El Sheddai video honoring Eastertide

I came across this video, & wanted to share it with you during this Easter season of Christ's resurrection; His later ascension into Heaven; and His sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

The song, El Sheddai, which the below video is set to, is an incredible song of praise and honor. For me, it has always been my favorite...so much so that all my children went to sleep each night listening to it on their lullaby tape. It is such a beautiful song, giving glory to God...praising Him in Whom all praise belongs.

I hope that as you watch this video, and listen to this song, that you know what an unfathomable gift of love God has given through the cross, for His children. El Sheddai...the Almighty...so righteous...worthy of honor & praise:

"...'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!'" (Revelation 4:8)

"'Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.'" (Revelation 4:11)

What a joy it is to glorify Him!

A most blessed Eastertide to you & yours!

(be sure your speakers are on, then click the large, center button to play.)

(The depiction of the tomb scene in this video corresponds to John 20:1-17.)

The Power of the Cross...

When I think of Easter, I think of the song The Power of the Cross. I will share about it later in this blog. But as I've started out, the song, There is Power in the Blood, has also come to mind. "...there is power, power, wonder working power, in the blood, of the lamb...." Such a warm, celebratory song.
You can listen to a short sample of it, performed by an excellent group called Selah, at:
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=cd3420&event=1002ART92198786961

If you enjoy a more country sound, :), The Statler Brothers have a wonderful version of it on several of their gospel albumns, one being on their CD, The Gospel Spirit. The below is a brief sample of their rendition:
http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Spirit-Statler-Brothers/dp/B0002QO4N6/ref=pd_bbs_10?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1206045244&sr=8-10

In today's society, it's not unusual to hear banter tossed around, asking "so what's the big deal about Easter?!" Some may even think it's all about rabbits, much like some may perceive Christmas to be about Santa.
Certainly it is no minimal thing. Even when society tries, there can never be anything minimal about Easter. Easter, in & of itself, is LARGE...an earth-rattling, stone-moving large.
It requires no commercialization to increase its size nor strength.
It is what it is.

It is this same power that's been known to transform brutes into gentlemen; slave traders into defenders of slaves' right....

It is the gift of a Sovereign God who loved us so much, as to not leave us squandering in our own inadequate grasps to reach Him. We cannot earn His love. It is a free gift. We cannot buy His love. Christ's blood bought it for us. We do not deserve His love. Not even our best works are adequate to make us worthy to come into His presence. His work at the cross, and His work alone, is that righteousness for us. Once He calls us to that cross, it is of the Holy Spirit's work & promptings upon which the desire is placed within us to live our lives fully for, and abandoned completely to...Him. And this we should and we ought and we must, for His gift of redemption is never a licensure to live for self...in fact, it is a call to die to self...to pick up our cross and follow Him. But make no mistake, we cannot earn or win His love. No deed, great or small, is adequate enough. He, and He alone, is that adequacy. He, and He alone, paid that price that should have been demanded of us, but that a righteous God was gracious enough to ask His own Son, instead, to drink from the cup of. Everything in Christiandom, is centered around that cross...HIS cross...the cross where He took OUR sins upon HIM, so that we might have access to our Heavenly Father. It is indeed a very great & generous love that He rendered to us. We deserved WRATH; He gave a SACRIFICE. A sacrificial Love declared through the power of the CROSS.

For me, the below song, The Power of the Cross, says it all.
It is one of those songs, I feel, that is impossible to listen to, without being moved by the magnitude of what it is stating. As I play it, my heart always feels overwhelmed to bursting...yet at the same time, realizing how totally inadequate I am in my miniscule human ability to properly love or thank Him as I ought, or would like to. I can simply listen and rejoice, serving Him as best I can, & with all my heart, yet thankful that it ultimately doesn't depend upon my work, but His power at the cross. I pray that when you listen to this song, you, too, hear His song of redemption on that cross, and in that empty tomb. Know "He is not here; he is risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where He lay." (Matthew 28:6)

Christmas isn't about Santa. Easter isn't about bunnies. Indeed Christianity isn't about us.
It's about Him...shown through a powerful cross, and an empty tomb.

Wishing you and yours an Easter rejoicing in His glorious, righteous, & resurrected Gift, that your Easter may be spent adoring the One who alone deserves our adoration.

(click on the link below, to listen to the song in its entirety)

http://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/songdetail.aspx?iid=561007

(to listen to it directly from their page, simply click on the play arrow where it says "Listen to this Song", over at the left.)

As well, they are currently offering this song as a free download. To do so, you will need to go to their homepage at: http://www.worshiptogether.com/store/productdetail.aspx?iid=523378&tid=187

Below are the song's lyrics:

The Power of the Cross
by Keith & Kristyn Getty

Verse 1
Oh to see the dawn of the darkest day
Christ on the road to calvary
Tried by sinful men, torn and beaten then
Nailed to a cross of wood

Chorus 1
This the pow’r of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross

Verse 2
Oh to see the pain written on Your face
Bearing the awesome weight of sin
Ev’ry bitter thought, ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow

Verse 3
Now the daylight flees, now the ground
beneath
Quakes as its maker bows his head
Curtain torn in two, dead are raised to life
‘Finished!’ the vict’ry cry.

Verse 4
Oh to see my name written in the wound
For through Your suf‘fring I am free
Death is crushed to death, life is mine to live
Won through Your selfless love

Chorus 2
This the pow’r of the cross
Son of God slain for us
What a life, what a cost
We stand forgiven at the cross

Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music/PRS
(adm. worldwide by worshiptogether.com
Songs
excluding the UK & Europe which is adm. by
Kingsway Music)
All rights reserved. Used by permission.