The Beauty of the Bride

You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.
How fair is your love,
My sister, my spouse!
How much better than wine is your love,
And the scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!

- Song of Solomon 4: 9-10



Opening my eyes I see
The answer to my soul's great need
To belong, to be more than what I am
A stunning new reality
Unfolding now inside of me
I'm a part of the beauty of the bride

My belongingness
Was bought by His faithfulness
Was purchased with His blood

Chorus:
We will see Him coming
With His arms held open wide
Captivated by the hidden beauty of the bride
Sooner than we know
And all at once He will appear
And we will finally be made one
At last we'll hear the Bridegroom calling "Come"

Homeless now, I'll soon be home
Lonely now, but never alone
With a thirst to keep myself for Him
He has made his purpose clear
Choosing now to leave me here
Still I long and I wait to hear His call

My belongingness
Was bought by His faithfulness
Was purchased with His blood

The Spirit and the bride say "Come"
And let the one who hears say, "Come"
And to all who thirst, now let them come

Chorus
We will finally be made one
When we hear the Bridegroom call
Calling "Come"

Online Browsing

But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

- John 17: 13-16

I do not know why I still keep reading the local online forums. Perhaps it is too deeply ingrained in my habits to open up the browser window everytime I turn on my comp. However, everytime I look at the topics being discussed especially those with regards to religion, one can almost predict with 100% certainty the content of those discussions.

It is sometimes so surreal that one could easily pass it off as the rantings of a small minority in a larger society, not knowing that it is simply the natural outflow of a world that "although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Romans 1:21)

The online world is an interesting place, for within it a man is protected by a cover of anonymity that allows him to expose the things in his heart. Free of the constraints of civility, he is free to express his heart's desires. Reading these religious threads on online forums has further convinced me that we need to wake up and realize that in no way is the value system of the World ever going to be reconciled with Christ and that as true (an important clause) Christians, there can be no question in compromise with a World that is an enemy of God.

It is a depressing read for me as a person who, for better or for worse, desires somehow that we could all simply get along. But God's Word is clear. The World will never cross over to Christ and hates all those whom Christ has called to Himself.

Are there not nice people in the world who are non-Christians? Have I not met Muslims and Buddhists and Atheists who are really decent people? People who show kindness and hospitality that would put many of us to shame. Yet there is a fundamental gulf that separates us and I just can't find the love to tell them.

What does Christ demand from us? That all will bow their knee to Him and declare Him as Lord. For the day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, whether out of love and adoration or out of the terror of the One who will rule the nations with a rod of iron. I shudder to think of those who in this life, having taken whatever grace and mercy has been given to them, and spitting back at the One who will call them to account. For if the righteous and scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly? (1 Peter 4:18) What great weeping and sorrow will there be on that day, where even mercy and grace will be taken away and nothing would be left to stand between them and fire of God's Wrath.

Oh that the Lord will guard us from the Evil One in these the last days.

God and God Alone

Another incredible song by Steve Green.



God and God alone
Created all these things we call our own
From the mighty to the small
The glory in them all
Is God's and God's alone

God and God alone
Reveals the truth of all we call unknown
All the best and worst of man
Can't change the master plan
It's God's and God's alone

God and God alone
Is fit to take the universe's throne
Let everything that lives
Reserve its truest praise
For God and God alone

God and God alone
Will be the joy of our eternal home
He will be our one desire
Our hearts will never tire
Of God and God alone

He Holds The Keys

Death rides blackened clouds across the sky
The Son of man lays down to die
With every pounding blow upon the nail
Thunder rumbles all through hell
And from death's barren womb the captives cry
Who is there to free us should He die

His grave becomes a door, He enters in
To face the author of all sin
Defying death and the grave He takes their keys
And with them every captive frees
And from death's barren womb the captives cry
Arise for our redemption draweth nigh

Chorus:
For He holds the keys
He holds the keys
And though we've been held captive
At long last we are free
For He holds the keys

Against the gates of hell I now resist
For the shackles that had torn my wrists
Lay before me now upon the ground
To sin I am no longer bound
For from death's barren womb
He heard my cry
And loosed the chains that bound me to a lie

Chorus

And to all the things that have kept you away
That keep you defeated day after day after day
The heartache that nobody sees
That eats at your soul like a cruel disease
He who set the captives free
It is He, it is He who holds your keys