I read the other day how that in the 1930’s, 40’s, and up into the 50’s, anyone who wanted to get a loan to buy a house, on the application was a place where you had to give a reference of the Church you attended, and a letter of recommendation for loan from your Pastor.

Jesus spoke these words, ‘Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’
These are powerful words that has always been backed up.

The Church is God’s earthly ordained institution of hope, and life. It is the body of Christ upon the earth. The Church is described as ‘she,’ because we also know that ‘she’ is the bride of Christ.

Captain Edward J. Smith was given the honor of captaining the Titanic’s maiden voyage. The captain was fifty nine years old. He planned that the Titanic’s first voyage would be his last. After he got to New York, he had planned to retire.  But as we all know, the voyage didn’t go as planned. Lots of errors, misjudgments, and unheeded warnings, were combined to generate this tragedy. The Captain was headed for retirement, but he wound up in an icy coffin thousands of feet in the ocean. The boasting and bragging was at a fever pitch about this magnificent ocean liner. ‘She can withstand any storm or wave.’ She was described in one word, ’unsinkable.’

In the late 1800s a distinguished member of the British Parliament was traveling to Scotland to give a speech. On his way the carriage that was carrying him became bogged down and stuck on the thick muddy road. A young Scottish farm boy came along with a team of horses and pulled the Parliament member out of the mud. The man insisted on paying the young boy, but he refused to accept payment. He said ‘he was just being a good neighbor, and neighbors help each other.

Abraham Lincoln said “it’s not who my ancestors were that is important, it’s what my children and grandchildren will become.” This statement is full of wisdom and principle and what I glean as the urgent point from this is - let go of your past. It doesn’t matter what side of the street you grew up on, whether your father was good or bad to you is not the point. With all due respect, the real important question is, where do you go from here?

Well, another year has come and gone! Here we are in 2012. Early this morning I awoke and began mediating about this year. As I thought about all the possibilities and resolutions I wanted to make I suddenly felt the inspiration of God’s thoughts. Let me explain. In the Bible there is so much scripture about ‘putting God first.’ It covers everything from giving to your physical healing. So this morning I moved beyond focusing on resolutions to demonstrating ‘first fruits.’

Jesus lived in a day somewhat like ours.  Palestine had been overrun by Rome. The bewildered people were asking, “What can we do? Where is the way out?” The sensualists answered, “There is no way out”. So, eat, drink, and conform to the world. If you can’t beat them, join them.  The Sadducees said, there is no God, or else He would not have allowed this world to become the shape it is in. There is no “Heaven, hell, or hope after.” The Pharisees withdrew themselves apart in complete isolation. The Publicans said, “Let’s get rich while the getting is good.” The Zealots said, “Let’s have a revolution. Let’s make Jesus, the miracle worker, our King.”

In the Broadway play Phantom of the Opera there is a song called ‘music of the night' which speaks volumes to how darkness increases temptation. In the dark night evil plots are hatched and carried out, while the mind invents incredible justifications.

This past weekend at WWC I watched the presence of God come in waves of
healing, joy, restoring hope and trust in lives of so many people, some
of whom were tired, hurt, angry, lost and bitter. As God used Bishop
Harry Jackson to impart spiritual and physical healing, I thought to
myself of how thankful I am to belong to a church who allows the
beautiful presence of God's Holy Spirit to have his perfect way! The
Bible reads 'it's not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the
Lord.' Another passage says; 'expect God build the house, they that
labor, labor in vain.'

I’m reading a book called 'Strong fathers, strong daughters’;  by Dr. Meg Meeker. It is a very revealing writing on the relationship between the father and daughter.  I am being stirred as a dad to reach out more than ever for my daughters.

For more than twenty five years I’ve been writing songs. Yes, I’ve learned quite a bit about the art and gift of writing songs. Probably the most important principle for writing songs is not to rush the process. I’ve carried song titles, thoughts, and melodies in my mind for two to three years at a time, waiting for the rest to be formed.