Newsboys vs. the daily news...

I love the Newsboys. I mean, how can you not love a band that recognizes that God is not only "Fearsome like the sag in a fat man's chair; Sweeter than a patch of Rogaine hair," but also is "Tender as a burger in your microwave; Rarer than the air in an empty grave." And therefore declares, "I'm not following a God I can lead around..." (Who? written by Peter Furler & Steve Taylor, © 2000, Soylent Tunes)

So, the last couple of days I've found myself singing their song, He Reigns, and this morning I pulled out the Adoration CD and played it on my way to work. It's a perfect example of how three chords, twenty-four letters (no q or x), eight notes, and two hearts yielded to God, can create a transcendant message:

Let it rise above the four winds
Caught up in the heavenly sound
Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals
To the faithful gathered underground
Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation
Some were meant to persist
Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples
None rings truer than this

It's all God's children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns...
(Steve Taylor & Peter Furler © 2003 Ariose Music)

A lot of the songs on the CD remind me of my friend, Glen Roachelle, and what he writes on his blog - http://www.glenroachelle.blogspot.com/ - about our true citizenship, and how to look on the events around us.

From Adoration, telling the story of an onlooker at the manger in Bethlehem, and the baby who "takes my finger and he won't let go...Come, let us adore him; He has come down to this world we live in..." (Steve Taylor © 2003 Ariose Music)

To Lord (I Don't Know)  :
You are the author of knowledge
You can redeem what's been done
You hold the present and all that's to come
Until your everlasting kingdom

Lord, I don't know where all this is going
Or how it all works out
Lead me to peace that is past understanding
A peace beyond all doubt
(Steve Taylor & Peter Furler © 2002 Ariose Music)
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And  Father, Blessed Father  :
Father, blessed Father
Lead and guide us for Your name’s sake
And keep us in the shelter of Your presence
‘Til we see Your face

Let us hear what You say
Let us know Your voice and all of Your ways
Take our hands, lead us home
To the refuge that we find in You alone
(Peter Furler © 2003 Ariose Music)
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Ending with   Hallelujah   :
I'm looking up, holding out,
Pressing forward without a doubt;
Longing for the things unseen,
Longing for the things I believe -
My true country.

We hope and wait for the glorious day
All tears will vanish, wiped away;
On the saints this day already shines...
(Peter Furler © 2003 Ariose Music)
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