Cry The Blood

Cry The Blood, by Jack Baumgartner, 

photo from The School of the Transfer of Energy

My friend Jack Baumgartner recently released his album “Cry The Blood”, from i am earth, Jack Baumgartner. This is a heartfelt and sacrificial work of pilgrimage. The blood sweat and tears in this music cries out in beautiful heart felt harmony. This work is organic in sound and is simply beautiful. I am moved. This is music for the soul. If you are going to buy an album this year, well, this one has breath and life in it. It cries the blood.

Visit Jack Baumgartner at The School of the Transfer of Energy here:

http://theschoolofthetransferofenergy.com

You may also purchase your copy of “Cry The Blood” from i-tunes here.

You may also purchase your copy of “Cry The Blood” from Amazon here.

Visit the webpage for “Cry The Blood” here:

http://theschoolofthetransferofenergy.com/i-am-erth/

Obeying God Rather Than Men

Photo of St. Peter, Artwork by diablana81 

God is worthy of our obedience. We should be more concerned about obeying Christ than we are about obeying, or pleasing, the people around us.  

Scripture:

"But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.'”  -Acts 5:29-32, NKJV 

God’s commitment to us demands our unbridled obedience. Jesus has given Himself completely for us on the cross. God raised Christ from the dead and has defeated sin and death on our behalf.

Because of what Jesus has done, we can have Him as Lord and Savior of our lives. In Him we have the ability to turn from our old ways of living. We have forgiveness of our sins. God gives us this and His very presence and assurance in His Holy Spirit.

Reflection Questions:

In what ways do you find yourself obeying man, rather than God?

How have you experienced Jesus as Prince and Savior?

How has Jesus given you repentance and forgiveness of sins? In what ways do you need these things?

How has God's Spirit bore witness to these things in your life?

Prayer:

“Almighty and eternal God, draw our hearts to you, guide our minds, fill our imaginations, control our wills, that we may be completely yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.” (Adapted from The Book of Common Prayer, p. 832)

The Arts and Christianity

Art, photo of upside-down church art installation, from Flickr, by benkay  

This article is adapted from “Theology and Art” from Preaching.com.  You can read the article in its entirety here.

As Christians, we should study and participate in the arts. Tim Keller stated, "The Church needs artists because without art we cannot reach the world. The simple fact is that the imagination 'gets you,' even when your reason is completely against the idea of God." According to Keller, art has an evangelistic purpose and value. We can come to know God through creativity and imagination. While we may agree with this statement, there is more to the importance of art than just evangelism.

We must not neglect the beauty that God has created or the truth that we ourselves were created in the Creator's own image. We also have been given the mandate to cultivate and to care for God's creation as stewards, and this cultivation includes the arts. There is something particularly creative, even artistic, in the very nature of who we are as image bearers. We have been tasked with a creative vocation as Christians in our call to this stewardship (See Gen. 1—3).

GeneVeith captured the Christian's role in the arts well when he said, "That the arts are corrupt does not mean that Christians can abandon them. On the contrary, the corruption of the arts means Christians dare not abandon them any longer." As Christians, we cannot abandon what the enemy has corrupted in the fall. We must reclaim the arts. God has gifted us with the arts and they are His. The arts are a tool for us to participate with God in His great artwork of restoration and re-creation. We must reclaim the arts for God's kingdom purposes and for His glory.

This article is adapted from “Theology and Art” from Preaching.com.  You can read the article in its entirety here.