Lord, if it would shake the youth of the nation, I would give my life.
A man named Stephen prayed this prayer 4 years ago and died later that night. The next morning his best friend wrote a song.
The song was not the writers song. The song is a fulfillment to Stephen's prophecy. The prophecy to shake the youth of the nation.
The song tells a story that needs to be heard.
Not that Steven died.
Not to make an emotional impact on people.
No, this song needs to be heard because it tells of a Greater Love; a grace; a mercy; a jealousy that the Creator of the all things has for us. The Creator of those who love us. The Creator of those we love. The Creator of Love.
He is jealous for me.Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me.Oh! How He loves us so.Oh! How He loves us.How He loves us so.We are his portion and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes.If grace is an ocean we're all sinking.So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss, and my heart turns violently inside of my chest.I don't have time to maintain these regrets, when I think about the way...That he loves us.Woah! How He loves us.Whoa! How He loves us.Woah! How He loves.
I remember the first time I heard this song.
I was meeting with a friend, who had just recently become a Christian, at a church called The Boiler Room. I had been friends with him since Junior High, but had never witnessed to him. He grew up in the Catholic faith with his family, but had never been exposed to "Christianity" in the sense that The Boiler Room lives by.
He was shown a love that he had never seen before that winter. He now lives with a joy that can only be credited to Jesus.
Praise God.
The concept of loving like Jesus loved is one that was lost a long time ago. Christianity has become something that I am convinced Jesus would loathe. It has become a judgmental, selfish, corporate machine.
A Brother Who Sins Against You
15"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
This is an interesting passage where Jesus tells us how we are supposed to treat those who sin against us. I love it.
Verse 17 is probably my favorite. "tell it to the church". This does not mean get in front of the church as we think of it today. Do not prepare a powerpoint showing all the sins your brother has committed against you. Do not stand at a pulpit or on a stage. Bring it to the church of those who love your brother. Not those who judge your brother.
If your brother chooses not to listen to those that love him, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
Remember, this is Jesus talking. How did He treat pagans or tax collectors?
He loved them more than we can imagine. He hung out with them all the time. Through the love He showed them, they saw what life was all about.
If I can show the smallest fraction of the way Jesus loved through my life, I can somehow make an impact.
