Reminders in the Crafts Aisle

I noticed the Frank Turner song playing at Wal*Mart today. I liked this part of the lyrics: 

 

then I remember you,

And the way you shine like truth in all you do.

And if you remembered me,

You could save me from the way I tend to be.

It strikes me that we should be like that to people around us, shining like truth in all we do while we communicate to the world that God remembers us and saves us from what we are.

and then toward the end came the words:

And then I catch myself
Catching your scent on someone else
In a crowded space
And it takes me somewhere I cannot quite place.

 

"For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,  to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?  For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ." II Corinthians 2:15-17

 

here's the song :) 

A Friend of Mine

I have been remembering a song I heard a few times my sophomore year in college when my roommate would play it (hi Catherwood!). I don't really know why this song has returned to me after many years but I share it here: 

Here are the lyrics if you'd rather read than listen, though the music is gentle and loving:

A friend of mine is going blind
But through the dimness
He sees so much better than me
And how he cherishes each new thing that he sees
They are locked in his head he will save them for when
He's in darkness again

He can't read books
And he can't paint pretty pictures
But he understands so much clearer than I
For he knows that all he's missing with his eyes
Is more vivid in the mind of the man who's going blind
And that's why he doesn't mind.

Won't you sing Tommy Davidson of
Things that you have seen
Sing of winter's bite and summer nights
And places you have been
Of dew drops and forget-me-nots and
Silver silky sheen
Lain across the morning meadow on the hillside

And this friend of mine, he plays guitar
And he sings so much better than I
He can sing you any pictures in your mind
He will sketch them out in rhyme draw the details in the lines
And he'll color it in time

And oh how he loves his guitar
And it loves him
And they play much sweeter than I
As if to say that come the day that he can't see
He will have at his command so much beauty in his hands
That the loss won't come so hard

Won't you sing Tommy Davidson of
Things that you have done
Sing of silver seagulls sailing into evening's golden sun
Sing of city streets and villages and people on the run
Tell the people how you know it
Tommy Davidson

In any case, I've been thinking about this song and Job and wondering why Job didn't have friends who loved him like this and were able to see at least a glimpse of what God was doing in his life. I have been blessed the last few years to watch several friends walk faithfully through cancer and all the Valley of the Shadow and suffering that entails, and come out with their faith intact, a beautiful walk. 

I once heard a sermon about Job and the pastor talked about the way Satan came to God and God said, "Have you considered my servant Job?," then went on to talk about perhaps sometimes God asks if Satan has considered others of His servants. If that still goes on, I may know some who Satan has been asked to consider -- and by God's grace, they have stood the test.  

Peter Frampton on a Sunday

Yesterday Peter Frampton showed up during the sermon. I have not seen much of him since high school, but there he was. 

The pastor was preaching about how we are already delivered in Christ, already to the point of salvation though it *ahem* sure does not look like it from time to time around here. And next thing I knew, Peter Frampton. 

And of course I started thinking about the three-part chorus - Signed/Sealed/Delivered. Signed ~ that's pretty much the Father's role ~ He chose us and He predestined us. (Ephesians 1:4&5). Sealed ~ certainly that is the work of the Spirit ~ In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13). Delivered ~  that is Christ ~ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm His. Amen and Amen.

The Superbowl Letters

Did you see the Mercedes ad from the superbowl? 

I watched it three or four times. The first time I noticed how much fun someone had doing up the contract in Latin. Homeschooling Moms notice things like that. And I noticed the nails, I think they are a nice touch, just quietly evil. 

I keep thinking about it, a few random things. Of course I think of The Devil and Daniel Webster. And I think about two old songs, Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" and Terri Gibbs' "Somebody's Knockin'." But mostly I am wondering in terms of Lewis's  The Screwtape Letters - because my first instinct watching this ad is to think, Ha, the devil lost this round. But then I start thinking about pride. What sort of pride would it take to just take on the devil on your own power as this guy is doing? And would Lewis find that pride a bigger sin than signing the contract offered him? And how often do I take on Satan on my own strength?