Are You Listening?

A number of Christian music artists have also been doing their part to help Haiti, coming together recently to record a song, Are You Listening? The song, written by Kirk Franklin as a tribute to Haiti eight years ago, but only recorded just this past week is a moving plea for help. “Artists United For Haiti” is itself packed with stars with BeBe and CeCe Winans lending their voices along with Shirley Caesar, Natalie Grant, Fred Hammond, Mary Mary, Jeremy Camp, Stephen Hurd, and so many others joining in.

The Gospel Music Channel (GMC) played the song over and over again on Friday evening just before the Hope For Haiti Now event started. “Are You Listening?” is available for download through Verity Records for just $1.29 with the proceeds going toward assisting organizations at work in Haiti including the Red Cross. You can also find the single through iTunes with major retailers such as Wal-Mart carrying the song after January 30.

Kirk Franklin Shares

Speaking about the song Kirk Franklin shared, “This initiative is so important because while we are asking America to give we know that many are giving sacrificially. The people of Haiti are very spiritual people with an unwavering faith and belief in God and still count The Lord as the main source and provider. We will continue to pray and stand with them. We hope this song will bring much needed support and awareness in an effort to raise funds in the near and long-term future.”

Click on the logo for more information or head over to Verity Records to purchase your copy.

My favorite Christmas carol is “O Holy Night!” the work of one Adolph Adam who wrote the music in 1847 to correspond with the words of a poem – Minuit, Chrétiens (Midnight, Christians) – written by Placide Cappeau. Down through the years the song was translated to English and is believed to be the first tune played on the radio.

The carol’s majestic, somewhat hauntingly beautiful cadence is quickly recognized by listeners familiar with the tune. O Holy Night! penetrates my heart and quickly refocuses my wandering mind on the simplicity and wonder of the birth of Jesus Christ and the promise of salvation and peace found only in Him.

There are any number of performances of the carol that I’ve heard through the years including, most recently, an 11-year old boy who sang the song this past Sunday at our church with piano accompaniment. This youngster hit all the notes, remembered all of the words, and stirred the hearts of listeners.

Celine Dion offers a wonderful solo performance of the carol, perhaps one of the most stirring by one performer. When it comes to multiple voices being raised up, I think that the Celtic Woman performance at the Helix Center in Dublin is one of the finest. And it is that performance I offer to you here for your listening enjoyment.

Finally, but certainly not the last comment you’ll read on Word Journey, I want to thank all of my readers who have stopped by here during 2009. Merry Christmas and a blessed new year – may God draw you closer to Himself as you reflect on the wonder of his incarnation, an event that shifted history and later led to our redemption being made possible.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 | KJV)

Once in awhile a song from a Christian artist seems to resonate with followers of Jesus Christ as well as with those who don’t know Him. Bob Carlisle’s 1996 hit — Butterfly Kisses (Shades of Grace) — hit the top of both Christian and secular charts, becoming a favorite of numerous women who were getting married at that time.

An Appeal To Women

I don’t know if Jonny Diaz’s “More Beautiful You” will have the same response as Bob Carlisle’s hit, but I can certainly see the song’s appeal for many women. Diaz croons imploring young women to examine their lives and avoid getting caught up in the world, particularly where there personal looks and character are at stake.

True, the name of God and Jesus Christ are not mentioned in the song, but I’m thinking that the song’s introspective message will have the listener looking deep within themselves.

Along with the YouTube video of the song, the lyrics are as follows:

Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way
But her hair isn’t straight her body isn’t fake
And she’s always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen I wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care your skin your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don’t buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

Little girl twenty-one the things that you’ve already done
Anything to get ahead
And you say you’ve got a man but he’s got another plan
Only wants what you will do instead

Well little girl twenty-one you never thought that this would come
You starve yourself to play the part
But I can promise you there’s a man whose love is true
And he’ll treat you like the jewel you are

So turn around you’re not too far
To back away be who you are
To change your path go another way
It’s not too late you can be saved
If you feel depressed with past regrets
The shameful nights hope to forget
Can disappear they can all be washed away
By the one who’s strong can right your wrongs
Can rid your fears dry all your tears
And change the way you look at this big world
He will take your dark distorted view
And with His light He will show you truth
And again you’ll see through the eyes of a little girl

I never heard Mary Barrett sing until very recently when my wife shared the embedded video with me, a tribute to her life as a singer, songwriter, but above all else as a daughter of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.

My wife met Mary at a worship conference held at Sandy Cove conference center during the 1990s, recalling a brief encounter where the always beaming worship leader from Calvary Chapel Merritt Island (FL) was present to teach and inspire others.

Last November 10th, Mary went home to be with the Lord, after a lengthy battle with ovarian cancer. As the video clip clearly shows, her body was ravaged by disease and chemo treatments, but her spirit stood strong. Mary was working on an album completed just weeks before she died, the result being The Vanishing Point. Mary’s final work was released this past January and is now available online.

Mary’s music style is (was) both upbeat and worshipful.  Personally, I don’t find myself being drawn to her, rather I find myself being drawn to Him, just as Mary intends for her songs to be sung.  Thoroughly refreshing and awe inspiring, songs offered up to God in the way they should be — worshipful.

Throughout our brief lives we encounter many special people, some of whom we barely get to know but still manage to leave a positive impact on us. Though Mary is absent from her body she is present with the Lord, singing new songs to the One she glorified.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned a gripping Civil War Christmas Carol that spoke about the evil and hatred of that day as well as the promise that God would ultimately prevail. Today, we sing his song without the last two stanzas, a classical Christmas tune birthed from a heart in despair.

There are so many Christmas Carols that I enjoy and am glad to learn what was going through the composer’s mind when he or she wrote the lyrics long ago. One song, I Heart the Bells on Christmas Day, was written by that great poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and has been sung regularly he penned it on December 25, 1864.

Yes, Longfellow’s epic carol was written on Christmas Day as it was a tribute to the temporary peace between warring union and confederate troops. On that day, both sides called a one day truce in the bloodiest war fought on our soil, with only the peals of church bells breaking the silence.

Inspired, Longfellow wrote the following words which properly spoke of his personal despair while reminding everyone that even in the midst of hatred and war, God will prevail:

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Originally titled Christmas Bells, the last two stanzas were dropped after the war ended and peace prevailed.

Personally, knowing that the final two stanzas were the foundation for the song explains to me why Longfellow wrote what he did and the anguish in his soul mixed with the hope of the cross that stirred his heart that day.

For more information about the events surrounding Longfellow’s classic work, please visit What Saith the Scripture? for those details.

Photo Credit: Simeon Eichmann

I enjoy Christian music in its many forms, which includes mostly everything from the liturgical to the contemporary. Though I’m not likely to utter a Georgian chant, I admire the many different forms of worship that is expressed by the Body of Christ, marveling at the scope and breadth of believers from around the world and down through the ages.

Contemporary Christian Music

I have a fairly good grasp of the origin of what is known as CCM — Contemporary Christian Music — having listened to Larry Norman (the father of Christian rock), Keith Green, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Mylon Le Fevre and others from a generation ago proclaim God’s goodness through songs employing a modern beat.

These days, Christian music has changed and I can honestly say that I like a lot of what I’m hearing. There was a period during the late 1980s to late 1990s when there just didn’t seem to be too many artists with a strong heart for God, though Steve Camp, Steve Green, Twila Paris and a handful of others I found to be particularly inspiring.

One CD given to me recently by my wife, The Best of Passion (So Far), has been getting a lot of playtime from me lately as I find myself listening to it in the car or at home. A collection of 30 songs — the two disc CD contains music from a variety of artists including the David Crowder Band, Charlie Hall, Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, Candi Pearson Shelton, Kristian Stanfill, and others. Many of the songs we sing at church while others I have heard on Christian music radio stations, particularly K-LOVE.

The Passion Conferences

The album is from the Passion Conferences, a movement of college students that began in 1995 under the banner of CHOICE Ministries. Birthed at Baylor University, the movement has spread across the country and is now global, encouraging believers to hold fast to Isaiah 26:8 — Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. Those who are involved with the Passion Conferences are called the 268 Generation, a term pointing to that verse in Isaiah.

Music, of course, is a big part of the Passion Conferences and out of these conferences quite a few CDs have been produced. The “Best of” CD encompasses music from the first nine CDs produced, with three more having been released since its 2006 debut. I must say that I have never hear a more generous collection of quality Christian songs put together in one package as this CD offers. I find it a treat when you can get 12 good songs, but when you find 30 the blessings are abundant!

I haven’t included a sample of the music here, rather I encourage you to explore what Passion Conferences is all about and to hear some of these tunes yourself by clicking the links located in the fourth and fifth paragraph above.  I hope that you find the music to be uplifting, worshipful music for Lord Jesus Christ.