Paul McCartney - Full Broadcast - Hard Rock Calling

A terrific concert from about a month ago during the Hard Rock Calling Festival in London. Macca's voice is a bit rough during the first few songs, no doubt the product of his refusal to warm up before concerts. But he and the band really cook as time goes on. It's striking to see and hear the audience, composed of people of all ages, sing along with music from every portion of his career, testimony to the fact that the guy has composed a huge chunk of everyone's soundtrack for nearly fifty years now.

The arrangement of 'Mrs. Vandebilt' is fantastic and the crowd obviously agreed. ("Ho, hey, ho. Ho, hey, ho!")

Worshiping by the Lives We Lead

These words come from the daily emailed inspiration sent out by my friend and colleague, Pastor Glen VanderKloot, Faith Lutheran Church in Springfield, Illinois:

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 A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Live Christ's life in your action.
Don't just go to worship.
Live the worship in everything you do.
Don't just partake of communion.
Be the Body of Christ in every action that you take.
Don't just observe the baptism.
Live the death and resurrection in your work, in your planning.
Don't just read the words.
Be the Word!
Let the Word become flesh and dwell among and in and through you.

    (Eric Law  "Sacred Acts, Holy Change"  p. 5)

Scripture: 
Colossians 3:16   New International Version
           
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach
and admonish one another with all wisdom,
and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Prayer:
Lord, help me to embody the Gospel,
not just think about or talk about it.  Amen
   
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"No one really wants to hear what we have to say about the love of Jesus until they’ve seen it in our lives."

LIVING out faith in Christ is important. But even then, Christians can expect to be misunderstood and reviled. No matter; because of the incredible grace of God and not by our deserving, we belong to Christ forever!

Jesus says:

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
¹³
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. ¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:11-16)

Priorities?

This is today's emailed inspiration from my colleague and friend, Pastor Glen VanderKloot:

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A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY   
“What a shame that many Christians get more excited  and vocal about football games or an ocean cruise  than about Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth.”    
Jim Cymbala   "The Church God Blesses" p. 46-47 

Scripture:   
Psalm 63:5 TNIV:  I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.  

Prayer:
Lord, help me to be as excited about my faith in you as I am about so many lesser important things in life. Amen    
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If you've never read any of Jim Cymbala's books, by the way, I recommend them highly.











I don't agree with every jot and tittle of Cymbala's theology. But he is a person of strong faith in the gracious God we know in Jesus Christ.

Speculating on when Christ will return is kooky...

...and faithless. Our focus should simply remain on being faithful--trusting in Christ, loving God, loving neighbor, and spreading the good news of new, everlasting life for those who turn from sin and entrust their lives to Christ--no matter when Christ may return.

Check out these words of Jesus (in them, Jesus refers to Himself as "the Son of Man"):

[Jesus said:] “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴²Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." (Matthew 24:36-44)

Quote of the Day

"There is no medical way to explain how you survived your heart attack. God's hand must have been on you." 

That was from the cardiac care nurse who oriented me today as I began twelve weeks of cardiac rehabilitation. Her words echoed those of my cardiologist and of the nurses at the McConnell Heart Health Center of Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, where I underwent a heart catheterization and stent implantation last week. 

But the way she expressed herself was stunning to me. 

Whatever You want me to do, Lord, help me to do it. Amen!

"Something Better"

God doesn't promise that this life will be easy. But whatever happens, we're called to be faithful to God. We can dare to do that because in God's ultimate self-disclosure, the crucified and risen Jesus, we know that God is always faithful to us...and because something better awaits us!

See here.

Freedom in Christ

Eric Waters' outstanding sermon on Christian freedom and the Fourth of July. What Pastor Waters calls God-given rights I would call gifts from God which no human being has the right to deny us. But that's quibbling.