RubyGamgee: welcome to the CRP thread!
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I still remember the first time I poked around in this thread on the old forum. I was afraid to post anything with so many philosophical giants. I'm not one, by the way.
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But other CRP posters have to put up with me now!
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I'm curious about your username...
Mother-Music wrote:Why would we ask these things? There’s no reason to ask God to do something He already does…Scripture states His eyes and ears are always open and that He does inhabit the praises of His people…without being asked.
I confess I've probably borrowed "inhabit the praise of His people" from my church.
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The only Biblical reference I can find is Psalm 22:3 [in the KJV]. I don't know what other versions say. I need to research this.
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Regarding God's eyes and ears, they're not always open. What's the idea behind this language anyway? Prayer! We know God's eyes and ears aren't open to sinners. And yet God has graciously heard the desperate cries of some sinners over the centuries. Check out some old war stories and
Reader's Digest to see what I mean.
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God promises His eyes and ears will be open to the righteous [i.e. those who trust in God]. Psalm 34:15 [and 1 Peter 3:12]: "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry." Even then, they won't be open to His own people if they don't confess sin: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" [Psalm 66:18]. "And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood" [Isaiah 1:15]. Many people prayed for God to open His eyes and ears to His own people, to hear or be attentive to their prayers, including King Solomon [1 Kings 8:29, 52; 2 Chronicles 6:20, 40], King Hezekiah [2 Kings 19:16, Isaiah 37:17], Nehemiah [1:6], and Daniel [9:18]. And God honored their request [see 2 Kings 19:35-37, 2 Chronicles 7:15, 32:21-22, Nehemiah 2:4-8, Isaiah 37:36-38, Daniel 9:20-27].
FencerforJesus wrote:Songs like "Friend of God", "I am Free", "Who am I?", and "Take it all" have been disliked by several on this forum because of an apparent focus on self. . . .Just because a song has the word "I" in it, that doesn't make it a self-centered song. If it is self-centered, it because a person makes it that way. But those songs were not written to be as such.
I think you make a good point. There was a time when I liked "Who am I." And I can see it's about humility. But I just don't care for the group or for the CCM genre anymore. I still like "Friend of God." I admire its biblical lyrics, for one thing. And yet, it seems like a lot of emphasis on self. Why not just look up to Jesus?
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But I have never liked "I am free," "My Savior, my God," or "Take it all." A relative initially thought the lyrics to the last one were "take it off"! And I can see why she thought so...
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"My Savior loves / My savior lives / My Savior's always there for me / My God He was / My God He is / My God He's always gonna be" ... In one Sunday morning service a few months back, the Holy Spirit gave a message in tongues that said "Yes, I love, I live, but I love you and I died for you." I thought the message was basically saying the song was drivel.
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There may be nothing wrong with the lyrics to some of these songs, for the most part. But I can think of better songs with the same messages.
FencerforJesus wrote:Yes, some of these songs are upbeat, but they were written for a younger generation. You can't witness to someone unless you speak to their language. That is what these songs do.
I don't like the music. Too much worldliness for me. There's no peace in this kind of music. A song can be upbeat and still have peace. It's not the beat I'm talking about. It's something else. People talk about witnessing to a younger generation. Why treat them differently from the rest of the church? Why not pass down the time-honored music of the past? Or introduce some excellent Christian songs that aren't in the CCM genre that are being written today?
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This phenomenon in churches is pretty recent, as late as the 1960s or 1970s. Before that, the old taught the young.
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I also strongly believe some types of music are not Christian, no matter what lyrics are put to them, including alternative, rock, and rap. And some young Christians are waking up to that.
Pattertwig's Pal: I remember more French than German because I was exposed to it earlier and longer. But I still can't read a French Bible!
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Ah, women in worship. I'm not too fond of either passage you quoted, although I like 1 Timothy 2:9-10. I want to believe Paul was talking specifically to the Corinthian churches in that one passage. I'll have to get back to you on this one.
Note to mods: it timed me out for the first time ever! If I hadn't copied the whole thing before I hit the preview button...
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