What Wondrous Love is This?

I love music, and I love Jesus and I love how God gave us song to praise Him with!

I first heard the beautiful hymn What Wondrous Love is This on one of Oysterband's recent recordings, The Oxford Girl and Other Stories, and instantly fell in love with the stark contrast between the joyful lyrics and the haunting modal harmonies. I decided to find out more about the origins of this song and came across two beautiful versions on You Tube (my favorite resource, lol).

The first one I found is a very informal "session" filmed on an Irish clifftop several years ago. I LOVE THIS~ like a little taste of what Heavenly jam sessions will be like:)



I have no information about who these people are, or anything else but would be happy to post it here, so if anyone knows please get in touch with me! The mandolin the young man is playing is an old Gibson A style, probably from around 1915-1920- it is very similar to the one I own (and fairly rare, so a cool coincidence;)

Some of the comments on the above video lead me to explore the Appalachian roots of the song. From the Hymnopedia site I discovered that it was originally published in both a Methodist and a Baptist hymnal in 1811, and the author is unknown. From the page entitled Hymns:What wondrous love is this O my soul O my soul , I was interested to learn that the hymn was also included in several Sacred Harp hymnals in the mid 1800's.

Sacred Harp, or shape note singing is an Appalachian a capella style of group singing that was designed to allow even untrained singers participate in choral harmony. I first heard about it when a friend and I were in Cades Cove TN and got to actually participate in a sing at one of the historic pioneer churches there. We sang Amazing Grace and other songs with a group of powerful voices in one of the places I had loved since I was young- talk about goosebumps! Sacred Harp singing is still practiced by many traditional singers, and sings and conventions happen all around the country every year. Here is a video of What Wondrous Love is This being sung at one such event last year in Minnesota:



This version is much closer to the Oysterband version and I LOVE the harmonies! There are a lot of different variations of the lyrics, but here are some of my favorite verses:

What wondrous love is this,
O my soul! O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse,
For my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse, for my soul.

When I was sinking down,
Sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down;
When I was sinking down,
Beneath God's righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown,
For my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside his crown, for my soul.

Ye winged seraphs, fly!
Bear the news! bear the news!
Ye winged seraphs fly! bear the news!
Ye winged seraphs fly! bear the news,
Like comets through the sky,
Fill vast eternity
With the news, with the news,
Fill vast eternity with the news!

To God, and to the Lamb,
I will sing, I will sing,
To God, and to the Lamb, I will sing;
To God, and to the Lamb,
Unto the great I AM,
While millions join the theme,
I will sing, I will sing,
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death we're free,
We'll sing on, we'll sing on,
And when from death we're free, we'll sing on;
And when from death we're free,
We'll sing, and joyful be,
And through eternity
We'll sing on, we'll sing on,
And through eternity we'll sing on.

Yes, when to that bright world
We arise, we arise,
Yes, when to that bright world we arise—
When to that world we go,
Free from all pain and wo,
We'll join the happy throng,
And sing on, and sing on,
We'll join the happy throng, and sing on.

Thanks for following along my little musical praise journey this morning...What are your favorite hymns or praise songs? Feel free to share in the comments and maybe I will include one of yours in another exploration one day:)

A Masterpiece of Divine Grace

Reinhard Bonnke is a powerful evangelist and a dear saint of God. I ran across this series of brief (less than 2 minutes) videos on his You Tube channel and wanted to share one with you. He only says a few words, but the love and the power of Jesus and the New Birth are conveyed Spirit to spirit! He says simple, powerful things here:

"A true Christian is a piece of Divine workmanship,
Someone who is born again is not just renamed or re-christened.
The work of Christ is not just a touch up job or a new coat of paint!"

"God does a glorious work, each convert is a masterpiece of Divine grace"

I pray that this will bless you like it did me, and if you are not yet a Christian, I pray you will allow God to speak to your heart through the anointing on this man of love! Peace be upon you:)

For more information about becoming a Christian from Reinhard Bonnke, go to Godscall.tv

Shana Tova!

"Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: ראש השנה‎), (literally "head of the year"), is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holidays or Yamim Noraim ("Days of Awe"), celebrated ten days before Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah is observed on the first two days of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar.[1] It is described in the Torah as יום תרועה (Yom Teru'ah, a day of sounding [the Shofar])."
~from Wickipedia article on Rosh Hashanah

I stumbled upon this lovely New Year's Greeting song that I wanted to share...My favorite line: "When the darkness covers all, thats the time to recall, soon comes the dawn"

SHANA TOVA (a good year:)to you all!!




Notes on the video: The song was originally by Matisyahu ~an amazing musician!!

The video comes from an Israeli media satire website, Latma

The Great Kansas Word War

I know this is a wee bit off topic, but Im so excited! My husband just posted his first expanded short story 'book' on Kindle today and I wanted to share with you:). The Great Kansas Word War is an expanded version of a short story that he won his first award with a couple of years ago and is a heartwarming glimpse into a day in the life of a particularly difficult and charming grandfather.

I had a lot of fun watching this story grow. Ian has a fascinating way of bringing a lot of little elements in our lives together to tell a completely new story. This isnt based on actual events, but there elements of the familiar sprinkled throughout. The grandma is named Bethel just like my own grandma (who was one of Ian's biggest fans), and Grandpa is similar in many ways to Ian's own Scottish grandpa- just transplanted into a Kansas farmer.

He originally thought to find just a generic photo of a barn to use as the front cover, but he does like to paint (pure Bob Ross style, but bless his heart he loves it;)and decided to do just that for a cover. I love the way it turned out, very old fashioned looking, reminds me of book covers from the 40's and 50's and really sets the tone for the story.

Its a very quick and easy read, designed to be read in an hour or so and only $1.97 to download on Amazon.com. You dont have to have a Kindle to read it either- Amazon offers lots of different FREE Kindle Reading Apps here ;)

The Rapture: Rockabilly Condensed Version a la Marty Stuart

Most everyone probably heard all the secular news stories about that silly fellow who decided he knew when The Rapture was going to take place this year. It was amazing and rather distressing how many misinformed folks decided to chime in and give their two cents worth.

As a general rule, I believe we need to be very careful how we handle interpretations of last things-there is a reason why the book of Revelation is in the BACK of the Bible! I also know that the phrase "the rapture" is nowhere in the Bible, but the idea behind it is there. With that in mind, when I came across this delightful video of Marty Stuart's original song Its Time to Go Home this evening I thought-

THERE IT IS, in a nutshell! The Rockabilly condensed version of the Rapture, complete with scripture reference and AMAZING Fender guitar playing! Give a listen:



Lyrics to this song can be found on Marty's Fan Website

The DVD this is from can be found here~ Bill Gaither Presents: Country Bluegrass Homecoming Vol. 1

Or this and other original Gospel songs by Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives can be found on their CD~ Souls' Chapel

Are You Hurting? Answers From The Word Of God

The word of God has answers for hurting people!! Here is a very useful collection of free teachings on specific topics that people who are going through difficult times might be facing:

1. I feel alone
2. It seems nothing is working.
3. I have symptoms of a physical problem.
4. I feel like giving up.
5. I've experienced financial difficulties.
6. I need help in my marriage.
7. Someone close to me has died.
8. I need deliverance from addictions.
9. What does it mean to be born again?

The teaching What Does it Mean to be Born Again? is a great message for anyone who has questions about going to heaven, and/or how to become a Christian.

These are from Keith Moore, Pastor at Faith Life Church in Branson,Mo. He is an excellent teacher of the Word and all of the teaching series' he does are always available at no charge (now thats faith in action;) on the Faith Life Church website free downloads page

Judge Not- of Planks and Specks

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" ~Matthew 7:1-3

Recently, I have observed more than one person bring up this verse in an attempt to defend a "to each his own", "tolerance" sort of position regarding sin and faith. While I knew in my heart that was not the point Jesus was trying to make here, I decided to study it out some rather than just ignore the discussion. I figure that is part of considering the plank in my own eye;)

My first thought was, if they are accusing me of judging when I am quoting scripture, then by their definition of judgment, they are judging me when they quote this scripture, so it becomes a great paradox. I dont believe this is what Jesus taught, for He is not the author of confusion.

As I studied, I used one of my favorite bible study resources, Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary . (available for purchase by clicking the link, or you can also access many of the notes at no charge through Andrew's Website). When I looked at all the individual scriptures in this note, it helped me to see the bigger picture of biblical judgment:

Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 46 at Mt 7:1:
On other occasions, Jesus told people to judge (Lu 12:57 and Joh 7:24). The disciples told people to judge (Ac 4:19; Ro 14:13; 1Co 5:12, 6:2, 10:15, 11:13, and 14:29). Paul judged (1Co 5:3 and 2Co 5:14). There are many examples of people judging. Paul prayed that our love would abound more and more in all judgment (Php 1:9). In the light of these scriptures, it is evident that there must be a right and wrong type of judging.

In Lu 12:56-57, Jesus used the words "discern" and "judge" interchangeably. As defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, "judge" can mean many things from "condemn" to "to form an opinion or evaluation." There certainly is nothing wrong with discerning or appraising a situation or person. Quite the contrary, we need to try the spirits (1Jo 4:1). Judging, when done as discernment, is good.

It is the condemning type of judgment that is wrong. This is denounced in other scriptures (Ro 14:4, 10, 13; and Jas 4:11) because of the reasons stated in Mt 5:22. We can defer to God passing sentence on people and know that He will have perfect judgment (Ro 2:2 and Re 20:12-13).

Also notice that in these scriptures, Jesus was not forbidding judgment; He was warning us to be careful with our judgments because we will be judged accordingly. This same principle is stated in Ro 2:1-3 and Jas 2:12-13. There are certain cases where we have to pass a condemning sentence, as Paul did (1Co 5:3-5 and 1Ti 1:20), or as a judge would today. Pastors and elders are charged with rebuking and even disciplining church members (1Ti 5:20; Re 2:12-16, and 18-20), but it is not something to be done lightly. This warning constrains us to be certain that we have heard from God and are not simply venting our own frustrations.

—Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary

So what do I gather from all of this?

There is a pervasive doctrine in the world today that refuses to believe in absolutes, but that doesnt change what the Word of God teaches. There is right and there is wrong. There is Truth and there is lie. If I call myself a follower of Jesus, I cannot ignore what He says when it is uncomfortable HE said "I am the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father except by Me". Saying that the Bible says something is wrong is not hate, unless it is done in a hateful manner. You can be wrong til the day you die and I will still love you. On the other hand, telling someone they are okay when they are not is not love.

How to remove the plank?

There are some things I need to remember when handling the uncompromising Truth of our beloved Father:

1) Its not MY truth or YOUR truth, its HIS truth. The thing about Truth is that it may not be optional for salvation, but it is a choice- proclaim Truth when and where appropriate, but never try to force it on someone.

2)There is nothing I can do in my own strength to convince someone to believe- God tells us to speak, preach, teach, exhort, but it is the Holy Spirit who will do the convincing. Its also NOT about me being right and someone else being wrong.

3)Just because I know something is right or wrong, doesnt mean I always have to say it. Speak when the Holy Spirit tells me to, keep silent when He tells me not to speak.

To sum it up, here are a few scriptures that support these ideas:

But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
~2 Timothy 2:23-26

Behave yourselves wisely-living prudently and with discretion-in your relations with those of the outside world (the non-Christians), making the very most of the time and seizing the opportunity. Let your speech at all times be gracious, pleasant and winsome, seasoned-as it were- with salt, so that you may never be at a loss to know how you ought to answer anyone who puts a question to you.
~Colossians 4:5-7 (Amplified)

And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human[a] wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
~1 Corinthians 2:4-5

...let our lives lovingly express truth in all things- speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, Christ the Messiah, the Anointed One.
~Ephesians 4:15 (Amplified)

Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it.
~Ephesians 4:15 (Amplified)

But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith-make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher- praying in the Holy Spirit; Guard and keep yourselves in the love of God; expect and patiently wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ which will bring you unto life eternal.

And refute so as to convict some who dispute with you,and on some have mercy who waver and doubt. Strive to save others, snatching them out of the fire; on others take pity but with fear, loathing even the garment spotted by the flesh and polluted by their sensuality.
~Jude 20-23 (Amplified)

AMEN~ SO BE IT :)