THE G4 PROJECT - Day 1

[Due to illness, this project is starting 2 days later than originally planned.]

The G4 project is an experiment in daily blogging.  As I make my way through the book of John, the 4^th Gospel (hence G4) I’d love to have you journey along with me and feel free to comment as we go.  My goal is to post daily (M-F) as I read and meditate on the Gospel of John.  My goal is not a chapter a day, but rather to read until something strikes me.  With that said… here we go….

Day 1
Chapter 1, vss. 1-18

Soundtrack: The Choir Of Trinity College Cambridge - Vocé

The Word.

These opening verses of John are like an intense, poetic, kaleidoscopic explosion of attributes of Christ.  Nouns, adjectives and verbs used like brilliant colors to highlight His glory painting a cathedral using words as the medium to describe The Word.

And Truth!  Truth about Christ shines forth so stunningly beautiful here.

Many of us have read this passage – and many times at that.  How powerful to be refreshed once again by the truth that Christ has existed eternally with the Father from eternity past; that all things were made by Him; that in Him is life and light!

He is perfect beyond comprehension.  He is powerful beyond comprehension. He is glorious in His being. He is Life; He is Light.

Our world seems to get darker by the day – and yet here again the reminder that the darkness cannot overcome Him Who is the Light!  Ah… sweet Hope come quickly!

Here is the One who is Creator and giver of all good things and yet His creation rejects Him.  He came to those He had made and they disowned Him, they refused Him – though not all.  The ones who turn, trust and receive Him He calls His children!  There is much talk about how we, simply by being human, are all “God’s children”, but God, through John makes it clear that the right to be called a child of God is not inherent, but comes through belief in Him alone as Savior & Lord; comes through rebirth by faith.

His children – dearly loved.  Adopted, chosen, held closely, loved immeasurably!

Verse 14 is one of my favorite Scriptures.   “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  This is no disassociated God – no far off deity watching ‘from a distance’ (sorry Bette Middler fans).  He is a God who is immanent, who is close, who draws near, He who humbles himself in ways that seem paradoxical to Deity.  (More on that in Advent. )

He is a God who wraps Himself in human flesh to make known the lavish grace of God – that mercy and forgiveness are available – freely!  He comes full of grace and truth… not just bringing or carrying these virtues… but entirely full of them.   He is a God Who dwelt among us to shows us visibly the Father’s heart toward us.

It is impossible for mere mortals, for us creations, to see the fullness of the triune God of the Scriptures.. but God, the only God, who is at the Father’s side has made Him known to us. (v 18)

What a powerful statement of Jesus’ divinity! God - who is seated at God's side. The eternally existent second member of the Trinity – the Son – comes to visibly show us what God is like.  The Greek says, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is in the bosom (heart) of the Father, He has made Him known.”

The Word – the full expression of the heart of God – who came to repair the rift, and to show us again God’s character, Who God is… His grace, mercy, forgiveness and love.

And from His fullness we have received grace upon grace.   Grace piled upon grace.

Grace multiplied exponentially!

Take a moment to be in awe and thanks.

The Wingfeather Saga continues!

I first encountered Andrew Peterson when he opened for Caedmon’s Call at a concert in Waverly, IA in 1997.  Because of his beautiful folk music and ability to use common but spellbinding lyrical imagery, he quickly became one of my wife’s and my favorite musical artists and we have seen him in concert several times since.

When I heard that he was beginning to write children’s fantasy books, honestly my first reaction was skeptical. Given my background in Christian retail, I can tell you that it seems too often a good-selling musical artist will write a book that wouldn’t hold its own apart from the author’s name.

I am delighted to tell you that this is most definitely not the case with Andrew Peterson and his Wingfeather Saga books.  These books are not carelessly written – they are gems your whole family will love! 

I had heard that Peterson began these books having been inspired by the C.S. Lewis “Narnia” books and that influence is noticeable but not in a copycat way.  Hopefully that statement comes across as the huge compliment it is mean to be.

His first book (in what will be a trilogy) “On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness” introduced us to the Igiby children (Janner, Tink & Leeli), their mother Nia and their quirky, ex-pirate grandfather Podo.  They live in a land overrun by a lizard/snake race called Fangs and wonderfully bizarre creatures – like the Toothy Cows.  After finding a secret map, the book follows their adventures with the haunting question – what was their now-deceased father (Esben) like?  Who was he?  The answer is so cool.

Their adventures are humorous and spine tingling and Peterson does a fantastic job of ending chapters in a cliff hanging way – such that neither you (or your children) will want to stop reading.

I don’t want to spoil the plot of either book, but I can tell you that what comes to mind when reading are echoes or hints of: Narnia, Lord of the Rings (though not as arduous), the Dark Crystal, Labyrinth and some delicious Douglas Adams moments.  Yes – they are that good!

The second book “North! or Be Eaten” picks up wonderfully where the first left off, which is a good thing because upon reaching the end of book one we were dying to know what would happen next.  With new and daring adventures, characters and creatures, “North” again shows Peterson’s skill at engaging the reader; drawing you into the story.  "North!" was just as riveting (or even moreso) than the first book.  We didn't want to put it down.  Like any great story, the second act is darker than act I, setting the stage for the final act.  And we were truly shocked and surprised at some of the twists and turns.  Book 2 ends with and even more dramatic cliffhanger and the agonizing wait now begins for book 3.

Wonderfully and artistically crafted, these are books of family, danger, heartbreak, hope, humor and redemption.  These are not just great children’s books – these are great books!  Pick them up now!

addition: I desperately hope these will one day be made into quality movie versions as well

The Jesus Exodus

The Bible says of itself that it is “living and active” and it’s so true.  The Spirit helps us see things we may have glanced over before with new clarity, with new eyes; a passage we have read and learned can hold new graces, new mercies, new insight.  It is daily bread given at it’s proper time.

 

I have been reading through the Gospels again and was stopped in my tracks.

I am currently in Luke. 

 

I was reading Chapter 9 and read again the recounting of the transfiguration in verses 28-36.   It is here that a few select disciples (Peter, James & John) have gone up the mountain with Jesus to pray.  They are astonished that as He is praying His clothes become whiter than lightning, and his true glory begins to be seen.

 

At this same time, there appears with Him Moses and Elijah – the heroes of the Jewish faith!  Men who have not walked the earth for centuries!  The embodiment of the Divine Law and the Prophets of God!

 

Many will go on to tell with Peter’s fumbling, but well-intentioned offer to build shelters for these three men.  Many will discuss the Divine pronouncement that Jesus is God’s beloved, unique Son and He should be listened to.

 

But here’s what caught my attention:

 

Verses 30-31: “And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”

 

Jesus is about to leave after Jerusalem; after His work on the cross and His resurrection.  But wait!  There’s a footnote next to “departure”.  I scan the page and read:
“Greek exodus”

So the Greek word here literally means "exodus"!
 

Whoa!  What?!  Exodus?  This adds such a rich nuance that departure fails to capture!

 

For me, departure calls to mind Him leaving, and us standing at the docks waving our hankies and crying, “Bon Voyage!”  Or the more spiritual of us crying, “Maranatha!” (Lord come [back] quickly!)

 

But exodus?

 

The exodus was all about deliverance from oppression.  Deliverance from captivity.  A people chosen by God marching out of captivity loaded with the spoils of Egypt!  Led by a Deliverer!

Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt after the plagues which mocked and made a spectacle of Egypt’s false gods, and as they marched out they plundered the land.

 

Jesus’ work in Jerusalem on the cross was not just about finishing His task and then departing (His ascension).

  

On the cross, He was doing more than accomplishing a task… albeit the greatest act of obedience, mercy, love and grace ever… He was leading His people out of captivity –beginning the spiritual exodus from the slavery of sin and death to the promised land of new life – life full and abundant – AND eternal life!  And He leads His people on still today in triumph and glory as the number of His followers grows.

AND He tells us that He is with us until the very end of the age!

  

It is almost no wonder then that Paul uses exodus-like imagery in Eph. 4:8 (quoting Ps. 68:18), “When He ascended on high He led a host of captives and gave gifts to men.”

  

Paul’s image is of an ancient conquering king making a spectacle of His defeated foes (in this case the demons and the devil) and sharing the spoils of victory with His people.

Wow!  Speechless!  Living and active indeed!

looking for new tunes?

a few humble suggestions....

a no-brainer, and some new discoveries

THE NO BRAINER:

Matt Redman - We Will Not Be Shaken
The sound:come on... it's Matt Redman!!!
I have loved Matt's material since "The Friendship & the Fear". Lyrical depth, theological depth, poetic. Some critics said that Matt's last album was a return after the somewhat panned "Facedown." "Facedown" was and still is a fantastic album. It didn't have your standard formulaic church-friendly, same 4 chord tunes and I think that was it's strength.  "Beautiful News" is a great album and if it was considered a 'return to form' then this project may delight you too.  This album likewise (and thankfully) weaves in some wonderful atypical chord changes.  Matt touches on themes of the stability of faith and God's faithfulness in light of a world that seems to be 'shaking'; falling apart.  To be honest I was hoping to like this more.  Tracks that stood out immediately were: "We Shall Not Be Shaken", "The Glory of our King" & "For Your Glory" and the powerful "Gloria" which our church will likely be singing at some point in the near future.  The closing song "My Hope" is a beautifully haunting song which borrows a few verses from the old hymn "The Solid Rock" (most commonly called 'On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand').  All in all a worthwhile disc - especially if you are a fan of Matt's work.

THE SURPRISES:

Glenn Packiam - Rumors & Revelations
The sound: Chris Tomlin, some Crowder-esque moments, Desperation Band
I stumbled across this disc by accident. I saw Glenn's message "Secondhand Jesus" and learned he had written a book of the same title (which at some point I'll review that on this blog) That find led me to his tie in project "Rumors & Revelations". Good stuff. I have come to learn that some of these songs have been released previous by Gateway / Desperation Band and Phillips, Craig & Dean, but they are given a new freshness here and still are strong songs. good lyrics here.  If you're looking for 'modern worship' music, you should click through to his page and give the samples a listen.

Jason Gray - Everything Sad is Coming Untrue (Special Edition)
The sound: worshipful acoust-electro-folk & pop (Rembrandts, Steven Curtis Chapman, Andrew Peterson)
This album is characterized by confession, brokeness, hope, humor, and the Gospel's power to transform lives just as sure as the spring can heal the worst ravages of the winter. So here's my confession: I had heard "Blessed Be", but had not bought Jason's previous album. When a local radio station asked if we'd host him in concert we agreed... and then I heard the song "For the First Time Again" - I cannot express to you the impact of this song on my life. Actually I can, but I'm not going to. Hearing Jason's heart during the concert and being extremely impressed with his Lyrics I knew I needed to get the disc... and not just to support the artist I had just seen in a free concert. This music has intellectual & spiritual depth of lyric; the lyrics are poignant, timely, healing, encouraging, worshipful and challenging. If you're wondering if the Special Edition is worth the extra $$ - without a doubt yes it is!
This album will fit very perfectly in the annals of songwriters like Andrew Peterson, Rich Mullins, Michael Card, Fernando Ortega. Yup - it's that good. "For the First Time Again", "I am New" and "Jesus, Use Me I'm Yours" are all quickly vying for a spot on my top 10 all time favorite song list.

The Glorious Unseen - The Hope That Lies in You
I saw this online for $6 (!) and thought from the samples I heard, "well it's worth it to take a chance". Suffice it to say that this will be very heavily listened to by me for a very long time.
The sound: Everything that is right with modern worship music. A few names to make the connect more immediate: The Choir, The Violet Burning, The Cure, Phil Wickham, Something Like Silas.
File this under "gut-level worship in an atmospheric modern rock setting." The disc beautifully walks the lines of lament and praise, desperation and hope. Modern psalms. The inclusion of worship choir on the latter half of the album serves like sunshine piercing the dark clouds of a storm just passed.  Tough questions are raised and addressed to God, but remind me of the cries of the psalmists and likewise of the souls of the martyrs under the Throne asking, "How long?"  It was cool to see that "How He Loves" was covered, and while I think Crowder made a very judicious and artful lyric change, the live recording by Kim Walker of Jesus Culture remains my favorite recording of John Mark McMillan's simple, yet poetically profound heartsong.

Matt Papa - Your Kingdom Come
The sound:  Music that is art and steps out of the box, while artfully maintaining theological integrity.  Those looking for something more than the cookie cutter 'praise industry' album should check out this disc.  It's not as boundary pushing as a Sufjan Stevens or even the aforementioned Glorious Unseen.. but more along the lines of Leeland.
Are there 'standard format' songs?  sure.  But Papa is a refreshing new voice and sound.  I guess I'd say this is a kind of like a more singable Crowder.  I love Crowder but sometimes his songs are so artsy/experimental that singability is an issue.
The opening track "Hallelujah, Our God Reigns" is worth the price of admission by itself.  Papa plays piano, guitar and bass on many of the tracks.  It's cool to hear this style of music led from piano.



I also got the 5 advance downloads of the new Trans-Siberian Orchestra album "Night Castle" today - but I'll wait until the full album drops to review it.  Oh and I got 12th row floor tickets to their Christmas show.  Can't. wait.

..and my friend Andy is trying to get me hooked on Lettuce. I think it's working.