"CompassionArt"

This message is, I must admit, not much of a "message" at all in the traditional sense. It is actually an advertisement; it's the article writer (and myself) trying to persuade you into buying a product. So then, in that case, why am I sharing it here today? Well, read on and see for yourself. I think you'll understand soon enough!

It seemed like a crazy idea at the time – gathering twelve of the most skilled Christian songwriters for a week-long retreat in rural Scotland. They'd pay their own way, write together and give up all claim to any royalties earned from the songs.

Crazy.

Then it got a little more crazy; within a few weeks of the retreat the writers were back together once more at London's Abbey Road studios to record 14 songs in just three days, emerging with the spine and heart of an album.

Even more crazy.

And then things got interesting; would the publishers, labels managers and countless other industry personnel join in? Would the Christian scene unite to do something they'd never attempted before? Would they forgo income so that money could be raised to help fight poverty around the world?

The answer was a 'yes'. A very loud one.

And now, a few months later CompassionArt the album is set for release. Featuring 14 songs that stretch and inspire, joining the dots between faith, music and action, CompassionArt brings the heart of worship a little closer to meeting the needs of a world in pain. All proceeds generated from the CD, book and song royalties will support the work of 16 initial Charities over the lifetime of these songs. The four headline projects are Stop The Traffik, Watoto, Ray Of Hope and Hand Of Hope.

The brainchild of Martin and Anna Smith (of the band "Delirious?"), the songwriters including Paul Baloche, Steven Curtis-Chapman, Stuart Garrard, Israel Houghton, Tim Hughes, Graham Kendrick, Andy Park, Matt Redman, Michael W. Smith, Chris Tomlin, Darlene Zschech. Several other additional guest performers: Kirk Franklin, Amy Grant, Joel Houston, Christy Nockels, Leeland Mooring, tobyMac and CeCe Winans.

Also included with the cd is a packed dvd – including a 50 minute documentary, trailers, videos and pdf downloads of song and chord charts for all of the tracks. As well as all this, the writers united to produce a book- The Art of Compassion; a twelve chapter unraveling of the trail of worship, hope and justice found in each of the writers' lives.

Back to the album though; what does it all sound like?

Hope, justice, peace, enlightenment and truth. Grooves and tunes and melodies that work under the skin and into the heart.

Put it another way; these songs sound like the future.

"These songs sound like the future." I like that; but I would like to put it another way. "These songs sound like the heartbeat of God." These Christian artists have come together and used their talents, skills and passions to truly put their faith into action. I find this incredibly encouraging - but I also find that it challenges us to put our faith into action as well.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

If you'd like to buy one of these music albums or the book that goes along with it, please click here to purchase one. However, I find that this can challenge us to do more than just open up our pocketbooks. It can challenge us to open up our hearts and minds, just like these Christian artists did, to help those in need. We all have our different talents, our passions, our areas of expertise - but the question is, will we look for creative, ingenuitive ways to use these unique qualities to build up the body of Christ and carry out Jesus' ministry of love?

For Further Study: Read Matthew 25:31-46

• From this verse, we are shown what truly following Jesus looks like. What does it look like?


• Who in our lives are "hungry, thirsty, strangers," etc., and what specific needs to they have?


• Now let's be creative! In light of 1 Co. 10:31 above, how can you take your own talents, skills, and passions ("whatever you do") and use them to meet the needs of others? Now is when things really get exciting!

Blessings in Christ,

Andrew

"The Spirit of Worship" 5-9-08

Worship. Most of us know about worship in Church, how we stand and sing praises to His name. But did you ever consider the reason why we worship?

Last Sunday our little Christian Band put on the Worship Service for my Church. At first I wondered how they would deal with us "rock" kids leading worship. (Ask me why I was stuck on what they might think again? Bother..silly me).

It was in fact so anointing in that room, the Spirit was moving all about us. We weren't doing it, God was. We all came together with possibly different views, and praised God together. We gave Him sincere thanks and our love for Him was shown. What a feeling to be felt.

24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:24

23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. John 4:23

9 Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. Psalm 96:9

5 Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His footstool——He is holy. Psalms 99:5

To me, we are worshiping a God who not only created us, but also died on the cross for all our sins, and to an awesome God who loves us unconditionally. He is more than just deserving. He is most Holy.

We want to give God the glory, and we want Him to know that. So when we worship, worship with all your heart and soul, and in our own way we are telling our Abba Father, 'Thank You, thank you for dying for me, thank you for creating me, thank you for loving me even though I don't deserve it. Thank you sweet Jesus.'

So when you worship, are you making a joyful noise until the Lord? Are you giving Him the Thanks that we need to relate to Him? He wants to hear us, for it is a 'pleasing and wonderful sound'. Oh and who cares if you think you can't sing or not. God isn't picky in His music and song selections.*

Let's worship together,
Whitney

The Essence of Time - 3/7/08

Time. This word seems to govern our lives, guiding everything we do. Don't you ever feel like you are tired of it?

We can get so caught up in our everyday lives, that we often do not take TIME to have a personal moment with God. When I say personal moment, I mean devotions, praying, talking with Him, worshiping, just having a quiet moment with Him. Do you feel this is happening to you?

Let's delve into the Topic of Time. Let's check out Ecclesiates Chapter 3.

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything,
     and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
     a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
     a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
     a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
     a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
     a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
     a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
     a time for war and a time for peace.

What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

Whatever is has already been,
     and what will be has been before;
     and God will call the past to account.
And I saw something else under the sun:
     In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
     in the place of justice—wickedness was there.
I thought in my heart,
     "God will bring to judgment
     both the righteous and the wicked,
     for there will be a time for every activity,
     a time for every deed."

I also thought, "As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?" So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him? Ecclesiastes 3

This is pretty clear. Time is nothing but a word; in a sense, it and everything else is meaningless; it should never govern our lives. There is a time for everything; including personal moments with Him. So next time you think you don't have TIME for all that you have to do in your busy life, remember that TIME is not how you should measure anything; didn't Jesus make TIME for His disciples, the lame and hurt, the children? He didn't see that His life was too busy. Let's get rid of the word TIME in the negative sense and remember this: we are only here for one life; thus, let us not waste moments on moments that should not be wasted upon. Remember Ecclesiates Chapter 3. TIME does not need to be a bad thing; let's use it wisely, efficiently, and in a positive light, just like Jesus did.*

Not worrying about TIME,
Whitney