Hi, finally an update. Sorry for the long delay after weeks and weeks of assignments and thesis I tried to spare my time here for an update. First of all CONGRATULATIONS to our ngetjiplag winner Agnes/Marcel, 21st Avenue, and Riki.
An update this week is on the newest album and book by Israel Houghton called A Deeper Level. Which is exactly what Ir. Welyar Kauntu talked in the sermon during the H2O service last Saturday.
The album was magnificent, one of the most uplifting Christian album I've ever heard so far. It is so powerful and you can feel their desire to change the generation of the world.
Here's a clip of Israel Houghton singing solo one of the key song in the album: If Not for Your Grace.
I just found today too that Israel, along with this album, has released a book with the same title as the album A Deeper Level. I haven't buy it yet but it surely going to be the top of my things to buy (and read) this week when I get the chance to go to Koorong.
Here's some excerpt on the book:
I feel the weight of responsibility in this matter. I feel that any of us who have been given any kind of platform of influence in this world have no choice but to use what God has given us to make a difference—a significant difference—in the lives of widows, orphans, and the elderly.
It was a bittersweet epiphany when I saw Bono, the lead singer of U2, introduce his latest social effort, “Product Red.” This is a licensed brand that he created with such companies as American Express, Apple Computer, Converse, Motorola, The Gap, and Giorgio Armani. Each company has created a product that carries the Product Red logo and gives a percentage of the proceeds to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. In announcing the effort, he said, “Product Red is a result of us seeing a problem and forcing consumers worldwide to do something about it.”
Later, in an interview with Bill Hybels, he said, “We are doing this because the church of America has not. She’s still asleep!”
When I heard this, I felt angry and hurt because I knew he was right. Therefore, I restate my claim that it is impossible to call ourselves worshippers, or worship leaders, and not be moved—even consumed—with God’s heart for justice, compassion, and effective change toward “the least of these” around our community and around the globe. I refuse to do another concert, or have another great gathering of believers, and not do my best to rally us as the body of Christ to consistent, authentic justice and measurable change.
The Stirring of Change
For me, this began around 1994 when I started to make visits to Africa once or twice every year. In 2005, we released a live worship CD that was recorded in Cape Town. The people there have always captivated me. When we play there, I see the radiance of the faces of these people who literally walk miles to hear us play. I know their feet hurt. I know that they are either going to walk back or cram onto a bus with a bunch of other people in order to return to a home that is nothing close to our American standard of a house. It is probably constructed of tin and has no air conditioning or even running water. And yet I watch them in worship, saying, “Jesus, I love You. You’re the greatest!” It’s amazing.
At some point, I decided that I couldn’t experience all of that and then go back to Houston and lose it within a week. I was moved, and I tried to figure out why. I kept feeling God’s heart so close. It wasn’t about me feeling bad for being affluent or American. I think it was simply God showing me that these were people I liked hanging out with. But He was saying, “If you want to hang out with Me at a deeper level, you’re going to have to tap into this.”
The Least of These
Not too long ago, I felt myself in this moment of worship, and I was saying all the right things: “God, You’re here. We just sense Your presence. Blah, blah, blah.” And I truly heard God say, “Dude, I’m not even here.” That tripped me up because there is nothing theologically correct about it. Obviously God is omnipresent—ever present, everywhere. And I certainly don’t think that God goes around calling people “Dude.” I just know what I heard.
That led me into Scripture, where I saw the kind of people Jesus was drawn to, and conversely, the people who got under His skin. I was really struck by His words in one particular passage of Scripture in Matthew:
“I was hungry and you gave me somethingto eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was inprison and you came to visit me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:35–40)
It has become clear to me that, according to this passage, Jesus not only cares for the poor and the broken; He identifies with them. He is with them, and they are a part of Him. They are one and the same. Where you find them, you will find Him!
