Well I went on a downloading spree the other day and got a bunch of free music from Noisetrade :) I also got a couple of ebooks, but after reading through one of them I just noticed it is only a sample (3 chapters out of 8 in the 'full' book) but it has me interested :P
So, in no particular order, here are some links!
http://books.noisetrade.com/teddekker - This author has written other books too, and I have downloaded both of the books he has available as of today.
http://books.noisetrade.com/frankviola - I just finished reading the 'inside look' of Pagan Christianity? and I definitely want to read the rest of the book and the 'second part' of the book called Reimagining Church.
http://noisetrade.com/lucyschwartz
http://noisetrade.com/jjheller
http://www.noisetrade.com/introducingew - This album isn't available any more, but it sounds like they might have more stuff up occasionally.
http://www.noisetrade.com/verticalchurchband
http://www.noisetrade.com/theapacherelay
http://www.noisetrade.com/audreyassad
http://www.noisetrade.com/loudharp
http://www.noisetrade.com/futureofforestry - I have downloaded some of their other music, but the album I just recently got has instrumental versions of some of their songs.
http://www.noisetrade.com/royalteeth
http://www.noisetrade.com/thebandjoseph
http://www.noisetrade.com/harvestbashta
http://www.noisetrade.com/danielbashta
http://www.noisetrade.com/jillianedwards - As I was posting this link I saw she has another album available for download..so I got that one too :P
http://www.noisetrade.com/thestarvingartistcollective - This features different artists working together on various songs that they have written and making some neat music out of it.
http://www.noisetrade.com/cureinternational - This album contains songs from multiple artists coming together for a good cause.
http://www.noisetrade.com/mosermonica
http://www.noisetrade.com/davebarnes - You may have heard of him before...
http://www.noisetrade.com/needtobreathe - You also may have heard of this band...
http://www.noisetrade.com/thebrilliancemusic
http://www.noisetrade.com/ajesuschurch
http://www.noisetrade.com/Isaacjorgensen
http://www.noisetrade.com/sands - It is short for Seeker & Servant. The band is not called Sands.
http://www.noisetrade.com/housefires
http://books.noisetrade.com/hughhowey - I just got an email recently that talked about his books. They apparently are similar (in some way or another) to The Hunger Games series and the Divergent series. So if you like(d) either of those you may like this author.
So there you go. I told you I kind of went on a spree. That's what happens when you let emails stack up from Christmas until May.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Monday, December 9, 2013
It's been a while... part II
Colossians 1:21-23 (NIV)-
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
In the previous blog I didn't discuss the second part of these verses...I'm gonna try and do that now.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
In the previous blog I didn't discuss the second part of these verses...I'm gonna try and do that now.
So, we have been reconciled by Christ and are now seen by God as holy and free of blemish or accusation... "if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel."
This is the second part of what is so amazing about God's grace. He sees us as holy and blameless...and we just have to have faith. I think sometimes the word "faith" is seen as vague and nebulous and something very intangible. But I don't think it has to be that way.
James wrote, "I will show you my faith by my deeds." (chapter 2, second part of verse 18)
Faith isn't something that just happens in our minds. It isn't something that just happens inside of us - it starts on the inside, and grows and changes us and as it does we start looking different from the outside (not physically, of course).
Faith is like a cookie, in a way. If you give a mouse a cookie, he will want a glass of milk. If you have faith in God and believe that He is who He says He is, then you will want to worship Him. You will probably want to tell others about Him. It also seems likely that you would want to follow His advice and suggestions on how to live better.
So, when Paul says that God sees us as holy - as long as we continue in our faith - I don't think he is saying that we just have to say that we believe in God and go to church and say the words on the screen and maybe attend a Bible study or something. Paul's faith wasn't something that affected part of his life. His faith changed him from killing and imprisoning others to being imprisoned and beaten (and eventually killed).
One of my former Bible study leaders said a couple times that the Bible is like a mirror. You hold it up and it will show you yourself and your flaws. But when you try to hold it up to someone else and see their flaws, it gets distorted and doesn't give a clear picture, because it isn't meant for you to use it to change others. It is meant to change you, to make you look at yourself and look at God and maybe see something/someone greater than your current self, and hopefully want that potential to become reality.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
It's been a while since I blog'd
Colossians 1:21-23 (NIV)-
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Wow. Ok now I don't want to be cheesy, but seriously this is crazy. The crazy part isn't even that we were God's enemies - to me, it is that we are now "holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation..." Wow.
2 Kings 6:15-22
When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So He struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.
After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.
When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?”
“Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.
On a side note, here is some more music I downloaded recently:
http://noisetrade.com/gungormusic
http://noisetrade.com/jasongray
http://noisetrade.com/colortherapy
http://noisetrade.com/jarsofclay
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Wow. Ok now I don't want to be cheesy, but seriously this is crazy. The crazy part isn't even that we were God's enemies - to me, it is that we are now "holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation..." Wow.
I have a hard time believing that, most of the time...you know what I mean? But when I actually take the time to think through it, to sort of have a conversation with God about it (I'll explain), then it seems to make sense and I can start to believe that truth about myself, at least for a time. To me it is like, how could God forgive me for being so selfish and prideful and angry? I mean, He sees my inmost thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. Of all people/beings, God has the most right to say, "No, you have done too much wrong to be forgiven."
But that's not what He says...He says, "Come now, let us settle the matter...Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)
He says that what He did on this earth and on the cross was (more than?) enough to forgive me for the terrible things I've done and thought and said and even all of the things I should have done but didn't do. He says that if that wouldn't have been enough to forgive all of the sin, He wouldn't have done it. Jesus didn't leave heaven and live and die on earth so that we could be partially forgiven and then work to try and make up the rest. That'ts not how it works. That's not how God forgives, and that is not what grace is. You know the song, "Amazing Grace"? There is a reason for the title of the song.
So here is another set of Bible verses that kind of does a good job of showing what grace is like. The prophet Elisha is helping out the king of Israel, but the king of Aram doesn't like this, so he sends an army to capture Elisha.
2 Kings 6:15-22
When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So He struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.
After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.
When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?”
“Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.
On a side note, here is some more music I downloaded recently:
http://noisetrade.com/gungormusic
http://noisetrade.com/jasongray
http://noisetrade.com/colortherapy
http://noisetrade.com/jarsofclay
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