Saturday, October 30, 2010
The Power of Your Love
Why? Why tamper with a song that has so much history?
The simple answer was that I could no longer sing the song as a clear confession of my faith. I had changed and therefore the song had to change.
When I wrote this song I was being driven by a desperate need to proove myself. My life was weighed down by constant and unreasonable guilt, and my guilt was a captive to a shattered self esteem, and that self esteem was at the mercy of my obsessive striving and perfectionism. I had to "come to God" continually as I was stricken with a fear that he would pass me by. I was aware the "weaknesses that I saw in me" demanded continual penance, and no mattter how I cried "hold me close" I always felt as if I had jumped out of the arms of "Grace and mercy".
It wasn't until late 1996, when my life face tremendous challenges that I could find the time to realise that I could never "come to God". The Christmas story was surely God's "coming to us", and, in that coming, he had made the choice to "hold us close".
It was with this revelation that grace suddenly started to make sense, and the song needed a rewrite.
The miracle is not "our love for God", it is "His love for us". Our "worship" is not a celebration of "us coming to God", it is our overwhelming awestruck thankfullness of "His coming to us". These grace filled arms that hold a rebellious mankind safe and secure will never let us go. His hands, scarred with religious nailprints, hold us with a love that burns brighter than the universe of suns, a love that refuses to respond according to our deeds, a love that answers our darkness with overwhleming light filled love and life.
My faith has changed.
I no longer base my spirituality on "what I do for God". I am now intoxicated by the all that "God has done for me".
The Power of Your Love
Geoff Bullock
Lord I come to you,
Let my heart be changed, renewed,
Flowing from the grace that I’ve found in you
And Lord I’ve come to know,
The weaknesses I see in me,
Will be stripped away
By the power of your love.
You hold me close
You let your love surround me,
You bring me near
And draw me to your side.
And as I wait
I’m rising like the eagle
And I will soar with you
Your spirit leads me on
In the power of your love
You unveil my eyes,
You let me see you face to face
In the knowledge of your love
As you live, in me.
You renew my mind
as your will unfolds in my life
In living every day
In the power of your love
You hold me close
You let your love surround me,
You bring me near
And draw me to your side.
And as I wait
I’m rising like the eagle
And I will soar with you
Your spirit leads me on
In the power of your love
Lord you’ve come to all
With hope that shines to light the way
As mercy soothes our souls
Peace that flows so free
Love that sees the tears
Overcomes our darkest fears
Grace that lifts us up
In the power of your love
You hold me close,
You let your love surround me,
You bring me near
And draw me to your side.
And as I wait
I’m rising like the eagle
And I will soar with you
Your spirit leads me on
In the power of your love
Friday, October 29, 2010
Grace
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Graced
It's written deep within mankind's psyche, we can't help ourselves, no matter how hard we try we find it virtually impossible to receive without any effort of our own. Working for reward makes sense. We can measure ourselves by our exploits and victories, we can raise ourselves above our fellow strugglers bestowing the blessings of the bright and beautiful upon our admirable heads.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Wilderness
Friday, October 22, 2010
Loss..... an ode to depression
Oh my heart, my heavy soul,
Where have you gone,
Who has hidden my light?
Where there were songs and dancing
There is now a grey and barren place.
My life aches for these stolen things.
Oh Lord, my God, my restorer, my peace
I lift my confusion, my deep and dark thoughts,
In these silent moments I will seek the truth,
I will stay my emotions, I will sit and not flee
These days have passed before
And they will soon pass again.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
I am loved
I am loved,
I am graced,
I am forgiven,
I am free.
For there is life
And there is light
There is hope
And there is peace.
Beyond the heavens
Beneath the seas
Between each heartbeat
And every dream.
Before creation,
Beyond all time
In every moment
This grace is mine.
When I’m cast down
My feet still stand
When all around
Is shifting sand.
In darkest night
In every fear
Your hope shall rise
For every tear.
What can I do, what can I say?
Such endless love takes my breath away.
I lift my head
I find such hope
These words you’ve said.
In all I am
And hope to be
The chains are gone
And I am free.
Monday, October 18, 2010
The Cross
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Surrender
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Known
I think one of the greatest Christian "fibs" is that we should be able to "feel" God. This is wonderful when it appears to be true, which I really do have an argument with, but it is totally condemning when we don't.
To "know" God is a mystery. How can we really know God? This is why we call our spiritual journey “faith”. If we really “knew” like we strive to it wouldn’t be “faith” any more. It would be called “fact”.
If we base our spirituality of feelings we are at the mercy of them. We use our feelings and emotions like little gauges that approve or disapprove us. What a hopeless state.
If we base our spirituality on what we do, what we know and what we feel then God is defined by us... we find ourselves waiting for him, measuring his distance from us by our emotions, by our human existence.... this is a recipe for complete failure. Our spirituality implodes as it is totally at the mercy of ourselves.
I can only offer you one comfort.
God "knows" you. Think about that. It is an extraordinary truth. It is outrageous.
I spend most of my life not knowing, not feeling, incapable of doing, feeling alone and isolated, however one thing changes everything... I am known by God.
Look at the Jesus stories in the Gospels. Jesus did not come for those who thought they could "know God", or "feel God"... he came to the lost and lonely, he gave hope to the lost and lonely, he refused to judge even though it was so clear that he knew all that there was to know about them..see Jn 4. This is the Jesus who knows me. He does not judge me, he offers me hope, even when I have no hope of my own, he offers me faithfulness even when I have none of my own, Jesus, by becoming a man, offers me an identification of my flesh even when I am caught in the consequences of my humanity.
God in Jesus "knows" me, he "knows" you.
He is the healer not the hurter, the acceptor not the rejecter, the lover not the excluder.. the forgiver and never the judge. Jesus takes our fallen humanity, in all it's flaws and failures and
"knows" and "accepts" us, unconditionally, a grace that is unmerited and free. Whether we feel it or not, whether we know it or not there is no power in all eternity that will change the reality that God, in Christ, not only knows you, he loves you, he accepts you for you are forgiven and accepted and free.
This is the beginning of great meditation.
Too wonderful for words.
Grace and peace
Monday, October 11, 2010
Night and Day
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Caught
I am caught in grace.
I have fallen into it’s arms.
Love has shone into the darkness and I see hope advancing.
Where there was death and darkness there is now life and light.
I am overwhelmed for I am a fallen man.
This gift is simply too much for my soul.
So unexpected, so undeserved,
my fears struggle to reject this promise
yet even my fears are overcome and my soul ceases to wrestle with this truth,
this glorious truth, eternal truth, living truth.
I am woven into His story,
as His life is woven into mine.
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Care
Sometimes it's easier to "fix" problems.
Fixing a problem is simply a commitment to problem solving.
When a problem is solved we can walk away with an assurance
That we have helped.
However, when we make a commitment to care
we can never walk away for, by caring, we have made a commitment
to a life for life.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Glorious and complete
Swinging open wide
Calling out to her children
Come and taste of her wine.
Love descending to heal us,
Light in darkness shines,
Lost creation now restored;
Love has overcome.
Heaven sings out her love songs
Join the dance of life.
Childlike, innocence and laughter,
Joy to fill our hearts.
Mercy breaks every burden,
Grace destroys the chains,
For our hope has been renewed;
Love has overcome.
Peace is flowing like a river
Strong the waters run
Over the rocks and the rapids
Gleaming in the sun.
All our tears have been counted
Written in love’s heart
And all around the light burns bright;
Love has overcome.