BUT A POOR REFLECTION: Gethsemane

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Gethsemane - Kees Kraaijenoord

2 comments:

Unknown said...: hi, Kees,

I accidentally found your music video "Gethsemane" on the youtube and loved it. The lyrics matched the clips from "the Passion of the Christ" so perfectly. I was deeply moved beyond words by how this video has perfectly captured the pains and suffering Jesus went through and by His determination to die for us at all cost. I will be using the Gethsemane for our Good Friday service tonight to our teenagers. Thanks you very much.

I do have one question for you about another song you wrote: "God of Moon and Stars". It is a beautifully written song but I can imagine some words may be "offensive" or even controversial to some Christian communities. Yes, God does love all sinners. But what about sinners who continue with their lifestyle and not repent of their sins? I would like to find out what motivated you to write those words. I do believe Jesus will choose to hang out with sinners if he were on earth today, but I am also concerned if these words will encourage some people to justify their sinful behavior because JESUS LOVES THEM (e.g., Christian stripper, Christian prostitute, etc.)

Thanks again, Kees, for your contribution to the Christian worship and praise. I look forward to your reply.

Wendy; 3/21/2008 4:47 pm
Paul said...: Dear Wendy,
I am not able to see your Blogger profile and you didn't leave an email address, so I can only leave a comment myself here - hoping that you will come back to read this.
You can send your question to Kees (I am not Kees!) if you go to www.keeskraayenoord.nl - his official website and click on 'contact'.
My own interpretation is that Jesus loves us no matter who we are or what we've done. Of course he doesn't want us to live sinful lives, but maybe we have some 'categories of sinners' that we secretly want to exclude from God's grace. But Jesus died to save ALL people. That's what this song means to me. Blessings!; 3/21/2008 7:14 pm

God loves us

Have you ever wondered why God gives so much? We could exist on far less. He could have left the world flat and grey; we wouldn’t have known the difference. But he didn’t. He splashed orange in the sunrise and cast the sky in blue. And if you love to see geese as they gather, chances are you’ll see that too. Did he have to make the squirrel’s tail furry? Was he obliged to make the birds sing? And the funny way that chickens scurry or the majesty of thunder when it rings? Why give a flower fragrance? Why give food its taste? Could it be he loves to see that look upon your face?

Max Lucado - He Chose the Nails

Sadhu Sundar Singh

I do not condemn theologians wholesale, but it is unfortunately the fashion in Western thinking to doubt and deny everything. I protest this tendency. I never advise anyone to consult theologians, because all too often they have completely lost all sense of spiritual reality. They can explain Greek words and all that, but they spend too much time among their books and not enough time with the Master in prayer. It is not that I oppose all education, but education without life is certainly dangerous. You must stop examining spiritual truths like dry bones! You must break open the bones and take in the life-giving marrow.

Oswald Chambers

In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. "The clouds are the dust of His feet" (Nahum 1:3). They are a sign that God is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are actually the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near us without clouds— He does not come in clear-shining brightness. (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 29th)