So much seems to always be going on in my life. I rarely have a minute with nothing to do. I need to consciously think, "Ok this time is for me and for God and nothing else can come before it." on a regular basis. And yet I seem to be in this "limbo" stage. Which way do I go next? Where is this path I am to follow? And I need to learn, like Paul did, to be content in every situation. Philippians 4:12-13 says "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." A lot of the time, I am content. I am actually happy. But then Satan wiggles his way into my head and before I know it, thoughts of discontentedness have got me down and I feel unhappy and depressed. Job 36:11 says "If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment." And so this is where my focus should always be, regardless of circumstances, regardless of what someone has said to me, regardless of where I was yesterday and where I am today. I cannot regret anything. My past and where God has taken me, brought me through is what makes me who I am today. What I am going through today is what will make me what I will be tomorrow. And I can choose. I can choose how I react to situations, how I react to others' behaviour towards me, how I react to the uncertainty of my life. I have a solid rock who stands. And even if everything else and everyone else around me falls away, I will always have my solid rock, right there beside me. And that is something I rejoice in and I find comfort in and need to focus my whole attention and life on.
I went home this weekend and had such a wonderful time. It is so amazing to see an 11-year-old who shows such concern for others. I guess I was most definitely not that 11-year-old so it strikes me all the more, but my heart smiles every time I see the work of God in Ben's life. And dad told me that he went forward during an opportunity to accept Christ in church the other week, which is most exciting.
I would like to speak of something I have been wondering about recently, in light of a good number of my friends getting married/engaged (not in that order), and it is this. What do we expect from marriage? What do I expect (I'm not of the engaged or married contingent by the way, I'm just pondering, because this could happen one day, and I honestly don't know what to expect, what to aim for, what to desire). Having only ever been single, I don't really know what I should expect. I haven't been doing research, but have run into a couple of articles/book chapters that deal more or less directly with this. One of the articles I read was by Denise Morris, and she says that "we have over-idealized what marriage is and should be. We expect the person we marry to be perfect, we desire a romantic story to describe how we met, and we hold out forever in search of "the one."" She goes on to say that marriage is intended to make us more holy rather than more happy. So how can I work out whether a man I could potentially marry will help make me more holy and vice-versa? Love is a choice. So you get on well with someone and want to love them forever. Is that it? Or is there more to it than that? I don't know. I also remember Wayne speaking on this and he said that if you're not sure if they are "the one". If you're not sure, marry them. Then they are the one. So is that it? That simple?
Finally, the lyrics to a song we sang in church on Sunday (for the first and last time in that church, by the way, but having researched it some, it seems that a lot of people really love this song and its lyrics, which concerns me slightly... or a lot).
Verse 1:
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.
Pre-Chorus:
And oh, how He loves us all,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all
Chorus 1:
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Verse 2:
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And the heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…
Chorus 2:
He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
John Mark McMillan
The only line that I like is the first one. The rest is either strange imagery I cannot quite get my head around to understanding what he means, or is not exactly biblical, or is not biblical at all. And if we're singing a song about how much God loves us (which is a fantastic thing to sing about) why is there not even an allusion to the cross, the biggest sign of His love for us and just how much He does love us. It is such a shame, because the melody is gorgeous and the song started out so well.
I don't know exactly what this means, but He is our portion. I don't know that the Bible ever says that we are His portion. Of course, that depends what being a portion means!! I have thought about this before, but don't understand what it means. Any help welcome. We're sinking in His grace? I see what He's getting at, but sinking to me implies drowning and suffocating and death. Not quite what grace does to me. And then there's the sloppy wet kiss. I have read (in all my research) that this is an image opposed to a small peck on the cheek. It's all about the passion. But I'm uncomfortable with this imagery. And then regrets come out of nowhere in the last couple of lines... ok... there are my concerns voiced.
He is jealous for me...
So much seems to always be going on in my life. I rarely have a minute with nothing to do. I need to consciously think, "Ok this time is for me and for God and nothing else can come before it." on a regular basis. And yet I seem to be in this "limbo" stage. Which way do I go next? Where is this path I am to follow? And I need to learn, like Paul did, to be content in every situation. Philippians 4:12-13 says "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." A lot of the time, I am content. I am actually happy. But then Satan wiggles his way into my head and before I know it, thoughts of discontentedness have got me down and I feel unhappy and depressed. Job 36:11 says "If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment." And so this is where my focus should always be, regardless of circumstances, regardless of what someone has said to me, regardless of where I was yesterday and where I am today. I cannot regret anything. My past and where God has taken me, brought me through is what makes me who I am today. What I am going through today is what will make me what I will be tomorrow. And I can choose. I can choose how I react to situations, how I react to others' behaviour towards me, how I react to the uncertainty of my life. I have a solid rock who stands. And even if everything else and everyone else around me falls away, I will always have my solid rock, right there beside me. And that is something I rejoice in and I find comfort in and need to focus my whole attention and life on.
I went home this weekend and had such a wonderful time. It is so amazing to see an 11-year-old who shows such concern for others. I guess I was most definitely not that 11-year-old so it strikes me all the more, but my heart smiles every time I see the work of God in Ben's life. And dad told me that he went forward during an opportunity to accept Christ in church the other week, which is most exciting.
I would like to speak of something I have been wondering about recently, in light of a good number of my friends getting married/engaged (not in that order), and it is this. What do we expect from marriage? What do I expect (I'm not of the engaged or married contingent by the way, I'm just pondering, because this could happen one day, and I honestly don't know what to expect, what to aim for, what to desire). Having only ever been single, I don't really know what I should expect. I haven't been doing research, but have run into a couple of articles/book chapters that deal more or less directly with this. One of the articles I read was by Denise Morris, and she says that "we have over-idealized what marriage is and should be. We expect the person we marry to be perfect, we desire a romantic story to describe how we met, and we hold out forever in search of "the one."" She goes on to say that marriage is intended to make us more holy rather than more happy. So how can I work out whether a man I could potentially marry will help make me more holy and vice-versa? Love is a choice. So you get on well with someone and want to love them forever. Is that it? Or is there more to it than that? I don't know. I also remember Wayne speaking on this and he said that if you're not sure if they are "the one". If you're not sure, marry them. Then they are the one. So is that it? That simple?
Finally, the lyrics to a song we sang in church on Sunday (for the first and last time in that church, by the way, but having researched it some, it seems that a lot of people really love this song and its lyrics, which concerns me slightly... or a lot).
Verse 1:
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.
Pre-Chorus:
And oh, how He loves us all,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all
Chorus 1:
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Verse 2:
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And the heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…
Chorus 2:
He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
John Mark McMillan
The only line that I like is the first one. The rest is either strange imagery I cannot quite get my head around to understanding what he means, or is not exactly biblical, or is not biblical at all. And if we're singing a song about how much God loves us (which is a fantastic thing to sing about) why is there not even an allusion to the cross, the biggest sign of His love for us and just how much He does love us. It is such a shame, because the melody is gorgeous and the song started out so well.
I don't know exactly what this means, but He is our portion. I don't know that the Bible ever says that we are His portion. Of course, that depends what being a portion means!! I have thought about this before, but don't understand what it means. Any help welcome. We're sinking in His grace? I see what He's getting at, but sinking to me implies drowning and suffocating and death. Not quite what grace does to me. And then there's the sloppy wet kiss. I have read (in all my research) that this is an image opposed to a small peck on the cheek. It's all about the passion. But I'm uncomfortable with this imagery. And then regrets come out of nowhere in the last couple of lines... ok... there are my concerns voiced.
He is jealous for me...
7 comments:
Lots of good things to ponder...Yesterday as I was reading Matt 6 I was reminded how we are to pray, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." I'm encouraged by this to pray that the Lord's kingdom would come and will be done THROUGH my marriage and family!
Nice post. I found this song confusing, distracting and adrift of any biblical anchor. Not to say really bad poetry.
No problems with "portion" though. The psalms sometimes say "the Lord is my portion", for example 119.5. See also Lamentations 3.24. I think it means that God is our all-sufficient, all-satisfying provider, the desire of our hearts. Like "You can have your portion of land or portion of cake, but MY portion is God - that's all I need."
But I don't see God's love like a hurricane destroying a tree (people in New Orleans and Haiti will tell you there are better metaphors for 'powerful'). And sloppy wet kisses just remind me of teething infants and old men without dentures.
I've been a Christian about 30 years and I think this is the worst song I have heard in church. I've no problem about intimacy or emotion in worship - but let's have objective truth to declare, and love centred squarely in the cross!
I know the concept of portion is biblical, and that is not what I am questioning. But from I can remember, it's only ever used in the other way to the way this song uses it. Like "God is my portion" as you have quoted rather than "we are God's portion" as the song says.
It is a weird song... Not sure about the "we are his portion" either. Still to ponder.
I really love your blog. You're so real, and God's truth in your life is amazing.
I just wrote a massive post on free-will, and as much as I like what I wrote (I always have been the modest type...) it doesn't match up to God in the every day. Keep it up!
I think people are getting distracted by the poetry of the song. heaven meets earth like asloppy wet kiss, to me, isnt a kiss but passion from heaven flowing to earth without a dividing line. a peck would indicate control, but a sloppy wet kiss indicates his great desire for us on earth. and it never says the hurricane destroys the tree. it says it bends it. gods love doesnt destroy us, but washes over us, sometimes bends and moulds us to a different shape or will. we look the same, but are changed or "bent" if you will. and just bc the cross is not mentioned does not mean that it is not there. why can we not talk about the love and emotion that led to the physical reminder that is the cross. this kind of love was there for his people before the cross was an option. before christ came. i dont know, i love it...to each his own...i cannot stand the song "i am a friend of God" :) some songs help you worship, some dont.
I like your blog - came upon it when looking for words to this very song - I wondered also about us being His portion and then read tonight with my kids in Deut 32 where Moses is proclaiming the word of God to the Isrealites right before they are to go into the promised land... vs 9 "For the Lord's portion is his people" Funny how sometimes God shows us things right away and other times it seems so slow to find an answer to something - but all is in His time. I personally love the music arrangement of this song and see the poetry as unique. I disagree with Dad...I believe the church's objective declaration during the crusades didn't show the heart of God like this song does...the symbolism is more like that of the message translation...so maybe this songs words will reach out to a new generation...just like Jesus reached out to the untouchables while he walked this earth.
Does every verse in the Bible that talks about God's love refer to the cross? Why do we expect every song to cover the entire gospel?
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