are located both in the primitive regions, and in the neocortex--the higher brain regions. The neocortex contains 70 percent of the neurons in the central nervous system, and it is divided into two hemispheres joined by a 200-million fiber network called the corpus callosum.

The left hemisphere controls language analysis and expression and body movements while the right hemisphere is responsible for spatial relationships, facial expressions, emotional stimuli, and vocal intonations.

Men and women process information differently because of differences in a portion of the brain called the splenium, which is much larger in women than in men, and has more brain-wave activity. (9) Studies have shown that problemsolving tasks in female brains are handled by both hemispheres, while the male brain only uses one hemisphere.

Differences in the ways men and women communicate is also a function of sex-specific areas of the brain. Women seem to have an enhanced awareness of "emotionally relevant details, visual cues, verbal nuances, and hidden meanings," writes Nadeau. Similarly, while male infants are more interested in objects than in people, female infants respond more readily to the human voice than do male infants.

---

Professor Steven Goldberg, Chairman of the Department of Sociology at City College of New York, has written a book with the provocative title, Why Men Rule--A Theory of Male Dominance. In the book, he debunks much of the feminist mythology surrounding the issue of differences between males and females.

Goldberg maintains that although males and females are different in their genetic and hormonally-driven behavior, this does not mean that one sex is superior or inferior to another. Each gender has different strengths and weaknesses. However, he believes the neuro-endocrinological evidence is clear: The high level of testosterone in males drives them toward dominance in the world, while the lack of high levels of this hormone in women creates a natural, biological push in the direction of less dominant and more nurturing roles in society.

Goldberg writes:

"There is not, nor has there ever been, any society that even remotely failed to associate authority and leadership in suprafamilial areas with the male. There are no borderline cases." (3)

Feminist theorists maintain that socialization is a primary reason why males have dominated the world's cultures, but Goldberg counters:

"...if socialization alone explains why societies are patriarchal, there should be any number of societies in which leadership and authority are associated with women, and one should not have to invoke examples of non-patriarchal societies that exist only in myth and literature." (4)

http://narth.com/docs/york.html

The Unbearable Crisis

To say that men and women are the "same" is to deny physical reality. Child psychologist Dr. James Dobson relates a humorous story about men and women in his best-seller, Straight Talk to Men and Their Wives. Several years ago a drug company conducted an experiment with all of the women in a small fishing village in South America. The women were all given an experimental birth control pill. They were given the same pill on the same date, and the prescription was terminated after three weeks to permit menstruation.

"That meant, of course," he says, "that every adult female in the community was experiencing premenstrual tension at the same time. The men couldn't take it. They all headed for their boats each month and remained at sea until the crisis had passed at home. They knew, even if some people didn't, that females are different from males . . . especially every twenty-eight days." (5)

http://narth.com/docs/york.html

Humility

"A brother asked an old man, 'What is the work of one who lives as an exile?' The old man said, 'I used to know a brother who was living in exile and then happened to go to church. By chance there was an agape and the brother sat down to eat with the other brethren, and some amongst them said, 'Now who has invited this man?' So they said to him, 'Get up and go away', and he got up and went away. Some of the others were grieved at this and they went to call him back. Afterwards, they asked him, "What was in your heart when you were driven away and then brought back again?' He said, 'I was quite sure in my heart that I was like a dog. When it is driven away, it goes, and when it is called, it comes.'"
--"The Wisdom of The Desert Fathers" p.48-49

The Psalmodity of Presence

"As the kingdom of David crumbled from within and eventually fell to Babylonian imperialism, the temple psalmodists continued to praise Yahweh as the lord of Zion, the soverign of nature, and the judge of history.
...
They sang the hidden God. Others were tortured by an obsession for God. They sang the hauntingness of presence. A few reached a plateau of confident serenity. They sang the sufficient grace.
...
their complaint amounted in effect to a confession of faith. To be aware of divine hiddenness is to remember a presence and to yearn for its return. The presence of an absence denies its negativity."
-Samual L. Terrien On the Psalmody of Presence p198

Everlasting

A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Chorus 2x
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out 

- Hillsong United 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbGgA2lIDjc

"What I've Done"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef-N7aGtgck

In this farewell
There's no blood
There's no alibi
Cause I've drawn regret
From the truth
Of a thousand lies

So let mercy come
And wash away

What I've done
I'll face myself
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done

Put to rest
What you thought of me
While I clean this slate
With the hands
Of uncertainty

So let mercy come
And wash away

What I've done
I'll face myself
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done

For what I've done
I start again
And whatever pain may come
Today this ends
I'm forgiving what I've done

I'll face myself
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done

What I've done
Forgiving what I've done

Imagine Me

Imagine me...
No longer trapped on the block
Standin' on the corner with my nine and my glock
Taking the road less traveled which for sure is harder to climb
But the view's so much clearer along the way to the top.

Imagine me...
Movin' from street Thug to Man of Valor
Not goin' toe to toe with knuckleheads over little things that don't matter
Like who stepped on my shoe and who's been lookin' too hard at my grill... I just chill
No longer chasin' paper that don't satisfy
Just like a new ride, crib, and nights of sex.

Imagine me...
No longer gettin' wet in a sea of sin
But drownin' in a ragin' river of livin' water- Man...imagine that.
Picture me swellin' with purpose off tha charts!
And walking in purpose? That brings flava to my heart
'Cause purpose ain't confined to the four blocks I've known my whole life.
Imagine me overcomin' internal strife, which is greater than any external foe or casualty
Imagine me free- and not just gettin' my GED
But finishin' college- even graduate school
Storing up tools to travel outside my comfort zone and see the world that truly lies before me...
Don't ignore me, but dream of things that can be.
Imagine me no longer needing to cop a plea, nor desiring to run the streets
Even though it's been the home that nurtured me.

Imagine me waling in the light of destiny
And the light breaks through the darkness of broken lives.
Breaking through all the stereotypes that say "we ain't nothin but problems!"
Who can solve them?

Imagine you and me
No longer wasting our lives away in defeat but making a difference where we are...
Yeah. Imagine me giving in to that heavenly star which signified the birth of my Savior
Jesus Christ: Imagine that price he paid- his life-giving sacrifice
Because of my thuggin' and druggin', disrespect and late night rendezvous
He had to choose- save himself or save me...
Talk about taking the rap for someone elses' crime-
Now I'm free- salvation received all because Christ loved me and I believed
This is serious.
God's dream for me became my imagination and now I can...
Imagine me.

--Allen Paul Weaver III

My Eyes Have Seen Holy

Am I unfit for You
Remember me, the one who turned from You
I come in rags tattered by the Fall
And all the earth, a witness to my crime

Mercy, weep over me
Let Your tears wash me clean
Majesty, be merciful with me
For my eyes have seen Holy

Hear my prayer at night
Let the morning find me alive
For I am tired and weakened by the Fall
Let all the earth bear witness to my cry

Let the Amen sound from Heaven as You lift my soul
Let the Amen sound from Heaven as You lift my soul
Let the Angels sound from Heaven, Holy is the Lord

--Bebo Norman and Jason Ingram

Paul on Living and Walking by the Spirit

"For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law."

...

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ."

--Galatians 5:13-18; 5:25-6:2

Pieces lyrics

I'm here again
A thousand miles away from you
A broken mess, just scattered pieces of who I am
I tried so hard
Thought I could do this on my own
I've lost so much along the way

Then I'll see your face
I know I'm finally yours
I find everything I thought I lost before
You call my name
I come to you in pieces
So you can make me whole

I've come undone
But you make sense of who I am
Like puzzle pieces in your eye

Then I'll see your face
I know I'm finally yours
I find everything I thought I lost before
You call my name
I come to you in pieces
So you can make me whole!

I tried so hard! So hard!
I tried so hard!

Then I'll see your face
I know I'm finally yours
I find everything I thought I lost before
You call my name
I come to you in pieces
So you can make me whole
So you can make me whole

--RED

Breathe Into Me lyrics

And this is how it feels when I ignore the words you spoke to me
And this is where I lose myself when I keep running away from you
And this is who I am when, when I don't know myself anymore
And this is what I choose when it's all left up to me

Breathe your life into me
I can feel you
I'm falling, falling faster
Breathe your life into me
I still need you
I'm falling, falling
Breathe into me
Breathe into me

And this is how it looks when I am standing on the edge
And this is how I break apart when I finally hit the ground
And this is how it hurts when I pretend I don't feel any pain
And this is how I disappear when I throw myself away

Breathe your life into me
I can feel you
I'm falling, falling faster
Breathe your life into me
I still need you
I'm falling, falling
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me

Breathe your life into me
I can feel you
I'm falling, falling faster
Breathe your life into me
I still need you
I'm falling, falling
Breathe into me

Breathe your life into me!
I'm falling, falling faster
Breathe your life into me!
falling, falling, falling
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me

--Red

Against Hermogenes

"Thus with matter excluded because the cause for it[s introduction] has been excluded, it remains that God undoubtedly made all things out of nothing.We shall see whether He also made evil things, when it will be clear what things are evil and whether those things are evil which for the present you regard as such. For it is more worthy of God that He produced these things of His own will by producing them too out of nothing than that He did so on the initiative of another, supposing that He produced them out of matter. Liberty, not necessity, is appropriate to God. I would rather have it that He wanted to create evil things out of Himself than that He was unable to prevent their creation."
--"Ancient Christian Writers: The Treatise Against Hermogenes" Tertullian p48

Ignatius (Epistle to the Romans)

I write to the Churches, and impress on them all, that I shall willingly die for God, unless ye hinder me. I beseech of you not to show an unseasonable good-will towards me. Suffer me to become food for the wild beasts, through whose instrumentality it will be granted me to attain to God. I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and may leave nothing of my body; so that when I have fallen asleep [in death], I may be no trouble to any one. Then shall I truly be a disciple of Christ, when the world shall not see so much as my body. Entreat Christ for me, that by these instruments22 I may be found a sacrifice [to God]. I do not, as Peter and Paul, issue commandments unto you. They were apostles; I am but a condemned man: they were free,23 while I am, even until now, a servant. But when I suffer, I shall be the freedman of Jesus, and shall rise again emancipated in Him. And now, being a prisoner, I learn not to desire anything worldly or vain.

From Syria even unto Rome I fight with beasts,24 both by land and sea, both by night and day, being bound to ten leopards, I mean a band of soldiers, who, even when they receive benefits,25 show themselves all the worse. But I am the more instructed by their injuries [to act as a disciple of Christ]; “yet am I not thereby justified.” (1Co_4:4) May I enjoy the wild beasts that are prepared for me; and I pray they may be found eager to rush upon me, which also I will entice to devour me speedily, and not deal with me as with some, whom, out of fear, they have not touched. But if they be unwilling to assail me, I will compel them to do so. Pardon me [in this]: I know what is for my benefit. Now I begin to be a disciple. And let no one, of things visible or invisible, envy26 me that I should attain to Jesus Christ. Let fire and the cross; let the crowds of wild beasts; let tearings,27 breakings, and dislocations of bones; let cutting off of members; let shatterings of the whole body; and let all the dreadful28 torments of the devil come upon me: only let me attain to Jesus Christ.

--Ignatius (Epistle to the Romans ch. IV-V)

The Powers of Gourd, Supervacuity, Cucumber and Melon!

"There exists a certain royal Pre-principle, pre-unintelligible, pre-insubstantial and pre-prerotund, which I call Gourd. With this Gourd there coexists a Power which I call Supervacuity. This Gourd and this Supervacuity, being one, emitted without emitting a Fruit visible in all its parts, edible and sweet, which language calls Cucumber. With this Cucumber there is a Power of the same substance, which I call Melon. These Powers, Gourd and Supervacuity and Cucumber and Melon, emitted the whole multitude of Valentinus' delirious Melons."
--a parody by Irenaeus against the Valentinians ^_^

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain

--Horatio G. Spafford, 1873

Baxter- Poetical Fragments

When in thy Word I read Love's Mysteries;
There I would sweetly feed my greedy eyes.
Each Sacrament should be an Eucharist: (twist.
There Heart with Heart, & Love with Love should
My friends and I would in our daily walk
Of love's Delights and Entertainment talk:
My working Love should others Love excite:
In Love I'd be a Burning Shining Light.
Love through the Lantern of my flesh should shine:
Who heard me speak, should hear that I am Thine:
Remembering that in Love I must be made
Equal to Angels; I would learn their Trade:
Yea I would reach up to a higher shelf;
And as my Copy, look to Christ himself:

Love's word I'd do with my
diligence, (Mar. 3.20.21)
Though men should think I were
beside my sense. (2 Cor. 5.13)

My daily Love should rise before the Sun,
And it in speed and constancy out run:
Love as my life should fill up all my daise;
Desire should be my Pulse; my Breath thy Praise.
And I would winde up all the strings as high,
As Blessed Paul was in his Ecstasy.
Heav'nly Love should all my words indite,
And be the soul and sense of all I write:
My heart of Love's Delights should sweetly think,
I'd write with flaming fire instead of ink:

And yet thy holy Day should be my Best,
In it my thirsty Soul should taste of Rest;
My daily food should increase to a Feast.
O my Dear God! how precious is thy Love?
O could I mount thus to the Flames above?

These are Love's pantings after thee, my God!
Though, with my Soul, imprisoned in a clod!
My Soul and Love shall shortly be set free;
And then my Soul, my Love shall feast on Thee.
If thou wouldft grant the very thing I crave,
And give me leave to chuse what I would have;
Should it be lusts, or Sports, or Fleshly pleasure?
Should it be Lordly Rule, or Earthly Treasure?
No; I could gladly leave this Dirt to Swine,
And let the World be theirs, if Thou be mine!
I would not thirst to taste of their Delight.
If lively Faith might see the blessed Sight!
I would not be ambitious of a Throne!
I could have full content in God alone.
For mens Esteem and Praise I would not care:
All other Wit and Knowledge I could spare:
To Know and Love my God should be my choice:
Give me but This, and how shall I rejoice?
Under my hand, Lord, This is it I choose:
O give me this, whatever else I lose!
If there no spark of Love in this Desire?
When a poor Soul doth unto Thee aspire?
To Know and Love thee is my thirst and strive:
Nothing more makes me weary of my life,

Than that I feel no more the heav'nly Fire,
But look and reach, and yet can reach no higher.
Here lyes my pain! This is my daily sore:
I hate my Heart for loving God no more.
Do I not Love Thee, when I Love to Love Thee?
And when I set up nothing else above Thee?
Next GOD himself, who is my END & REST,
Love which stands next Thee, I esteem my Best,
And Loving God shall be my endless Feast.
O my Dear God! how precious is thy Love?
These are thy Earnests of the Life above.

--19-21

A Garden of Spiritual Flowers

- William Perkins (image #60)

A Prayer to be Said Before the Public Exercise Begins

O Most mighty and eternal God, before whose presence together with the rest of this congregation, I vile and sinful wretch, at this time do present my self to hear Thy holy Word, and to offer up the sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving unto Thee: bless (I beseech Thee) this our meeting, sanctify and prepare m heart, that it may be apt and fit for this exercise which now we have in hand: inflame my heart with zeal, and teach me how to open mine ears, that I may understand that which shall at this time out of Thy holy Word be taught unto me. Take from me all wandering and by-thoughts; and grant that now and ever, I may bear Thy Word effectually, and pray unto Thee sincerely, through Jesus Christ.

The Puritans on PRIDE

"One of our most heinous and palable sins is PRIDE. This is a sin that hath too much interest in the best of us, but which is more hateful and inexcusable in us than in other men. Yet is it so prevelant in some of us, that it inditeth our discourses, it chooseth our company, it formeth our countenances, it putteth the accent and emphasis upon our words. ...But, alas! how frequently doth it go with us to our study, and there sit with us and do our work! ...God commandeth is to be as plain as we can, that we may inform the ignorant; and as convincing and serious as we are able, that we may melt and change their hardended hearts. p.137 The Reformed Pastor

...In short, the sum of all is this, it maketh men, both in studying and preaching , to seek themelves, and deny God, when they should seek God's glory, and deny themselves. When they should inquire, what shall I say, and how shall I say it, to please God best, and do most good? it makes them ask, What shall I say, and how shall I deliver it, to be thought a learned able preacher, and to be applauded by all that hear me? p.138

..and while we cry down papal infallibility, too many of us would be popes ourselves, and have all stand to our determination, as if we were infallible. p.140

The matter is come to pass, through our pride, that if an error or fallacious argument do fall under the patronage of a reverend name, (which is nothing rare,) we must either allow it the victory, and give away the truth, or else become injurious to that name that doth patronize it; for though you meddle not with their persons, yet do they put themselves under all the strokes which you give their arguments; and feel them as sensibly as if you had spoken of themselves, because they think it will follow in the eyes of others, that weak arguing is a sign of a weak man. If, therefore, you consider it your duty to shame their errors and false reasonings, by discovering their nakedness, they take it as if you shamed their persons; and so their names must be a garrison or fortress to their mistakes, and their reverence must defend all their sayings from attack. p.141

Wisdom from the Puritans

"We must avoid the common confusion of speaking of those who make no difference between verbal and real errors, and hate that 'madness formerly among theologians,' who tear their brethren as heretics, before they understand them. An dwe must learn to see the true state of controversies, and reduce them to the very point where the difference lieth, and not make them seem greater than they are. Instead of quarreling with our brethren, we must combine against the common adversaries; and all ministers must associate and hold communion, and correspondence, and constant meetings to these ends; and smaller differences of judgment are not to interrupt them. They must do as much as the work of God, in unity and concord, as they can, which is the use of synods; not to rule over one another, and make laws, but to avoid misunderstandings, and consult for mutual edification, and maintain love and communion, and go on unanimously in the work that God hath already commanded us. Had the ministers of the gospel been men of peace, and of catholic, rather than factious spirits, the Church of Christ had not been in the case it now is. The nations of Lutherans and Calvinists abroad, and the differing parties here at home, would not have been plotting the subversion of one another, nor remain at that distance, and in that uncharitable bitterness, nor strengthen the common enemy, and hinder the building and prosperity of the Church as they have done. "
-The Reformed Paster p.124

The Reformed Pastor

"Your study of physics and other sciences is not worth a rush, if it be not God that you seek after in them. To see and admire, to reverence and adore, to love and delight in God, as exhibited in his works- this is the true and only philosophy; the contrary is mere foolery, and is so called again and again by God himself. This is the sanctification of your studies, when they are devoted to God, and when he is the end, the object, and the life of them all."
-The Reformed Pastor p.58 by Richard Baxter

" 'Some desire to know merely for the sake of knowing, and that is shameful curiosity. Some desire to know that they may sell their knowledge, and that too is shameful. Some desire to know for reputations sake, and that is shameful vanity. But there are some who desire to know that they may edify others, and that is praiseworthy; and there are some who desire to know that they themselves may be edified, and that is wise.' "
-p.112

"The strength of Christians is the honor of the Church. When they are inflamed with the love of God, and live by a lively working faith, and set light by the profits and honors of the world, and love one another with a pure heart fervently, and can bear and heartily forgive wrong, and suffer joyfully for the cause of Christ, and study to do good, and walk inoffensively and harmlessly in the world, are ready to be servants to all men for their good, becoming all things to all men in order to win them to Christ, and yet abstaining from the apprearence of evil, and seasoning all their actions with a sweet mixture of prudence, humility, zeal, and heavenly mindedness- oh, what an honor are such to their profession! What an ornament to the Church; and how serviceable to God and man! Men would sooner believe that the gospel is from heaven, if they saw more such efforts of it upon the hearts and lives of those who profess it. The world is better able to read the nature of religion in a man's life than in the Bible. 'They that obey not the word, may be won by the conversation' of such as are thus eminent for godliness. It is, therefore, a most important part of our work, to labour more in the polishing and perfecting of the saints, that they may be strong in the Lord, and fitting for their Master's service."
-p.98

Politically Correct Bedtime Stories

These stories crack me up :)

"Hello, Cinderella, I am your fairy godperson, or individual deity proxy, if you prefer. So, you want to go to the ball, eh? And bind yourself into the male concept of beauty? Squeeze into some tight -fitting dress that will cut off your circulation? Jam your feet into high-heeled shoes that will ruin your bone structure? Paint your face with chemicals and makeup that have been tested on nonhuman nanimals? ...

The prince has made it clear to his friends that he was intent on 'possessing' the young wommon. But the prince's resolutness angered his pals, for they too lusted after her and wanted to own her. The men began to shout and push each other. ...

The womyn were appalled by this vicious display of testosterone, but try as they might, they were unable to separate the combatants. To the other womyn, it seemed that Cinderella was the cause of all the trouble, so they encircled her and began to display very unsisterly hostility. She tried to escape, but her impractical glass slippers made it nearly impossible. Fortunately for her, none of the other womyn were shod any better.

...When the bell rang the twelfth time, Cinderella's beautiful gown and slippers disappeared, and she was dressed once again in her peasant's rags. ...

Freed from the confinements of her gown and slippers, Cinderella sighed and scratched her ribs. She smiled, closed her eyes and said, 'Kill me now if you want, sisters, but at least I'll die in comfort.' ...

The womyn clucked their tongues but felt no remorse. The palace and realm were theirs now. Their first official act was to dress the men in their discarded dresses and tell the media that the fight arose when someone threatened to expose the crossdressing tendencies of the prince and his cronies. Their second was to set up a clothing co-op that produced only comfortable, practical clothes for womyn. Then they hung a sign on the castle advertising CinderWear (for that was what the new clothing was called), and through self-determination and clever marheting, they all-- even the mother- and sisters-of-step --lived happily ever after."

--"Politically Correct Bedtime Stories" by James Finn Garner

Practice what you Preach

"O what sadder case can there be in the world, than for a man, who made it his very trade and calling to proclaim salvation, and to help others to heaven, yet after all to be himself shut out! Alaas! that we should have so many books in our libraries which tell us the way to heaven; that we should spend so many years in reading these books, and studying the doctrine of eternal life, and after all this to miss it! -that we should study so many sermons of salvation, and yet fall short of it! -that we should preach so many sermons on damnation, and yet fall into it? And all because we preached so many sermons of Christ, while we neglected him; of the Spirit, while we resisted him; of faith, while we did not ourselves believe; of repentance and conversion, while we continued in an impenitent and unconverted state; and of a heavenly life, while we remained carnal and earthly ourselves."
--Richard Baxter "The Reformed Pastor" p.72

"What! can you love other men better than yourselves? Can you have pity on them, who have no pity upon yourselves? Sirs, do you think they will be heartily diligent to save men from hell, that be not heartily persuaded that there is a hell?"
--" " p.81

Eschatology

"What!? You mean He's coming back!? Jesus- is coming back- here? WOW! THAT is sooo cool!" *looks around in disbelief "...He's coming back!"
--Geoffry (a kid from Calvary Kids club. I'd like to see that kind of reaction in my Theology classes when we discuss the end times.)

Into The Day

Into The Day (It's Over Now)
Written by Bebo Norman and Jason Ingram

You could turn a hundred years and never empty all your fears
They're pouring out like broken words and broken bones
They could fill a thousand pages, be the cry for all the ages
And the song for every soul who stands alone

The ache of life is more than you are able

Hold on love, don't give up
Don't close your eyes
The light is breaking through the night

Step out into the day, all the clouds and all the rain are gone
It's over now
Step out into the sun, for you have only begun to know
What it's all about
As the hungering dark gives way to the dawn, my love
It's over now

Time will let the story told grow and grow 'til it unfolds
In a way that even you cannot ignore
You can say the seasons change but never if you just remain
In a place where the freeze is at your door

What you don't know is the signs are right for the turning tide

Hold on, hold on
It won't be long
So hold on

Words of Remon

"Words of remon! Words of remon! Why are you delaying so long? Because of your delay, death has taken my son away!

Words of remon! Words of remon! Our eyes are getting red watching for your coming!

Words of remon! Words of remon! Will you come from upstream? Will you come from downstream?

Words of remon! Words of remon! Hurry, or death will take us all away, and no one will be left to welcome you."

-Peace Child p.221

The Freedom of a Christian -Part2

Just some stuff I need to save somewhere for my class.

"From all this it is easy to understand why faith has such great power, and why no good works, nor even all good works put together, can compare with it, since no work can cleave to the word of God or be in the soul. Faith alone and the word reign in it; and such as is the word, such is the soul made by it, just as iron exposed to fire glows like fire, on account of its union with the fire. It is clear then that to a Christian man his faith suffices for everything, and that he has no need of works for justifiation. But if he has no need of works, neither has he need of the law; and if he has no need of the law, he is certianly free from the law, and the saying is true, "The law is not made for a righteous man" (1 Tim 1:9). This is that Christian liberty, our faith, the effect of which is, not that we should be careless or lead a bad life, but that no one should need the law or works for justification and salvation." p.10

"Thus the soul, in firmly believing the promises of God, holds Him to be true and righteous; and it can attribute to God no higher glory than the credit of being so. The highest worship of God is to ascribe to Him truth, righteousness, and whatever qualities we must ascribe to one in whom we believe. In doing this the soul shows itself prepared to do His whole will; in doing this it hallows His name, and gives itself up to be dealt with as it may please God. For it cleaves to His promises, and never doubts that He is true, just, and wise, and will do, dispose, and provide for all things in the best way. Is not such a soul, in this its faith, most obedient to God in all things? What commandment does there remain which has not been amply fulfilled by such obedience? What fulfilment can be more full than universal obedience? Now this is not accomplished by works, but by faith alone.

On the other hand, what greater rebellion, impiety, or insult to God can there be, than not to believe His promises? What else is this, than either to make God a liar, or to doubt His truth- that is, to attribute truth to ourselves, but to God falsehood and levity? In doing this, is not man denying God and setting himself up as an idol in his own heart? What then can works, done in such a state of impiety, profit us, were they even angelic or apostolic works? Rightly hath God shut up all, not in wrath nor lust, but in unbelief, or in order that those who pretend that they are fulfilling the law by works of purity and benevolence (which are social and human virtues) may not presume that they will therefore be saved, but, being included in the sin of unbelief, may either seek mercy, or be justly condemned P.11"

"In this is displayed the delightful sight, not only of communion, but of a prosperous warfare, of victory, salvation, and redemption. For, since Christ is God and man, and is such a Person as neither has sinned, nor dies, nor is condemned, nay, cannot sin, die, or be condemned, and since His righteousness, life and salvation are invincible, eternal, and almighty- when I say, such a Person, by the wedding-ring of faith, takes a share in the sins, death and hell of His wife, nay, makes them His own, and deals with them no otherwise than as if they were His, and as if He Himself has sinned; and when He suffers, dies, and descends to hell, that He may overcome all things, and since sin, death, and hell cannot swallow Him up, they must needs be swallowed up by Him is stupendous conflict. For His righteousness rises above the sins of all men; His life is more powerful than all death; His salvation is more unconquerable than all hell. p12"

--Martin Luther

Afraid?

This is an entry from one of my good friend's diaries. It is not uncommon for us to share them with each other because we trust and know each other so well that there are absolutely no secrets and complete openness. I am very blessed to know these people and to learn from them.

I decide to share this because the greatness of God and be seen in a person's everyday struggles.

"July 20, 2007
God, I have been afraid of almost everything that turned out to be any good. I am learning that sometimes, I just have to look past my fears and take a step anyways. God, I was afraid to come here, afraid to play piano, afraid to play on worship team, afraid to help out with youth group, afraid to stay friends with people [from my old town]. I am afraid to call people, I am afraid to go to church, to talk to people. I'm afraid to love people. I'm afraid of the dark, afraid of being alone, afraid of crowds, afraid of water, afraid of making friends, afraid of keeping old friends, afraid of reading, afraid of learning new things, afraid to drive, afraid to graduate, afraid of the unknown, the future, evil.

But God, I may be weak in every area of my life but You are strong! That is enough!

...Lord, please help me! From this day forward, NO! I will not be ruled by fear! I will love them! Please help me to love them, truly love them from this day forward! Help me to never give up!

Fear will no longer be my master! You are! You are my guide, my strength, my love, and my life!"