Relentless

Okay, first let me assert that I am not humping Misty Edwards' "Relentless" CD (released in 2007).  However, her song, "You Won't Relent", included on that CD, prompted this post.

My exposure to this song was at a "Night of Worship" service at the church I attend (Southview Community Church in Herndon, VA).  One of the featured songs was "You Won't Relent". Although written by Misty Edwards, I believe that the Southview team performed the "Jesus Culture" rendition of the song.  I am not an expert on Christian rock or praise songs, but I am learning (primarily through exposure to music introduced by our worship pastor, Andy King, and performed by our praise band).

As a result, I was surprised -- okay, jazzed -- by the following lyrics and the vivid imagery that they invoked:

"You won’t relent
Until You have it all
My heart is Yours
I’ll set You as a seal upon my heart

As a seal upon my arm

For there is love that is as strong as death

Jealousy demanding as the grave

And many waters cannot quench this love

Come be the fire inside of me

Come be the flame upon my heart

Come be the fire inside of me
Until You and I are one”

Uhhh...wow!  These sound like song names or lyrics from Goth-Metal, Rock, Pop, and other secular bands. Here are a few actual song titles from these types of bands that the lyrics above brought to mind:

• "Entwined" - Lacuna Coil
• "Crucify My Heart" - Lullacry
• "Heart-Shaped Scars" - Lullacry
• "Don't Touch the Flame" - Lullacry
• "Love and Death" - Tokio Hotel
• Painted on My Heart" - The Cult
• "Like a Rose on the Grave of Love" - Xandria
• "Eternal Love" - Sayuri Sugawara (Final Fantasy XIII theme)
• "Sealed With a Kiss" - Bobby Vinton (okay, that's a real oldie)

Further investigation and research, including a few other blogs (PeculiarAlecsa and Brian Lusky), revealed that the core verses from the song originate from a passage in Song of Solomon in the Old Testament.  (Oops; I guess that I am not as familiar with the Bible as I should be; but then again, Song of Solomon is not a book that I gravitate towards.  I would preferr be reprimanded by Paul in one of his epistles or dig into a symbolical and eschatological journey with the apostle John in Revelation -- but I digress.)

Anyway, the Song of Solomon reference gave me pause to consider the song's inherent dual-nature as both a worship song and a love song. The fact that it is performed with male and female lead singers leads me to believe that this dichotomy was also the intent of the songwriter. With certitude, I don't know what Misty Edwards really crafted the piece to be, but it's a cool song. (There's a long build-up, but the music really cranks up around the 2-minute mark of the song.  If the link is no longer active, just look for the song on YouTube.com, iTunes, or an online music seller for an excerpt.)

Is it a story of two lovers inextricably bound "as one", jealous to "the grave", with a love as "strong as death"?  Or is it the story of a "relentless" God that again and again seeks uncompromising devotion from each of us, His creations? We should be relentless in the intensity of our responses to either of these scenario's, as they both lead to real happiness on earth and in heaven!

Leadership Lessons from Joshua in Canaan

In my renewed attempt to "read through" (okay, scan) the entire Bible in 90 days, I just finished reading the book of Joshua.  I observed a few precepts inherent in Joshua's behavior as he went through the process of allocating the recently-conquered Promised Land among the Twelve Tribes of Judah, and I wanted to share a few of them here.
(Props to the La Vista Church of Christ in Nebraska for allowing me to use the adjacent picture in my blog.)


Prior to discussing these precepts, I will list them:

1. Obey God;
2. Be fair in your dealings;
3. Be magnanimous in your dealings;
4. Listen before judging and acting;
5. Continue to follow God.

Firstly, Joshua obeyed God.  Joshua was one of only two spies who believed that God would enable the Israelites to conquer Canaan, aka, the Promised Land. Further, God provided specific instruction for them to execute His judgment on the Godless inhabitants there, specifically slaughtering virtually every man, woman, child, and even animal in the cities of the Canaanite nation. Although ancillary to this blog, I will explain why I think that this can be justified, or at least explained:  The people living in the land before the Israelites conquered it were participating in the following behaviors: sexual licentiousness; incest; child sacrifice; bestiality; robbing, raping and killing any strangers that ventured into their cities; and child and adult prostitution, to name a few.  In any case, God instructed the Israelites to execute his judgment as they conquered the land, and for the most part they were obedient in this matter and God rewarded them with victory.  Some remnants of the Canaanites were not slaughtered, but were instead put into forced labor.  Perhaps the sins of these people were less egregious than others.  Who knows.

Secondly, As Joshua divided the land, he did not take a bureaucratic approach.  Rather he thought carefully about how he apportioned the land to ensure that the allocations were equitable, rather than just equal.  And he distributed the land fairly. Although women were treated more-or-less as chattel at that time, Joshua provided for families that had no sons to still receive allotments for the daughters.

Furthermore, he was equitable, and even magnanimous in his dealings.  When a tribe complained about its allotment, he didn't just tell them "Too bad!"; he gave them options for expanding to get what they needed.

It is also recounted in the book of Joshua that due process and "listening" was accomplished before acting, or reacting.  Specifically, it was reported that some of the tribes had built an imposing altar, not unlike those erected previously by the pagan Canaanites.  So Joshua sent a priest and a 10-man "jury" to hear the accused's side of the story. Rather than to be used a working altar, it was constructed as a reminder and sign of the tribes' reliance and worship of the one true God.  This answer satisfied the priest and jury, and an injustice of falsely-applied punishment (or banishment) was avoided.


The conclusion of Joshua's remarks focused on the need to continue to rely on God, even in good times.  How often do we cry out to God in bad times, recommit ourselves to following Him, but then abandon Him as soon as our ship is righted?  


For me, it happens all to often.

So What's This Blog About?

I got inspired to fire up this blog as part of a sermon series that my pastor is starting related to the critical need for consistent and persistent prayer and Bible study in a Christian's life.  Although I do spend time during the week editing and coding Bible-related lesson material for Wes Husted's Daniel 222.com web site, I do not spend nearly enough time in personal prayer and Bible study beyond this endeavor.

In terms of my own spiritual profile, I would describe it as "a little rough around the edges"; ergo, the title of this blog. More than a few people might describe my personality this way as well, but so be it. I am what I am.


I may be rationalizing a little, but I expect that at the end of the day, most of us are a little rough around the edges in certain parts of our lives. For some folks, like me, the rough edges are evident; others may do a better job of hiding, or sheathing, their edges. But under the right (or wrong) circumstances, these edges will ultimately appear. 


Additionally, each person's rough edges are relative to how they comport their lives in general.  For example, some people are just plain rough at their core, so their "edges" will be even rougher, and moreover, "jagged".  Others may live their lives with such integrity, that you may not be able to discern any roughness on their edges with the naked eye, but only through the lens of a spouse or close friend or family member.


I am prefacing my blog this way to indicate that, as a Christian, I am still very much a work in progress. So the observations and opinions that I espouse in this forum may not be politically correct, and may, at times, not even be spiritually correct. In the case of the latter, and if I am aware of it, I will caveat my comments as such (apologetically). In the cases where I may think that I am speaking from a spiritually sound basis, but in reality I am not; please feel free to call me on it. As "iron sharpens iron", in other words. Maybe we can help each other. (Proverbs 27:17) 


I am looking forward to seeing where this discourse leads.  It might be just me and God reading this thing, but that's enough for me.


I wish you Godspeed as you journey through this earthly life.