JADDOG

I was reminded of a blog post that Piper wrote last November when I heard a new song today, “Hallelujah” by The Digital Age. Read Piper’s post first then listen to the song. The song only has one word, Piper’s words bring a wealth of meaning to the word Hallelujah.

Piper’s post: Helping You Sing “Hallelujah” with True Exuberance.

The English word “hallelujah” is a transliteration of two Hebrew words, “hallelu” and “jah”. The first word, “hallelu”, is the second person imperative of “praise.” The second word, “jah,” is the short form of “Jahweh” (or “Yahweh”).

So when we say, “Hallelujah!” we are exhorting others (people and angels) to join us in praising Yahweh.

What gives a punch to my singing, “Hallelujah,” is that Jah (= Yahweh) is not a generic word for God, but the personal name of the God of Israel.

To shout, “Hallelu Jah!” — “Praise Jah” — is like standing in the council of the gods and boldly saying, “Not to you, Molech!” “Not to you, Baal!” “Not to you, Dagon!” “Not to you, Artemis!” “Not to you, Zeus!” But to Jah, and Jah alone, I give praise. And I call you to join me! Praise Jah!

And not only is Jah God’s personal name, but it is the one he gave himself to distinguish himself from all the gods. And it is thrilling in meaning.

When Moses asked God what name he should use to identify God in Egypt, God said, “I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14).

The name Yahweh is built on the words “I am”. So God put his absolute, transcendent, self-sufficient being at the center of his identity. “All the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but Yahweh made the heavens” (Psalm 96:5).

So, the next time you sing “Hallelujah” pause for a split second between “hallelu” and “Jah” and say it like a name. We praise you . . . Jah! You are above all gods . . . Jah! Join me, all you heavenly hosts, and praise . . . Jah! He is! He simply, eternally, absolutely, independently, gloriously Is! Hallelu . . . Jah

John Piper 11/17/2011

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/helping-you-sing-hallelujah-with-true-exuberance

I’m subscribed to John Piper’s blog in my Google reader. Today Piper writes “Today is John Stott’s first birthday in Heaven”. Naturally I consulted Wikipedia to confirm. Look at that, I share a birthday with a man referenced in considering how to be “ambitious to live an unwasted life for the glory of Christ”.

Happy Birthday John Stott

What do Hitler, abortion and the Gospel of Jesus Christ have in common?

http://www.180movie.com/

Good stuff. Be patient through the Hitler stuff, he ties it in well.

My senior year of college A bunch of friends that I played worship with got together in my apartment living room and recorded a demo to send to The Campus Crusade Big Break Conference in Panama City Beach Fl. I had given my life to Christ at that conference 3 years earlier and we were applying to be the worship team for one of the sessions that year.

I have great memories from that afternoon. I still have a copy of the recording and just listened to it. Thought it would be fun to post a copy of it.

Lemme see if I can remember the team that was there:
Radez: Acoustic, Vocals
Andrea: Vocals
Becca: Vocals
Brandon: Electric Guitar
Drew: Drums
Travis: Piano, Vocals
Kevin: Bass
Aaron: Violin
I think that’s everyone…

Here’s what we recorded with a 16 channel mixer, a 4 track recorder and a bunch of college students with instruments in an apartment living room.
01 You Are the One
02 God of Wonders
03 Psalm 61
04 Praise Be
05 Trust in the Lord

I’ve been in and out of reading Knowing God by J.I. Packer for some time now.
I’ve been enjoying meditating on a passage I read last week:

… the statement “God is Love” means that his love find expressions in everything that he says and does.

The knowledge that this is so for us personally is the supreme comfort for Christians. As believers, we find in the cross of Christ assurance that we, as individuals, are beloved of God; “the Son of God…loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). Knowing this, we are able to apply to ourselves the promise that all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28). Not just some things, note, but all things! Every single thing that happens to us expresses God’s love for us.

Thus, so far as we are concerned, God is love to us – holy, omnipotent love – at every moment and in every event of every day’s life. Even when we cannot see the why and the wherefore of God’s dealings, we know that there is love in and behind them, and so we can rejoice always, even when, humanly speaking, things are going wrong. We know that the true story of our life, when known, will prove to be , as the hymn says, “mercy from first to last” – and we are content.

- J.I. Packer, Knowing God, Pages 122-123

This passage has blessed me as I’ve reflected on the things around me that go “humanly wrong”. Both in my and my family’s life and the life of the people around me. More often than not we do not specifically know, and may never truly know, why a particular event happened in someone’s life. Though, whether we’re glad or scared or frustrated or upset or don’t even care that some whatever has happened, we do know that it happened because our God loves us and is bringing himself glory through his creation.

God has blessed my wife and me with 8 years of marriage today!

My son has been given mercy enough times to know that mercy means not getting punished. This past week in the face of punishment he requested mercy. His request was denied, but it gave me another opportunity to share with him the eternal punishment we deserve for the sin we commit. When Jesus faced punishment for our disobedience He too requested mercy and was denied. In His obedience we were graciously promised mercy when He paid our debt.

Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

When we are faced with punishment from our Heavenly Father at the end of times Christ will have already received the punishment and paid the debt we owe. There will be no need for us to plead for mercy for those who know Christ as their savior.

Philippians 2 continues:

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Our God that humbled Himself to a humiliating and excruciating death that we could live eternally in His presence.

I’m listening to Switchfoot today at work. The lyrics of the song The Economy of Mercy on Learning to Breath caught my attention and reminded me of my 3 year old son.

When he’s due discipline we’ve granted mercy enough that he understands what mercy is. He’s since learned to ask for mercy when he’s due discipline.

Here is the Chorus:

In the economy of mercy
I am a poor and begging man
In the currency of Grace
Is where my song begins
In the colors of Your goodness
In the scars that mark your skin
In the currency of Grace
Is where my song begins

This motivates me to start associating Grace with Mercy. Seems like a good opportunity to use a very tangible experience in his life to demonstrate Christ’s work on the cross.

Gotta get me one of these food courts!

I’m in Portland Oregon this week at DjangoCon. On the plane on the way here I started C.J. Mehaney’s Cross Centered Life. This morning I went to the hotel restaurant to have some breakfast and took the book with me.

In chapter eight CJ is discussing the events around Christ being nailed to a cross and mocked for his inability to save himself. He make us vividly aware of how our sin, mine and yours,  is responsible for this painful and agonizing torture. A torture that stretches beyond His physical pain to both His human existence and his spiritual communion with the Father. As I read this chapter this morning over breakfast God shed light on Christ’s choice in dying for us. CJ’s vivid description of Christ on the cross and the choice he made to save us brought me to tears right in the middle of the restaurant. CJ writes on pages 90-91:

“Make no mistake: Jesus [could have descended] from the cross and [saved] himself at any moment. It isn’t the nails that [kept] him there. What [kept] him there is what placed Him there — His passion to do the will of the Father, and His love for sinners like you and me.”

“For Jesus cannot save both Himself and save you and me. It’s precisely because He refused to save Himself that He’s able to save others.

Christ choose to endure “a torment far beyond the pain of His physical suffering” to save the wretched sinner I am.