I just had one of those moments.  You’ve been there.  You are in an audience where the speaker steps up with his notes in his hand and then flings them to the side while stating “I had this beautiful speech all planned out… yadda yadda”.  I have been considering this post for several days, had it all outlined, all the points ready to go, yet when I sat down to type it an awesome truth hit me.

I was going to wax poetic about my King:

~Never having millions hoping for a ticket to get into an arena to pay tribute to Him at His death

~Never having friends perpetuate stereotypes in His honor

~Never having His eulogy streamed live across the internet to throngs of frenzied fans and thrill seekers

~Never having His family able to speak openly and publicly of their love for Him

It is funny to me that His life and death in many respects ran counter to the life of Michael Jackson.  Jesus was loved, followed, and adored for the time before His death when His own turned against Him.  Michael Jackson was scorned for years, yet at this death all seemed forgotten.  Yet, I cannot write of a King that did not receive the adoration He deserved at His non-existent funeral.  There is no need to bring up the pauper’s grave, or the stone that sealed the tomb.

There is no need to bemoan the folly of my King being slighted at His death.  Why?

Because my King is risen!!

I love music.  Dearly.  My own personal preference has always been rooted in country and then through my Christian journey naturally morphed into southern gospel.  After spending almost 2 decades wandering in the wilderness, a major contributing factor in my coming to my senses (fancy way of saying I know what “when he came to himself” means in reference to the prodigal) was the emergence of the Gaither video series.  I caught a Gaither replay largely by accident while surfing with my TV remote and tears flowed.  I am sure I will at some time go into greater details of this but for now, on this holiday weekend, I am reminded of an old Cathedrals song that the Vocal Band redid and it became one of my favorite songs.

Of course, any song that features David Phelps hitting notes in the ozone layer is an enjoyable song but the message here is outstanding and of constant need.  Almost on a daily basis now we are seeing our freedoms placed in danger.  People want to be free.

Deep within the heart has always known that there was freedom
Somehow breathed into the very soul alive
The prisoner, the powerless, the saved have always known it
There’s something that keeps reaching for the sky

Even life begins because a baby fights for freedom
And songs we love to sing have freedom’s theme
Some have walked through fire and flood to find a place of freedom
And some faced hell itself for freedom’s dream

Let freedom ring wherever minds know what it means to be in chains
Let freedom ring wherever hearts know pain
Let freedom echo through the lonely streets where prisons have no key
We can be free and we can sing — let freedom ring

God built freedom into every fiber of creation
And He meant for us to all be free and whole
When my Lord bought freedom with the blood of His redemption
His cross stamped pardon on my very soul

I’ll sing it out with every breath, I’ll let the whole world hear it
This hallelujah anthem of the free
That iron bars and heavy chains can never hold us captive
The Son has made us free and free indeed

Let freedom ring down through the ages from a hill called Calvary
Let freedom ring wherever hearts know pain
Let freedom echo through the lonely streets where prisons have no key
You can be free and you can sing let freedom ring
Let freedom echo through the lonely streets where prisons have no key
You can be free and you can sing let freedom ring
You can be free and you can sing — let freedom ring — let freedom ring

-Gaither Vocal Band

As much as we feel our freedoms are being eroded, the one thing Obama, Pelosi, Chavez, and Castro can’t take away is the freedom from eternal damnation we are given by placing our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.  That is a perspective that trumps the worst that those who would deny individual and governmental freedoms can offer.  This gives a modicum of comfort in a week where we have seen the deaths of several celebrities, the death of a great football player, Sarah Plain leaving the governorship of Alaska,  and a country refusing to allow a leftist Chavez crony to walk all over their constitution.  The freedom that trust in Christ provides brings an ultimate liberation in a trying world.

Other good weekend posts from around the web…

The Hate That Knows No Bounds

In all my years here in the blogosphere I have seen some serious hate from the left, but nothing comes close to the hatred and vile that spews forth when it comes to Sarah Palin.

Some Thoughts On Sarah Palin (Wizbang) – I agree somewhat with William Jacobson that much of what drives the hatred of Sarah Palin is her son Trig. Trig Palin is, to put it bluntly, a living and breathing indictment of the abortion industry that simply will not go away. …

Sarah Palin Not Subject of FBI Investigation (Wizbang) – If Sarah Palin had aborted Trig, the left would have been okay with it. If she hid Trig offstage and out of sight, all would be good. But treat the child as you would any other child, and that cannot be tolerated. …

The Violence Worker!: Sarah Palin – Once it became clear to most that Trig was Sarah’s baby, most moved on to denounce her for either not aborting the little monster now in her care or for being a working mother. “How could she care for her children with a full time job? …

Luke 22:41 “And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed,”
This is a short post as this verse came to my heart again sunday in choir practice. Israel was expecting a great, conquering warrior to be the coming Messiah and King. They could not see that what they DID receive was the true Messiah and the true King and this song below captures the essence of one of the many ways this verse speaks to me:

Who is this King,
Who would not wear a golden diadem or a robe of royalty;
Who is this King,
Who would not take an earthly kingdom throne as a sov’reign majesty.
Who is this King,
Who sits among the common man to eat?
Who is this King,
Who humbly bows to wash his servant’s feet?

He’s the only King who had to die to right the wrongs of men,
The only King who surrendered to win.
He’s the only King every king will bow before and sing.
Jesus Christ is Lord of lords; He is the only King.

Who is this King,
Who paid so high a price to ransom me with the riches of His grace?
Who is this King,
Who sacrificed His life so I could live in an everlasting race?
Who is this King,
Who lets me be an heir of royalty?
Who is this King,
Who’s everywhere and lives inside of me?

He’s the only King who had to die to right the wrongs of men,
The only King who surrendered to win.
He’s the only King every king will bow before and sing.
Jesus Christ is Lord of lords; Jesus Christ is Lord of lords;

He’s the only King who had to die to right the wrongs of men,
He is the only King!
He is the only King!
-Phil & Carolyn Cross
Cameron Hill Music / BMI

“The only King who surrendered to win” is one of my favorite lines in any song I have heard. Would that I could ever fully comprehend what Christ gave up for me. Would that I could ever hope to attain this level of humility.

To hear this song you can click here and scroll down about 2/3rds of the page.