In this weeks U2 video of the week, the band is performing in New Orleans for the Superbowl in 2002. This was the Superbowl after the 9/11 attacks. This is the second and third songs of their set, which is a tribute to all those who lost their lives in the attacks. You'll see all their names scrolling behind the stage. Bono does a special tribute right at the end that I think is really awesome. As we get closer to the concerts in the Fall, here is this weeks U2 video. Enjoy.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
U2 Video of the Week - Where the Streets Have No Name
U2 is coming to play in Texas and Oklahoma in October, and I'm really excited about it. I thought I would build up some excitement by posting a live U2 video every week until the shows. So let's start with the best and my favourite song, "Where the Streets Have No Name." This is in 2001 at Shlane Castle in Ireland. Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
How's My Heart?
How's My Heart?
Matthew 5:13-16
Disciples and the World
13"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
There is not much to say about these verses, because they really speak for themselves. But I do have this thought today that I believe rises up out of these words that Jesus spoke. We are here on this planet with a mission, a purpose. Our mission is to shine for God, to bring light to the darkness. But the struggle I have is living for the purpose, living for the light. For me lately I have been way too concerned with my own life and not with the lives of others.
I cannot live my life with a purpose for others if I am not concerned or burdened with the knowledge that there are people who do not truly know of the love of God. Am I living my life to shine for those that have none? Do I even see them? Do I even care? I have come face to face with these questions.
And I realized that I must care, I must shine, and I must see these people. It’s not that I have to get in everyone’s face I see and bulldog them, my heart just needs to break for them. That leads me to pray for them and ask God to draw them to Him (John 6:44), then when the opportunity is right I will be ready to talk to whom I need to. When our heart breaks for them our actions will be salt for life as well.
I’m not going to elaborate on these words, but I will tell you of the thoughts they spurned in me. How is your heart for the lost? Is it burdened? Do you see? Do you care? Our lives are important, but let us not forget our purpose as we live them.
Grace and peace,
Doug – John 15:13
Matthew 5:13-16
Disciples and the World
13"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
There is not much to say about these verses, because they really speak for themselves. But I do have this thought today that I believe rises up out of these words that Jesus spoke. We are here on this planet with a mission, a purpose. Our mission is to shine for God, to bring light to the darkness. But the struggle I have is living for the purpose, living for the light. For me lately I have been way too concerned with my own life and not with the lives of others.
I cannot live my life with a purpose for others if I am not concerned or burdened with the knowledge that there are people who do not truly know of the love of God. Am I living my life to shine for those that have none? Do I even see them? Do I even care? I have come face to face with these questions.
And I realized that I must care, I must shine, and I must see these people. It’s not that I have to get in everyone’s face I see and bulldog them, my heart just needs to break for them. That leads me to pray for them and ask God to draw them to Him (John 6:44), then when the opportunity is right I will be ready to talk to whom I need to. When our heart breaks for them our actions will be salt for life as well.
I’m not going to elaborate on these words, but I will tell you of the thoughts they spurned in me. How is your heart for the lost? Is it burdened? Do you see? Do you care? Our lives are important, but let us not forget our purpose as we live them.
Grace and peace,
Doug – John 15:13
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Where Are You?
Psalm 51 and You
So here's one of my favourite Psalms, and I'll tell you why.
Psalm 51
A Contrite Sinner's Prayer for Pardon.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
3For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.
5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
7Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
13Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.
14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
16For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
18By Your favor do good to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.
So David wrote this Psalm after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and Nathan the prophet had told him that he had messed up big time. I read this Psalm many times because just like David, I am sinner. But not only am I sinner, but sometimes I even find myself in a point in life where I feel like the chief of sinners. This was probably David's lowest and farthest point away from God and righteousness. Do you ever feel that way?
He begins with such humility and pleading for God's mercy upon him, recognizing the sin in his life. And his guilt comes mainly from the fact that his sin is against God. As David asks God to cleanse him, he makes a bold statement in verse 6. "You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom." David also understood an important truth, is that his sin (and our sin) reaches to most inner parts of our soul. He looked like a King and probably most people still thought he was a righteous God-fearing man. But on the inside this sin he had committed made its home.
You know, in our lives we are the same way. Sometimes the evil in my heart just creeps in slowly and eventually I am so far away from righteousness and God's will that I feel empty on the inside. And while this is going on I still have this nice exterior where everything looks fine. It's all such a lie. God desires for us to be right all the way to our core.
Where are you in your life right now? Have spent days, months, or years away from being right with God? Do you feel so far gone that no one could bring you back? David was there, and this is how GOD brought him out of it. The great part of the story of David's sin was that the more he tried to get out of what he did, the deeper he fell into the grave he was digging. But because of God's mercy and compassion, the LORD reached down and pulled him up out of the pit.
You are not too far away, and you have not done too many things for God to forget about you. We just need to cry out to God and ask Him for make us right again. I love the phrase used in verse 10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." The key word is CREATE. It means new, not clean up the old one.
The awesomeness of the end of the Psalmn is that after David is restored by God, he begins to praise the Lord and seeks to tell others about it too. That's what God's forgiveness and grace is all about.
May you seek God's compassion, kindness, and mercy as you seek righteousness. And may the mercy of God bring praise to your heart as your praise Him and teach others the same.
Grace and peace,
Doug - John 15:13
So here's one of my favourite Psalms, and I'll tell you why.
Psalm 51
A Contrite Sinner's Prayer for Pardon.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
3For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.
5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
7Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
13Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.
14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
16For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
18By Your favor do good to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.
So David wrote this Psalm after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and Nathan the prophet had told him that he had messed up big time. I read this Psalm many times because just like David, I am sinner. But not only am I sinner, but sometimes I even find myself in a point in life where I feel like the chief of sinners. This was probably David's lowest and farthest point away from God and righteousness. Do you ever feel that way?
He begins with such humility and pleading for God's mercy upon him, recognizing the sin in his life. And his guilt comes mainly from the fact that his sin is against God. As David asks God to cleanse him, he makes a bold statement in verse 6. "You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom." David also understood an important truth, is that his sin (and our sin) reaches to most inner parts of our soul. He looked like a King and probably most people still thought he was a righteous God-fearing man. But on the inside this sin he had committed made its home.
You know, in our lives we are the same way. Sometimes the evil in my heart just creeps in slowly and eventually I am so far away from righteousness and God's will that I feel empty on the inside. And while this is going on I still have this nice exterior where everything looks fine. It's all such a lie. God desires for us to be right all the way to our core.
Where are you in your life right now? Have spent days, months, or years away from being right with God? Do you feel so far gone that no one could bring you back? David was there, and this is how GOD brought him out of it. The great part of the story of David's sin was that the more he tried to get out of what he did, the deeper he fell into the grave he was digging. But because of God's mercy and compassion, the LORD reached down and pulled him up out of the pit.
You are not too far away, and you have not done too many things for God to forget about you. We just need to cry out to God and ask Him for make us right again. I love the phrase used in verse 10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." The key word is CREATE. It means new, not clean up the old one.
The awesomeness of the end of the Psalmn is that after David is restored by God, he begins to praise the Lord and seeks to tell others about it too. That's what God's forgiveness and grace is all about.
May you seek God's compassion, kindness, and mercy as you seek righteousness. And may the mercy of God bring praise to your heart as your praise Him and teach others the same.
Grace and peace,
Doug - John 15:13
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Freedom
Freedom.
When we think about the Fourth of July, many of us probably think fireworks, grilling, the lake, or 1776. That’s what is on my mind most of the time as well. What I think the Fourth is all about is freedom. Living here comfortably inside the States can often cause me to forget what is really going on around the world that allows us to be free.
Most of us had grandfathers that fought in the older wars to keep us free. So many of those men who fought with our grandfathers did not come back from those wars. Today there are so many with family members overseas fighting right now, even as you read this, for our freedom and to keep us safe. Mothers and fathers have had children die for our freedom.
Freedom is not free. There is always a price to be paid. Jesus knows this. He showed us the greatest price to be paid for the greatest freedom. He died to pay the price for our sin. He became the sacrifice for us. Romans chapter 6 paints a good picture of this for us:
1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5For if we have been united with him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
I am so thankful that Jesus died and rose again for my freedom. I am also thankful for the men and women who have fought and are fighting for our freedom right now. They fight and die so we can live on, and they deserve our prayers. So today remember those people around the world and pray for them. And also remember what Jesus did, and pray and thank Him.
Have a great and happy Fourth of July.
Grace and Peace,
Doug – John 15:13
When we think about the Fourth of July, many of us probably think fireworks, grilling, the lake, or 1776. That’s what is on my mind most of the time as well. What I think the Fourth is all about is freedom. Living here comfortably inside the States can often cause me to forget what is really going on around the world that allows us to be free.
Most of us had grandfathers that fought in the older wars to keep us free. So many of those men who fought with our grandfathers did not come back from those wars. Today there are so many with family members overseas fighting right now, even as you read this, for our freedom and to keep us safe. Mothers and fathers have had children die for our freedom.
Freedom is not free. There is always a price to be paid. Jesus knows this. He showed us the greatest price to be paid for the greatest freedom. He died to pay the price for our sin. He became the sacrifice for us. Romans chapter 6 paints a good picture of this for us:
1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5For if we have been united with him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
I am so thankful that Jesus died and rose again for my freedom. I am also thankful for the men and women who have fought and are fighting for our freedom right now. They fight and die so we can live on, and they deserve our prayers. So today remember those people around the world and pray for them. And also remember what Jesus did, and pray and thank Him.
Have a great and happy Fourth of July.
Grace and Peace,
Doug – John 15:13
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