Derek & Sandra

oh geez, y'all, the derek and sandra concert was amazing. i LOVED it. sandra is just really amazing and i respect her more every time i talk with her and/or see her in concert. and she says she and derek are coming back through this area in a month! i hope so - i just LOVE them.

i will say that not all of derek's new cd mockingbird did i agree with, but i will absolutely recommend him if only because he requires us to think, to challenge the roots the american dream has sunk into our hearts, and to shudder at the politicization of the gospel by christians who are are preoccupied with being republican. and i'm pretty sure you know that i'm a pretty die-hard republican. but my citizenship is in heaven, and that outweighs all this. love (read: the Gospel) is more important than politics - not that politics aren't important, but they aren't our main thing as believers and they shouldn't be our main thing together as the body of Christ (the Church).

anyway, it was good times. check out derek and sandra's concert schedule either at www.sandramccracken.com or www.derekwebb.com to see if they are coming near you!

i'm sleepy, so without further ado, it's time for our lenten hymn of the day, which, appropriately, sandra rewrote the music for and derek recorded on his first cd.

She Must and Shall Go Free
mercy speaks by Jesus' blood - hear and sing, ye sons of God
justice satisfied indeed - Christ has full atonement made
Jesus's blood speaks loud and sweet - here all deity can meet
and, without a jarring voice, welcome zion to rejoice
welcome zion to rejoice:

"all her debts were cast on Me, and she must and shall go free
all her debts were cast on Me, and she must and shall go free"

peace of conscience, peace with God we obtain through Jesus's blood
Jesus's blood speaks solid rest - we believe and we are blessed
we believe and we are blessed

"all her debts were cast on Me, and she must and shall go free
all her debts were cast on Me, and she must and shall go free"

should the law against her roar, Jesus's blood still speaks with power:
"all her debts were cast on Me, and she must and shall go free"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ok this one is so great - so many phrases and clauses that impart very deep and reassuring truths. since i'm exhausted, we'll make this like last night's - short and to the point.
1) "Jesus's blood speaks loud and sweet" - i love the "loud" part especially - Jesus's love for us and His sacrifice are public. He is openly affectionate with us.
2) the second verse is really amazing: here we are told that "Jesus's blood speaks solid rest," which is a beautiful turn-of-phrase and an even more beautiful truth. and we are told the reason, too - "peace of conscience" and "peace with God." as God's people, redeemed by His blood, we are to live in an eternal sabbath of the soul, because we are not working toward our redemption. our lives are not about justifying ourselves, but about being the new, living people that we are now in Christ.
3) "should the law against her roar," as seems to happen in my heart so often, "Jesus's blood still speaks with power - all her debts were cast on Me, and she must and shall go free." so often, my heart feels like i houses a courtroom, with the devil (or me - it doesn't have to be coming from outside; i do plenty of it on my own) the prosecuting attorney and condemning judge, roaring the law in my face. i just need to learn more deeply that Jesus's blood is my verdict, and even maybe remind myself by imagining this crazy courtroom in my heart and Jesus crying out "all her debts were cast on Me, and she must and shall go free."
4) "she must and shall go free" demonstrates to us that not only must we be let free, but we will be.
the blood of Christ is really really really important to us - "the life is in the blood" is true for us; our life is in Christ's blood. that's why i love all these great blood songs. :)